Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Anthony Richardson, Laiatu Latu, Josh Downs Highlight Team's MYSTERY

Episode Date: July 17, 2025

The Indianapolis Colts' most significant strengths and weaknesses will be key to watch throughout training camp. How can players like Anthony Richardson or Tyler Warren change the perception of their position group? Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.

The Indianapolis Colts wide receiver room and cornerback rooms are actual strengths of this team, but what weaknesses bring the team down? 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. Thank you all 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.

Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Hello everyone, my name is Zach Hicks, your resident film nerd of Horseshoe Huddle Dotcom, and I'm joined, as always, by our boots on the ground. Jake Arthur, same site as well. You guys have followed us all all season. We've done our position by position review of this Colts roster. And now we're going to take all that info that we gain from the positional

previews and dive into the strengths and the weaknesses of this roster. And to fill out a third segment, we're also going to dive into the position groups that have the most mobility this the season. And by that, I mean the mobility to be better than we expect or the mobility to be worse than we expect. We're going to talk about that all here today. But starting with the strengths, Jake, I think it's kind of weird to say this, but in a passing league, the Colts are very strong at

wide receiver and cornerback. And how many times in the Chris Ballard era have we been able to say that about wide receiver and cornerback? I mean, these are two positions that he's typically neglected. And honestly, I would say this is the best cornerback room that he's had in his time with the Colts and then at wide receiver. I mean, it's the same room as last year. So you could argue it's like, again, this two year stretch right here is the best stretch the Colts have had at wide receiver in the Chris Ballard era. So, you know, in a passing league, they're really strong

past catcher and past defender. You know, there's still some other elements missing there, but I'm feeling pretty good about those two groups for the Colts. Now they're super deep in those spots. I mean, as for wide receiver, the guy with arguably the most talent, AD Mitchell is like fourth on the depth chart.

And you kind of have to struggle to find ways to get him snaps because the guys ahead of him, they have very strong roles and kind of need to struggle to find ways to get him snaps because the guys ahead of him. They have very strong roles and kind of need to be out there. And then at cornerback, you know, we've talked about this with our preview, you know, Juju Brents, you drafted him a couple years ago to be your number one corner overall. And now he's like your fourth or fifth guy. Samuel Womack is down there right there too. He started throughout the season. So things look much, much different now.. I mean health is a big factor because

everyone's healthy right now. Knock on all the wood as we stand here less than a week until training camp starts. But no these spots are super super deep. As for wide receiver that makes me feel like yeah like the stars have got to a line to get adequate quarterback play this year, because we're not including tight end in this yet, but just pass catchers and skill position players in general for the Colts are great. Like it is the probably the best most well rounded group the Colts have had that I can really remember and quite some time.

They just need that quarterback play to be good enough to make it all work. It doesn't have to be exquisite or exceptional. Just has to be adequate. Um, so yeah, wide receiver from top to bottom, you know, Michael Pittman jr is a guy who dominated the snaps and the targets just a couple years ago. And now he seems almost like an afterthought when people discuss the receiver position because of how impressive Josh Downs has been Alec Pierce led the League and yards for catch last year A.D. Mitchell is a guy who we're all just waiting to put it all together because of how talented he is And then you know we can never forget about our guy Ashton Doolan either of course

Anthony Gould is a guy who had a great summer and spring last year But can't get snaps because of everybody ahead of him, so this is a guy who had a great summer and spring last year, but can't get snaps because of everybody ahead of him. So this is a group I'm really excited about watching in training camp because I've seen some stinker receiver groups in camp before. And I'm pretty pumped to see this one. I don't think there's going to be a ton of drop off as you get from the first, second and third units. It's gonna be entertaining to see nonetheless. Yeah, we are much removed from the years of Krishan Hogan fighting for a roster spot. Hey, hey. Mike Strawn.

It's exactly Krishan Hogan, sir. Sorry, sorry. I'm not even trying to speak badly of them. They're better than like 99.9% of football players that have existed. But yeah, the Krishan Hogan's's Dion Canes, Mike Strawn's, we are far past that. If your worst receiver under roster is a player like Anthony Gould or Ashton Doolin, you're doing some pretty good things there. And to your point about Michael Pittman Jr., I think he's just the most boring of the top four on the Colts.

And I mean that endearingly, because like A.D. Mitchell right now is all flash, It's all flash in his game. And then you get Pearson down to her just perfect role players. Pitman is kind of just your boring number one when he's healthy. He does it all. Yeah, he just kind of does it all for you. So I really like this wide receiver room. I did want to throw a quick question at you though, Jake, with my receiver and corner because we might differ on this. And it's very rare that we differ. So we got to throw that to the people whenever we get a second between those, these two rooms,

which one do you think is stronger for the Colts corner or wide receiver? Probably corner by. Okay. Nevermind. We agree. We agree. Because I was thinking about this earlier and I was kind of ranking these things and I was trying to think of like, what does the group look like if one of the main players gets hurt? Uh, and then, so as much as we like 80 Mitchell, if you have to put them in a prominent role and rely on him, we don't know that they can do that yet. Same can be said for, you know,

Ashton Doolin is fine as a very minimal offensive role player. Anthony Gould is a huge unknown. So if you lose a Pierce, Josh Downs especially, you lose Michael Pittman. I don't love that, but I think they've got a lot of depth at corner to be able to kind of absorb at least one, two of those injuries. So it's just a matter of corners a little deeper,

but wide receiver has a lot of pop to it for sure. Yeah, I actually think my argument for corner would just be the high end talent that they have at corner. You got Charvarius Ward and Kenny Moore, who I think are Pro Bowl players, or heck in Ward's case, maybe even better than a Pro Bowl player. Number 50 in the locked on NFL top 100.

There you go, yeah. I just think that that top end talent there, where at receiver, I think it's a lot of good role players and guys who can be great, but I think it's more of just really good all around where at corner you got that top end talent. But we have one more position in our strengths here, Jake, and you threw running back in here and I was looking at it and it's hard to disagree with that, that running back being the third strongest position group on the roster because you have the top end talent and then you just have really adequate depth, you know, in like last year Tyler Goodson, we would all agree was the team's second best running back.

By far and away the second best running back. He didn't get the second most snaps in the running back room, but he was the second best running back. Now he's coming into camp as running back for when you have a guy like Khalil Herbert in front of him and you have DJ Giddens in front of him. A really promising draft pick. I agree. I think running back is a really solid group. You got the top end talent, you got the depth, something they haven't had in recent years. I mean, they didn't have last year. They had the year before Zach Moss, but they desperately needed it last year. And now they finally have that depth behind Jonathan Taylor.

Yeah, I mean, Taylor has a lot of mileage on there but he like as a player he hasn't slowed down much. He has had some injuries but he just ran for 1,400 yards was just the fourth highest rusher in the league last year and that's with missing three games. He would have comfortably been the third because him and Bijon Robinson both were in the 1400s and Taylor missed three games. So would have comfortably been third in the league, had 180 yards from scrimmage in that week 18 game. So like John and the Taylor still certified stud and you know me for horseshoe huddle every morning I have to comb the entire internet for

stories and see what people are saying about the cults. And I don't think I have seen anything out there about like day three rookies or rookie running backs who could surprise in that DJ Giddens isn't on that list. People really, really like DJ Giddens, including internally. I've heard a lot of Marlon Mack comparisons there. They're, they're, they almost have like devastating agility between the tackles and in close spaces. They're not burners. They're not, they're not like 2020 Jonathan Taylor,

who's going to turn a corner and, and beat you and win a foot race. But DJ Giddens is a very productive runner who can create his own yards. I don't want to see Jonathan Taylor get hurt, but if a situation arises where Giddens has an opportunity to prove himself for a game or two, I would be eager to see that. And then Khalil Herbert came in before Giddens even did as a free agent, and I really liked that move. I thought it was a clear upgrade over Trey Sermon.

Herbert has kind of been a bigger play chunk play guy throughout his career can contribute on the outside as a runner. He can do some things, you know, as a pass catcher as well. So the Colts have three guys who are capable of making big plays, creating their own yardage at running back. And again, let's just hope that quarterback kind of plays its part because this offense is this offense is this offense is being just spoon fed to this quarterback for success.

They just have to take advantage of it. Right. And look, Jake is perfectly segueing us into our second segment where we're going to talk about the biggest weaknesses on the roster. What positioning groups are really holding back this team in 2025? And do they need to and they need to like surprise and step up this upcoming season. Summer sports are in full swing and whether you're all about baseball under the lights golf on the green or high stake soccer action, Fandl is the best place to make every game even more exciting.

You're already following the action. So why not make it a little more thrilling? With Fandual, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach like a bunch of suckers. It's easy to use, it's fast to pay out, and it makes even regular season games feel like must-watch events. So whether I am placing same-game parlay's or I'm watching a bet right into the ninth inning, Fandual makes it feel like I'm part of the action, even though I'm very much not. So if you're new to Fandle, as a new customer, you can bet just $5 and get 150 back in bonus bets if that first bet wins.

So open the Fandle app today or visit fandle.com to get started. Okay, Zach, so we are going to categorize these next positions as weaknesses, but you could just as easily label them as, you know, kind of mysteries or, you know, they're, they're unproven, so to speak, because there's one or two of these on here where I'm like, I don't know if they're weak yet. They're just very unproven. But we do have to start with quarterback, obviously. So there's a low floor here. Obviously, the like entire offseason has been spent boohooing the quarterback position, like

from us, from everybody else from fan like that. It is what it is. I can't wait for next week to get here just so there's something for us to talk about that's going on on the field field because Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones are two of the most maligned quarterbacks in the league nationally. So obviously they have very low floors, but they're, I mean, at least with Anthony, there's a very high ceiling as well. It's just about you don't even have to hit those highlight plays constantly. It's just about making the right play consistently. Like I think Anthony could probably benefit from being a more boring quarterback if that makes sense. Again, Chris Ballard harken back to like Carson Wentz with take the layups, not only take the layups, but like execute them at a good rate,

you know, pass the ball accurately, things like that. So recently it's come out that Anthony should be good to go for the start of training camp. He's been cleared. He's throwing again. So that's good. We don't have to kind of have him on this long extended pitch count. And he's not fully participating until a couple of weeks in. He may still be on a pitch count until the Colts can fully evaluate. But like he's he's not coming in, you know, behind the eight ball, basically. So, yeah, quarterback is obviously the most glaring spot you got to look at when you talk about weaknesses, mysteries, question marks. It's all of it. Yeah.

And you say that there, you know, this Colts quarterback room is much maligned according to like national media people but it's very justified when people have those takes. I mean it's not like this is coming from some bias point of view where everyone just hates them and you're looking at this quarterback room and with Anthony Richardson he's missed over 50 percent of the games that he could play in the NFL at this point due to benching and due to injuries. So he's missed a ton of time. And then when he has played out there, I mean, we could be positive about his sack avoidance about his fourth quarter play about his big play capabilities, but he's been the least accurate quarterback in football over the past two years. And on top of that, the turnovers have really spiked in like last year, especially had way more turnovers than he had scores. And even if you combine his rushing and his

passing, a lot of interceptions, a lot of fumbles, not taking care of the football. And when you combine a quarterback with high turnovers and low completion percentage, the big plays have to be hitting at a really high rate for that to work in the NFL. And they haven't been hitting at that high rate. And then you go to Daniel Jones. And yes, Daniel Jones, a couple of years ago, had a season that most quarterbacks would kill for perfectly solid, like average to above average season, got the Giants in the playoffs, had a really good playoff game as well with the Giants.

But since then, it has been a massive downhill trajectory for him. He's gotten a lot more timid as a passer, the yards per attempt, with the Giants, but since then it has been a massive downhill trajectory for him. He's gotten a lot more timid as a passer. The yards per attempt and the average depth of target have severely dropped. And this is coming. I mean, I know people really hit on that Giants offense, but it's not like they've had nobody. They've had Saquon Barkley, Malik neighbors, two first round offensive tackles. I know one of them hasn't been great, but Andrew Thomas has been really, really good on the other side. So it's not like they've been completely devoid of talent.

And his career has hit an all time low where he got released halfway through last year after getting benched for Drew Locke. So these are not quarterbacks who are at the peaks of their careers or at the high points of their careers. Honestly, we could argue these are at the low points of their careers and the Colts are banking on them to hit something like just the middle road or hitting anything really other than where they have been thus far in their careers. So you know it's a big weakness for the Colts and for whenever you see people out there projecting the Colts winning like four games, five games, you know when you look at this roster it shouldn't be that way but quarterback will dictate a lot of that you look at the Titans last year That roster is certainly not first overall pick caliber roster

They have a lot of really good players on that Titans roster But those two quarterbacks they started last year drag them all the way down to the first overall pick. So Look, we don't need average even from these quarterbacks this season. Give us a below average season and the Colts will be at eight, nine, 10 wins. Like just be below average. The Colts haven't gotten below average quarterback play since Gardner Minshew left. So hopefully they can at least get to below average. But yeah, you know, when people are really, uh, you know, talking down this quarterback room, they are justified in that it is a very

weak quarterback room on paper. It's on these two guys to prove that they are more than what they have been in recent seasons. No, they absolutely have to prove it. And that's what the Colts are banking on for at least one of those guys to kind of rise to the occasion. And so when I alluded to earlier that these aren't all necessarily weaknesses as much as they are question marks interior line. I think is another one that you look at and you're like, we'll feel good about this long-term overall, but we'll see how it works. Initially, uh, you're welcoming in two new starters, Tanner,

Bordellini and Mackinzal that is, you know, on paper, things could change, but that's probably who is going to be your, your starting center and right guard. I do like the fact that they have very, very established guys already in Bernhard Reimann, Quentin Nelson and Braden Smith. Smith, of course, great news is back. But yeah, we got to see what this looks like. Bordellini has more experience there at center, obviously, than González does at guard. But at least González is going to have an entire offseason and training camp to prepare there at center obviously the Gonzalez does at guard but at least Gonzalez is going to have an entire offseason and training camp to prepare their guard which is a position the Colts

field best suits him anyways even beyond right tackle so i mean that that's going to be a big mystery which is not great i mean it it if it is going to be rocky i think it helps Anthony more so because of his sack avoidance and his ability to quickly get to the outside. The others, there's, I don't want any part of Daniel Jones having consistent pressure right up in there. Yeah, I think this offensive line room will be fine by the end of the season, but there will be some growing pains early in the year for sure. Again, Gonzalez just hasn't played guard before and he is kind of a top heavy player that plays a bit high and tight. I do think there will be some issues with the power on the interior especially in the

past blocking game but they have a lot of quality guys around them. I think they'll be fine long term but it's certainly a question mark going into the year. The other position we have on here is one that you've never really talked about Jake. It's the linebacker. It's a linebacker room. Buzzy in our comments here also asked about the linebacker talent in the depth. When you look at this linebacker room, I don't think it's a bad roster. You know, I don't think that it's like a bad group of players there. It's just putting so much on Jalen Carlis to be more than a second year, fifth round pick safety convert is my big concern. I think if Carlis was your third linebacker

and then the rest of these guys were behind him, I think it'd be a really solid linebacker room. But because Carlize has to be your number two and has to be good or it's Joe Bocci and Cam McGrone getting out there. I think that's a bit concerning for me. So overall, like if Carlize does prove to be more than most fifth round pick safety convert linebackers then it's not an issue but until he shows that it is a bit of an issue looking at this linebacker room right now. Yeah I can appreciate that they like the players that they have because they're promising and like. A lot of teams would be okay with having zyra Franklin as their starting Mike. And like there's good things about

Jalen Carlisle. I just think it's ballsy to go into it how they are without having bolstered the position. Really. It feels a lot like corner last year where they were just rolling the dice and it bit them. Like luckily they made a good move in picking up Samuel Womack. But Dallas flowers flamed out that's a guy they were really relying on. They were relying on Juju Brents who got hurt right away. Like not having adequate depth here can bite you. And it's even crazier to me because Zaire Franklin and Jalen Carlis were injured all off season.

They were recovering from surgeries and they were not there to be on the field for the install of this new defense under Louie and a rumo that is way more complex than what Gus Bradley had. So these guys, I mean, they've been in the meeting rooms and everything, of course, but like, hopefully they're both ready to go Tuesday, Wednesday, when the Colts get there to Grand Park, The hit the ground running right away, but like there are a couple months behind Joe Bocci, Shagu, Aloubi, Cameron Grone. And like, it would be great if those two linebackers play a thousand snaps and don't get hurt at all this year, but that's already not the case right now.

So if one of those guys goes down, you're going to put into the starting lineup, someone who outside of the Colts fan base, they're not going to know who the hell that is. No, no one outside the Colts fan base knows who Shagoo, Lubee or camera grown is. They might know Hunter Woller if they're draft nerd, but like it, I just think it's very ballsy is all I'm saying. OK, guys, we have let Jake get his weekly linebacker rant in. Now coming up, we have my idea for a final segment on to this show. It's the most volatile position groups that could either ascend their expectations

or fall really low depending on how the season goes. I'll kick off the segment here in just a second. All right, Locked on Colts everyday. So this was my idea for the final segment of this show. I think it was a perfect way to kind of tie it all together. Which position groups could outperform or underperform their expectations. And the position group that really made me think of this segment was the defensive end room. The defensive end room this year kind of has me terrified going into the season because when you're looking at it you're like if the Colts get Layatu Latu to take that year two jump where he goes from a solid rookie season to what you expected him to be then you're good. If Quidipay can just get a little bit more off the edge when it comes to his pass rushing ability then you're good. And thenidipay can just get a little bit more off the edge when it comes to his pass rushing ability, then you're good. And then just one of the trio of depth pass rushers in Taekwondo Lewis, Sandsun Ebukam, or JT2 and Malouow

can step up and be a good rotational rusher, then this can be a top 15, top 12 defensive end room in football. But here's the thing, we're banking on a lot of ifs there and if one of those don't hit, this could be a pretty poor edge rush room and honestly I think it's more likely that none of those hit than all of them hit when it comes to this culture. There's a very real scenario where Leatu Latu gets a little bit better from his rookie season but doesn't take a massive jump. Quidipay just is Quidipay like we've seen in the last four years of his career. And then you have guys like Ebucomm

as a 30 year old pass rusher coming off of the Achilles. That's not a great sign for success. JT Tuyma Loao I think is a solid player, but it's gonna take some time. He's a young second round pick. It's gonna take him a minute to really find his groove. And Tyquan Lewis regressed last year. So when you're looking at this defensive end

room I think it's more likely they finished in the bottom eight in the NFL in terms of overall production than in the top 12 to top 15. But I could totally see them making that jump. It really comes down to Laotu Latu. Like that is the biggest factor here. If he can take a sizable leap this next season you can even ignore like the Quidipay taking a leap or all these other guys taking big jump because if if Lotju can become like a top 20 pass rusher in the league, then you're good on the defensive end on the defensive line. But if he doesn't make that jump and these other guys kind of do what we're expecting, the pressure rate from the defense events is going to be rough from the Colts this year and it's going to put a lot on DeForest Buckner's plate like it has in recent seasons. And they don't even have great defensive tackle depth to spell Buckner very often. So I'm a little nervous of this pass rush room on the defensive line,

especially on the defensive end. And I think that's kind of the inspiration for this volatility segment that we're doing at the end of the show. Yeah, I think you nailed it. Like it is like solely reliant on Laiatu Lathu taking a big jump because Kodipay, like he normally is dealing with some some scrapes and nicks and bruises and stuff, but he's gonna get you seven, seven and a half sacks. He is a guy who statistically does improve each year, but like we're we don't really see him as that double digit sack. I necessarily he's a finisher of sacks, but he's not a guy who creates pressure. He's not a generator. Yeah. Right.

He's like a 10 to 12 percent pass rush win rate, which is like average to below average. But he finishes sacks in the backfield. That's a good complementary piece. But you need that dominant guy across from him. Unless he takes a step this year, which I don't think he's going to do at this point, but we'll see, we'll see. Yeah, it could happen. And then elsewhere, you know, Tyquan Lewis was really, really good in a small package

two years ago, but kind of took a step back last year a little bit. Samson Epikam would be like the first 30 year old pass rusher to come back from an Achilles tear. Like it would be unprecedented for him to regain what he did a couple of years ago. Well, non Hall of Fame, Brandon Graham and Khalil Mack have both come back from them, but those are like Hall of Fame guys. So sure. Was it the following year, though? I think it was. Well, I think Brandon Graham's was, but he's one of one.

Like he's insane. But outside of one like he's yeah saying but Outside of like like who would be where talents and they even took step backs from what they were before the injury You know it was just that was still really good play when they their step back is still great play And then JT to him a low out. I really like him, but you're not adding him on to what was already there He's got a replaced Iowa Dango who we both feel is pretty good. Pass rusher, right. Eight, eight and a half sacks a couple of years ago played more snaps than anybody else in the D line last year.

So it's really up to layout to lot to, to take that step to be a dominant pass rusher. Otherwise you're hoping for improvement from these guys who are aging or coming off injury or just aren't really there in their career development yet. And it's kind of a gamble. So I'm right there with it. They could do well though,

but I don't think it looks like a good group unless Liatu Latu makes it look like a good group. Regardless of what everybody else does. No pressure, we just need Liatu Latu to be a superstar. No pressure whatsoever, just be like a superstar, unstoppable force off the edge and then we're good. That's all that matters. We talked about potential Mount Rushmore additions

earlier in the week and you know, that's the standard now. This next group, I think it could go from the worst position group on the roster to the best because of one man and that's Tyler Warren. You go from for the last two, three years having to piecemeal a game plan on offensive game plan every week based on what tight end can do what because no one really has many multiple talents.

And now you have one guy who just never has to leave the field. And not only does that open up things that tied in, I think it opens up things overall in the entire offense, especially the passing game. Because you don't have to have guys locked into such niche roles. And you mentioned you can live in that 11 personnel now because again, there's just so much you can do with Tyler Warren, not just with him as the focal point of what's going to happen with the ball, but in terms of formations and things too. I think it opens up things brilliantly for Shane Steichen.

Finally, you don't have to rely on either of Kylan Granson or Drew Ogletree or Mo Ali Cox to be, they didn't even try to make them big parts of the passing game. And I just think that's hard to maintain in an offense where you know, your top tight end isn't going to get any more than like 20 balls in here. Like, yeah, you're taking away an entire factor of the passing game that way. factor of the passing game that way. It felt like those guys were only an option in big plays, you know what I mean? Like as a surprise to the defense. So now having Tyler Warren,

I just think it kind of opens up a world of possibilities for them. Yeah, to be fair to your big play point there, we only had quarterbacks last year who could only throw big plays. They couldn't throw the short stuff last year. So that's probably a factor there. But that was just to Alec Pierce.. So that's probably what that's probably a factor there. But that was just to Alec Pierce, right?

That's true. That's true. But yeah I think this tight end room is very likely to outperform expectations this year unless you're expecting them to be like a top 10 room In the league, I don't think Warren's gonna come out here and hit 800 receiving yards in year one But I think you know like a four four fifty five hundred yards receiving But I think you know like a four four fifty five hundred yards receiving Anywhere between like six to ten receiving touchdowns I think is certainly possible with him depending on the quarterback play Obviously the I think the Colts are gonna feed him a good bit and him and Josh Downs are gonna eat especially at Daniel Jones Is the starting quarterback this year two more position groups?

I want to throw in here because they're so dependent on health and I already mentioned one defensive tackle and safety Those are the two position groups where their ranking is gonna vary so much off of health I know you can kind of say this about any position like if the starters go down Obviously the talent level drops But I think the drop-off is so massive if a safety goes down or if one of these I mean if you look at these two Difference tackles especially They're both 30 years old. They have not been the pinnacles of health in recent years like buckner has missed some time grover I think most of the time he's missed has been due to that suspension

But he's missed some time as well over the last couple years And then the backups like neville gallimore atatomi wada bore I have hope for them, but they're not great run defenders, either one of them. Eric Johnson, not a great run defender. Tim Smith's probably your only strong run defender, but again, he's a rookie. You don't want to rely on day three rookies being your savior when it comes to an NFL team. So if one of those defensive tackles get hurt, and again, they're not young, when you hit 30 years old in the NFL at anything besides quarterback It becomes a bit of a worry if something happens either of those guys

I think their run defense is really gonna suffer and then at safety if something happens to those safeties You lose a lot of the versatility that you're really going for on the back end with this team. So They're this these two position groups are really dependent on health Like they got to stay healthy at safety and defensive tackle this year, because I don't think they could survive like a long term injury to any of those starters. Yeah, you're right. And maybe one of these years, they'll pour resources into defensive tackle.

I mean, because they did add Neville Gallimore and Tim Smith. But at the same time, that's just to replace Rayquan Davis and Taven Bryan. That's not throwing a ton of options into the pool. Why can't I get like a 330 pound defensive tackle? Why do they all have to be like you? Call for it all. I need a big boy in there. They gave me one.

They gave me Joe Evans for like three days and then they got him. Like, just give me a big dude who I don't care if he can make it into the backfield as long as he can just stay at the line of scrimmage and eat up blocks there I'm perfectly fine. I know Rayquende is supposed to be that last year but he was he was going through some stuff. Give me a big boy give me a big give me 340 like that's that's what I want on my interior deep heads of light. Not unreasonable, but yeah, safety. I think you're right there just cause I think especially like if anything happened to Nick cross, he does so much like in the box and he does so much as a tackler and everything that I think it's, it's really going to be a drop off. No matter who else goes in there.

One, we haven't talked about, and I'm going to make you talk about it real quick as kicker. This is the ultimate boom or bust position here because you got rid of your only kicker who has an extended experience with Matt Gaye Spencer Schrader very small sample size last year but was perfect on kicks for three different teams. I think that indicates the guy is relatively unflappable because that's a lot of change in your life all at once to deal with to be perfect at your

job essentially somatic Trujillo as well. Both these guys you rewind just like a year and a half or two years ago for their college careers, they're both about 75 percent college kickers, which if that was an NFL kicker, you would have sent him to the trash heap instantly, basically. So the Colts are really relying on some unproven kickers to replace a guy who at one point was the highest paid for agent kicker in NFL history. So yeah, that's a big gamble there.

I'm not saying I'm against what they've done. Like it's a kicker. Just try things until it works. Essentially, it should be a cheap position. And I know your stance on it as well, but I mean, that's definitely going to be a volatile position to watch for them this year. Yeah. My, my only response to that would be every single team could say the same thing about the kicker position every single kicker is volatile There's no there's no normal no normal see when it comes to the kicker position

You could put every kicker into a hat randomize it and pick it out and that could be the best kicker in football that year There's no rhyme or reason for a kicker being good. So why not as well just throw some some lowly paid, undrafted free agents out there. I tried to talk past the 30 minute mark so you wouldn't get to the kicker position, Jake, but you still had to throw it in there. Shame on you. Shame on you. If you want to, we can go back to strengths and we could talk about Rigoberto Sanchez being a strength. That's true. We can just rewind the podcast here. But no, that is all we have for today, guys. Do you want to remind you that the Locked On NFL Top 100 is here. We voted on it was voted on by the NFL host of Locked On Podcast Network. Our top 100 was formed by experts that cover these teams and players every day.

Find the full list on Locked On Sports today on YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. Jake also did a solo episode yesterday covering all the things that the Colts did to make it on that Ross on that list. All two players that made it on there. So definitely check that out. And if you guys want to become a Locked on Colts insider and chat this directly and get that insider scoop, follow the link in our show notes. And if you don't already make sure you're following at Locked on Colts, at Jake Arthur and a fellow at Zach Hicks to all on socials. Also subscribe to us on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts We love you guys ratings reviews, and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon