Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: 3 Big Needs Heading Into Free Agency

Starting point is 00:00:01 Free agency starts next week and the Colts have three big needs. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. What is up, my friends? Thank you 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 On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Jake Arthur here with you.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Nozak today, working feverishly on that Indy Draft Guide. If you guys haven't pre-ordered your copy, check the notes here. Your link to go in and get it and reserve a write. I think it's early April that it comes out. Go ahead and reserve.

Starting point is 00:01:05 You will not be disappointed. We have Zach's pouring a ton of his time and resources into that at the moment. Today on this show, we're going to talk about the Colts team needs. If you guys pay attention to the Locked On NFL Draft show, Damian and Keith have something coming up where they're going over every team's top three needs. And you'll see that Zach and I had our input on that as well. What are the Colts top three needs? So offensive line depth, obviously that's always a big one, especially after what happened last year.

Starting point is 00:01:35 Cornerback is a very underrated one, but everyone's number one need right now obviously is quarterback. So let's look into it we've spent a ton of time talking about potential fits with the colts whether it's you know free agency bridge guys backup veterans whatever the draft obviously um but i feel like it's been a while since we've actually talked about the current situation on the roster so uh matt ryan a couple years left obviously. If the Colts get rid of that contract, he's due $35 million next year at the end of his deal. If they get rid of that deal this offseason, they're going to save $17 million. He does have some dead cap there, but still, $17 million is a lot to clear off the books. Same thing with Nick Foles. You save $2

Starting point is 00:02:27 million on that one if you get rid of that contract. So it seems pretty likely that the Colts move on from both those guys, which creates almost $20 million in cap space. Sam Ellinger, I've got to imagine he'll probably stick to the roster. I think the Colts will add someone else besides this rookie top pick, and Ellinger will probably battle it out with whoever this other veteran is to see who is going to be the backup. So obviously quarterback, we've seen with all these playoff teams, teams don't win like the 2000 Ravens or 2002 Bucks anymore. You know what I mean? Like they don't just go in with an incredible defense and just some ho-hum quarterback and win it all.

Starting point is 00:03:12 That's just not how it works anymore. You know, the Colts have even tried that. They've had really good defenses, but some really inconsistent quarterback play. The best they got was Phillip Rivers. And, you know, Philip obviously was physically limited in what he could do it. I think he was 38 years old. So you need that guy that's going to get you over the hump. You know, if you want the potential alien, that's Anthony Richardson. If you want someone who's going to be potentially super solid for you, obviously CJ Stroud, Bryce Young. So, you know, pick your poison. Maybe you take a swing on a Will Levis. Maybe that's your, your flavor for the moment. See what you want, but no quarterback,

Starting point is 00:03:51 obviously the biggest need. They do have other things to plug around that quarterback, but they're not getting anywhere until they finally figure that out. No more band-aids, you know, the Andrew Luck thing. Yes, it sucks that it happened, but that was a few years ago now. It's time to move on. It's time to find your new long-term solution. Even if you pick a guy and it doesn't work, you tried. If you tried up for him, you tried. No one is going to be mad about that. They might be mad if you trade up to number one and grab Will Levis, for example. But I mean, again, if you have conviction that was your guy, you tried. No big gripes about that. Next, we're going to talk about why cornerback is actually a pretty significant need this offseason.

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Starting point is 00:05:50 Stephon Gilmore under contract as your number one, but he's going to be 33 years old when the season starts. He was awesome. You know, he relit that candle last year, but you can't really put all your eggs in that basket. You have to count on the fact that this guy is getting older. And at some point he's not going to be able to physically live up to what he once was, even maybe last year. We don't know when that, that decline is going to come. But you know, father time waits for no man. Kenny Moore being the second guy up at this point, I would honestly find it harder to believe that he will be a member of the

Starting point is 00:06:24 Colts when the 2023 season starts than going somewhere else. I really just don't see it. It's not going to be the biggest shock in the world. I mean, he's under contract, but he did have the contract dispute last year. And when we talked to him after the season in the locker room, he sounded a lot more reflective on his time with the Colts than he did. A guy who's looking forward to the future with things. You know, he adores his time that he had with Matt Eberflus and the Bears. You know, that's a potential fit there. He's played for Jonathan

Starting point is 00:06:56 Gannon, the new corner, the new head coach at the Cardinals. So there could be suitors out there for him. Frank Reich and the Panthers. He's still considered a very good slot corner in the league. So there will be suitors if he would like to look elsewhere. I mean, again, he is still under contract. So we can't say without a shadow of a doubt he's gone, but I'm really starting to lean that way personally. You've also got Isaiah Rogers. He really came on last year, especially, you know, he had a couple, you know, gave up a couple things near the end of the year, but for the most part, really kind of shut things down. And then Dallas Flowers, who didn't really get much playing time till the end of the

Starting point is 00:07:37 year. If you look at his grades, it was not great, really. But I think we all saw a lot of promise from him. He's obviously a great kickoff returner, but even looking back in the preseason against Buffalo, he had that awesome interception on a two-point conversion attempt. That was really nice. He's a guy who I think has a lot of upside, a lot of room to grow,

Starting point is 00:08:00 but he's probably not someone you're going to plug in as a starter right away when training camp, OTAs, all that stuff begins. Brandon Faison is the guy we didn't mention. He's a free agent and lots of peaks and valleys last year, mostly valleys it seemed. I'm not so sure that he's coming back. I don't think any of you guys here with us would think he'd be coming back either. So, again, 33 year old Stefan Gilmore,

Starting point is 00:08:27 Kenny Moore, who we really don't know if he's going to be here or not. Isaiah Rogers and Dallas Flowers. That's, you know, you gotta have depth there. You definitely have to have some depth there, especially in a passing league. You're just really going to be, you're really going to be up against it if you don't find a little more security there. So coming up, why the Colts won't let what happened to the offensive line last year happen again in 2023. Okay. So everyone knows how things went last year. You know, they gave up the second most sacks in the league, 60 sacks. You had, you know, Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, Sam Ellinger. Ellinger was the only one who could move around and do much of anything. You had, you know, Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, Sam Ellinger. Ellinger was the only one who could move around and do much of anything. He had those kind of statuesque guys and it just

Starting point is 00:09:11 did not really work. So quarterback, getting someone in there who's going to be mobile and be able to create, that will take care of part of it. But the offensive line did come along a bit last year once they found that right combination. You know, Matt Pryor and Danny Pinter obviously went into things at left tackle and right guard respectively. They took, you know, pretty much every first team rep starting in OTAs all the way through into week one, first few weeks of the year. And, you know, the Colts thought they were more secure in those spots than they really were. Chris Ballard, after the season, said, you know, he thought, you know, just plugging those guys in next to Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith, they would figure it out. Everything would be fine. Obviously not. You know, Bernard Ryman is now the left tackle. Will Fries is right guard. Do I think they would be fine if they entered the season that way? Sure, but they have

Starting point is 00:10:08 got to bring in some competition for these guys. They cannot just go in and say, you've won the competition. We're not going to bring in anyone to seriously push you because that just goes against what they've always preached, you know, competition at every position, regardless of your status. And for guys like Matt Pryor and Danny Pinter, who neither were established starters to just kind of be handed the keys, that was pretty uncharacteristic. And Chris Ballard, you know, is sore about how all that went down. So he's just, I just really don't think he's going to let that happen again, especially with how dedicated he's always been to the offensive and defensive lines. So I really think through free agency and the draft, they're probably going to add some guys.

Starting point is 00:10:55 They could have the benefit of a guy like Andrew Voorhees, who just tore his ACL at the combine. Maybe pick him up later in the draft now. More of a redshirt year, of course. But he's someone who could really push inside at guard. You don't really know what the future of your line looks like. Because, you know, we mentioned the quarterback moves who you could cut. Ryan Kelly is a popular name out there on the potential chopping block. Over these next two years, if you cut Kelly's contract this year, you're going to save about $20 million over the next two years

Starting point is 00:11:27 for a center who his best playing days, we've seen they're behind him. Could he resurrect things with Shane Steichen in this new offense? Perhaps, but he just has not really looked like the same guy in the last year or so. And he's making a lot of money. Again, like I said, a center costing about $20 million over the next couple of years. That's what you would save in cutting him. So he's making really closer to about 30 if you were to keep him on. So really there's about only one expensive free agent I would look at. Isaac Samalo from the Eagles. Good run blocker, good pass blocker, obvious familiarity with Shane Steichen as the new head

Starting point is 00:12:12 coach. That's about it because I'm not a big fan of pouring a ton of money into the offensive line. I think I'd rather draft guys. But there are some more subtle ones you could do. Andre Dillard to push Ryman at left tackle. Dillard was a really athletic guy. A lot of ties to the Colts before his draft year. It really hasn't panned out for him as a starting offensive lineman yet, but again, he's had some really talented guys ahead of him on that Eagles offensive line. Always a very deep group. Maybe a change of scenery with the Colts could kind of revitalize some things, but in the end, you know, it's not like he's been an established starter anyways. Like I said, you could just have him to push Ryman and, you know, be a fallback

Starting point is 00:12:56 plan perhaps if needed. And then Trey Turner, a veteran, you know, around 30 years old, he can give you, he can give you some snaps there at guard if you feel he unseats well fries. You could do much worse than a guy like Trey Turner. Again, kind of bargain bin there, but an experienced starter nonetheless. And so we've talked about some offensive line needs, but there's a few others that I feel like I would remiss not to mention. Blocking tight end is such a subtle one, but we've seen in this offense before it can be really effective. Jack Doyle was very critical, it seems. He obviously retired last offseason and things just didn't look the same.

Starting point is 00:13:39 You can look for someone like Payne Durham or someone in the draft. Pretty good run blocker or pretty good blocker overall. There's some really cheap veterans out there on the free agent market when things kick off here in about a week. You also look at another weapon in the passing game. Regardless of whether you bring Paris Campbell back or not, I think they need one more guy who's capable of making big plays downfield. It doesn't seem like someone like Alan Lazard may be available. It seems like he's going to be kind of choosy with where he goes next, but something like a DJ Chark, pretty cost effective,

Starting point is 00:14:16 I would think. And also he's always been a vertical threat. Him and Alec Pierce were pretty comparable players when they both came out of their respective draft classes. So if you're looking for another guy who has big play potential, could take the top off the defense, I've always liked DJ Chart quite a bit. And then defensive line depth. Obviously, Tyquan Lewis, if you bring him back, he's a free agent. Anything he gives you is great. Unfortunately, he hasn't really been able to give you any full seasons for the most part. Has the worst luck with these big significant injuries, but always seems to come back and look as good or better than before. So I'm all good with another one-year veteran minimum deal for Lewis. I'm sure the Colts might want him back as well. He's been here in town at least as recently as when

Starting point is 00:15:05 Shane Steichen was introduced. So you look at it, Quidi Pei and Dayo Odengbo as your defensive ends. Yannick Ngakwe is another one. I really don't know if he's coming back. I tend to lean a no on that one as well. Had the unfortunate throat thing at the end of the year. Gave you the 8.8 and a half sacks, whatever. But it was really inconsistent. And Gus Bradley relied on him far too much on rundowns. And he was a liability out there against the run. He just truly was. Maybe taking Ngakwe away from Bradley for once would allow someone else who's better against the run,

Starting point is 00:15:44 like Pei or Odangbo to get some valuable snaps out there. So maybe it's saving Bradley from himself a little bit. So definitely tell us some of the needs you guys think the Colts have in the comments below. If you're watching on YouTube, you could throw them in as a rating and review on Apple or anywhere else. I think that's it for us today. We'll be back tomorrow. We're going to continue previewing what these Colts might be up to in the next week as free agency draws nearer.

Starting point is 00:16:12 There's obviously going to be the couple-day window of legal tampering, which will lead into the big bonanza that is officially NFL free agency. Make sure to follow at Lock on Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL and at Zach Hicks too on Twitter. Also subscribe to locked on Colts on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, your listener watching this right now and you're not already subscribed, change it for us.

Starting point is 00:16:37 I would also love your ratings and reviews as well. It's how we get up those charts. Thanks again for making us your first listen of the day. Now, like I mentioned earlier, go ahead and listen to Locked On NFL Draft. Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez provide in-depth coverage of the biggest NFL draft prospects with deep dives into the sleepers and hidden gems that can change your favorite NFL franchise. Find Locked On NFL Draft wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:17:10 And we will see you guys tomorrow.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: 3 Big Needs Heading Into Free Agency

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