Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - How Indianapolis Colts Can Maximize Anthony Richardson in Year One

Starting point is 00:00:00 You've heard a lot of talk about the Colts getting the most out of Anthony Richardson, but today we'll actually explain how it can really happen. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right. What's up, everyone? Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked

Starting point is 00:00:45 On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by BetterHelp, which connects you with a licensed therapist who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are in life. Visit betterhelp.com slash locked on today to get 10% off your first month. I am Jake Arthur. He is Zach Hicks. And you know, the two of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com. I am the site's resident credentialed media member, bringing you the inside scoopage from within the facility. Zach is the hardest, hardest working, most hard-nosed film guy in the biz right now. So for youbies welcome that is who we are uh on today's show we're going to give you guys a handful of names that you need to watch out for on both sides of

Starting point is 00:01:32 the ball uh guys who might be flying a little bit under the radar but first nerd alert zach is going to explain a new series that he's got coming out on horseshoehuddle.com. The first episode or first edition of it just came out on Tuesday. And so it basically is going to explain how the Colts can maximize quarterback Anthony Richardson leading right off the bat with it because we can project the future, but how can they get the most out of him right away? So Zach, the floor is yours. Yeah. So basically this new series for the site is going to be titled empty theory. We're talking about empty personnel sets and how that can not only maximize Anthony Richardson, but how it can help improve the biggest overall flaw in his entire game. Because if you look at Anthony

Starting point is 00:02:22 Richardson in college, you know, the accuracy at Anthony Richardson in college you know the accuracy issues pop up you know the accuracy issues overall 53 completion percentage how could you take a quarterback that high when they have a 53 completion percentage well if you actually look into the numbers and you look at his accuracy at each level of the field it's kind of fine like it's kind of fine like behind the line of scrimmage it it's like 80-something percent, which is fine. Like, that's a little below average, but that's fine. Now, if you look past 10 yards, you know, between 10 and 19 yards down the field, it's like 62%, which is fine. Like, that's around average. And then vertically past 20 yards, it's around 38% or 40%, which a little low, but not too bad. What really killed Anthony Richardson in terms of completion percentage last year, though,

Starting point is 00:03:07 was how he was in the short game. In that zero to nine yards of air yards, he completed only 58% of his passes and threw six of his nine interceptions on season. He really, really struggled in the short game. And a lot of that comes down to rhythm. It comes down to anticipation. It comes down to just how he's feeling the game and how confident he is in that short passing attack. And one way that I propose the Colts can really help

Starting point is 00:03:31 kind of get him out of that funk and get him more comfortable in the short passing game is with empty personnel. Empty personnel getting five pass catchers on the line of scrimmage, five man protections, and you're having him just read those split fields. You know, You're having him read one way. Typically, it's going to be that weak side number two wide receiver. You're going to see him matched up with a linebacker or matched up with a safety. And hey, in India, you're probably going to have Josh Downs in that situation. Josh Downs with a weak side linebacker on him, Josh Downs with a safety over the top on top of him. And then you can get those lookies and you can get those outside routes or those choice routes and just get those quick wins to kind of accentuate that

Starting point is 00:04:11 quick passing game for Anthony Richardson. So this whole series goes into the theory of empty personnel, exactly, you know, the exact elements that go into empty personnel being effective and also looks at Shane Steichen's past with this personnel grouping. The last two years with the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts, Jalen Hurts was able to get his short passing accuracy up from, I think it was 60% as a rookie in 2020, up to 74% in 2021,

Starting point is 00:04:38 up to 79.5% this last season. And a lot of that came out of empty personnel groupings. If we look at the Eagles last year, i think i charted it at over 15 of all of jalen hurts dropbacks last year came in empty personnel that's an insanely high amount of dropbacks in one personnel grouping especially in one where again you have no running back in the backfield you're having a five-man protection up front with the offensive line. So Shainzak can lean on empty personnel to get the most out of Jalen Hurts. And I think they can do the same thing with Anthony Richardson.

Starting point is 00:05:15 So this series that is going to be coming to horseshoehuddle.com, again, you can follow me at ZachHicks2 on Twitter, also the Horseshoe Huddle page on Twitter as well, just to keep updates on this series. It's really going to dive into how the Colts can build a game plan through empty personnel for their young quarterback and, and just make those reads easier. Because there's so many, there's a misconception about empty personnel, I think, from the Madden community where, you know, oh, five wide receivers, I need to read all five of these routes and see exactly what's going on. But what makes it easier, and what makes life easy for the young quarterback

Starting point is 00:05:45 in empty personnel is you're really only reading one or two players you're watching pre-snap and you get a really clear read of if you're getting man coverage zone coverage or a blitz look because like Fran Duffy said on the podcast last week you know it's like truce serum for a defense you know empty personnel you cannot hide what's going on because it's going to be a quick pass you have to show what you're actually doing which is just a huge benefit to a young quarterback like Anthony Richardson so you get him out in empty personnel and then Richardson's only reading like one or two things he's seeing Josh Downs versus a linebacker and it's like okay cool I'm just gonna wait for him to win his option route or win his little looky glance route over the middle and I'm gonna throw it that way him to win his option route or win his little looky glance route over the middle. And I'm going to throw it that way.

Starting point is 00:06:26 Or, hey, they're doing zone coverage. So I'm going to have my tight end running a little hitch and my wide receiver, my strong side receiver to running a dig route over the top. And I'm going to hit that dig route behind it. They come up on the hitch like it's it's a very simplistic type of read for a young quarterback. And it's a good way to get Anthony Richardson up from, again, 58% in the short passing game, maybe up into the 70s, maybe up into the high 70s like Jalen Hurts the last couple years. So, yeah, this whole series is going to be about me just diving into how Anthony Richardson can improve in the short passing game

Starting point is 00:06:58 and how empty personnel sets is the big way to do that. Yeah, and I like that you mentioned the options and to do that. Yeah. And I like that you mentioned, you know, the options and everything like that, because that's something Josh Downs mentioned that he imagined would be part of his role in the offense initially. And that's, that's something after his first rookie minicamp practice that he mentioned he thought would be a part of his game. And especially if the quarterback and receiver on the same page, you know, they, they know what each other likes. That can be a part of his game. And especially if the quarterback and receiver on the same page, you know, they, they know what each other likes. That can be a really deadly option.

Starting point is 00:07:28 Yeah. I mean, downs doesn't get downfield all that much that we know of yet, but you know, that, that could increase his chances there. Yeah. And a little sneak preview for the article. It's going to drop on Thursday is Josh downs.

Starting point is 00:07:41 This is a key to empty personnel for the Indianapolis Colts. Josh downs is the key to that. Cause that weak weak side number two wide receiver or the strong side number three wide receiver has to be your guy who's going to win routes, quick win routes and get open. Josh Downs was drafted to do that. So I really think Josh Downs is the key to this personnel grouping. And I think having a player like Josh Downs is going to be massive for Anthony Richardson just improving in the short passing game but you know again we're going to talk about this whole offseason on how we can get Anthony Richardson from this 53% college pass for up to where he needs to be in the NFL but I strongly believe empty personnel is the way to do that again follow us follow along on horseshoehello.com if you want to keep reading that series the first

Starting point is 00:08:22 article of that series is up uh and i believe i'm going to go for six parts is what i said in the opening article in the opening article six part series maybe seven because i just like to ramble but i think a six part series is what's going to happen there we're really going to dive in empty personnel and this is going to be the first of many series this offseason all about anthony. So make sure you guys are reading along there on horseshoehull.com. Yeah, now this stuff is prototypical Zach Hicks content. So you guys are really going to like that. So next, which Colts offensive players are going to unexpectedly turn some heads this year?

Starting point is 00:09:00 But first, this show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're juggling quite a bit and trying to help those around you make their lives easier, you can sometimes forget to, you know, you can forget about yourself as a result, and you can put yourself on the back burner. It's important, though, to give yourself a little time and a little grace so that you don't get burned out because that is very real. Therapy can give you guys the tools to find more balance in your life so that you can keep supporting others without leaving yourself in the dust.

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Starting point is 00:10:15 Find more balance with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash locked on today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E- E L P.com slash locked on. And every day is be sure you're caught up on all of our great content this week. Most recently, your favorite cohost here, Jake Arthur dove into the Andrew luck situation and kind of talked about

Starting point is 00:10:38 how Jim Ursae is throwing some shots there at the Washington commanders. You know, it's kind of a, a kind of a little bit of a beef there that's still happening between Jim Irsay and the Washington Commanders. So make sure you're caught up on that as well as the winners and the losers of the Colts offseason, which happened on yesterday's episode. All right, Jake, so we're going to talk about surprise impact players on the Colts offense in 2023. And, you know, this is actually a perfect segue out of that first segment because I talked about wide receivers that have the ability to win quick. You know, Josh Downs is going to be

Starting point is 00:11:09 a massive part of that because he's so quick and he's a great, you know, he's kind of like a seven on seven wide receiver, you know, a guy who can run these fancy, like turnaround routes and crazy routes or whatever, but he's going to get open. He's just going to get open. He put them on those choice and option routes. But I think the player that we're kind of, we're kind of neglecting a little bit in our off season talk because we're so excited about Josh Downs is Isaiah McKenzie. You know, the free agent wide receiver signed from the Buffalo Bills. This is a player where, yes, there have been inconsistencies. There's been drops in the past with him. There have been from some really low light moments in his career and the Colts obviously didn't sign him to a big contract, so they clearly

Starting point is 00:11:49 saw some of those deficiencies, but when you're really looking at his game, he's a quick underneath player that has the ability to win over the top as well. You know, he can win out of these three-by-one sets and get vertical and make some plays happen, but I think he's kind of that second option when it comes to quick win wide receiver. You know, if anything were to happen to Josh Downs and get vertical and make some plays happen. But I think he's kind of that second option when it comes to quick win wide receiver. You know, if anything were to happen to Josh Downs or if you just wanted another quick win guy on the other side, that's Isaiah McKenzie.

Starting point is 00:12:13 This is a player where, again, you give him those choice routes, you give him those option routes, he can beat a linebacker, he can beat a safety, he can beat a nickel corner and get open over the middle. And again, if we're talking about maximizing Anthony Richardson, if we're talking about maximizing Anthony Richardson, if we're talking about getting his short passing game up to where it needs to be,

Starting point is 00:12:29 having a player like Josh Downs is great, but having another player like Isaiah McKenzie is also great. It's great to have two of the same thing instead of one and just overly relying on a rookie receiver. Having an Isaiah McKenzie on top of a Josh Downs is just a massive, massive thing for a young quarterback. So, you know, I'm not saying Isaiah McKenzie is going to come out here and catch 80 passes for a thousand yards or anything like that, but, you know, a player that's kind of flying under the radar and is probably gonna be a wide receiver four this year, I could see a really solid, you know, 40 catch season for around 400 yards or 300 something yards. And just being a really, really productive

Starting point is 00:13:05 bottom of the roster wide receiver that gets those quick wins and gets those productive snaps out there. I think Isaiah McKenzie is going to surprise a lot of people this year, and I think he's going to be a good player for this Colts offense. Yeah, I like that choice. And I mentioned on yesterday's show that even though I think Downs is going to surpass McKenzie and certainly all the writing is on the wall there, that doesn't mean that he's just going to disappear from the offense. And I think there's even going to be opportunities, especially out of empty

Starting point is 00:13:34 personnel for them to be on the field at the same time. So I think McKenzie still will have a role despite Downs. So I really liked that they signed him for a reason, you know, somewhat similar skill sets. He still brings those positive qualities to the team. So they'll liked that they signed him for a reason, you know, somewhat similar skill sets. He still brings those positive qualities to the team. So they'll still be able to get something out of them. My first guy I chose was running back Evan Hull. So Jonathan Taylor is obviously going to dominate that backfield as long as he's healthy and everything. Right. But otherwise, there's just going to be a rotation. You know, Deion Jackson has his role. Zach Moss has his role. But neither of those guys really, and this is probably going to sound rude, they've never really gone above replacement level, right?

Starting point is 00:14:15 They're, you know, they're cogs in the machine. They're really nice players, and they do what they do well. I really like that. But Evan Hull is coming in with, you know, he's got a clean slate and he can do a little bit of what all these guys can do. He can run between the tackles like Moss and Jackson. He was arguably the best pass receipt, one of the best pass receiving backs in the whole draft,

Starting point is 00:14:40 which is something that Jackson specializes at. Hull is going to have put a big emphasis and effort into special teams, which that's what got Jackson on the roster in the first place. I think a big X factor is going to be pass protection. If he can prove that he looks really good there, it's going to be hard to justify him not being the next guy on the field um and you know if if moss or jackson again not not that i don't expect them to have solid performances um but you know if if they're if they're just out there ho-hum with their snaps and they're not really garnering much you know fire on the sidelines then i don't see why Hull wouldn't be the next

Starting point is 00:15:25 guy so far what I've seen has been really good I know I'm kind of bestowing a lot on a rookie right there but like I'm just kind of forecasting what I've already seen on the practice field and what I know his potential is uh as a draft pick and I really think he could make some noise there yeah I mean if you view the Kenneth Gainwell role from Philadelphia as a role in Shane Steichen's offense, that's like, what, 65 to 70 targets over the last two seasons that are up for grabs this next year with the Indianapolis Colts. That could be Deion Jackson and that could be Evan Holt. So I'm with you. I think Evan Holt could surprise a lot of people if he makes this roster and becomes that Kenneth Gainwell type role in this offense.

Starting point is 00:16:02 The next guy I want to mention here because, look, I know it's kind of an obvious one, but I think he's a player where, you know, the fan base is kind of split on, but I think Bernard Ryman is going to solidify himself as a solid starting left tackle in the NFL with the potential to be even more than that. Maybe one day we saw a lot of growth over the last season from him. You know, his first start against the Denver Broncos was an abject disaster, just an absolute disaster. Four penalties, I believe, in that game, a couple sacks given up. I mean, it was as bad as it could go in your first start. And Bernard Ryman, I really thought from that game on, he was cooked. You know, I thought that was it for him. 24-year-old rookie looking like that in his first start. It's not a good sign. But as the year went on and as, you know, again, Jeff Saturday comes in, he puts Bernard Ryman in the starting lineup and Bernard Ryman starts the rest of the year. And you could see, but you know, you could see the potential coming. You know, you could see the growth in the run game. You see him get a little better on those duo concepts and really working well with Nelson. You could see him getting better in the pass

Starting point is 00:17:05 protection aspect. You could see him adjusting to the strength and power of opposing defensive ends. Yes, there is room to go, and he's nowhere near where you want him to be yet, but I think this next season he does silence a lot of that. He's a full offseason to really work on his craft, to work on his body, to get him into NFL style shape and get the NFL anchor and get out there and just be the starting left tackle from day one. I think Bernard Ryman is going to turn a lot of heads this season. And I think in a lot of ways, you know, again, I'm not saying he's a franchise left tackle, like he's an Anthony Costanzo type player. But I think in a lot of ways, he's going to show that he deserves to start and deserves to be a player that we keep giving shots there at that left tackle position. That's really all they need is they just need to have

Starting point is 00:17:49 someone go out there that they don't feel like they need to be looking for the next guy. And so far, the growth he showed last year indicates he could be at least an average level starter. Like that's really just about all they need. He does have the potential to be more like you said, but so far so good. He's pretty, he's providing just, he's providing enough to get by really. They didn't replace him this off season.

Starting point is 00:18:14 So my next guy is Kylan Granson. So all the tight end talk this year has been basically about Jelani Woods going to have a breakout year. And then what are they going to do with Mo Alleycox? Because he's just apparently not it. And in the middle of all that is Kylan Granson, who did take a big step forward last year. And kind of how we were talking about with McKenzie and Downs, he is able to quickly get separation from linebackers, especially. So if you have a tight end who is immediately getting separation and he's closer to the line of scrimmage, he's probably

Starting point is 00:18:51 going to get a lot of looks. I think he's still going to have a role in the offense. The big X factor is if Ogletree comes back and just continues blowing the doors off the place, and then Will Mallory looks great. That obviously is going to make things a little muddled for Granson, but we have to see those things first. Right now, I think the clear two top tight ends for the Colts are Woods and Granson. They're the ones who have proven the most that they need more looks. And Granson can create yards after the catch, which is big in any offense.

Starting point is 00:19:27 I don't know. I think he's just been kind of lost in the discussion because of Woods and Mo Alleycox. But I definitely think Granson is up for a decent year. Yeah, I mean, look, again, if you're looking at the Philadelphia Eagles last season and looking at a potential role for him, another former SMU tight end in Grant Calcaterra

Starting point is 00:19:44 had a role in that Eagles offense. You know, he wasn't the pass blocker and, you know, he didn't get a thousand snaps or anything like that, but he did get a good chunk of targets in the passing game being that pass catching tight end. And I think that that's a viable role to see for Kylan Granson. So coming up, guys, we're going to talk about surprise players on the Indianapolis Colts defense in 2023 and talk about some guys that we think could break out for this team. Coming up in just a second. All right, Jake, so jumping to the defense side of the ball,

Starting point is 00:20:12 I guess I'm going to start us off yet again. And the player I want to highlight is a rookie. You know, you've kind of taken the rookie so far from me on the other side with Evan Hull. So I'm going to take a rookie this time. Daniel Scott, safety from California. I've'm going to take a rookie this time. Daniel Scott, safety from California. I've been a really big fan of this pick. Every like little bit of film I've seen of him since the Colts drafted him, I've just been, again, I'm not going to say I'm in love with his game because I see why he was a day three player. He's a little skinny,

Starting point is 00:20:39 misses some tackles, but I think the potential is sky high. And I think in a lot of ways, he's going to be the Colts next Rodney Thomas type. Just a player taken on day three, where you're kind of more expecting a special teamer, but when he gets on defense, like you get so much more. I mean, on film, this is a player where I think, you know, if you look at the entire draft class, he's probably one of the top two or three

Starting point is 00:21:01 when it came to like range over the top in terms of being a free safety. Insane speed speed really good angles at the ball in the secondary and then on top of that he can play some slot like i was really really impressed with some of his slot snaps i look really quick and explosive in those snaps uh really comfortable coming up and filling in the run uh personally i would probably keep him again, this is just off of college film, so you don't know how these guys are going to look in camp. But if it came down to a final roster spot between him and Tony Brown,

Starting point is 00:21:31 I would keep him because I think he can play some slot. Like I really think he can play some slot as well as play some free safety and obviously be like a gunner or an up man on special teams. So I think there's a lot of good things on Daniel Scott's film. I think the potential is there. And yes, he's an older safety prospect. That's why he slept today three,

Starting point is 00:21:49 but I really think he can be a Ronnie Thomas type of impact guy in year one in a lot of ways, again, on special teams, filling in on defense and maybe playing from slot corner. So yeah, Daniel Scott is a guy I'm, I don't even want to say it's irrationally high on, but just watching his film, I'm like, this guy feels like a player, like Scott is a guy I don't even want to say he's irrationally high on, but just watching his film, I'm like, this guy feels like a player. He feels like a guy who can be a real impact player in the NFL, and I'm really happy to quote Scott on day three. I don't know how huge his impact is going to be from day one or in his first season at all, but I think the potential is there,

Starting point is 00:22:21 and I think he can be a good safety in the NFL. I like that you mentioned the slot thing because I think the potential is there and I think he can be a good safety in the NFL. I like that you mentioned the slot thing, because I think that's the Avenue for him to potentially have his biggest role on defense this year, because here's the thing. If let's say Kenny gets hurt again, God forbid, unfortunately. Yeah. If Julian Blackman and Rodney Thomas are your starting safeties in there and they're playing really good ball, then you're wondering who is your next slot.

Starting point is 00:22:46 If Tony Brown is on the roster, maybe that's who it is. But otherwise, if you want to give Daniel Scott a shot, that's potentially a move. And Gus Bradley has shown the flexibility to mess around with that defense in the second half of the year. Blackman is who filled in in the slot. He's a safety. He played nickel in college. Um, but he he's who filled in for, uh, for nickel and that second half of the year. So I think that is the most likely Avenue for Scott to see some defensive snaps. So I really like you

Starting point is 00:23:17 mentioned that my guy feels like cheating a little bit because he did see a lot of increased activity last year, uh, the EJ year. But EJ's speed. So two big factors here. One, we still don't know what's up with Shaquille Leonard, if he's going to be playing on time. He's not. I mean, it's OTAs. But last we talked to him, he wasn't full go yet.

Starting point is 00:23:39 So until we really see him out there, we just don't know what, if anything, you're getting from him. And then Bobby Okereke vacated a huge amount of activity in the middle of that defense so right now your linebackers are ej speed and zyra franklin in the last two years we've seen huge jumps from the other two guys i mentioned okarake when he became a full-time starter huge jump in production and then had another like 140 150 tackles this year which earned him a huge 10 plus million per year deal with the giants zire franklin got his first opportunity to be a full time starter broke the franchise single season tackle record so if the colts go into this year with franklin and speed as their primary two linebackers because, of course, it's a sub-package league nowadays.

Starting point is 00:24:27 It's really only two linebackers. EJ Speed could see a huge jump in productivity. He's already one of the more athletic linebackers out there. He's a phenomenal run defender. He already has a role on special teams where he's shown the ability to block kicks and score touchdowns off of them so this is a guy that can make a ton of plays this year and if he's already doing that on special teams and then gets to see several hundred snaps on defense I could

Starting point is 00:24:57 see him taking advantage of that yeah the one thing I'll say about that is I don't know how the Colts pass defense would look if you were the starter next season, but I know their run defense might only give up like one yard to carry if he's a starting linebacker alongside Zyra Franklin with Grover Stewart and Forrest Buckner in the middle. Like they might only give up like a yard per carry if he's a full time starter. So that would be fun to see. And I'm sky high on EJ speed. My next player, again, if we're going to keep in the in the trend of cheating here, the one player I want to throw out here is Samson Abukam, the big free agent signing this offseason.

Starting point is 00:25:29 Yes, it's hard to say he's a surprise because the Colts are relying on him to be an every down starter and to be a guy who's going to be one of their top pass rushers. But I think people are kind of underrating how good this guy can be. If you're looking at his film from last year, he's a very disruptive player, a player who gets a lot of hurries, a lot of pressures, maybe didn't convert all of them into sacks last season, but that's kind of what his role was in that defense there in San Francisco. A lot of it was pressuring from the outside, keeping those quarterbacks contained in the pocket to allow Nick Bosa and allow Eric Armstead and a lot of those interior and obviously the other edge rusher on the other side get those sacks and get those high sack

Starting point is 00:26:09 numbers I'm not saying Samson Abukam is going to come into Indy and be a 20 sack guy now that he's allowed to be the number one pass rusher but I do think you know I seen some people say that's kind of a drop off from Yannick Ngakwe to Samson Aboukham, where to me personally, I think this is a major upgrade. I think it's a player who's just going to produce so many more pressures, produce so many more hurries overall, and just going to get after the quarterback at a much more consistent rate than Yannick Ngakwe last year. So it might not be a surprise, so I might be cheating a little bit with this, but Samson Aboukham, I think is going to have a really, really strong season as long as he stays healthy. And he's going to show a lot of people that yes,

Starting point is 00:26:48 he is capable of being a number one pass rusher that could put together an eight, nine, 10 sack season like Yannick Ngakwe did last year on paper. He certainly checks that relentless box that Shane Steichen likes to look for. And I know Yannick Ngakwe gets, you know, people are going to put him on that high pedestal because he has the seven, eight sack average per year thing. But think about it. Were they not the most random sacks? Like you would never think he was going to be like a 10 sack guy. Like the pressure just came randomly out of nowhere. And again, Ibuka may not have the same numbers, but the amount of disruption and pressure is probably greater. I'd have to look at it.

Starting point is 00:27:29 I know you have looked at it. Much better. Much better. Yeah, he's a more consistent disruptor of the backfield, especially against the run. Yeah, that's a major aspect of it. Yannick Ngakwe, look, you could be as high as you want on his pass rushing ability. I think even he would agree he's not a good run defender at all. Samson Aboukham is at least above average in that department, so I think that's going to add a lot of things to the Colts defense,

Starting point is 00:27:54 but you have one more that you want to hit on before we close out this show, so I want to give you the time to hit on this guy because I fully agree with you, and I think he's going to be a starter at strong safety this season. Yeah, I'm going to take a leap of faith and say that Nick Cross is going to be that guy that they hoped he would be or at least grab the starting strong safety role this year. They're certainly going to give him the opportunity to do so. If he can take the coaching at all, then he knows from talking to Chris Ballard, from talking to Gus Bradley after the last season, what went wrong, what they expect for him to fix moving forward to earn those snaps. And it basically just sounds like get out of your head, you know,

Starting point is 00:28:34 just, you know, play quicker and quit thinking so much. It's essentially what it boiled down to. But yeah, I mean, and obviously as a 20 year old rookie last year, Rodney McLeod was going to be able to provide more to the secondary. Um, but shoot, this is year two full off season to grow in the system, same system as last year. Uh, so if he doesn't earn a role in that defense, I feel like that was going to be on him. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:29:01 Yeah, for sure. One thing I'll say about Nick cross before we close out today's show is he's still, I think the third youngest player on the entire roster going into this season. And now he's a year two player. So I think behind only like Anthony Richardson and another like undrafted free agent type guy, I think he's the youngest. And it really just all comes down to turning that switch in his head. Can he turn that switch from a kind of a kid to being a true NFL player? Because he's got all the potential to be an outstanding, strong safety in the NFL. So we'll see it this season, hopefully, hopefully. But every day, make sure you keep tuning into Locked on Colts throughout the rest of this

Starting point is 00:29:38 week as we continue to cover OTAs. You know, the rookies have left the building, but the veterans are there putting the work in. And our veteran, Jake Arthur, is obviously putting the work in as well. If you guys don't already, follow at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also, subscribe to the LockedOnColts podcast on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Starting point is 00:29:58 We love your guys' ratings and reviews, and we'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow.

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