Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Laiatu Latu Leads Embarrassment of Riches at Defensive End

Episode Date: June 15, 2024

The Indianapolis Colts' edge rush rotation is set with Laiatu Latu, Kwity Paye, and Samson Ebukam leading the charge, with Dayo Odeyingbo and Tyquan Lewis behind them. What is the realistic outlook for this embarrassment of riches? 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! 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)

The Colts defense made Indianapolis history last year, but they're going to be even better in 2024. 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 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.

Welcome in, everybody. I am Jake Arthur. He is Zach Hicks. You know the two of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com. I am a member of the Colts Media, and Zach is the absolute best film guy in the market. So welcome to the show. You know, some episodes we got to talk each other off the edge, but not today because we are talking about the Colts Edge Defenders. And this is a pretty deep group. We're kind of starting to sound like a broken

record right now during this review of each position group, because this is the end of the trenches. We went through tackles, interior line. Last episode was interior defensive line. And Zach and I are really coming to the realization that, you know, it's not hyperbole. These are the strengths of this Colts roster. And, you know, we've said this and that are, you know, some of the best in the entire NFL. You know, specifically yesterday talking about Buckner and Stewart being among the best D tackle duos. This is one of the best pass rush groups in the NFL. And I mean, statistically, that is accurate. Last year, they were fifth in the NFL with 51 sacks.

That broke an Indianapolis era record for sacks in a season. And they only got better this offseason. And that doesn't even count, you know, natural progression from some of the younger guys. Quidipe, Day know, natural progression from some of the younger guys, Quidi Pei, Dayo Adengbo. You've got some younger guys that could perhaps contribute, you know, if given their extremely limited amount of snaps, but your first round pick was Liatu Latu, the top edge rusher in the entire draft, would have probably been top 10 lock if not for the neck injury that he had in college. So the Colts personnel wise got better. They have young guys that should get better just by proxy of continuing playing into their young career. So this is a really good group, Zach. In this first segment,

we're going to talk specifically about Quidipe going into year four, Samson, Educom, and of course, Latu. It's hard to say. I mean, normally in personnel, you have two starting defensive ends, but this really feels like the Colts have three starting defensive ends. You don't want to say one of them is going to start over the others or this and that. It's like these guys are going to all three see the field a lot. Yeah, and I think what's really interesting about this Colts pass rush in general is they were very much a, some of their parts, you know, like what you get with all of them together makes up what they're missing and having that elite producer.

You know, most teams who have great pass rush production from their edge group will have a Max Crosby, we'll have a Joey or Nick Bosa, we'll have a Miles Garrett, you know, those type of players off the edge where the Colts are right up there with a lot of these teams in terms of sack production last year without having that level of guy. With having Samson Ebukom lead the way for most of the year. With having, you know, Quiddy Payne and Dio Dangbo getting their sacks, but them not being highly productive in the pass rush win rate department by any means. So when you're adding a guy like Laatu Latu, you're expecting to take this already good pass rush room of a lot of players who can do their job well and flash and do some good things. And you're expecting to add that Nick Bosa, that Joey Bosa, that Myles Garrett type of impact to that room. Now I'm not trying to

put those expectations on Latu from day one. I don't need him to be that level of player right out the gate. I mean, it would be nice. We're not going to lie here about that whatsoever. But, you know, when you take a guy top 15 in the draft, you're expecting him to be that difference maker for your team. So I like the approach. Again, we talked in the pre-draft process, go wide receiver, go pass catcher and all that stuff.

But continually adding to the edges and taking an edge rush group that again already had a lot of productive players educom had nine and a half sacks last year quity pay had eight and a half sacks last year and he's been getting better every single year these are good starting defensive ends and if laatu latu can be what the colts expect him to be you're already having those two solid defensive ends along with some other good pieces and adding that big time impact, potentially elite pass rusher to this group. And that can just take this unit to a next level. So at the end of the day, Latu Latu is a swing for the fences on his upside. And it's a swing they could afford to take because the edge rush group has such a high floor with the guys they already have in the room yeah and there are a lot of draft picks that seem like luxury items like adding a guy like

layout to lot to to a group that isn't a very big need seems like a luxury but for a lot of people nationally you know we had trevor sycamore on here last week and he kind of echoed this he was like oh wow like yeah that's a great pick to add Latu to a group that already finished top five in the NFL in sacks. I mean, looking at Quiddie Paye, you know, to kind of wrap up what we were both saying, you know, you got progression from these guys, you already have a group that was productive. Paye had eight and a half sacks, eight tackles for loss last year, two forced fumbles, two recovered, and nine quarterback hits outside of the sacks. He has increased his tackles and sacks each year of his career. And then he had a career high in his pro football focus grade with 74.3. His run defense grade of 78.1 was 12th in the NFL among

all edge defenders. You hear us talk a lot about him being one of the better run defenders from the edge spot in the league. Evie Com, this was, God, was like his seventh or eighth year in the league. It's like his third contract in the NFL, but just had a career season with the Colts. I mean, he's been on really deep groups before, but this was the most prominent role he's had. Not the first time he's been a full-time starter, but pretty much career highs across the board. Nine and a half sacks, 10 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and 17 quarterback hits. So doubled what pay did in terms of, you know,

getting to the quarterback, not just sacks. Career high and his pro football focus grade as well with an 84.4. That was 14th in the NFL among all edge defenders. He had an 80 in run defense, which was 10th in the NFL. So the Colts got 18 sacks out of their starting defensive ends, who also rated really, really well against the run. Now, when you add Latu into this, he was a pretty solid run defender in college, a high motor guy who isn't just going for the passer. He's going for the ball, wherever it is, a run or a pass. And so I think early in his career, he's going to be more of the designated

pass rusher type. That's probably what they want him to succeed at first. I don't think they're going to just throw a heap of stuff on his plate right away, but you get that rotation, three stud guys who all are very well-rounded defensive ends who can get to the quarterback, who can get to the running back, who can, you know, go out and get to the boundary on those outside run plays. Like this is a really, really good group. And we haven't even gotten to Daiwa Dango yet. Another guy who had eight sacks.

So when we're just talking about this core three, like this is an outstanding group of defensive ends. Yeah. And to put it in kind of baseball terms, you know, I know some of you guys like baseball out there. I know Indy doesn't have a baseball team, but let's put in some baseball terms here.

Quitty and Abucom are solid starters. You know, these are guys who kind of do everything well. They give you the flashes in the pass rush department. They're really strong run defenders. They are just steady players who are going to give you that high floor. They can get you to those relief pitchers, which are your guys like Taequann Lewis and your Dio Dangbos. Maybe not as consistent, but the flashes are great. But what they always missed off the edge was that closer. They did not have that guy who could come in in the fourth quarter when teams are driving down for that final drive to go score the game-tying or game-winning touchdown.

Who is that guy who's going to make the play? You know, DeForest Buckner can be that guy, don't get me wrong, a defensive tackle, but teams know that. They're going to be sending all their help at DeForest Buckner. And Pei, Ebukam, and even Dayo Odengbo just aren't that productive of pass rushers to be that level of closer that the Colts needed. You know, they're not elite players like DeForest Buckner is. Now when you add a player like Liatu Latu and his potential to this room, you have the potential for an elite closer. So that, in totality, it makes this

rotation, you know, again, if we're going back to the baseball, baseball analogy here, it makes the whole rotation so much better when you have a great closer, because it closes all that room for error, you know, again, if it comes down to that fourth quarter final drive, you're not just relying on Okay, can Buckner get through four guys and get us a sack here? Or can Pei and Ebukam, who have these middling pass rush win rates, can they get that pressure? No, it's a guy like Laotu Laotu. Again, if everything goes well, he can win on his isolated matchup and he can get that pressure or that sack that really closes out the football game. That was what the Colts missed. They missed a high productive guy who consistently beat the guy in front of him in the pass rush department.

They have the good run defenders. They have the flashy pass rushers, but they don't have that consistent pass rusher. And I think that's what Laatu Latu can bring to this team. So if Laatu develops the way the Colts expect and even has that year one impact that we all kind of expect, this Colts pass rush could be one of the better ones in football. And it's how they're going to compete with the players like C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence in their division, the Josh Allens and the Pat Mahomes. They're going to compete with these teams because their pass rush can get after it.

And I know it's a lot to put on the pass rush, but that's the expectation they are setting for themselves this upcoming season. They have all the pieces. They have the three starters that we're talking about here who are fantastic players or hopefully can be fantastic players. They had the flashy backups. It's about putting that production to the paper this next season and winning games with it. So I have high expectations for this Colts pass rush because the expectations should be there for this team. Yeah, without question, especially the late game stuff like you mentioned, like Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. That's obviously the two most notable pass rushers in recent era history.

But one of the things that made them so dangerous, they had sacks throughout the game and everything. But, you know, that final four minute drive that the opponent was trying to put together. How many times did those guys kill a play with a forced fumble or just a sack, you know, just a sack near the end of the game? That's so incredibly critical. The Colts have had some productive pass rushers in recent memory. Like even Eric Walden had 10 plus sacks. You had Justin Houston 10 plus,

but they haven't had that like alpha closer, like you mentioned. And that's the hope with Latu. So again again we obviously think a great deal of these top three but they've got a really productive guys down the list uh coming up next we're going to talk about dio adangbo and taekwon lewis passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive ebay motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks,

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Make the switch to Locked On Sports Today, a free 24-7 sports streaming channel program 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, news, and it's all streaming 24-7 on YouTube or in the free Amazon Fire TV channels app or the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, Jake, so we're transitioning. We're talking about the backup players on this defensive line,

and it's kind of an interesting duo here that we're looking at because, because personally I think guys like Dayo Dangbo and Taequann Lewis could probably start for a handful of teams uh across the NFL I mean Taequann Lewis had in my opinion had the chance to go be a starter somewhere else or at least be a higher end rotational guy somewhere else but he kind of rewarded the Colts for having that faith in him over the years with his injury history and came back to the team when he hit the market, which just, again, added to this edge rush group. But him and Dio Dangbo are really, really strong rotational players. Taekwon, a bit of an all-around player. Dio Dangbo, maybe he doesn't give you as much in the run game, but just a fantastic pass rusher. Had a career-high eight sacks last year.

Some of his flashes, I mean, the career-high eight sacks last year. Some of his flashes, I mean, the couple games he really took over last year, you're saying, okay, this is the alpha pass rusher for this Colts team. It really comes down to, can he do that more consistently next year? Which we have all the reason to expect him to take that step because he's always taken a step every single season he's played. But these are two guys who, again, if they get hot and they get on the field, they can be top-tier pass rushers for your team and do really good things because the ceiling is that high with these players. But I'm really intrigued by Dayo Dango this next season.

He's in a really precarious position where the Colts have picked up the fifth-year option on Quidipe. They have Samson Ebucom extended through 2025 they have layout to law to on the rookie deal the one guy who doesn't have his contract yet is dio dangbo now we know how the colts are the colts are not gonna are not gonna spend money on outside free agents and and honestly you know with what they're projected to have cap space wise going into next free agency and very little guys left on the roster to extend, it makes sense that Dio D'Angelo probably won't be going anywhere,

but he still has a lot to prove this year. You know, if he takes a major step back, the Colts don't really have that incentive to bring him back. But on the other hand, if he takes a major step forward and he hits 10, 12, 15 sacks, whatever it's going to be, the Colts are going to have to pay a pretty penny to bring him back. So it's a massive year for Dio D' still a really young player I think he's only 25 years old he's like a year older than Laatu Laatu at this point about to hit the end of his rookie

contract so massive year for him and again this is a player who every single year he's gotten better and better and I expect him to take that one more step forward and hit double digit sacks as long as he's in the field this year. Yeah, recently, the defender, I think it was Quitty, we're talking about they really have to take advantage of the limited snaps because there are so many guys in the rotation now that I mean, Dio saw 53 percent last year. But like that's probably going to take a little bit of a dip just because, you know, you got to think lots, who's going to go up there. You don't necessarily want to take Evie calm or pay off the field very much either. Cause they're good run defenders, uh, obviously can get after the rushers a little bit. Uh, but just, you know, giving a hundred percent on, on every snap you see. And Dio is a guy that kind of embodies that he's one of those all effort players. But yeah, this will, this will be interesting for him because the natural next step would be for him to see more playing time,

but we may be in an instance where he's seeing a little less. And then obviously going into a contract year, like you mentioned, you know, he's got really impressive numbers for a guy that's not starting every week. I mean, 38 tackles for an end is kind of standard, like maybe on the lower part of the average, but nine tackles for loss and eight sacks, a couple forced fumbles and 17 hits. Like he, this dude is putting up stats playing half the time. So this, this is huge for him. I, I've got to imagine his stats will look somewhat similar, maybe just a hair less this year.

But, like, it's all about efficiency, like doing what you can when you're on the field. And we've seen him take steps every year. It seems like his progression has sped up a little bit faster than, like, Quitty Pays, for example. Quitty can probably do a little more. He's a little more well-rounded. But, yeah, Dio is incredibly interesting

because nothing about the start of his career says you play this guy less. But I'm incredibly interested to see what his role is because, I mean, if he's playing less, you've got to think this next guy we're going to talk about, Tyquan Lewis. I mean, I think we're both comfortable in saying he'll make the roster, but how much space can you give this guy on game day?

He played 37% last year, wildly productive in that 37% of the time. But I mean, how much space is there for Tyquan Lewis? Yeah, he might more so be like injury replacement type player if a player goes down then he sees a bigger role but you know it might only be like 20 to 25 percent of the snaps this year but he's productive man like it's hard to keep him off the field like you have it right here his 17.1 win percentage his pass for what pass rush win rate was the highest in the colts defensive line room or defensive end room. I think Buckner's was probably close to that as well. But yeah, it was like it was the highest

in the Colts defensive end room. He was really, really productive when he got on the field. And yeah, some of those were, you know, end of games and stuff like that. And when the score was kind of decided, but like he looked good last year, he looked really, really good. So again, it kind of comes down to this embarrassment of riches where you know if taekwon has to get out there because an injury happens you know knock on wood in front of him okay cool we have him like he's a good player like you know i i challenge you to go around the nfl and find a better fifth edge rusher than taekwon lewis who was a really productive player last year and again a player who i think

probably could have got a starting job somewhere across the NFL. So again, you're looking at this pass rush room or just this defensive end room in general, and you're seeing, you know, Ebukom and Quidi Pei, solid starters, solid, solid starters, do some good things for your team. You've got high-end utility players in Taipan Lewis and Dayo Dangbo. And then you've got the ultimate X factor, which could be Laotu Laotatu. Like this could be the guy who puts them over the top, or he could just be another high-end utility player or solid starter. Like you just have so many options in this pass rush room where it's just a luxury for a team that rotates so much. So this is the ultimate like, you know, pass rush and waves. The Colts have talked about it for years. They haven't had that in years.

Now they can actually turn all that talk into legit wave pass rushing on the football field. Yeah, it is an embarrassment of riches. It's wild. And it's not just conjecture. Us being brown nosers, like literally all these dudes had career years. And they're not even all second or third year players where like anything is a career. You're like, I become big time. And they're not even all second or third year players where like anything is a career. You're like, I become big time.

Taekwon Lewis just played only the second full season of his six year career. Career numbers across where like all of these guys are getting better and stepping up and being more and more productive. And it is crazy that like you lose one guy. It doesn't matter. Like I hate to say it doesn't matter. Yeah. Let's not say that. Let's not even talk about that. In terms of the production.

You know what I mean? Like, yeah. Yeah. But like, it doesn't hurt you on the field that much. Like they have several guys who could play marquee roles across, across the league. And the Colts, what was it? Gave Taekwon a two-year deal this year. This off season, he had been getting one prove-it deals because of all the injuries.

And I'm incredibly impressed by him with the two patellar injuries, opposite knees, back-to-back years, to come back and get a two-year deal off of a career year like that, that's crazy work for him. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah. And at the end of the day, because I know we're going to transition more to the bottom of the roster guys who might be more practice squad guys.

So just to talk about this edge group that we know is making the roster right now, I would not put this group up there with any group that has, again, like a Bosa brother that's healthy or a Miles Garrett or a Max Crosby or Micah Parsons. I'm not putting them up there with that. I think it's too early to say that their pass rush win rate needs to be better. They need to be more productive in terms of just getting QB hits in hurries. But all the ingredients are there. It's about just putting it all together and making something beautiful. And it's about guys hitting their potential and taking those steps forward. I know we can't always count on positive projection,

but we've seen enough of their floor on the football field to say, is hitting their potential and taking those steps forward. I know we can't always count on positive projection, but we've seen enough of their floor on the football field to say, like, even if these guys don't take massive steps forward, they're going to give the Colts good enough play. And if Laotu Laotu can be everything this Colts team has hoped for, then this is going to be a good pass rush room. Again, I don't want to say this is like a top-tier unit in NFL or anything like that, but it can be a really productive unit that can carry them through a lot of hard times and put some pressure on some of these great quarterbacks around the league. So I'm excited for this group.

I think they have a lot of potential. And again, if the Colts are going to make the playoffs this next season in 2024, obviously it comes down to Anthony Richardson. But after that, it comes down to their trenches, comes down to their offensive but after that it comes down to their trenches comes down to their offensive line and their defensive line those are the Colts strengths and they need to play like it next year and they have all the ingredients to play like it so I'm really excited to see what this defensive end group can do in another year with this Gus Bradley system and with the addition of Laatu Laatu but coming up guys we're going to talk about a couple players at the bottom of the roster where maybe in past years

we'd be looking at these guys to make the team, and now it's like, man, it's going to be hard. It's going to be hard by the end of training camp. All right, Jake, so we're talking bottom of the roster players, which, you know, again, we get really excited for this segment on each of these groups. But I think the most interesting one, obviously, is Isaiah Land, the undrafted free agent from last season. The Dallas Cowboys waved him at the end of their camp.

The Colts quickly pounced on him. They were like, nope, we're bringing Isaiah Land here. Player played multiple positions in college. Small school guy at Florida A&M. I believe he had the most sacks in all of college football back in 2021, I want to say, or maybe 2022. I can't remember if it was his senior year or his junior season, but it was like 22 sacks in college football or something like that.

Absolutely insane numbers. Now I've got to know. Yeah, you can look them up. It was really, really good numbers there at Florida A&M. Really intriguing athletic profile, super explosive, long arms, again, multiple position type guy. And when he got out there for the Colts last year, he did some good things. You know, it was only 31 snaps, but he had a sack, he had a run stop, he had a QB hit in there. He did some good things for this team. And he's typically a guy that you would want as your edge five or edge six that you're hoping on developing or maybe being your game day inactive and just really playing the long game with. But again, when you're looking at this Colts defensive line, it's hard to kind of make the room for that unless you want to keep 11, 12 guys, which suffers at other positions. But Isaiah Land's a guy that I don't want to lose, but ultimately when you're a team that's trying to push the chips in a little bit more at edge rush and going for more high-end players in front of him, that might be a player you ultimately have to lose. But Isaiah Land, if they can make room for him, I would love to have him back.

He's a really intriguing, really intriguing player. No, he is. He's definitely the type of developmental guy you want to have around. I just don't know. If you waive him, does he make it to the practice squad? Probably not. Cause I mean the Cowboys waved him and the Colts were immediately right there. The Cowboys would probably take him back.

Honestly, honestly. So petty to answer your question though, according to Wikipedia as a red shirt, junior land won the buck Buchanan Award as the best defensive player in the FCS after he had 25 and a half tackles for loss and 19 sacks. That's what it was, 25 tackles for a loss, and then it was 19 sacks. Crazy. Insane numbers.

He did enter the transfer portal after that and did get some offers from Power 5 schools, but then went back. Yeah. But no, that dude, he's got some talent, obviously. He looked good in a very small sample size, 31 snaps with the Colts. Played just about as much on special teams, I think, as he did defensively. But no, he was pretty interesting. I think, gosh, I don't know.

I thought between him and Titus Leo, you say one of them makes the roster somewhat easily before the offseason happened yeah before the drafting of lot two yeah yeah um but now i just don't see i the only way i see it actually working is if you ir them going into the season but you don't want to do that because then they can't practice um yeah so it's i mean it's a good problem to have for the colts but it it's tough that you don't get to see one of those guys maybe maybe come into it. Leo, I think, is more realistic. Preseason injury last year was a guy played five seasons at Wagner. Not incredibly productive. Thirteen sacks, but 40 tackles for loss and six force fumbles in those five years.

Only the second football player ever hit the NFL out of Wagner. The other one was also a Colts player. I think it was Chris Williams. I think the year he was another locked on Colts favorite the year before. But no, I mean, these guys are interesting. They'll be fun to watch in camp, I think, because they're going to be going against the third stringers are going to be going against Sam and Keaton Slovis. But I just don't see how it winds up working out. It's a numbers game where those guys, I mean, I don't know about Leo, but land is probably intriguing enough to other teams where I just don't know that you'll be able

to sneak him onto the practice squad yeah and again the the forgotten factor in all of this is with the new kickoff rules these guys are lining up 10 yards apart from each other you need players on kick coverage who are adept at deconstructing blocks getting off blocks and then closing speed on ball carriers you know it's again it's more of a run play now on these kickoff teams so again maybe instead of keeping a sixth corner, you look at a guy like an Isaiah Land or Titus Leo who run four fives or four sixes, whatever it was, are super explosive players who have that background playing off ball. I think Leo was like a safety when he came into college, I believe is what he was. Or I think you know what? I think Titus Leo was the one who was a wide receiver who transferred to

linebacker and then came down the defensive end. So Titus Leo can kind of move a little bit. Isaiah land, I think was an off ball player and then came down to playing an edge rusher position. So these guys are, are good athletes. Like these are guys who can move a little bit.

So maybe it's a, it's a situation where again, you're looking for more bigger players who can play on your kick coverage teams guys who can get off blocks and close and kind of close in space and that's where guys like like titus leo and isaiah land kind of come into play but that's that's obviously a big training camp question that we need answered and when you get a chance to talk to brian mason and and all the other special teams coaches you can really you know get into their mindset when it comes to that.

But that might be a way to get those guys on the roster if you're really trying to stash them anyway. But besides that, man, it's just tough. It's tough. Again, we're talking about Taequann Lewis getting like 20% of the snaps maybe this next season, maybe like 15% of the snaps on defense. It's going to be tough for guys like Landon Leo to make the roster or Jannard Avery,

who the Colts signed back as well, who was a speed rusher that they enjoyed quite a bit in training camp last year. These are interesting players who I think are good offseason guys to have and potential bottom of the roster players on a 53 man, but it's just tough to crack this Colts edge rush group right now. Yeah, And Avery, like you mentioned the last one, he actually has some NFL experience, but like Leo, he had a preseason knee injury. He's got 62 career games in the NFL, eight and a half sacks, 12 tackles for loss. Like, okay. Numbers like, yeah, he's not,

he's not a stud. He's not a starter, but they, like you said, the Colts did like him enough to resign him. They don't always do that. You know, you think Armani Watts was a guy who was going to be a special teamer that tore his ACL in the preseason, and they didn't bring him back the next year. There's something they like about him. I can't recall seeing much of him so far during OTAs and minicamp,

but we'll keep an eye out. He's someone who caught my eye last summer, but again, at this point, he's probably someone you could probably get on the practice squad, but I don't know. I will be interested to see, like you said, how special teams and the kickoff rule factors into this. I don't know if it's something that like us in the media are just, I don't want to say making too much of just cause it's a big unknown. But like how significant is it inside NFL buildings? Like, cause you know, like when one sweeping thing or like when one big thing happens, like it sweeps the entire league.

Like if there's one cool way that one team is approaching this whole thing, like it can go anywhere. So I'm, I'm pretty interested to see how all that goes it could change roster construction like you mentioned we might have to get like an XFL guy on on here for one of these days to talk about the kickoff rules and and kind of how it changed the XFL because again part of my mindset is thinking like you know teams would typically keep like four to five safeties and they would keep six, maybe seven corners because you need the gunners, you need the guys who can run down there on these special teams.

But when you're looking at these kickoff rules, I want more tight ends. I want more athletic tackles. I want more linebackers and defensive ends who can move. It just makes more sense for this style of kick coverage. But if it's only going to be a one-year thing, you don't want to lose a good gunner to keep a player for one year you know on the interior so it's a really fascinating change coming to the colts and obviously we've talked about it in a couple episodes now and how it could factor roster construction but look guys at the end of the day

this colts edge group i think we're both pretty excited about you guys last on the comments section what you think of this Colts edge rush group. Are you as high as we are on it? Do you think that we should be higher on this group? Do you think Laotu Laotu is going to hit that elite level in year one? Let us know in the comment section. And before we get out of here, guys, I do want to remind you that Locked On has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube.

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