Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart the Top DT Duo in NFL?

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

Indianapolis Colts DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart are arguably the best defensive tackle duo in the NFL, but how does the rest shake out behind them with Raekwon Davis, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Taven Bryan, Eric Johnson II, and Jonah Laulu? Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN! Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s TWO HUNDRED BUCKS you can use to bet everything from the Finals MVP to who's going to hit one out of the park! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!  FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires 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)

Colts defense ranked poorly against the run last year, but don't get it twisted. Things are about to turn back around this year. 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. What's up? Thanks for tuning in and making us your, your team every day. What's up? 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. And let's hear it for our sponsor, GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Terms apply. What's up, y'all? This is Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks of HorseshoeHuddle.com. I'm your member of the Colts Media, and we've got the meanest film analyst in the whole game right here joining us. And today, we are continuing our chat about each position group with the Colts uh on our most recent episode

we gave you the uh the Hog Mollies the interior offensive lineman and now we're going to their counterparts today that's the interior defensive lineman so that group is obviously led by uh it's really a two-horse race DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart um obviously one of the more formidable duos in the league I feel like we're getting a little Homer-ish, Zach. Colin, it feels like each group, we have a small sect of them that's among the best in the league. But certainly Buckner and Grover Stewart rank up there. They've got some guys behind them. Raekwon Davis, the newcomer from the Dolphins and free agency.

Second-year mid-round pick, Adetome Adebuare, who, athletic freak, one of those big guys that is not supposed to move around like he does. And then Taven Bryan, Eric Johnson, and seventh round pick, Jonah Laulu. So, Zach, we finally got a little drama last year with the Colts interior line. It had been business as usual

for Buckner and Stewart for a few years, but then Stewart got popped for a performance-enhancing drug suspension, missed six games. He was missed. Yes, yes, he was very much missed, and I think it played a lot into his contract negotiation this off season, because I don't know about you guys, but like I would have signed him for anything just to not watch what we watched when he was not out there last season. I mean, you, you put down the numbers right here when it comes to the run game with and

without Grover Stewart and games that Grover Stewart played opposing teams, average 29 carries a game for 107 yards. I don't have the math 100% on that, but I know that's under four yards a carry. So we're looking pretty good there. When you're looking at the six games without Grover Stewart though, 32 carries for 153 yards a game against the Colts.

And honestly, it felt like much worse than that. I'm actually shocked. It was only 153 yards a game when Grover Stewart was in the lineup because it really did feel like in that stretch. I mean, the New Orleans Saints were just running all over the Colts in that matchup. You're even looking at like the Patriots in that game without Grover. It was a rough showing. There was a lot of really, really bad moments without Grover Stewart. And the Colts were able

to kind of go back on a little bit of a nice little run at the end when Grover Stewart got back up in the lineup. So yeah, I mean, when you're looking at this duo though overall, when they're both on the field, it is just a fantastic duo. And it's kind of the perfect yin and yang when it comes to their play styles and just what they bring to the football field. DeForest Buckner, this fantastic pass rusher, does a lot of great things in the passing game. He's disruptive. He's got the long arms. He's got one of the most devastating pass rush moves in all of football with that swim. That swim move is just, it's just fantastic

seeing a six foot seven guy swimming around players with ease like that. Like he creates so much separation and displacement with that swim move. Really, really fun defensive tackle to watch. And we're looking at one of the best eras of defensive tackle play. And DeForest Buckner is still one of those guys who's in that top 10 conversation every

single year of his career. So just the major points to him for what he's able to bring to the Colts and just what he's able to do on the football field. And then Grover Stewart, arguably the biggest win of Chris Ballard's tenure as a GM. I mean, there's a guy who was drafted out of Albany State in round four of arguably Chris Ballard's worst draft class, that 2017 draft class when he first came in without all his scouts in place, found a player like Grover Stewart, and Stewart has just climbed the NFL ladder from fringe roster player who didn't really play too much his first couple seasons to

rotational guy to now being one of the best run stoppers in the entire league. Again, the numbers kind of speak for themselves when you're looking at them last year, but even if you're just going off vibes and you're just watching the games and just feeling it out, it feels like Grover Stewart makes one or two big plays in the run game every single week for the Colts. And a lot of them come on those third and shorts and fourth and shorts. I mean, who's the guy who's eating up those double teams for EJ Speed to fly in there and tackle a dude short of the sticks on fourth of one? It's typically Grover Stewart. So yeah, this duo is fantastic. I know they got some love from Pro Football Focus recently as one of the

top duos in all of football in terms of defensive tackle duos. And I've loved watching these two guys the last couple of years. I mean, again, you really get just one of the best bromances in football. They just bring so much greatness to the interior defensive line. And even if the, when the Colts haven't been made, made the playoffs these last couple of years, we can still look at this duo as like, this is the building block for the Colts defense. If this Colts defense is going to turn it around and ever be like a top 10 or

top 15 unit in the league, it starts and ends with these two guys doing what they do. And then hopefully the players around them can just accentuate that and really come into their own because that interior is locked down. But yeah, Buckner and Stewart, man, fantastic players. I love watching them every year. I could write about them every single week if I wanted to because they're just such impact players. And it's just great to have two top tier players on the interior of your defensive line. Yeah, you made a good point about that.

So much of what those two guys do is also beneficial to their teammates, opening things up to them. You know, you, you kind of, a lot of people who have praised the Liatu-Latu pick, for example, love the fact that he's going to be lining up next to DeForest Buckner. You know, like you can't double team everybody. You can't take attention, you know, away from everybody. So that's I think that's going to be big. We've obviously seen, you know, the Colts linebackers since Ballard has come in and they've kind of had these defensive systems,

they've had Buckner and Stewart in there. The Colts linebackers almost always rank among tops in the leagues in tackles because of what the guys in front of them open up. You see Stewart go out and then things start to spiral a little bit. Now Buckner, he's only missed a couple games in his career, but the dude has dealt with like hella injuries, you know, the last couple of years, like he's got like four or five different things that have popped up on the injury report. And, you know, he's, he's made his starts. He's, he's come in there, but just like we saw with Stewart missing time with a suspension, Buckner would be on like pitch counts, you know, you know, he would play,

but, you know, he was banged up enough to where he can only play, you know, what, 20 snaps or what it may be. And that's when teams smell blood in the water and they would attack. So one of the biggest, I think, you know, one of the biggest compliments that players can be given is the, you know, what opponents, how opponents react to them being on and off the field and teams are, that's when they pounce on the opportunities is when those guys just aren't in there. So they're also, you know, there there's, you know, Buckner's probably not still developing. Stewart is kind of still adding some things like he's getting slightly better as a pass rusher. You know, despite only playing in 11 games, had a career high in quarterback hits with

eight. Pro football focus also gave him his highest grade of his career overall with a 76.2. But Buckner, even though, you know, he's probably still in his prime, getting near the back end of his prime uh but he just had his career high in tackles with 81 tightest career uh career high in forced fumbles with two and had seven pass breakups you know when you've got a guy who's six foot seven you hope that he gets his hands in those passing lanes uh which buckner does so there's just so many ways that these guys affect the game and we've seen stretches where they are so dominant and like they can they can dictate a whole defensive performance just on their own it seems uh so it's what was the colts that locked them both in together through 2026 uh so i was just gonna mention that yeah yeah that Buckner got his extension

And like you mentioned, Stewart got Re-signed this offseason So the Colts know these guys work well together And they want them still here for the long term Yeah, that's a huge point right there And these two guys Have the full support of the organization At this point

Stewart was hitting free agency And we're not talking about this prime Position where teams are just lining up to pay nose tackles. I know they've, they've gained a little bit more traction in recent years, but for the most part, nose tackles, pure run stopping nose tackles, aren't this like highly sought after position, but the Colts were quick to get Grover Stewart locked up for those three years. And then they didn't waste any time getting to force Buckner extended as well. That just shows how important these two players are to this defense and to this roster. The Colts want to lock those guys in for the next couple of seasons and make sure that they're

sticking around. So yeah, I mean, just to add to that, that you mentioned that there just shows how important these two players are to everything the Colts are doing right now. Yeah. So we obviously know who the leaders in the clubhouse are, but there's what four or five guys right behind them that factor into this whole thing, but we maybe don't know how quite yet, but we'll discuss it here. Game time makes getting NBA finals tickets even faster and easier and emphasis on faster, because I think it's going to be over pretty soon. Prices on the GameTime app actually begin to decrease the closer that it gets to tip off. And with killer last minute deals, all in prices used from your seat and our lowest price guarantee,

GameTime takes the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets. They've got their last minute deals, which means you save up to 60% off of buying last minute for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, et cetera. They are somewhere that allows you to be a procrastinator and rewards you for it. You got your zone deals. Save even more when you choose a section and let GameTime choose the seats in that section for you. Again, we mentioned the views from the seat because obviously if you have a big pillar in your view, that's going to suck. And then the lowest price guarantee, which means game time will credit you 110% of the difference if you find better price tickets in that same area on a competing site. I mentioned to you guys recently, this thing, it's legit. It works. My wife and I were looking for concert tickets the other day. They were a bit pricey. She didn't know where to really find them,

so I told her to go on GameTime and hop on there, and boom, got our tickets for $20 off. So again, take the guesswork out of buying tickets to your events with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-CKEDONNFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Download GameTime today.

Last-minute tickets. Lowest price guaranteed. And are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day? Have to turn down the volume with all that shouting? Make the switch to Locked On Sports Today, a free 24-7 sports streaming channel programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming. Locked On Sports Today brings you can't-miss analysis,

opinions, and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels that are part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. All right, Jake, we're transitioning to our depth players on the defensive line or their interior defensive line rather. And I think one of the most important players to what the Colts defense is going to do this next season is Raekwon Davis. Now I'm not saying that Raekwon Davis is this fantastic player, this, this player who is just a game changer or

superstar player or anything like that. But I think when you look at the crux of the issue, when it comes to the Colts defense last year, obviously we can look at the secondary, which we're going to talk about probably next week when we do that positional preview. But I think the other big issue obviously was those on off splits with Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner to the backups. And we even saw when Stewart and Buckner are both healthy and on the

field, Gus Bradley liked to rotate the interior of the defensive line. You know, there would be a couple series of game where the backup defensive tackles would be on the field. And like you said, that's, that's blood in the water for the sharks that are the other offense. I mean, they, they just want to run up the middle of you're going to have Taven, Brian and Eric Johnson out there or at a Tommy at a boy in there on-run defense. So a player like Raekwon Davis not only adds to that second unit to where those guys are actually kind of playable because you have a big body who can just hold his own there, but also it gives you a chance to give DeForest Buckner even more rest throughout the game. Like you mentioned with Buckner in the first segment, he's kind of in the twilight of his

prime at this point. Still a fantastic player, still in his prime, still a player you want on the field as much as possible. But with a player like Raekwon Davis, maybe you can cut Buckner's snaps from 80% or 75% down to 60%, 65%. More so to what Grover Stewart's snaps are. You know, Grover Stewart mostly being a rundown guy is getting like 45, 50, 55% of the snaps. Maybe you can keep Buckner

a little bit fresher for those week 16, 17 and 18 games and hopefully playoff games by getting him off the field a little bit more on rundowns early in the season. You can roll with Raekwon Davis and with Grover Stewart on some snaps

and give Buckner the rest that he needs so he can be 100% on pass rushdowns where he makes his bread and butter. So I think Raekwon Davis, you know, again, we're not talking about players who are star players by any means, but when you're looking at backup players on this roster, I think he's one of the more important players because of what he can do to just alleviate the stress on those two top guys in front of him

in Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner. Yeah, and I don't think you need someone who's like uber productive statistically back there. You just need someone who's not going to be a liability, which we saw last year. The Colts really weren't prepared for anything to happen to Stewart or Buckner. I mean, they had Taven Bryan back there, and they probably relied on Eric Johnson too much. Johnson, of course, is someone who they really kind of hinted at. They had Taven Bryan back there, and they probably relied on Eric Johnson too much. Johnson, of course, is someone who they really kind of hinted at. They wanted to be their next Grover Stewart after they drafted him.

He just wasn't ready, really, for a marquee role. And then so that forced Taven Bryan to be played out of position. You know, he's an okay backup three-tech, but he is not a suitable fill-in for a Grover Stewart at the one tech. So guys playing out of position just wasn't good. Raekwon Davis has got that size. Again, not a super productive player by any means statistically, but he's not going to get bullied around and he's going to keep his spot. I don't know how disruptive he's going to be going upfield in a system like this, but again, I don't think you really need it. You know, he, he can do some things. I mean, he just had his career high in tackles for loss last year and quarterback hits. And if you're just relying on that guy to get a handful of snaps per

game and maybe be a lifeline, if, if something happens to one of those guys like Buckner or Stewart. That's fine. But, I mean, you have the size and the strength now that you didn't have last year. And then so the other guy that factors into this is Adetome Adebware, who you really hope takes a step up, who you're looking for him to take the step that they didn't really get with Eric Johnson last year because it was Johnson's second year and just kind of fell flat. So this is Ades second year.

But this guy, again, physical athletic freak, like what, what did he run in the 40 at like whatever, like his size and speed and athleticism. It does not make sense really. Like he truly is doing thing was doing

things that like guys that big are not allowed to do yeah 61282 at the combine really weird profile short shorter guy short short and heavy but super long arms yep super long arms and then he ran a 449 is what it was yeah that's bonk that's like anthony richardson speed but like in the shape of a bowling ball or like whatever that boulder pokemon is with the really long arms like that's odd oh yeah we got graveler we got golem whoever geodude you can even go geodude smaller yes okay he is the he's the boulder with the long arms that's odd and i hope that's from here on out there you go There you go. There you go.

He is kind of like a Geodude. We got to give him Graveler so he's evolved a little bit there. But to really show the speed, though, I mean, Adetomi was running down on kickoffs on times last year. I think he reported a tackle on kick coverage against the Carolina Panthers in that week where he actually had like a sack and a half in that game against the Panthers. So doing it on defense and special teams in the short time he got.

But I think a big thing for Adetomi and something that I kind of have in mind with him is we're looking at this Colts pass rush right now and we're thinking really good things. You know, Buckner's coming back. You've got Dayo and Taequann Lewis out there, Quidi Pei, Lyotu, Samson Ebukom. Like this is a good pass rush, a good and deep pass rush. And Atatomi kind of feels like that thing where, you know, you have your ice cream flavor that you really like, and you have everything that you like and all these toppings,

but there's like one extra topping where it's like, if they have it, cool. I'll throw it on there. It'd be great. But they don't have it. Like it's still a good ice cream sundae or ice cream snack, whatever the heck you're going for. That's what Atatomi is. You know, it's this ultimate like wild card where it's like, if ice cream sundae or ice cream snack, whatever the heck you're going for. That's what I had to tell me is, you know, it's this ultimate like wild card where it's like,

if they have it, awesome. I'm loving it right here. Like this is perfect, but they don't have it. Like it's still going to be good. If he can be, you know, a rotational three tech who gives you 200 snaps this year total, like whatever it's going to be like 200 snaps, but he can be effective as a pass rusher in those snaps.

Oh, we're cooking. We're cooking. This is the perfect ice cream sundae, you know, but even if he doesn't develop into that this year, it's still not the end of the world. Like they still have so many good pass rushers that they can throw at opposing teams and do some good things with. But for his sake, I'm hoping that he can get out there, you know, see a couple more snaps this year than what he did last year. Get out there on some passing downs and showcase that speed and athleticism. He's got the motor. He's got the strength. He's got the intangibles. It really comes down to the development and just what he's doing from the interior. But I had told me, you know, I think he's the guy we're rooting for the most in this battle in the defensive in the defensive tackle room, because the upside is just so immensely

high with him and we saw the flashes last year and obviously on his college film as well so if he can get out there and showcase that he took a step this offseason that would just be the ultimate topper to this perfect ice cream sundae we have on the colts defensive line ade is oreos that's his oreos yeah whatever it's gonna you can oreos snickers like whatever whatever you want it to be like whatever is your perfect topping on your ice cream that's what adatomi can be that's a whole new segment that i wish we could get into but no i i think that's i i don't know if i want to say it makes him have like a high floor or whatever but guys like ade he's kind of got the quiddipay and dio thing where he's going to be productive

because of that motor. Yeah. Like he doesn't just totally get stifled because he has that motor in place of the whistle and has that athleticism. You're always going to see him somewhat around near the end of the play. So he's going to be the one where the quarterback's rolling out and then someone slaps his ankles and gets the sack. You know, like at the end of the play. That's Ade. He may not, he's maybe not going to be that big disruptor right off the bat in year two. I don't expect that.

But I expect because of the motor that he's going to be a little more productive than he was in his rookie year. Yeah, and one more thing that we can add to this really quick is we have no clue how he's going to factor into the new special teams rules, the new kickoff rules. Like he could be an absolute terror in the way that these things are shaping up with the new special teams rules,

but it really comes down to what it looks like in camp. So I'm really excited to see what that is because man, a 282 pound guy who runs a four, four on these kickoff rules. Like, I feel like that's a pretty big, like right there, you know,

but we'll see, we'll see what that looks like in camp but coming up guys we're going to transition from you know these were our two x factors we're both really excited about now it's three guys we're not as excited about but they still factor into this race here uh for the defensive tackle depth on the colts roster all right jay it's time to talk tave and brian and eric johnson and i think the first thing that comes to mind when i think All right, Jay, it's time to talk Taven Bryan and Eric Johnson. And I think the first thing that comes to mind when I think of these two players on the Colts roster is just missed opportunity last year.

Maybe not as much for Taven Bryan because Taven Bryan, we kind of know what he is at this point. Like he's been in the NFL for a long time and everything he gave the Colts last year is kind of what you would expect when the Colts did sign him like did some decent things as a pass rusher had you know a forced fumble in there a couple sacks like you know it wasn't a good run defender like we expected this coming in but the player who had the biggest opportunity to earn himself some money and some playing time in the NFL last year was Eric Johnson he had this, massive chance when Grover Stewart was knocked out with that suspension,

and he just didn't capitalize on it. It just wasn't a good showing for him. I think there were some flashes in there where, you know, you could see what he could be, but it's just not close to where it needs to be. And we're at the point now where, again, you got Adetomi on this roster. You got Jonah Luwalu on this roster where it's like, these guys are probably more promising at this point. So Eric Johnson kind of needs to have a great camp, or I could see him being on the chopping block by the end of the offseason.

Yeah, I agree. It is kind of a missed opportunity there. And he is still developing. I think they thought he would be like a two- or three-year project. But you would hope to see him a little farther along and he does show flashes mostly i've seen in like training camp practices and one-on-ones like he does have strength and explosive ability it's just about actually doing it in a game setting line versus line like the game isn't played one-on-one um so that's definitely i mean he it is a big summer

for him it kind of feels like ben bandicoot where the time just running out but bandicoot was super productive in practice yeah so you're kind of you need something from johnson to to justify because it's finally a numbers game where they don't need him to make the roster at this point like they've kind of got guys ahead of him now that are suitable to play. And then when you look at Taven, Brian, I agree. Like you,

you kind of just know what you're getting, like in his intended role, it's probably fine, but you really hope at a, at a takes that spot this year. It's like, what are we doing? Otherwise?

I mean, when you've got guys who aren't full-time starters from the defensive line, they're only playing like a handful of snaps. It's hard to judge like how productive they're being. So I just looked at like the pro football focus metrics on them. Bad, not, not good. It was, it was the worst grade of Brian's career. And Johnson was like, perhaps one of the lowest grades I've ever seen. Like it was not great for them. So, I mean, Brian obviously had to make seven starts,

you know, filling in for Grover and Buck when they were banged up. But Johnson had 265 snaps, was in 14 games, did have 15 tackles. But yeah, you just need more from from him especially when the Colts set the expectation of bringing up Grover Stewart multiple times after they drafted him now Grover is a special case and he's probably exceeded expectations from when he was drafted but like anything more than what has been shown so far, you know,

that is improvement. Yeah. And, and I will say with, with Grover, I remember like by year three, cause I think that Johnson just finished his third year with the Colts, I believe. Right. I think it was his second, I think second year. Okay. Yeah. So second year with the Colts by, by this point, I think Stewart was further along than what Johnson was, but really it was that year three to four range for Stewart where he really took off.

I can't, I want to say it was Stewart's third season. Yeah. I think it was his third season going into 2020 where we were, I was at a training camp. I got out there for a week and obviously you were out there all the time. And, and we saw Grover Stewart going against Quentin Nelson and one-on-ones.

And it was like, Oh, like, holy crap. there all the time uh and and we saw grover stewart going against quentin nelson in one-on-ones and it was like oh like holy crap like either quentin nelson is just not quentin nelson anymore or this grover kid is is ready to go and it turns out you know grover stewart was ready to go and so i mean like the book is not closed on eric donson by any means like you can see this this adjustment that happens for nose tackles in the league and maybe it takes until year three or four like it did with Stewart where Stewart wasn't Grover Stewart until that third or fourth season in the NFL but like you mentioned the time is running out like if we're looking at an hourglass right now with the last couple dots of sand are coming are just going through right now uh so it really comes down to what he does in camp can he beat out guys like

atatomi and taven brian in camp and earn that fourth or fifth roster spot a defensive tackle because like you said it's not like a thing like last year where it's like well if all these guys are underperforming we're still going to keep eric johnson because we don't have other guys they have other guys this year they have a seventh round pick which we're going to talk about in a second that they really really like and i feel like they would almost rather have jonah lualu be a healthy scratch type player all season long rather than keeping a guy like eric johnson if they're not going to play him if that makes sense yeah because lualu is a guy that i'm assuming was a a projection pick like a developmental pick.

If he makes the roster great, but my assumption is that the intention all along was for him to be a practice squad guy that they could develop for a year or two. Cause he had all that time at Hawaii and then went to Oklahoma, bounced around positions, finally seemed to find kind of a fit last year with Oklahoma, but they've got to get him in kind of, I don't want to say a niche role, but like have them focus on a couple main things

and acclimate to the NFL, you know, obviously do their body composition stuff, get them to for the role they want to get his body type, how they want it. And then just focus on like the key aspects of what they want him to do i don't think they expect him to contribute right away i mean if he does that's awesome i mean he's got good size and everything he's he's shown some versatility in college um but that's i mean i feel like that's a guy if he comes and knocks you off the roster that's kind of damning yeah well and the big thing too to remember is you know when it comes down to game day and actives the colts like to keep a good four or five guys on

the roster who they have no intention of playing yeah so where if it came down to those guys actually getting on the football field they would call up someone from the practice squad to play over them uh they do this every single year they've done it with will fries during his rookie season they did with isaiah land mostly last year uh they do this with i mean. They've done it with Will Fries during his rookie season. They did it with Isaiah Land mostly last year. They do this with, I mean, Sam Ellinger has always been this type of role on the team. They have intentions for this, for players like that. They did it early in Dallas Flowers' career, too, because he made the roster, and then they brought up Brown.

Yeah, Tony Brown. Tony Brown to play when Flowers was already on the roster. Yeah, exactly. The Colts do this with young players where it's like, look, we don't want to lose you, but you're not ready, so we're going to keep you on the roster. You can learn by watching everything. That's a role on this team.

I think if it comes down to it, if Adetomi has a great camp and he's defensive tackle four and you're looking at him and Raekwon Davis those guys are locked in they're going to have a role as the backup defensive tackles if they're looking at defensive tackle five and they're saying hey look one of these guys has to be a game day inactive who are they going to keep out of these three guys they're going to keep the player that they actually believe in with upside going forward and then they can just throw like a Taven Bryan on the practice squad to call up if it ever comes down to it or even an Eric Johnson like I don't know if these guys would be claimed by other teams but they would keep Lualu over those guys because

there's some upside there so I wouldn't rule him out as being a guy who can make the roster just because the Colts have done this in years past with players they like especially with with late day three players. I mean, Will Mallory was that for most of last year before injuries forced him into the lineup and he was able to show what he could do. Yeah, Isaiah Land as well, like you mentioned. I kind of like that idea, though, of keeping Lalu and Johnson around,

one of them on the practice squad, because they're still developmental guys. And again, we've always talked about interior defensive line being such a tough position. Like, it takes some – it's one of the longest developing positions from rookie year, even if you're, like, an early-round pick. Like, those guys aren't always automatic hits. So, I mean, I'm not out on Johnson. Like, I'm cool with them still developing him,

but, like, they need to see something. So, yeah, I think Taven Bryant almost feels like the Mo'Ally Cox discussion we had the other day. Yeah, that's true. If he's still there, it's because the young guys did not step up. Right, right. And yeah, I think you said it perfectly. I don't think I can really add anything to that there. So you guys let us know in the comments section, what is your feeling if Taven Bryan makes this roster?

Are you guys excited? Are you doing front flips, back flips, jumping jacks, whatever? Let us know in the comments section. And before we get out of here, let me remind you guys that Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube, and it's now also available on the Amazon Fire TV app and the free Fire TV channels app.

Locked On Sports Today is here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locked On, plus our national shows covering every single league. Find Locked On Sports Today now available on the free Fire TV channels app. And if you guys don't already, make sure you're following at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, at ZachKicks2, all to all on twitter also subscribe to us on youtube wherever you list your podcasts we love you guys raves reviews and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon talking defense events it's going to be a fun one guys we'll see you tomorrow