Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Add FIREPOWER to Pass Rush in Latest Draft Projection

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Starting point is 00:00:45 New customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. What is up everybody? This is Jake Arthur of horseshoehuddle.com. I'm your resident credentialed media member for the site. And today we are catching up on our mock drafts. We didn't get in here to do one yesterday.

Starting point is 00:01:01 So we still wanted to bring that to you today. And I'm bringing some new faces into the fold. Obviously, I think we all get a little exhaustion of all the Tyler Warren and Colston Lovelins of the world. And while I certainly think those are probably the leaders in the clubhouse, we want to bring some some new faces in here and bring some different options, because as we all know, I don't really think anyone expected Laiatu Laitu to become an Indianapolis Colts last year.

Starting point is 00:01:27 So we got to be prepared for whatever when it comes to the NFL draft and especially the Indianapolis Colts. Uh, so coming up here in the first round, uh, this is a guy who I have been trying to mock to the Colts quite a bit. I keep trying to find ways to make it happen. And I think if he slips past the Panthers there near the end of the top 10, then it certainly opens things up. And that's Georgia linebacker Jalen Walker, whether you call him a linebacker and edge defender, whatever, he's a chess piece.

Starting point is 00:01:58 He embraces that. I remember him talking at the combine about, you know, someone asked him, do you have a preference where you want to play? And he said, no, what makes me dangerous is being a chess piece. I want to be moved around. A lot of players when they've been utilizing that way in college, they just kind of want to find a positional home in the NFL to kind of hone their craft. This guy is able to take on a whole lot. He was a big time leader there at Georgia and just a really cerebral smart guy, able to kind of wear a lot of hats for them and he did it really successfully.

Starting point is 00:02:31 So if you're looking at his career, while his kind of home base is off ball linebacker, you see him line up on the edge a lot, line up anywhere on the line a lot as a blitzer. And just as extra pressure coming on passing downs. He has 466 career snaps on the defensive line, 439 at linebacker and then 75 actually in the slot. He started out more rushing the passer a bit early in his career and then kind of moved over to the offball linebacker part of it.

Starting point is 00:03:04 But it was always full duty. He never was solely one thing or the other. He always for the three years at Georgia has done all of these things. So he's got a ton of snaps doing everything and that's not even counting special teams either. So over 400 snaps both on the line and at linebacker and again in the slot that's really intriguing as well. Cause this is the guy that's 6'1", 243.

Starting point is 00:03:30 It's got awesome linebacker size, maybe an inch or two shorter than you might like for like a traditional mic, but you're looking at will for him. Again, this guy is a chess piece. He's got those long arms as well, 32 inch arms, but you're able to do so much with him. You know, if I'm looking at this from a Colts perspective, obviously,

Starting point is 00:03:50 Louie Anarumo wants to be multiple. The Colts, let's start with the pass rush part of it. You lost Ayo Adengbo, Kwiti Pei, Taekwon Lewis, Samson Ebikam, they're all going to be free agents after this season. They're all entering the final years of their contracts and layout to lots. I think we all feel good about that and think it's going to work out, but he's not a star yet. So he's not yet somebody that you could be saying, we don't need this guy because we have lots to everything's very wide open right now.

Starting point is 00:04:20 So Edge and linebacker are very much needs still. We know that they need somebody next to Zaire Franklin. Franklin's not going anywhere. I know a lot of people, you know, he's kind of a polarizing guy. When when we mentioned that EJ Speed signed with the Texans over the last few days, I got a lot of responses that people say and take Zaire with you. He's not going anywhere. I do think pairing him with someone who complements him better as a player will make things look better. It's really easy to shine a terrible light on guys like Speed and Franklin when they essentially have the same strengths and weaknesses

Starting point is 00:05:01 and their weaknesses are occurring at the exact same time. So getting speed out of there, that's no longer an issue, whether it's Jalen Carlis or whoever. You get someone who is better in coverage out there. It's going to look better. Franklin himself is improving in coverage as well. He's done a lot of film study and he's explained it to us, you know, in the locker room at times, how it's translated, what he's seen on film has translated to actually making big plays. Came away with a couple of interceptions last year. So Jalen Carlis, Jalen Walker as well.

Starting point is 00:05:35 These guys will compliment him quite well. And I know a lot of us like Jalen Carlis and want to see what that looks like. I don't think it changes things drastically if you bring Walker in. So obviously, Zaire Franklin is your mic. You can stick Carlisle there at will. If you want to have three down or three linebacker packages based defense, you stick Walker there as your same linebacker as your pass rusher. So there's a lot of ways to be very multiple and do exactly what Lou Anna Rumo wants to do by adding a guy like Jaylen Walker. There are some comparisons like Jahad Campbell, for example, from Alabama.

Starting point is 00:06:12 But Campbell to me is so much more of a light on offball linebacker who can, you know, occasionally contribute as a pass rusher. Walker does a lot more pass rushing to the point where people don't really know where to put him in the NFL. I think with the Colts, you could stick him at will. I think you could basically treat him as a diet version of Micah Parsons, study what the Cowboys did with him as a rookie, see if he's able to do any of that. Because it's similar skill sets where they're really good pass rushers.

Starting point is 00:06:43 Now Walker is not to the level of Parsons, but stylistically, it's how they've been used both in college and potentially in the NFL. But no, I think this is would be a slam dunk move for the Colts. It makes you multiple. It helps your pass rush. It fills your need at offball linebacker next desire Franklin. And I see him as a Walker is a pretty safe player. Again, he's been a big time leader there with with Georgia. And he's got the production as well. Just the last two years, 51 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 11 and a half sacks. So he's got the athleticism, he's got the production,

Starting point is 00:07:22 he's got the leadership, the versatility. There's really not much not to like about him. He's maybe not quite as explosive and rangy as Jihad Campbell. But yeah, I think if Walker makes it past the Panthers, which there's a lot of smoke there, he is mocked there quite a bit. He's from the area, he wouldn't mind playing there whatsoever, and the Panthers need a player like that. But if he gets past the Panthers, I think it becomes a lot more of a possibility that he could make it to the Colts. And then look, you've got Walker and Campbell as options for you. You've got a couple of pass rushers otherwise that are there. Uh, maybe you have one of the tight ends you like.

Starting point is 00:08:02 You can even trade down a few spots and just take the best of what's there available. So if a guy like Walker's available to the Colts, I think that is definitely a home run option for them. Let me know what you guys think. I know we don't talk a lot about Walker here. Colts fans in general don't talk a lot about Walker. They start studying up on him because like I mentioned at the top of the show, another layout to lot two situation could happen where none of us really dove too much into him because we never considered it to be much but

Starting point is 00:08:32 possibility. So learn up, learn yourselves up on Walker a little bit. Coming up, we're going to move on to the second round and we are still focused on making this defense as explosive as possible. Do you ever check your bank account and wonder where did all of my money go? Been there, done that. Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it's easy to lose track,

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Starting point is 00:09:47 LOCKDONNFL at MonarchMoney.com for 50% off of your first year. That's MonarchMoney.com code LOCKDONNFL for half off of your first year. Alright, we are staying on the defensive side of the ball here in the second round. We went Jaylen Walker, linebacker out of Georgia in the first round and the second round is a super intriguing player and he's kind of shooting up draft boards at this point. I don't even know if we'll be available at 45 and that is Arkansas edge defender Landon Jackson.

Starting point is 00:10:17 This is definitely Chris Ballard's brand of defensive end. So six foot six 264 over sixty four over thirty three inch arms, ten inch hands, almost a perfect Raz. His score is nine eight eight. We're in a four six nine forty, forty and a half vertical ten foot nine broad jump. Remember all that at six six to sixty four. He is a long athletic explosive player, energetic. He's got that high motor is going to get some of those second effort sacks as well.

Starting point is 00:10:51 Not super bendy and flexible like a lot of the defensive ends that the Colts try and get. And I think he needs to build a little more play strength. He's still kind of growing into that frame. You could really tell over the last couple couple years that he's really kind of getting his body composition together to where it needs to be. But again, guys with his traits often pan out in some form or fashion in the NFL, long explosive athletic, he's getting stronger. He's got some productivity as well over the last two years. 24 tackles for loss, 13 sacks.

Starting point is 00:11:29 So normally guys like this, you know, the Colts have got guys with like no college productivity whatsoever, but they've got those awesome traits. I am way more willing to sign off on something like that if they've actually got the productivity in college to go with it. And Lane and Jackson does have that. So again, not much not to like here. All but one of his sacks over last year, all but one were against SEC competition. And he has really, really good tape against LSU left tackle Will Campbell as well. So he played in the toughest conference in college football. And he's pretty much passed all the tests you possibly could. He was a standout at well. Uh, so he played in the toughest conference in college football, uh,

Starting point is 00:12:05 and he's pretty much passed all the tests you possibly could. He was a standout at the senior role. I was down there and watched him. He flashed a lot and the one-on-ones was able to get into the backfield quite a bit during the 11 on 11 drills as well. Uh, so when it comes to the Colts needing edge defender, we kind of talked about it up at the top with the first with Jalen Walker, but you lost Iowa Dango. So that's one guy you know is out the door. Quidipay is in the final year of his, he's got, they picked up his fifth year option. He's going

Starting point is 00:12:33 to the final year of his deal. Taekwon Lewis, final year of his deal. He is only coming off of one of the very few healthy seasons he's had in his career. Samson, have you come is going to be 30 coming off a torn Achilles. Other than that, you're looking at, you've got layout to law too. And like Isaiah land and it's like, what are we doing there? We've we've know we've got to build up this pass rush as much as I know the Colts want to reinforce that offensive line really well. I think this is a draft that you've got to look at both sides of the ball and the trenches load up as much as possible on look at both sides of the ball and the trenches

Starting point is 00:13:05 Load up as much as possible on both sides That for the defensive side you need more than when you're forecasting a year from now land and lot to again because we feel good about lot to but we're not positive that he's gonna be a Star that we're really looking for and so so even if he was, you just need more bodies here. Chances are not all those guys are gonna be back and a lot of them are older and or dealing with injury issues throughout their career. So if you took two or three edge rushers in this draft,

Starting point is 00:13:37 it's not the worst thing in the world that you could do. So a guy like Landon Jackson, I think his timeline for success in the NFL lines up perfectly with where the Colts would need it to be. Uh, cause again, you've got decent depth right now, you know, quiddy pay and either lot to or Sam snobby common is going to be your other starter. You're you got like a good four or five deep at defensive in right now. You could count on at least one or two of those guys to miss a couple games,

Starting point is 00:14:06 two or three or more because of their injury history. You bring Linda Jackson into that. You mix them in a little bit. Um, you don't have to rely on him being a star. You could give them a similar workload to lot to maybe even a slightly smaller one, get them acclimated to the NFL a little bit. Again, get him, get him in the gym and add some even further muscle to that frame. And then by next year, when you really need defensive ends and you've got probably a couple of guys walking out the door, you've got a nice young core there.

Starting point is 00:14:39 I mean, I'm a fan of Isaiah land, but like he is what he is. He's at the bottom of the depth chart right now. If he gives you any more than what he's done, that's awesome, but he's not like a building block you can really count on for the future. But you got land with lotto, and then you add Jackson to that. And then you could keep drafting a couple more guys, you're getting someone in the free agent market. And suddenly you're looking at a nice little pass rush. And that doesn't even count guys that you put in the interior, hopefully, uh, behind DeForest Buck or Grover Stewart, because we know they got to do that.

Starting point is 00:15:10 Hopefully Adetome Adetowari can work out a little bit more than he has. Um, but you, you look at a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, for example, and one of the reasons they've been able to maintain that success for a few years and have a killer pass rush for all the time that they've had is they continually feed the beast inside and out. Jalen Carter, you know, they've they've Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat. They keep getting these guys from the inside and out and they're never satisfied. That's why they have an insane pass rush is because they just keep adding bodies to it.

Starting point is 00:15:49 And so if the Colts want to have a good pass rush, they're just going to have to keep throwing resources at it. And no matter if you have enough or not, the second round is never too early to do it. I'm pretty much firmly in the position of it is never too early and too much pass rush. Like you should never be satisfied there. Again, look at the Super Bowl. Look at what the Eagles did against a team like the Chiefs that just constantly found ways to win. But we've never seen Patrick Mahomes look as bad as he did in that game. So I'm all for it.

Starting point is 00:16:20 You got Jalen Walker in the first and offball linebacker is going to be able to contribute quite a bit as a pass rusher. You add Landon Jackson, whose NFL timeline is probably going to match up perfectly with when you need him in twenty twenty six. And then that is going to bring us to round three coming up next. March Madness is here in Fandel is giving you the chance to get in on all the action like never before. Right now new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins.

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Starting point is 00:17:14 That's what makes it feel real. So visit Fandel dot com and get in on all the college hoops action all tournament long. All right, so we cannot get out of these first three rounds without getting a tight end. And this next guy is a guy I like a lot, but I'll explain why I've got reservations about him as well. It's Miami tight end Elijah Arroyo. So if you go off this guy's tape and you go off what we saw him do at the senior bowl,

Starting point is 00:17:42 I would be blown away. I would stamp this as a guy I would even take in the second round. Honestly, as a player, very, very good. I think he moves very well. He's a big target 65 to 50 33 inch arms, 10 inch hands. Arroyo is a stud on the field, gets in and out of his cuts. He's a vertical threat as well has sure hands. I watched him make a bunch of plays downfield down the sideline and everything out racing, you know, safeties and linebackers and at the senior bowl. So this is a very capable big play threat of a tight end. But the big yeah, but is his injury history. So I haven't been able to find, I've looked into it a lot,

Starting point is 00:18:25 but back in 2022 with Miami and the hurricanes, he suffered a significant knee injury and his season was over. That bled into 2023 and cost him most of the beginning of that as well. So he misses like a year and a half with this significant knee injury. He booked into that with Healthy Seasons in 2021 when he got to Miami and

Starting point is 00:18:47 last year, luckily. But then he goes to the senior role has that standout week, but then cannot work out at the combine because of a knee injury that he suffered at the senior bowl. So are these chronic knee injuries or knee issues with this guy? Is this something that team should expect to be a problem throughout his career. We obviously do not have the medical report on that yet. Perhaps it leaks at some point.

Starting point is 00:19:13 But that would be my big hang up with with him for me because again, when you get to the second round and you need a tight end still Mason Taylor is a guy I'm running up to the podium for but I would be I would be incredibly comfortable with Arroyo at 45 if not for the knee injuries as well. But you look at this kid, let's talk about him as a player in person. Interesting story, very well traveled. He comes from Miami and moves to Mexico,

Starting point is 00:19:38 I think when he's like six years old, learns the game of football actually in Mexico and plays like Mexican rules football. And I talked to him at the combine and at the senior bowl. And he said it actually wasn't that difficult at the end of the day. It's all football. It's just different. It's just a different language telling you what to do there. So he goes to Texas becomes a big time recruit and lands in Miami. Um, really good body work, obviously paired up with cam ward, uh, last year at Miami, the quarterback who obviously is going to be the first quarterback off the board, um, he had a good season last year, 35 catches, 590 yards,

Starting point is 00:20:18 which is basically 17 yards a catch and seven touchdowns. Uh, so you got a guy like Javier Restrepo, that was really your short yardage chain mover guy. Orroia was a big play threat and that's your tight end. So that certainly speaks to me being a guy like Cam Ward who is a very good passer, but it's your tight end that is the big play guy. So I think he very much fits what the Colts have tried to accomplish over the years with

Starting point is 00:20:48 Jelani Woods and Drew Ogletree and even further, you know, than than Will Mallory, another guy that came from Miami. So I mentioned he's got good downfield speed. He's a smooth runner, he's got sure hands, understands where he is on the field. He's able to he's able to be a zone beater and kind of get some of those soft spots. But he is a big dude that can block on the line and on the move, and that's huge. So we've talked a lot on the show about you need to get a tight end who you don't really need to take off the field.

Starting point is 00:21:20 Tyler Warren fits that. Colston Loveland kind of fits that. He's not necessarily the blocker that some of those other guys are Mason Taylor can grow into that Arroyo is that as well So Arroyo is kind of the last of the clump of tight ends for me That you can just take and not have to worry about grabbing another one Because a lot of these other guys after you get into like late round three and round four, five, six, seven,

Starting point is 00:21:47 you're going to need to go get probably a veteran as well on the free agent market or trade for a Michael Mayer from the Raiders or something. But if you are only able to land one tight end, it's got to be the type of guy who can contribute as a pass catcher, make big plays there, but also block as well. So Arroyo is able to do that. He's got a perfect frame for it. He's tenacious. So the Colts obviously have needs to tight in. We're looking at Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory, Jelani Woods, Sean McEwen, and Albert Okwabunum

Starting point is 00:22:18 as the only guys signed under contract for 2025 right now. So McEwen and Okwabunam are veterans who've been around for a while They played in games. They've made catches. They've been there done that But for all intents and purposes there at the bottom of the Colts depth chart You can't super factor them into 2025 much unless the Colts just brutally strike out on the position this offseason somehow I don't even know how they would do it but Ogletree He does some nice things on the field, but he's not got the most reliable hands

Starting point is 00:22:51 in the world. He's had some glaring drops before. I think he's only credited with two drops in his career, but they were not pretty. He had the ACL tear as a rookie. He obviously had the personal issues off the field the next year. Will Mallory has only played in 22 of a possible 34 games through two years. He's been a healthy scratch a lot of the time because he is not a blocker. He's just a pass catching tight end. And then Jelani Woods, after flashing as a rookie, obviously, has missed two straight years with injuries. So Ogletree and Mallory, I think, are guys you're comfortable

Starting point is 00:23:23 having on the roster to compete for a spot and at least be in the lineup in 2025. Anything Woods can give you if he can make it to the regular season. Awesome. But you cannot count on that at this point. He's missed two years and then McEwen and Okwabunum just veterans who know what they're doing. But I think you have to add at least one, maybe two more guys to this group. Even if you get one of the clump that I talked about of the every down tight ends, it does not hurt you to go out and get another veteran.

Starting point is 00:23:53 I'm not opposed to like Mo Ali Cox coming back. If he would want to, he probably wants the opportunity to be more than what he's been tasked with doing with the Colts, if I had to guess. So we'll see, He's still out there. He's price tag is probably a lot cheaper at this point now than it used to be. So if the Colts want to bring in a veteran who can at least block

Starting point is 00:24:14 and occasionally make some, you know, big plays on third, fourth down, Mo Ali Cox could be your guy. So that is it for us today on this mock draft Tuesday. Again, went with linebacker Jalen Walker from Georgia in round one. Round two is Arkansas edge defender Landon Jackson. And then round three, we just scooped up Elijah Arroyo tied in from Miami. Thank you guys for making us your first listen today. Now for your next listen, go check out Locked on NFL Draft with Damian Parsons and Keith Sanchez.

Starting point is 00:24:44 Now that the season's over, you guys can get your latest draft rankings, rumors, and news every day. Just find locked on NFL draft on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you guys want to become a locked up, holds insider and chat with us directly and get the inside scoop, get special treatment on Q and a episodes. Um, just want to know something at 10 o'clock at night. Just shoot us a message. And we'll, we'll let you know our thoughts. Uh,

Starting point is 00:25:09 we're also on social media as well at locked on Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks too, on Twitter. We're also on tick tock and Instagram. Also please subscribe on YouTube and or every listen to podcast. We would love your ratings and reviews as well. That gets a lot more eyes and ears on the show. And with that, we will see you guys later. You have a great day.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Add FIREPOWER to Pass Rush in Latest Draft Projection

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