Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' BIGGEST 'IF' PLAYERS for 2025; Who are X-Factors?

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

Who are the Indianapolis Colts' most prominent X-factor players in 2025? Who makes the most significant difference if they can take a step forward? 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! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.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)Skylight CalendarRight now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15-inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL. LinkedInPost your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.

The Colts have a pretty good group of guys that you know you can count on, but what happens if the biggest question marks on the roster show up and show out? 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, 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 On Podcast Network, your team every day. What is up friends and family? This is Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks of HorseshoeHuddle.com. I'm your resident credentialed media member for the site and Zach is your resident film expert for the site. And today we're taking a little bit of a different turn, just kind of thinking up some hypotheticals this time around.

But when you look at this Colts roster, you think of several players you know you can count on, your Quentin Nelson's, DeF Buckners and Kenny Morris guys like that. But the Colts have invested so much in these high end athletes who need to be groomed and developed. And, you know, we're always told within a couple years, two, three years or whatever. These guys should really be big time. And so now the Colts have kind of a pile of these guys, some of them for different reasons. You know, one or the other haven't really reached their peak yet. Some of them have been injured, some of them just are still developing,

haven't got that playing time yet. But we're going to look at today, what if these X factors kind of show up and play really, really well for the Colts and take the team to the next level. So we're going to start out here, Zach, with some guys who are either already basically considered starters in the running to start or they're like the most prominent of these X factor types. And let's just go ahead and get the biggest one out of the way. And that's Anthony Richardson. I mean, the guy's got to win the starting job at quarterback first. But if he plays well, I mean, there's a reason that Colts drafted him in the top five. Yeah and the thing with Anthony Richardson like obviously every team's x factor on their season is their quarterback it's a quarterback driven league you know your wins and losses are

going to come down to how your quarterback performs but I think especially so with the Colts because we've seen this team you know honestly since the Philip Rivers year where they've been able to get in that playoff hunt with bad quarterback play, you know, each and every year. I mean, what the best quarterback season since that that Philip Rivers year was probably what Gardner mentioned to the first year with Shane Steichen in 2023. And that wasn't some lights out season. So, you know, for the Col, if they can just get adequate quarterback play with a roster that features some of these like low variance players that you

mentioned like Quinton Nelson, like DeForest Buckner, Charvarius Ward stepping in here like we know what these guys are going to be, but if they can just get some semblance of consistent quarterback play, they can be a playoff team. So yeah, the biggest X factor for sure is Anthony Richardson and and again,

that that'd be that'd be the case for every team at their quarterback, but especially for this young player who, you know the Colts invested top five pick in. Yeah, and it's it's not one of those things where you're getting like. Average quarterback play where you know what you're getting weekend and week out,

because Anthony wouldn't even qualify for this list if that was the case. It's just like he has not reached that consistent peak and ceiling yet because obviously we know what the Colts vision was when they drafted him, you know, to be that alien that competes with Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen. He's just very far away from that, obviously. But one of the guys he's gonna be throwing to has, you know, he's also got the potential

to be a star player, but has left so many people saying like, what are we doing when he's out there on the field? Now this guy's only played one year, but this feels like a big year coming up for A.D. Mitchell. So the Colts drafted him right around 50. I think it was 51 or 52. But pretty much every one you heard from who studies the draft was like,

yeah, this guy's easily a first round talent, one of the very best receivers in this draft. But there's just, you know, some maturity stuff there. This and that just some some things that, you know, some maturity stuff there, this and that, just some, some things that, you know, caused him to slip into that sack around. I think we saw a good bit of it as far as the on field stuff and he even admitted after the season, he had some maturing to do. But you see a guy who is just, he's such a killer in press coverage and man on man, he,

he embarrasses defenders that way. But it essentially is then once the ball is in the air, everything kind of falls apart. There's been, you know, you look at it and it's hard to argue that he isn't shying away from contact, kind of getting some gator arms there. There's been instances where he's not like at the right depth or he's not he's not the place where he's supposed to be to meet the ball and just a lot of miscommunication. But if you take the player that he's been before the ball is thrown and

you get some of what he's supposed to be from the receiver position and kind of marry that together, I mean, this guy is going to be a stud. Now I know Pudge kind of feels the same way we can hear there in the background. Yeah, my dog is very excited about AD Mitchell for sure. But yeah, no, with AD Mitchell, I don't think there's a bigger variance player on the roster when it comes to the Colts in terms of, this could be the worst player on the roster

or the best player on the roster. And those could be realistic realms of possibility for this player. Like he is so, so talented at just creating separation and beating man-to-man coverage, winning off the line of scrimmage, and being that true isolation threat that the Colts were looking for.

And there's a lot of things he does right before the ball is thrown. He just needs to grow in so many areas, in terms of physicality, in terms of willingness on the field, in terms of, you know, just the cerebral aspect of playing the position. But this was really the guy I thought of first when you mentioned this topic, because again, when we're talking about this topic, the guys like the Buckners and the Nelsons, those guys

established the floor of your roster. They're going to be the same guy day in and day out. They're going to be your top players. They're going to produce for you every single game. But what the guys like A.D. Mitchell or Anthony Richardson do, those are the guys that determine if you make the playoffs or not, because if they step up alongside your Quentin Nelsons and DeForest Buckners, then you have a really darn good team on your hands.

So, yeah, when it comes to Mitchell, man, he's going to be wide receiver for coming into camp. He's going to be a rotational type player. And you don't need him to be this superstar player here in year two, but you want to see those positive steps. You want to see him capitalize on those opportunities. You want to see him go out there and just make football plays. I mean, last year, again, when he was uncontested and he was wide open, we saw some good things there from him, but there were a lot of things where he was like 0 for 5 on contested catch situations. A lot of the 50-50 balls were, you know, we say with receivers turn 50-50s into 60-40s.

Well, he was turning them into 35-65s, you know, or 30-70s. Going the other way. Yeah, the other way because he wasn't going up and winning those balls. So just be more physical, be a more dominant like ball winner in the air. And he can be a legit star player in this league. It's just can he take that step here in year two? That's the biggest question. I fully believe in the potential of AD Mitchell. It's just can he realize that potential? He's still very young, only 22 years old. There's plenty of time for him. It's just he's got to figure

it out this next season or the season after because you know in the NFL they don't wait for you Right and it's the Colts passing game could just be so potent because like you look at what Pittman can do what downs can do Obviously Alec Pierce just led the NFL in yards for reception If you just get the mentality of those other three guys and you get a little bit of that with 80 Mitchell like it could be insane right this next guy will close out the segment with he he's been a little bit polarizing because the rest of the guys in his draft class, some of them were a lot more productive. But for my money, he's he's just developing. He did fine. But it is very important that he takes the next step and

becomes the leader in his position. And that's all I ought to allow to the Colts, you know, drafted him at 15 overall to be the next in line of those Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis closers. That was their expectations. And he had his moments. There was a couple, I think he had three forced fumbles. Uh, there was a couple of times where he got sacks late in the fourth quarter or in like super timely situations. Uh, it just so happened he got a little overshadow fourth quarter or in like super timely situations.

It just so happened he got a little overshadowed by some guys in his draft class. But right now I think he's reached the like fine pass rusher level, but they need him to get to like that dog. He needs to be the leader in the room now from that pass rushing room. And you can't let a Sam Snab become 30 year old coming off an Achilles like usurp you as a starter. Quiddy is going to start on the other side I'm sure but like you have got to take a strangle hold on that job. Yeah, I think the big thing with Lotu and it's such a big contrast to to AD Mitchell

where look Mitchell 22 years old, four string receiver, like just take positive steps. It doesn't need to be all coming together here. And he was the second round pick. Like there are expectations of a second round pick, but they're not as high as a top 15 pick who's going into his age 25 season already, Laotulatu, had the production at college, had a good step last year as a high end rotational starter.

This year is the year, man. Like he's gonna be a full-time starter. He's getting a coach coming in here who this year is the year man like he's going to be a full time starter. He's getting a coach coming in here who the second he was hired was like, yeah, we really like Lao Tzu Lao Tzu last draft cycle. Like I'm expecting to unleash him this year, so this is the year for him man.

Like if he churns out another season like last year. It's kind of a disappointment like that. That first year was good for year one like that's perfectly fine Even if we're factoring in the Jared versus and shop Robinsons of the world It's still a perfectly fine first year But if the second year looks much of the same then we have to start being concerned because he'd be a 25 year old pass Russia as the guy just not becoming the guy so we got to see him bring that miss tackle rate down We got to see more, you know, big plays from him this next season, more consistency at affecting the quarterback.

But I think there are a lot of good things in place with him. I think he can be a good player this next season. I know the Colts, and even some players on the roster like DeForest Buckner are very, very high on his potential going forward. So I do fully expect him to be a productive player this year. But the biggest if for him is can he take that step from productive player to? Very good pass rusher because that's what the Colts drafted him to be and going into his age 25 season He does need to be a very good pass rusher here being a top 15 pick like he was in 2024

Yeah, I think any complete defense needs to have that dominant pass rusher to it or like the clear leader in the room there. So I'm pretty sure Louie and a remote would love to have lots of kind of gracing with that that role there. So coming up, guys, we're gonna talk about some some of these guys have been injured and they could prop up and do some nice things. Their rotational guys that can really grab a more prominent role. There's some more guys on the list who could really open some eyes. As a small business owner, your work does not end when the clock hits five.

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that LinkedIn helps them find high quality hires. So post your job for free at linkedin.com slash lockedonNFL. That's linkedin.com slash lockedonNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. All right, Zach, let's start with this first guy who technically was supposed to be part of the first segment but perfectly winds up in here with guys who were injured

and could still open some eyes. That's Jalen Carlis. That's your new starting Will Linebacker going to have a huge role. Uh, as, as well as all goes to, as it goes to plan, this should be a thousand snap guy for you. Uh, the culture really only going to use two linebackers this year. Some of them are going to be defensive backs coming into play, but really Jalen Carlis is your new EJ speed.

Uh, so he played in 10 games last year as a rookie and really doesn't have any competition for that role. So when you look at him, you say, all right, there's no choice. This guy has to look good. There's nobody else. It's, what are you gonna do? Start with Shagoo Alloubi?

That may be okay, but that's an even bigger question, Mark. So Jalen Carlis going into year two lot on his plate. Yeah, Jalen Carlis, I believe, is the lone new defensive starter from last season. That's not some big time free agent signing. Right. You know, if we're looking at all the new faces coming in here, you know, you're getting Charvarius Ward, getting Cameron Bynum, who are clear upgrades at their position. But the only new defensive starter besides them is going to be Jalen Carlis, who I think he showed a lot of good things last year.

It is probably a big jump to put him out there as a full-time starter. But again, when we're talking about biggest X factors on this defense, a common quote that you hear with sports and a lot of things when it comes to just units and lines and stuff like that is you're only as good as your weakest player. So a big thing for Jalen Carlisle is just go out there and do your play assignment sound football. Don't be that big weakness that big, you know, weakest player on this team. And this team will be fine here. You know, he's going to be surrounded by a lot of players who have been there, done that a lot of high end veterans and Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner you know all these guys around them Zaire Franklin coming off coming off an all

pro season next to him so we can be set up for success especially in this system with Louie Anarumma where he'll be blitzing a lot and doing a lot of things that he did last year so I'm high on Jalen Carlisle I think he can do it but we'll just have to see if he could step up you know a former day three pick getting an opportunity like this in year three and year two is kind of a crazy jump up. But I fully expect him to be able to be a solid player, especially with the quality players the Colts have around him. Yeah, I'm gonna put a lot of pressure on him cuz I was looking at Kato June's

numbers when he became a starter with the Colts. Similar background, you know, was a safety in college came in to be a will linebacker with the Colts and kiddos first full year starting at 100 tackles. I think it was like nine past breakups, like I had a decent year, but then year two, which I don't know where you want to put Carlize in his development. His second full year of starting was like five picks to two interceptions for touchdowns. I think that's like when the Colts won the Super Bowl as well. So I have very high expectations. I have expectations for him and for the team, I guess,

is what you're saying here. Right, for sure. No, so we've got some other, a lot of extra big names in here to fit in. So we'll kind of play lightning round here. One of the biggest ones for me is Jelani Woods. We've all forgot about Jelani Woods. He's been two years two years injured. But just think about the hype train that was going for Jelani Woods after his rookie year. Dude was a mismatch nightmare was even more of like a physical freak mismatch player at Titan than Tyler Warren. Like with a higher ceiling like Tyler Warren has just done incredible things in college.

But in terms of prospects like the ceiling was crazy. So Jelani Woods if he stays healthy number one, I'm not even positive that he makes the roster at this point because they love what Mo Ali Cox can do. They love what you Ogletree can do. So we'll see if he makes it through training camp healthy could be a huge X factor there. And then the rest of the other guys who were injured, Juju Brant's kind of the same story there, but as maybe played a little bit more and then Samson, have you come 30 years old coming off the Achilles? I don't have huge expectations for him, but he did lead the team

in sacks a couple of years ago. Yeah, I think when I view those three players here going into the next season, it brings me back to my childhood where my dad would bring us like one dollar lottery tickets for Christmas or for birthdays and stuff. They would just be the throw ons, you know, like like in your stocking, you get like those couple like one dollar lottery tickets and like if you win like five dollars on that one dollar lottery ticket, awesome. You just made five dollars on this.

I would take a one dollar on the one dollar lottery ticket at this point. That's kind of what I view these three players were like Jelani Woods. If you get any return on this whatsoever this season, that's a big win because at this point you've already moved on by whatsoever this season. That's a big win because at this point you've already moved on by drafting Tyler Warren. You have Drew Ogletree as your blocking tight. You brought back Moheille Cox. Like if you get anything out of Jelani Woods, massive win this season. Same thing with Juju Brents where you were kind of operating like he's not going to be here. So if you get anything out of him, that'll be huge. And then with Ebucombe, like you're paying him more and he has

more recent production than the other two. But again, the history is not great for a 30 year old coming off an Achilles injury as a pass rusher. So for me personally, if they get anything out of these three players, like if they even make the roster, these three players, that's a win in my book, you know. But again, when we're talking about like variance players, like if these guys can just give some kind of plus return on investment, that that's the difference between winning and losing some games is getting these like between the cracks type players actually on the field and playing. So I don't know what the expectation should be for these three guys, but very little,

but they're kind of just like low risk lottery tickets at this point. You know, they're not going to get the highest return on them probably, but like if you get any return on them at this point, I feel like that's a win for your team. Yeah. I mean, the only reason we're even talking about them is cause there is upside there, you know, like otherwise they're just, I don't want to say guys who don't matter, but there's nothing to report on there. Uh, so these other guys, it's another small group.

These are rotational players who I think will have some sort of role regardless. But if like an injury happens in front of them or something, they could really surprise some people. So we got Shagoo Ulubi who for all intents and purposes is the third linebacker. If they're ever in base, he's probably going to be your Sam. DJ Giddens, the running back who's going to be behind Jonathan Taylor at minimum, maybe Kaleo Herbert as well. Jalen Travis, I imagine he'll come in in some jumbo sets, just like by design,

but then we know with the Colts, there's gonna be injuries. Bernard Ryman and Braden Smith, both have a history of essentially every year missing at least a little bit of time. And then our boy Ad Atatomi, Atta Bawari, like I think if, if, you know, it's about on schedule other than the rookies, we don't really know. But it's about time for those guys to take another step

if they get a little more playing time. Oh, yeah. I look I love Atatomi, while Atta Bawari, like very good player. Shaggy, Aloubi, one of my favorites, obviously on the team. You can throw like an Isaiah land in there as well. these guys who've been marinating for a couple years like it's your time to shine like get out there and do something but. To me if we're talking about which of this group of players is gonna be the most important for wins and losses for the colts this year. I'm looking at jail and traps because last year mac andalve started what 10 games at offensive tackle. I think he had four starts at left tackle and six at right tackle. Almost 600 snaps. Yeah. I think he was like fourth on the offensive line snaps last year. Like he had a lot of snaps and played a lot of football for the team. And that was your rotational

that your rotational your your swing offensive tackle for the team. So Jalen Travis wins that job out of camp, like we expected to, he's gonna play a lot of football this year. The swing tackle on the Indianapolis Colts plays a lot of football because Ryman, I think has had two concussions in the last three years. And Brandon Smith hasn't played more than 15 games in a season in the last like four years of his career.

So yeah, the swing tackle is gonna play a lot in that position right there. If you have bad offensive tackle play, that can lose you football games. We've seen it happen in Indianapolis plenty of times since Anthony Costanzo retired. So I really I think Jalen Travis is going to be one of the biggest X factors on the team this year, because if he can get out there in his snaps and just give the Colts productive like I don't need it to be some great offensive tackle.

Just get in the way of pass rushers and the Colts should be fine on offense. That's all it's all you could ask out of a swing tackle in the NFL. Just get in the way. If he can just do that, the Colts might be able to steal a win that they would otherwise lose if they had bad backup offensive tackle play. Yeah, I'd like to see him at least a little bit like I don't want anyone to be injured, but I would maybe like to see him more than just in the jumbo sets because if Braden Smith leaves after this year, he should hopefully be here starting tackle.

So yeah, sorry. This is the episode where the dogs take it all everybody. But yeah, coming up next, we're talking about dark horses. These guys, some of them may not even be on the team. Who knows? But if given the opportunity, maybe they could open some eyes. All right. I'm going fast ball right, right out of the gate here. Zach, we're talking QB three, Riley Leonard. Now he is probably probably gonna be an active

other than being the emergency quarterback every week. But, you know, crazier things in this league have happened. Again, he's a dark horse. He's probably not gonna see the field, but let's not act like he is at the back of some settled quarterback situation. Like, the Colts probably don't, are probably in love with their quarterback situation up at the back of some settled quarterback situation. Like the Colts probably don't are probably in love with their quarterback situation up at the top.

And, you know, injuries happen. Obviously, Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, both of them, suffered season ending injuries two years ago. And I think back to the 49ers when they drafted Brock Purdy, much different prospects coming out, mind you. But Kyle Shanahan told John Lynch, you know, after training camp, he's like, I got bad news. You know, I know we got Jimmy Garoppolo. I know we got Trey Lance, but our best quarterback is the dude we just took in the seventh round. So again, crazier things

can happen. Obviously, neither of us wants it to happen. Neither of us came into the draft as a pro Riley Leonard guy, but we're getting weird with this segment now. Jake, look, I will say this. If he can be even a semblance of Brock Purdy, I won't complain. That's awesome for the Colts. If you can get a Brock Purdy on a rookie contract,

on a six round rookie contract for four years, I will gladly take it. Now, some of what you're saying makes sense here, Jake. But when you bring up the Brock Purdy stuff, I have to push back a little bit here. That's a once in a generation type of fine for a team. But yeah, like look, if Riley Leonard is taking snaps for the Colts this year, either he had the off season

of his life and he has just emerged Emerge from the cocoon as some beautiful butterfly for this team, and he's just going to be this great quarterback or something went very wrong if he's taking steps and that's probably more likely. May I present you all of 2022 right, right? And I'm saying that's more

likely than than the Brock Purdy emergence there, but I will say like look if you had to put over under on Riley Leonard offensive snaps for those Colts at like one this year, I don't know which way I would go with that. Because again, these two quarterbacks in front of him have an injury history.

They have inconsistencies in their history as well. And we've seen Sam Ellinger play a lot with the Colts the last couple of years. So he certainly could factor in this year, but I don't think we want to talk about the scenario where he does factor in this year for the Colts, because that's probably not a good one for the Indianapolis Colts.

We have to explore all of the scenarios. We do, we do. It's certainly not off the table because of the quarterbacks in front of him and because of the situation around the Colts. But let's hope we don't see Riley Leonard much. Hopefully he can get those four years under his belt and retire with benefits and have a good post-football career. You know, the wired version of that is Jason Bean, but we're not going to go down that. Yeah, that's the star.

Yeah. Yeah. So one that might be a little more realistic is Anthony Gould. So number one, he's already got a role and is going to see the field as a kickoff returner. The NFL is making adjustments to make kickoffs even more prevalent, even beyond what they did last year. So Gould already going to be touching the ball somewhat regularly. But so he had a good training camp last year. And you know, Josh Downs missed a little time as the slot receiver. They found a way to make that happen with 80 Mitchell instead. But I do see a pretty clear path for Gould to get some playing time here. Like I don't, he's not going to be an active on game days

again because of the return ability. So this guy could see some snaps on offense and we know he could take the top off of the defense. Yeah, I basically call this the like the Ashton Doolin type of I guess like the mindset with with players making teams, whereas like as long as you make it so where you're always going to make a football team, you'll get snaps on offense and defense at some point, whichever unit you're a part of. Like Grant Stewart also falls on this where it's like, as long as you make yourself someone who is always making rosters, you will get time on your respective side of the football

because eventually you have to put the bodies out there and you're getting those reps in practice. So with the way the NFL is, with how grueling it is, I mean, look at the Colts receiving room last year. Downs had multiple injuries. Pittman fought through injuries like nobody's healthy in the NFL is, with how grueling it is. I mean, look at the Colts receiving room last year. Downs had multiple injuries, Pittman fought through injuries. Like, nobody's healthy in the NFL. So if you're the fifth string receiver,

you're close to being that guy that's playing on Sundays. And if he's a guy who's going to be on the roster because of that kick returnability, because of that punt returnability, he could certainly get a chance on Sundays as well. So yeah, I like Gould. I actually liked his film a lot more than I thought I would during his final year of college play. I think he showed a lot more as a return man late last year. And even if he only is return man,

you can be an X factor as a return guy. If you're turning, starting at the 25 yard line into the 35 yard line when they kick it to you or turning five yard punt returns into 10 yard punt returns. Those are hidden yards that contribute to winning. So Anthony Gould is going to play a factor in the Colts wins and losses this year. It's just injuries will come down to how much of a factor and if he gets on the field and offense at all. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Again, like you mentioned, even if all he does is return the ball, possibilities there for a touchdown or two. We've seen it. even if all he does is return the ball, possibilities there for a touchdown or two. We've seen it.

This one, next one, sorry, maybe a little boring guys, but it's necessary, Dalton Tucker. Now he, what was it, like five games last year after Wilfries went down and Tony Sperano Jr. wax poetic about Dalton Tucker yesterday when we talked to him. So he thinks very, very highly of him. And I mean, we all assume Matt Gonzalez is going to win the starting right guard spot, which

he will. But again, injuries happen. We see this offensive line get bagged up all the time. Gonzalez has to miss a little time guess who's going in. It's Dalton Tucker in year two of his development. And you know, coming off of a time where he played pretty decent ball to start out last year before things went kind of wayward. But chances are Tucker's going to play a little bit next year. Yeah, I'm not out on Dalton Tucker. I do think they made the right decision to bench him because it was spiraling for him. And they just need to solidify that right guard spot to get some productive football going that last month of the season last year. But I'm not out on Dalton Tucker. I do think he showed some good things early on when he played last year,

especially against the Jaguars and the Titans, I think, where those were his first two games. And then it kind of went awry from there. But I think Tucker can be a fine backup guard. And it's kind of what we mentioned with Jalen Travis, where it's like, look, for the Colts or for any team in the NFL, backup offensive linemen have to be ready to play like it's just the nature of football. I think Tony Sparano Jr. said that to you guys in your guys talking with him yesterday where it's like we prepare all these guys to be ready to start on Sunday because that's the nature of the position of playing offensive line. So

yeah, Dalton Tucker ends up being their primary guard backup. He becomes a very valuable player. Like to me, your backup at center, guard, and tackle is among the top 20 most important players on the team. Like in terms of like, they're gonna play football. And we saw last year when Tucker's play did fall off after those first couple of starts, that could have been the difference between wins and losses because he was getting blown up against the Lions and the Bills.

So who knows the way those games go if he's playing better football. So if he can take a step forward and solidify that backup spot, it makes the Colts a better football team. It's probably like your backup offensive linemen are arguably your most important backups on the team besides backup quarterback because they are so vital for wins and losses. So Dalton Tucker, if he wins that backup guard spot, he flies up to being one of your most important players on the roster.

Yeah, we've seen what it looks like when offensive line play is poor and I'm pretty confident he can offer some some good things. He's going to take a natural step in his development. These next guys are a couple of safeties. One of them is kind of a linebacker safety hybrid, rookie Hunter, Wohler and Daniel Scott. Now Chris Ballard, this one's for Chris Ballard. He's got to be desperate for Daniel Scott to make it healthy through the off

season, through the summer into week one. And you know what? I mean, the Colts aren't flush at safety. Like if Scott makes it through training camp and looks good, he might have a spot. I mean, I think Woh't flush at safety. Like if Scott makes it through training camp and looks good, he might have a spot. I mean, I think Wohler does as well. Cause I mean, I don't think they're really married to Rodney Thomas. Those could be your two backup safeties.

Marcel Davao got released recently. So I mean, Wohler and Scott, I mean, obviously with Wohler, he was a draft pick and he's probably gonna play some dime defense for them. Like already we know that. But Daniel Scott, we don't know what he could do. He's just like Johnny Woods has spent two years injured. Yeah, I fully expect Waller to be the backup strong safety this year and I put strong safety in quotations there because it'll be like a dime linebacker type thing.

But I do think he's going to be listed as a safety this year be that backup strong safety core special teams guy and I think he will get some be listed as a safety this year, be that backup strong safety core special teams guy. And I think he will get some run on defense this year in some capacity and like dime looks or, you know, big dime looks and stuff like big nickel looks. I think you'll get on the field. But Daniel Scott, man, probably the longest leash ever for a day three pick in terms of just like, he's got multiple chances the last couple of years to win a roster spot. And now we're going into year three of this thing coming off two major injuries where like

if he has an adequate camp, I think he could knock Rodney Thomas off the roster. So yeah, Daniel Scott, man, is what age 26 season has not played a snap of NFL football in the regular season, still has a chance to make this team. So look, I love Daniel Scott as a prospect when he came out. It's been a while. I'm hoping for his sake he can make it. But, oh man, it would be a crazy story if he did. Yeah. And Achilles and an ACL in back to back years, obviously he's not great. We'll see what kind of he was a good athlete. So we'll see what kind of explosiveness he has left in him. But yeah, those are your dark horse. I'm going to say at least one of those guys does something has a pretty impressive season.

Yeah, look, hopefully it's Dalton Tucker. Dalton Tucker is the most important one there when it comes to it. So, yeah, I really hope it is him. But we don't we do want to thank you guys for making Locked All Culture first listed today and every day. Now, if you're a second listen, check out Locked All NFL scouting. The NFL draft is over, but the roster moves and news never stop post-cow crap's of Joe Morito can make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason find locked on NFL scouting on

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