Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Fireworks, Most Explosive Headlines, Potential Free-Dom Agents

Episode Date: July 5, 2023

In honor of the 4th of July, which Indianapolis Colts players are the most explosive, which headlines will provide the most fireworks in 2023, and which players might hit free-dom agency in 2024? 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/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just like with your neighbors down the street, the fireworks don't stop on the 4th of July. The holidays got us thinking about the most explosive players on the Colts. So 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. Team Every Day. All right.

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. I am Jake Arthur. He is Zach Hicks. And we have a special guest right here. Zach, why don't you go ahead and introduce your son to the world here? I'm going to say, yeah, my dog decided to join today.

You know, he definitely wanted to be a part of today's episode, I guess, because my wife's not home. So he doesn't have anywhere to go right now. So, yeah, this is my puppy dog, Pudge. He's just chilling right here. He wants to be in on the – if you guys are watching on YouTube, you'll be able to see him. He's just hanging out right here. But, yeah, we're going to see if he can be quiet sitting right here while we record today's episode. But, you know, we figure because it's a fun little episode where, you know,

it's kind of more of a chill off-season episode that, you know, if he wants to be up here, I guess he can jump in on the show today. Yeah, it's great audio content for sure. But no, I mean, honestly, even for people watching on YouTube, they could just put us on mute and just watch Pudge the whole time. There you go. Probably what I would do. Yeah.

Anyways, on today's show, again, this is the week of the 4th of July. It's 4th of July theme today. Which players on the Colts are the most explosive? Which storylines might provide the most fireworks in 2023? And which players might see some freedom from the team in terms of free agency when the season is all done. So Zach, first up, the Colts have gone, obviously they've gone really young. Chris Ballard has believed in drafting the most athletic, big freaks. That's definitely been in his last few years, that's been their MO. So we've kind of got a laundry list of guys here.

So I kind of want to go through these and get your takes on some of these guys it obviously starts with Anthony Richardson the most physically gifted quarterback in terms of pre-draft measurements and testing really that we've seen to this point but the question begs is he already the Colts most explosive player do you think it's hard to be Jonathan Taylor which I know you're going to talk about here in a second. But I mean, Jonathan Taylor, when we talk about explosive players, I mean, we've seen it on the football field with his production the last couple of seasons, you know, having you have it right here, 50, 50 rushes of over 10 yards in 2021 that you have it on here and stuff like that. Really, really big explosive play.

Maybe we've seen the gigantic plays in games to the Las Vegas Raiders game last year where he had that huge run that put that game away. Obviously, one of the biggest games of the last whatever amount of seasons against the Patriots two seasons ago in 2021, Jonathan Taylor was able to put that game away as well with that gigantic run. So it's hard to say that he's the most explosive player on the colts team or even on the colts offense because they have a player like a jonathan taylor but i mean just just looking at the measurements and looking what he can be it wouldn't shock me if we're looking at this you

know a year or two from now and being like, yeah, Anthony Richardson, he has an explosive run percentage of, you know, 20 something percent. And then also explosive pass percentage of 10% or 15% or something like that, you know? So it's hard for me to say that he won't be there, but as of right now, I mean, we're talking about an offensive player of the year type player in Jonathan Taylor that you're comparing him to. It's hard to put Anthony Richardson over him when Jonathan Taylor just has that pedigree in the NFL. And also on top of that, Jonathan Taylor was a track star in college at Wisconsin. You know how rare that is for a player to be a multi-sport athlete when they weigh 230 pounds in college? I think he was like a 10.5 guy in the 40-yard dash, just a phenomenal athlete. So I think if we like a 10-5 guy in the 40-yard dash, like just a phenomenal athlete.

So I think if we're looking at most explosive players for this 4th of July episode, Jonathan Taylor is number one, but I do think Anthony Richland has that potential. I think so too. And like you mentioned, the passing is going to go into it too because he's also aggressive downfield. But I'm wondering if we're going to see that type of on the ground dominance with like even really an open field that these quarterbacks can sometimes get because you can't just load up the box every play, especially if these guys are capable of passing.

You know, we've seen guys like Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, Colin Kaepernick, like all those guys have had such an explosive impact on the ground game uh but they can also do some things downfield as well but i think you're right jonathan taylor is still the king of that uh you mentioned the the 50 plays of 10 plus in 2021 that was just runs he actually ranked he had a really nice number in terms of receptions as well. He also, according to the NFL Next Gen Stats, in 2021, that dominant season, obviously last year was real clunky, but he had three of the five fastest carries of 2021 as well. So this dude, again, he's 230-ish pounds. He's just a burner.

Like, you've got two guys that are bigger than a lot of the guys they're going up against and faster than them too. And it's just kind of unfair. I think when you look back at it, these two will be kind of interchangeable. There won't be a wrong answer if you look at it one or two years from now as to who is the most explosive, which really for the Colts, that puts them in an advantageous situation. But it's one they created. They wanted to pair Anthony Richardson with someone like Jonathan Taylor. So as long as these two stay healthy, I think that's going to be one of the most crazy explosive backfields in the

whole NFL. And I'll, I'll lean into a couple other guys that I know you like to talk about too. Alec Pierce, who was probably your biggest draft crush last year. And then Isaiah McKenzie, you like to talk about his track background as well. So what about those guys in the passing game? They're probably going to be able to provide some explosion as well.

Yeah. I mean, even start with Isaiah McKenzie, if we're talking track background, you know, for what I just said about Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, I think was a 10, five guy in college, which given at 225, 230 pounds, that is insane. Like it's absolutely insane. I don't think I can properly put it into words just how crazy that speed is at that size. But Isaiah McKenzie was that out of high school. You know, he was a 10.5 guy going into college.

So as like an 18-year-old kid getting ready for college without that college training and pedigree, he was like a 10-5 guy in the 40-yard dash so Isaiah McKenzie another guy where it's like yes you can look at the track background you can look at what he can do athletically and say like oh yeah that's an athletic explosive player but we've seen on the football field as well we've seen it with Josh Allen these last couple years in Buffalo and then Alec Pierce you know Alec Pierce is a guy where yes the 6'4 frame and the 210-2 pounds, whatever he comes into camp being is impressive. But he's also a player who can stack you at the line, beat you vertically down the field. And then if you're even with him, he can go up and get it because he's just so explosive. So he just brings that explosiveness, you know, down the field, also going up and getting the ball and winning those 50-50 balls.

We've seen it in college. We saw it last year where he barely had any opportunities down the field, but when he got those opportunities, he made the most of them. Had some really nice catches against Jalen Watson in the Kansas City Chiefs game. Had a really nice catch against Benjamin St. Juiced in that Washington game. A really good one against Anthony Brown in that Cowboys game. Yeah, Alec Pierce goes up and gets it. And I mean, if you're looking at what this explosive offense can be in the future, Alec Pierce is one of the center points of that because he's going to be the benefactor, like the beneficiary of all those Anthony Richardson deep passes. So yeah, Alec Pierce, I do think the potential for him is through the roof

as an explosive playmaker on this Colts offense. Yeah, and he's another two-sport athlete. Had a really nice volleyball career as well. That's cool. Well, you don't think of it, but volleyball is actually, if you've ever seen any volleyball highlights, that's a really explosive sport in itself. Like, you have these volleys going forever, and then these dudes come up and just spike the absolute air out of the ball. Like, it's pretty explosive.

But, you know, he's been able to do that. And he's talked about how his volleyball background has helped himself as a receiver and attacking those 50-50 balls and all that. And we're running out of time on this segment. I don't want it to seem like we're only leaning towards offense. There are some guys we've talked about as well. You know, Jelani Woods, obviously, for his size, he's kind of the tight end version of Anthony Richardson in terms of pre-draft measurements. I'm going to lump in Dayo Adango and Adetomi Adebare together.

That's two, again, really big guys that should not be able to move physically like they do. And Dallas Flowers, who led the NFL in kick return average last year, 31.1 yards per return on 23 carries. So is there anyone from that group, just really quick, who really stands out as an explosive player? I mean, obviously, Adi Adi and Dio Dangbo are two of the most athletic three techs in the entire league.

But I think some other guys you didn't even mention there, because again, when we talk about the Indianianapolis colts they draft for explosiveness so guys like quitty pay extremely exposed explosive guys like juju brents extremely explosive zire franklin ej speed extremely explosive players the colts draft for explosiveness so we could honestly do an entire show on the explosive measurements and explosive ability on the field that the Indianapolis Colts have. So they kind of work well with this 4th of July theme that you got going here. You know, they got they got some fireworks on both sides of the ball, despite not having the best record last year. They have a lot of guys who are just uber athletes and super explosive that just go with this kind of theme here.

They really do. I mean, they have a type. I mean, if if you're having a tiebreaker between two players, go with the guy who's going to be able to physically outmatch the other. But speaking of fireworks, like Zach mentioned here on the next spot, we're going to go ahead and talk about some storylines throughout the next season that could provide some fireworks. I'm going to see Zach's take on each of those. But first, a word from our pals over at FanDuel. Take your first swing at betting the mlb on fanduel and get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to 200 that's right just bet 20 bucks and you can land 200 and bonus bets win or lose that's 200 that you can spend betting

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And then also for all you beautiful everydayers, you know, we're going to have our guy Tony Wiggins on to talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars. Talk about that team that just won the division, just won the AFC South. It's going to be a really fun conversation. Any conversation with Tony is always a blast. We're going to really get that insight on, you know, do we think the Jaguars can repeat as AFC South champs or do we think the Colts can make some noise and take it away from them? We're going to talk about that here the rest of this week. All right, Jake. So we got some big fireworks coming with this next segment. What do you, what do you got for us here, Jake?

What do you got? All right. So some of these are going to be hot takey, but I feel like within the realm of possibility. Okay. These are some headlines that are going to provide some fireworks in 2023 so first up anthony richardson offensive rookie of the year what do you think i think when you look at who typically wins these awards it is quarterback you know it's almost always a

quarterback that wins it so it's again it kind of gets to that mvp conversation-ish thing where it's like it's not really who's the best rookie, best offensive rookie. It's who's the best offensive, like who's the best rookie quarterback is going to win this award. So he's basically competing with Bryce Young and CJ Stroud to win that award. You know, whoever, whichever of those guys has the most productive rookie season is going to win that award. And honestly, Anthony Richardson has an inside track on those other two guys because if he does start all 17 games, he's going to have that rushing ability over those other two. You know, CJ Stroud's a guy who could maybe get you like, you know, 200, 300 yards rushing on the season.

Bryce Young as well, if you look at scrambles and stuff, he could get like 200, 300 yards rushing on the season. Bryce Young as well. If you look at scrambles and stuff, he could get like 200, 300 yards rushing. But with Anthony Richardson, this is a player where he has that upside to get a 700, 800 yard rushing season just in his first year. He has that rushing ability. He has that explosive ability, which we talked about in that first segment there. So when you factor that in with what he can do as a passer as well and and if he grows as a passer throughout the year and actually has some more productive games throughout the season I think it I mean I think it's a good bet I think it's a very very good bet to bet on Anthony Richardson winning offensive rookie of the year just because he has more upside than those other guys and if he just sees the field for all 17 games and shows some progression throughout the year it's a good chance if he just sees the field for all 17 games and shows some progression

throughout the year it's a good chance that he'll have the numbers to warrant winning that award so I don't think it's too hot takey to say like you know Anthony Richland could win offensive rookie of the year because it's a position that really only it only really goes to quarterback and he's one of three guys who could win it and he has more upside than the other two guys so yeah i don't think it's too crazy to say that he could win offensive rookie of the year you know his first year in the league yeah it's in the rushing really goes into it as well like you mentioned like he's not going to be the pastor these guys are initially at least i don't think but you look back you were you're in was for this RG three, Cam Newton, these guys caught the league by storm and were superstars as rookies. And if you take away the rushing factor of it, that's not the same thing.

Like being, being dominant rushers at the quarterback position was an enormous part of it. So you, you look at that as it factors in. And I think, I don't want to say he's the favorite cause I don't, he probably shouldn't be the favorite cause we don't even know if he's gonna be the week one starter really right but I think it's super realistic like I don't think it's really hot take it either next one Jonathan Taylor back on top as the NFL's Russian king I think it's another one where it really depends on when Anthony Richardson gets out there, because I think if Anthony Richardson is a starting quarterback for all 17 games, then we could really see Jonathan

Taylor be that rushing king, because one, with Anthony Richardson out there, they're going to lean into the rushing game a little bit more. You know, they're going to want to get the ball in his hands more. So they're not putting so much pressure on their young quarterback to carry the entire offense. But also on top of that, just having Richardson on the field dictates so much of what the defense is doing. It really influences what they can do in their run fits and influences what they can actually do

when it comes to defending a guy like Jonathan Taylor. So I think if Anthony Richardson is the 17-week starter, I do think it's very feasible to say Jonathan Taylor is the Russian king again here in 2023 but that's a big if we have no clue if Richardson's going to be ready and also we don't know how Jonathan Taylor is going to react to having his first season where he dealt with injuries where he's dealt with some offseason stuff and all that with with the injury issue and and you know did he have did he actually lose a step is he's the same Jonathan Taylor that we saw a couple seasons ago? We just don't know right now.

But I do think it's very logical to think with an Anthony Richardson style of quarterback there for all 17 weeks that Jonathan Taylor can lead the NFL in rushing again. But we really had to see a little bit more, I think. I think we had to see a little bit more of the offseason, see what he looks like and everything like that. But Jonathan Taylor is a great, just a great talent and it wouldn't shock me whatsoever to see him leave the NFL and rushing again. I'm thinking so too.

I mean, 1100 yards as a rookie 1800 in his second year, obviously last year was almost just to throw away the injuries and the offense. I'll go, I'll go to one next. That's a little spicy because it's a lot farther of a reach. Shane Steichen coach Coach of the Year.

Man, you basically have to win your division. You have to be like a one or two seed. I do think that Steichen is a great coach, and I do think he has the potential to eventually win an award like that and be that style of guy. But I think that's a reach in year one because you basically have to be like a one or a two seed to get that. Like that's tough.

That's really tough. But I love Shane Steig and it wouldn't shock me if a couple years down the road he gets an award like that. But, yeah, I think in year one that's a little – that's definitely the most hot takey one that you've said so far, Jake. Yeah, I had to get one in there. Now, what goes to their benefit is the Colts were so bad in 2022 that really any sort of progress when you go from the bottom

to any sort of midway or anything, that tends to get you there. And then so if the Colts win nine or ten games or something, I think that automatically puts them in the conversation, even if they miss the playoffs, which you've got to expect they will. I think as long as there's a lot of progress, if you've got guys who are playing like superstars and they're not embarrassing themselves all the time. Now there's really not much, there's not primetime action to really talk about, which does not help at all. But still, it is hot takey. It's unlikely, but I think there is a road for it.

I'll give everyone one more real quick. There's going to be a young defensive back that is playing like a pro bowler fringe all pro. Who would you take it to be? Rodney Thomas. I mean, I don't know. All pro pro seems I think you're going a little far with the all pro thing there but I said fringe pro bowl fringe okay the reason I would say Rodney Thomas a second here is because this scheme is so predicated on that single high safety

you know we've seen this Gus Bradley system produce single high safeties where they can have seasons where it's six, seven, eight interceptions. You know, obviously, you know, I'm not comparing Ronnie Thomas to an Earl Thomas here. You know, I'm not saying that that's who he's going to be, but this kind of system accentuates that position and that position becomes so valuable and then when you get certain certain games or certain moments where a quarterback is making an errant throw over the middle of the field or forcing something into deep double coverage or something like that that's when that single high safety comes away with a really really big interception and because ronnie thomas is going to be that guy for the foreseeable future especially for this next season i do think he's the most likely to get that pro bowl nod because all it takes is like a five six seven interception season to be a Pro Bowler.

You know, it doesn't even matter what your other stats say. You know, if you get those those interceptions, that's so big in today's game. You're going to get those accolades and get those Pro Bowls and stuff like that. So if the Colts get into some beneficial games against like a weaker quarterback and the quarterback is is forcing some deep throws like that Russell Wilson wilson throw with the broncos that ronnie thomas got his first career interception uh then we could see ronnie thomas come away with some some really good numbers this year and be a pro bowl player and be a fringe all pro like you said there in his second year like i think he's the most set up to be a pro caliber player here this next season yeah and. And even looking at former Gus Bradley free safeties, like even if he's more to Sean Gibson than Earl Thomas, Gibson used to put up

big numbers and I think he's got at least one Pro Bowl. So, I mean, Bradley knows how to use those guys that have ball skills to roam the back half of the field. So I like that one. I mean, all pro obviously is pretty high up, but I mean, pro bowl anymore. I mean, that's within reach for practically everybody, but coming up next, some of these guys could be free dumb agents in 2024. And again, I'm going to lean on Zach to see what he thinks about each of these guys, whether or not they'll hit free agency. Will they be back with the Colts? Will they have new homes coming up next? All right, so we've already talked about this guy quite a bit today.

Jonathan Taylor, is he coming back in 2024? I'd be shocked if he doesn't. I mean, I know our guy Zach Kiefer there over at, well, is he still with the Athletics? Yeah, Zach Kiefer's with the Athletics. He's with the Athletics, but he's a national rider now. Yeah, I know he recently said he would be extremely shocked if the colts don't even knock out an extension before the end of this offseason

uh with jonathan taylor like the ursa wants it done like the colts want it done ballard wants it done like i'd be shocked if he's not with the colts come 2024 and it would really take just a horrendous season for him to not be back with the Colts. Because even if they say he has a season, like he did this past year, right. And it's like 900 yards on almost five yards of carry still, oh my gosh, this terrible season, but still like a really productive year for any other, for any other running back, you still bring him back at like what, six, seven, $8 million a year. Like you just don't pay him as much and you still bring him back at like what six seven eight million dollars a year like you just don't pay him as much and you still bring him back you know but if he goes out and he has a Jonathan Taylor caliber season where he's this phenomenal player above replacement and and a guy that you

just that brings so much explosive ability to your offense then you give him his contract extension so I don't really see any scenario where he's not back with the Colts barring some career ending injury you know and and obviously you know knock on wood with that stuff there because you never I don't really see any scenario where he's not back with the Colts, barring some career-ending injury. And obviously, knock on wood with that stuff there, because you never know with running backs. It could always be right around the corner. But Jonathan Taylor is the type of player that they've talked about building around the type of explosive offensive player

who creates things for your offense. Just the kind of demeanor off the field that you want in that locker room. I would really be shocked if Jonathan Taylor is not back with this team in 2024 and 2025, 2026. Like, I think he's going to be here for a long time. I agree. Just because, I mean, positional value be darned. The Colts haven't really expressed that they care much about that.

Like they probably have a figure they won't exceed. Sure. But they've doled out huge money to, to guys of positions that aren't really premier cornerstone positions. So I would be pretty surprised to someone who's in a pretty similar boat, Michael Pittman jr. This one I think works in his favor because the Colts have a trio of receivers right now. They have the two outside guys in Pittman, Alec Pierce, and hopefully Josh Downs for the future.

You take Pittman out of that and the picture just is not as pretty. Yeah, it's just tough with a player like Michael Pittman Jr. Because unlike Jonathan Taylor, for instance, his position group, the value is being run into the ground right now you know like if you're paying a top of the line running back right now you're paying them 13 to 14 million dollars a season which is crazy for a guy who was an offense player of the year two years ago it's probably what you're i mean look at saquon barkley and josh jacobs are getting paid 10 million dollars this next season like it's very feasible to pay a running back. Whereas a wide receiver, if you're even above average at your position, you're getting 18, 19, $20 million a

year. And that, that hinders your cap a little bit, you know? So it's a little tougher when you're talking about a guy like Michael Pittman Jr. where you've seen really good play. You know, the last two seasons, he's averaged over a thousand yards a season and nearly a hundred catches, you know, like, I think it's like 90 something catches and over a thousand yards a season and nearly a hundred catches you know like I think it's like 90 something catches and over a thousand yards uh average these last two seasons so you know he's a good player you know he can do some good things for you but is he in that realm of an AJ Brown of a DJ Moore of you know Terry McLaurin like is he worth getting paid that kind of money I think he's a little bit tougher of a conversation than even a Jonathan Taylor or the next guy we're going to talk about here, which is a Grover Stewart, you know, is,

it's just tough to, to justify that kind of contract on like a five-year contract for a guy who's been really good, but not like great, you know, you're paying great money to a guy who's really good, which the Colts are fine with doing when it's an in-house guy but you have to project him to get better and get to that AJ Brown-esque level if you're going to give him that kind of contract so his contract situation is the most fascinating to me because I understand both sides of the argument like he is a good receiver and he's a guy who can convert for convert first downs he can go up get the ball, but we've seen some drops. We've seen some lackluster play at times from him. So it's never been perfect.

So I could really go either way with this one. I would lean towards the Colts definitely. Like I would lean towards the Colts extending him. I think they want to extend him, but I do think part of them is kind of thinking what I'm thinking, where it's like, you know, is his down year last year because of the quarterback play? Or were some of those poor moments because that's just who he is? Like, what do we have here?

So personally, I would let him play out this last season and just see what he can do. And if he ends up having a great season, you can franchise tag him if you can't come to a deal. And if he has a poor season, you kind of know what he is more so. So he's a really tough conversation. I'd actually love to hear your guys' comments there on extending Michael Pittman Jr. because I'm torn on it. I'm like 51% for extending him and like 49% against. So you guys let us know in the comments what you think there

because I go back and forth on that pretty much every day. Yeah. And a little plug, we've talked about this lately, Pittman's contract situation, Jonathan Taylor's, and again, the next guy we're about to talk to, Zach recently did one on Grover Stewart. So Zach, you said that Grover is the first one you would knock out. It's the easiest one. It's the easiest one because Jonathan Taylor, again, you get into that positional argument. You get into the do we want to extend a running back for more than two to three years because of, you know, they hit that peak at like 28 and then you can't play him anymore.

Like look at Ezekiel Elliott. Look at Dalvin Cook is a free agent currently. You get these crazy things happen when these running backs hit into their late 20s, early 30s. And then everything I just said about Michael Pittman Jr., it's like a difficult conversation there. With Grover Stewart, I feel like it's extremely easy. You know that at that position, these guys can play until they're 32, 33, 34 and play at pretty high levels still. You know what you're getting with him.

He's an off-the-field leader in that locker room. You know how your defense looks with him not on the field. It's pretty awful. Like it's pretty terrible behind him. I just think it makes the most sense to give him, you know, a one to two year extension, bring him back to this team. And it doesn't hurt the development of players behind him because you'd rather have a guy like Grover Stewart in that locker room. And honestly, having a guy like Grover Stewart helps the development of your linebackers even. So you want to have a guy like Grover Stewart at all times so I think that's the easiest one to knock out because it's only like a one to two year extension not that much commitment to a player

that you already know what you're getting unlike Pittman Jr. and Taylor where you're giving those guys five-year extensions or four-year extensions and you don't know what they're going to look like in year three or four where Grover Stewart a one to two year extension you know that he's going to be Grover Stewart in that second year like it it's really not that risky and and for a front office like Chris Ballard I think Grover Stewart's the easiest one to knock out I think you nailed that it's it's the least risky one the like his performance is not so the volatility in that is not the same based on the rest of the guys around him. Taylor, we've seen what it looks like when the offensive line stinks or when there's no threat

of passing. Same with Pittman. We've seen what that looks like year after year. Grover Stewart just keeps getting better. Like as a nose tackle, he just had 70 tackles last year, which doesn't happen a lot. So that guy, regardless of what's going on around him, he's better. Now, another pair of guys here, defensive backs. I think we're finally going to get to one where we probably don't feel great about his return. And then another one who we'll see. But Kenny Moore, the second and Julian Blackman. Yeah, those are tough ones because Julian Blackman, he's playing at a position where they have a 21 year old hyper athlete right behind him. And if he has a good off season, he might get replaced this season you know like and I'm talking about Nick Cross you know if Nick Cross is able to bounce back from that tough rookie year and play like the player

that we all think he's capable of playing Nick Cross could be the starter by the end of the season and where does that leave Julian Blackman where he doesn't really have a spot on this defense anymore so that's more of one you're to have to see how it goes throughout the season. And then for Kenny Moore II, you know, a guy we heard a lot about trade rumors throughout the offseason here. I know he requested a new contract or demanded a new contract. I can't remember how serious that conversation really got. And there was, again, there was a lot of trade conversations with him. So, yeah, huge season for both of those guys.

They need to bounce back and have big years if they want to get contract extensions with the Indianapolis Colts but if not I I don't think those are two players that the Colts are worried about walking away at this moment because of how they fit in that defense and the players they kind of have behind them so those are a little bit tougher conversations even in the Pittman Jr. one or the Taylor ones because they're more replaceable than Pittman and Taylor. Despite, you know, Kenny being a great player for years with the Colts and Blackman having some great moments. They're a little bit more replaceable than Pittman and Taylor even. Yeah, and Kenny's situation was so dicey this year.

I've got to think it is again. It's such a fine line like if his if this season doesn't go well for him again or like if he's average below average i just see a new a change of scenery yeah you know i don't think there'll be any urgency to get a new deal done uh but if he performs really well and the colts maybe even exceed expectations uh maybe that's enough for him to buy in even further because as as far as we know, everyone said the right things. He's buying into their vision for him and the defense and Gus Bradley year two. They didn't want to trade him just for peanuts. And then with Blackman, I think his, a lot of it is based on health.

Because if he can't stay healthy and we see Nick Cross come in, for example, and finally perform really well, well, that kind of does the same thing that Rodney Thomas just did with Rodney McLeod. You know what I mean? It made one of those guys expendable. But if Blackman plays the full season and looks pretty good, we know he can play nickel at a decent level as well. So the Colts probably would want to bring him back just for the variety of things that he can do. But shoot, that's about all the guys worth mentioning that I would think so far. Yeah, yeah. Fun episode, Jake. Great ideas with the 4th of July stuff there. And all you beautiful everydayers, we're going to get back to the nitty-gritty going forward we're going to talk to Tony Wiggins of Locked On Jaguars to get his opinion on the reigning AFC

South champs and you know does he think that they can kind of repeat as the champions of the division or couldn't the Colts actually make some noise and knock the Kings off of their throne we're going to talk about that here with Tony coming up all you beautiful everydayers but if you don't already follow at Lock LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to LockedOnColts podcast on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We love your guys' ratings, reviews,

and we'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow morning.