Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: How They Can Still Land C.J. Stroud

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

It's been assumed that Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be gone by the time the Indianapolis Colts pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but that may not actually be the case. We lay out how arguably the best quarterback in the draft could become the Colts' top pick.We are thrilled to announce the second edition of the Indy Draft Guide is available!The 2023 Indy Draft Guide provides a one-stop shop as to how the top college prospects fit with the Indianapolis Colts. This digital download includes detailed analysis and profiles of hundreds of prospects, player comps, scheme-fit analysis, a Colts draft pick trade chart, features, and more!The most comprehensive Colts draft coverage you can find anywhere is out now.Order now with this special discount code! https://draftguide.gumroad.com/l/indy23/draftmasFind 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!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are.  Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedon today to get 10% off your first month.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND 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

There's a quarterback in this draft who might just be most people's top option. To this point, we've kind of ruled him out for the Colts over the last month, but maybe all hope isn't lost. 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 is up, friends? 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.

I am Jake Arthur from HorseshoeHuddle.com, and today I'm going to break down exactly how it's possible for the Indianapolis Colts to still land Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Like I mentioned at the top, we've kind of written him off as a foregone conclusion, probably going first overall. And, you know, even if he's not, you know, he's not going to get to the Colts at number four, probably not even if they trade up to number three. But some recent information is kind of coming to light, and I'll kind of explore how it's possible that the Colts still could somehow come out with C.J. Stroud as their quarterback, which would be impressive considering he is most often, you know, if you took everyone's rankings, the consensus would probably have him as the top option. So first off, why would the Colts want him?

Well, really, he's the total package. He's, you know, he's not a Trevor Lawrence level prospect. But to me, I think he is the most complete quarterback in this class. You know, he checks the most boxes for teams, especially if I'm looking at this through a Colts lens. He is a leader. He's got the work ethic. He's smart, you know, on the field and off. As a passer, he's accurate. He's got ample arm strength.

Plus, he is athletic and he's tough. Those are all things that the Colts are looking for. I've had multiple opportunities now this offseason to see him speak and just how he carries himself. He's the type of leader that the Colts are looking for, for sure. He's the type of guy that he'll put a team on his back and they'll adopt his mentality. He is that type of player. And that's really what the Colts are looking for. They've had that in some of their older guys, but at a certain point, your teammates know your limitations. And so if you've got a young guy with his whole career ahead of him who is acting as a leader and guys are gravitating towards him,

that's a really nice chip to have in your pocket. So again, I think Stroud is still probably the most likely number one pick just until we see otherwise. And if more information comes out, of course, the Colts are sitting at four, probably won't go up any higher than three. But let's just kind of look at how things could go down in front of them. So what really got the brain biscuits turning for me on this one, Albert Breer had a column this week over at MMQBSI.com, and he kind of broke down himself how he sees the top of the draft shaking out, because again, there's some quarterback needy teams, the Colts included, and again, this is a rare draft where there are four bona fide legit quarterback prospects that

could go in the top 10. So at number one, and it's not just Breer that's been saying this lately, but a lot of people are starting to think that Bryce Young could actually be the pick number one overall in Carolina. And again, I said that Stroud is the most complete quarterback in this draft and I stand by that, but we know the size thing. If Bryce Young was a legit six foot and a legit 200 plus pounds, there wouldn't really be much of an argument, but really he's like 5'10". And when he played at Alabama, he was closer to like 175 than he ever was 200, like he weighed into the combine. So the height really, I don't think teams have as much of an issue with that as the weight, because the hits you take as a quarterback, especially him, he'll stand in the pocket

strong and deliver a dart and take a hit, but he looks like a little kid getting hit sometimes, and guys are only bigger, tougher, stronger, faster in the NFL. So still, there are rumblings of that. Young is a really good passer. He's accurate. He's got a good arm. He reportedly came out on top with that S2 testing metric, which replaced the Wunderlich. Basically just gathers how quickly quarterbacks process information.

And that's incredibly important when it comes to the NFL, because we've seen guys with all the traits in the world, but they don't know what's happening around them. When the bullets are flying, they don't know what to do. And as far as Young goes, it seems like literally the only problem with his is the weight. And so is a team really going to let that hold them back? Again, you know, I've studied Frank Reich, the new head coach with the Panthers for five or six years now. I think Stroud is the perfect quarterback for him. But, you know, that really doesn't mean that that will be an organizational pick, Str over, over young. You know, young is an incredibly talented player.

He's a really nice bright kid that could really make ownership fall in love. Brewer mentioned in his column that the Tappers who are the owners of the Panthers even spent some time with young's parents at the pro day. Yeah. I think that could really make ownership fall in love. That's the kind of thing that the owners could really feel swayed to go in a certain way. Plus, when the Panthers traded up for number one, they did say that they had conviction in multiple quarterbacks. So when they went up to number one, that was just to make sure they had their pick of the litter. It wasn't necessarily to target one guy.

So we'll see what that means come draft day. But let's just go ahead and say that for the sake of this argument, Bryce Young is number one. That means the Houston Texans are on the clock at number two with C.J. Stroud being the top quarterback on the board. So they need a quarterback, yes. But here is why it may not necessarily be Stroud going to Houston. So the Deshaun Watson situation was obviously one of the worst things to happen to the Houston Texans franchise in its entirety, really. C.J. Stroud, while I am not trying to lump him in with Deshaun Watson by any means,

he does have some of the same connections. Deshaun Watson and C.J. Stroud both have the same agent, David Mulageta, and they have also had the same quarterback trainer in Quincy Avery. There's some bitter things that have been said by either side. Not the best of relationships between some of those guys that have been on Deshaun Watson's side and the Houston Texans. So is there enough of a disconnect in those connections to make it to where the Texans would just really rather not go down that road again? Perhaps. There's also been people, again, like Breer, who have said

that it doesn't necessarily have to be a quarterback for the Texans at two if they stay there. We've heard throughout this whole process, Zach and I have, and I've talked to other people who have heard this too, that Houston really likes Bryce Young. So, again, remember, we all think there's potentially four quarterbacks that could go in this top ten, but that doesn't mean that all these teams are sold on all four guys. The Texans could only hold Bryce Young in that capacity. So if they're guys off the board and they're sitting there at number two, they may look to trade back or they could just make the safe pick and take Will Anderson from Alabama, for example. Bryce Young's teammate, another Alabama alum, just like new Texans head coach, D'Amico Ryan.

So, again, in this instance, Bryce Young first, not C.J. Stroud second, making him still on the board there at number three. So Arizona obviously does not need a quarterback. By all accounts, they're not going to be taking a quarterback here at the top. They'd much rather trade back and collect more assets. If they stay there at this pick, they'll probably, again, Jalen Carter or just a cornerback someone. It won't be a quarterback, but it's really where the draft starts because it's a prime trading spot either for the Colts

or any team that could look to come up to leapfrog them. And we'll talk about more of the trade scenarios there in a minute, which ultimately, you know, three trade spot with Arizona, and then the Colts are finally on the clock there. So you can see why it makes a lot of sense for the Colts. Maybe do not want to stand back. But before we're going to talk about more what it might take for the Colts to make something happen there with number three, number four, what have you.

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So make sure to check it out today. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up in your app store. That's ultimate-gm.com. Ultimate Football GM, start your dynasty today. Okay, so saying all that to get to this point. So in this scenario, you know, it's, let's just say it's the third pick there. It's the Cardinals. CJ Stroud is on the board and the Colts are there, just a pick behind. There are other teams behind the Colts that need quarterbacks too and have been very rumored to be in the mix here. You're looking at Las Vegas, who actually

is hosting C.J. Stroud this week, the Titans, Detroit, Seattle. All those teams can move up. Tampa Bay as well. Minnesota, if they wanted to give up the world to go up that much. So there are teams looking for long-term quarterback solutions. And Arizona, they have every reason in the world not to stay there at three and move back. So for the Colts, if Stroud is there, I think you really got to try and make that happen. We know they're not going to go up to number one. They've already said that was just too rich for them. They're not going to go up to number two because it's the same thing there, especially trading with the Texans, who is a division rival. They're going to want the world for that. So the most realistic is the Colts moving up to number three from number four.

They would obviously give up that first round pick. And if they could hold on to that second round pick, number 35, and then give up a third and a fifth or something or some sort of 2024 pick, but basically move up to three and still hold on to that second round pick. I think you do that all day long because we know Chris Ballard is going to get to that 35th pick and he's probably going to trade down and recoup more of those assets that he gave up to move up earlier. So I think it's the perfect scenario. And then that means you land CJ Stroud, who is probably the top quarterback in the draft. And I could see that being the Colts QB one in this draft. Again, he checks pretty much every box for them. And then you still have pick 35, which you can use to add a corner like Kelly Ringo or Julius Brents, any of these super talented guys. You could take an offensive lineman. If Osiris Torrance is there, that's your new right guard. That's a pretty unique edge class. Like there's, there's several options for them. Their receivers is a decent, uh, decent group as well. I mean, obviously the biggest flaw in all this logic, you know, getting here to where

CJ Stroud could be available to the Colts. Honestly, the, the, there's two big obstacles. Number one, obviously him being the first overall pick by the Panthers that makes it a whole moot point anyways. But really after that, which it's 50-50 at this point, after that, the biggest thing is the Colts allowing a team to leapfrog them. That's it. The Colts kind of control their own destiny in that going up to number three or not. And we've heard a lot about this over the last month or so, really, since I guess the combine, if the Colts aren't in love with any of these quarterbacks, and obviously they weren't in love enough to go up to number one. And they just stay there and chill at number four, then it's probably not going to happen because they probably would get jumped. But, you know, they could just sit there and take, you know,

if Anthony Richardson is available, they do that, which I think if Stroud would be available at three, Richardson should be available at four. That doesn't really make much sense otherwise. And then Will Levis is the other candidate as well. But again, you know, gut feeling. Let's just say the Colts chill there at four because, you know, we know they're comfortable doing that and not panicking, doing whatever.

If they don't have their pick of the litter, it makes all the sense in the world for a guy like Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen even to bet on a guy with traits, and that would be Anthony Richardson. Still right now we're here just like two and a half weeks away. When I picture the Colts first round pick, it still is Anthony Richardson at this point. CJ Stroud would be awesome. I think that would be their best case scenario. If what we laid out today happens and he tumbles there to number three or four and they can go up and get him, that's the best.

But I still just I think it's Anthony Richards. And that's just what I keep picturing in my head. Maybe it's just because we've all talked so much about it lately. But I don't think I'm alone there in thinking that's probably going to be the pick and the end of things. But, yeah, you guys, I definitely want to hear your thoughts on this. Does this make sense? I mean, if Stroud's not the first pick, we could easily see a little pitfall here where all these dominoes could start to fall in into place. And then again, if the Colts ultimately trade up to three,

that's them making their move. They don't let fate happen, basically. So, yeah, definitely let us know what you think about that in the comments below. And with that, that is it for us tonight, everybody. We'll be back with you tomorrow. We're going to keep cracking into all this draft stuff, exploring which options might be best for the Colts. I actually know Zach has a couple really good guests lined up for the rest of this week. And in general, you know, we've been, we've been pounding the pavement. We're, we're pulling on our strings with all these really smart,

great guests that we've had before maybe some new ones. So over these next couple of weeks, stay with us because we're going to have some really cool people on here as well. Also on Wednesday, I'll be there at the Colts facility. We're going to be able to speak with Shane Steichen for the first time since he got to meet with his players for the first time. Their off-season program has now begun. You probably saw on Twitter the Colts released a little bit of Shane Steichen's

first address to the team. It looks like they've got pretty good attendance there in town. Keep hold for that. Shane seems to say some pretty intriguing things just about every time he speaks. Keep a hold of that. We'll bring you some of the main nuggets from that. Otherwise, follow at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also, make sure to subscribe to LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also, make sure to subscribe to LockedOnColts on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. If you're listening or watching now and you don't already follow or subscribe, just go ahead and do it right now because we're almost done.

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