Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Minicamp Takeaways Include Daniel Jones, Ashton Dulin, Arden Key, and More!

Starting point is 00:00:01 The Indianapolis Colts just wrapped up mandatory minicamp, and their quarterback, Daniel Jones, looks way ahead of schedule. 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. Welcome to Locked on Colts. I'm Zach Hicks. That's Jake Arthur. And today we are wrapping up the Colts mandatory mini camp session here of the summer.

Starting point is 00:00:37 the Colts are now breaking for, what is it, like six weeks now, Jake, before they finally get back to it. So six weeks now, we're going to have no more Colts football to talk about, but we can wrap up the three practices they just had this week. Our boots on the ground, Jake Arthur, was in attendance for all three sessions. So we're going to run this down like a big review here talking the way that we usually do training camp breakdowns, talking quarterbacks and some news and notes in the first segment, then offense and a little bit of special teams in the second segment. And then we'll close it out with defense on today. show. But first, Jake, let's talk about the quarterback position. There was a lot of skepticism. There was a lot of fear with Colts fans and just fans around the league in general about Daniel Jones and that Achilles injury. The Colts never really seemed too worried about it,

Starting point is 00:01:21 even when they signed into that two-year extension this off season. And he kind of showed it here in minicamp that, hey, he's way ahead of schedule, already doing seven-on-sevins, already doing all the individual stuff, already asking the coaching staff to do 11s, but they're probably going to wait until, until the early part of training camp. But I would say, like, as of right now, with where he's at, he's probably going to be doing like all the team stuff with the first team throughout training camp.

Starting point is 00:01:49 I don't expect him to play in the preseason, but he's probably going to do a lot more than what we ever would have expected when the Achilles injury happened last season. Yeah, it makes no sense for him to play in the preseason because they're going to have three joint practices with other teams where he can't be hit. So I think he'll get a lot of work there. But yeah, they'll get him into 11s during training camp. But during mini camp, he looked about as good as possible during seven-on-sevents.

Starting point is 00:02:15 I think there was only a few missed throws. I think maybe three total. Two of them were throwaways in the red zone just because guys were covered up. And several touchdowns in those, you know, including Josh Downs, Ashton Doolin. I think he looks comfortable and confident as well. He does not look like he's timid about what he's doing. on Wednesday in his very first rep of seven on sevens, he went right down the right side, deep ball,

Starting point is 00:02:43 probably 20, 30 yards to Ashton Doolin, oversaw Scardner for a touchdown. So like confidence. He feels good. He's ripping it. Wants to be doing more than what he's allowed to do yet. So I don't know what else you would want to see from Jones right now within the guidelines of what he's allowed to do by the team.

Starting point is 00:03:03 Yeah. And he talked about it. I think the other day as well where there are still some things he's trying to get up to speed on, like throwing from different angles where the foot's not going to be perfectly set. But I would say outside of getting to that part, like just doing the basics of NFL dropbacks and just moving his feet. Like everything I've seen that Colts media has posted, it's looked good. It's looked clean. I don't see any kind of like lingering limp or tenderness on it.

Starting point is 00:03:29 I think he's going through the motions really well. And he looks like Daniel Jones in every single clip I see. Like even the clips that they're posting where it's like him ripping it down the sideline or throwing it deep, you know, it's not the greatest arm ever. But he never really had the greatest arm ever, right? It was always, you know, average to above average. So, yeah, he just looks like himself from last year, which again, it's crazy where modern medicine is at where we can talk about a guy coming off that Achilles injury that late in the season, already being back for mandatory minicamp. But, yeah, he does look a lot like Daniel Jones from what I've seen and you being up there close and personal like seeing it. Yeah, it's a great sign for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:04:05 I think, but like for sure he's going to start week one. I would be shocked at this point if he's not the week one starter. Yeah, I absolutely agree because I don't know what else, what else he would really need to check off. Like Shane already said he could be an 11 on 11s right now if they really wanted him to be, but they just don't need it. They don't need to press that. I think probably the final couple hurdles for Jones,

Starting point is 00:04:28 you know, making sure you get as much strength back in that lower like as possible as explosive as you can get it, but also like unexpected movements. You can simulate all sorts of quarterback stuff, you know, rollouts and dropbacks, not like all the routine stuff that you take hundreds of reps doing throughout the week, but it's, it's the unexpected, like having to quickly change direction because, oh, here comes the tackle. That's like, like the injury happened with him making one of those unexpected sudden movements. So just kind of doing that kind of stuff, getting himself comfortable with having to quickly change direction or just do something he wasn't expecting to do. I think that's probably the last real thing to it.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Going beyond Jones, though, we've seen plenty of Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard. Those guys are battling for the RB2 spot behind. QB2. You keep trying to put both them at running back. Yeah, I don't know why I can't say QB2. do you be too um so with jones not in 11s those guys are alternating the reps interestingly enough though so Shane told us that uh each new day the other guy takes the initial first team reps but on Wednesday and Thursday it was anthony up there first both times so make of that what

Starting point is 00:05:47 you will but that does not go with what we had previously been told you could consider a development I guess I can't say that he's ahead because they're not going to to do that already in mini camp, but I think it was at least noteworthy. Anthony, I think, looks like himself again. I don't see a guy who isn't necessarily seeing the field, you know, with the peripheral vision and everything. Everything looks fine. The arm talent's great.

Starting point is 00:06:15 There's the zip there. The mobility is there. I think fitness-wise, he looks really good. I think he's trimmed down a little bit. He looks really good. Now, as far as, like, playing goes. the guy's erratic. You know, Riley Leonard has been erratic as well.

Starting point is 00:06:32 I think Daniel Jones is clearly the best quarterback on this team from what we have seen. But I think it's encouraging if Anthony's goal is still to be traded, then looking healthy, looking solid in practice, or at least getting back to where you were before, that is going to entice other teams to maybe get interested. Or any teams who are like, we'll talk more with the Colts when we see that the guy's fine. Well, maybe that'll bring more teams to the table now.

Starting point is 00:07:03 Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, the last we really know about Anthony Richardson, like on the field, he got hurt pregame against the Cardinals, which knocked him out for the entire season. And then before that, I think it was against the Raiders, he threw a pass to himself. And that's really all we got from him last year, right? Like, his number one target last year was himself on the field when he was getting out there in mop-up duty. But yeah, like, I think the big thing with Richardson is just showing that, you are still, you are still able to play quarterback.

Starting point is 00:07:29 You know, again, there's still ups and downs in his game because that's just always going to be there with his style of play. But just showing that the eye issues aren't as big an issue as the Colts have continually made it out to be. So for him, yeah, if he still wants to be traded, like keep raising the trade value simply by being on the football field. That's the most important thing he can do. So I would say it's a successful minicamp for him that he just finished it healthy and was

Starting point is 00:07:55 out there practicing. and like you said, like generally look like himself again, because that's going to be the one way he can end up on another team like he wants to end up this offseason. But going to Riley Leonard, though, I think that's really interesting that you kind of talked about him being kind of erratic still and being a bit all over the place because this is now two mini camps where he,

Starting point is 00:08:13 according to you and a lot of other beat reporters, hasn't really like shine in minicamp. But every time we see him in like a game setting, he looks a lot better than the way you guys describe him. So he might just be one of those guys who's more of a gamer, I guess. just performs better in a game setting when when the bullets are flying because again, this is kind of the trend that we saw last year with him as well.

Starting point is 00:08:34 It's the exact trend because I remember last year as a rookie, I thought he looked better in OTAs. And then we got to minicamp and I was like, ooh, this is ugly. You know, this doesn't look great. And he didn't, he wasn't terrible. Like it was marginally better than it was last year. It wasn't like completely ugly, but I was like, man, I, I, I, I, didn't expect him to look like this compared to what we saw against Houston and Jacksonville

Starting point is 00:09:00 last year. But at the same time, you know, it is practice. It is mini camp. He is a guy who is very much into the mental side of it. So I want to give him a little bit of grace in assuming that he legitimately is treating practice like practice and is working on things. Like he's trying different things, taking the teachings from Cam Turner and Shane Stike and Jim Bob Cooter, putting them on the field. And it's not always going to look great. And like you said, maybe he's just a gamer and he doesn't practice all that well. Maybe that's it. So like his stock is not down for me, but I was a little surprised that he didn't look better than he did.

Starting point is 00:09:37 And the weird thing is his numbers were fine, efficient numbers. Like he had some completions and stuff like that. But it just didn't look well. Like the offense was clunky. You know what I mean? I felt like defensive backs had the upper hand. Like there were tight windows he was thrown into. it just didn't look great, but I'm not down on him necessarily.

Starting point is 00:09:59 Coming up, guys, we're going to talk a little bit more about the rest of the offense around these quarterbacks and how a wide receiver has gotten a little bit more buzz in recent days for multiple reasons. A couple different reasons. We're going to talk about that here in just a second. Workplace chaos. Deadlines are stacking up. Your inbox is overflowing. And that one position that you just have to fill is still sitting wide open.

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Starting point is 00:11:29 please don't forget to check out the everyday air club for ad-free audio episodes and access to a group chat with other listeners of the show as well as zach and myself tap the link in the show notes or go to lockdown colds dot supercast dot com to join in today all right zack so we touched on this a bit last night on the squad show with derrick and allan but at running back I feel better this offseason than I did last year. DJ Giddens is another year more further into the system. I think he probably understands things a little more, is a little more comfortable.

Starting point is 00:12:03 Seth McGowan, I think looks the part of what they wanted, just an urgent, determined runner who's going to get up, get tough yards. But I'm also, and I think you are too interested in some of the other guys, who probably aren't going to make the roster, but might make preseason games more exciting. Lincoln Perry, Ulysses Bentley the fourth Anderson Castle, kind of a battering ramp type of guy. So I'm interested in the very doldrums of the depth chart as well, but I definitely feel better about Giddens and McGowan.

Starting point is 00:12:33 I'm not totally convinced they don't still need a veteran in the room, but I feel better about those two than I did previously. Which is good. I mean, like the running style and like the running ability that those guys can bring, I think, you know, obviously there can be some ebbs and flows in the way that they play at the, at the, at the, at the, the position, but it would be nice to have one of those guys emerge as someone who can take the load off of Taylor, at least a little bit. But again, there's still the biggest benchmark we have to clear with these guys is who can pass block. Who can pass block. So hopefully come training camp, Jake, you're able to get a really good beat on that and see like who is really stepping up in that regard. Maybe like, did you see anything in, I guess in mini camps here were like third down with the first team or was Taylor out there for these? I should preface at all with this.

Starting point is 00:13:16 Mini camp. Taylor was out there. Yeah. He wasn't out there during O.T. Yeah, so when they went to third downs though with the first team when Taylor was out there, was it still generally Taylor out there or they tried to mix in these guys a little bit? I believe it was mostly Taylor. And I don't think they were doing a whole lot of, there wasn't a big need for protection and things like that. I'm just so curious because like, again, Taylor started early last season, like, looking pretty good with the past blocking, but it really degraded as the year went along and it led to a lot of pressure issues for the offense. So I'm curious to see if, again, they keep with Taylor and they hope Taylor can just get better at that again,

Starting point is 00:13:54 or if one of these two guys can take that role because that's going to be the most important thing. But, yeah, Giddin is looking bigger, stronger, faster, more decisive, I think is big for him. And then McGowan, obviously, just being the battering ram, like, he's not going to bring the vision at all this year. It's just going to be, you know, see a hole, hit hole and just put your head down. So hopefully you can get some first downs and short yards for the Colts. But I don't hate the running back room. which just, again, I'm a little nervous about that pass blocking. That's the biggest thing for me.

Starting point is 00:14:22 Yeah, I mean, Amir Abdul and Tyler Gidson literally cannot walk through that door. They are both on other teams now. So, I mean, you got to hope one of these guys steps up because, again, Jonathan Taylor, we saw the best version of him as a complete running back last year, but he cannot be on the field for 100% of snaps. I know they tried to because he's hard to take off the field, but they have to have someone take a little bit of relief off of him. Moving beyond running back, though, at receiver.

Starting point is 00:14:51 So we've got this competition here for wide receiver three. And with Alec Pierce out until sometime in training camp, hopefully, I mean, it's got, it's allowed all these guys more opportunity for reps. But Ashton Doolin is just so far in a way to me, the leader in the clubhouse. He's the only one I've really been able to say anything about. I mean, Westbrook Aquinas made a catch or two. Lequine Treadwell had two nice catches on Thursday. But I don't have much to say about Birx.

Starting point is 00:15:19 And then just generally the group other than Deulin, it just been whelming, you know. You better not say that about Coleman Owen ever again. Okay. Coleman Owen is great. So I did turn. Okay. So Owen made a play in like second or third team stuff. And I turned to one of the guys.

Starting point is 00:15:35 And I was like, he's going to be such a. He's going to make preseason fun this year. What he did last year. Owen is going to be a study. He'll probably be on the practice squad again. But he's like the guy. He's going to be the new treadwell. that just cleans up against the second and 13.

Starting point is 00:15:50 Yeah, for sure. One thing I wanted to ask you, though, with Doolin, because, again, we were pounding the drum on this show all offseason that Doolin is the best guy for wide receiver three for a multitude of reasons. But I want to ask you with these practices, are you saying that he's clearly number three receiver based off just vibes and rotation? Or do you think he's clearly the third best guy in the room right now? All of it.

Starting point is 00:16:13 I think reps, targets, and then the importance of where those targets. are happening. I think he had a strong report with Daniel Jones last year in training camp, and it's looked the same this year. He's been his most, like Josh Downs and Ashton Doolin have been Jones most frequent targets during these seven-on-sevons. I mean, Jones went to him against Soss Gardner. He had two touchdowns to him in the red zone the other day. Like, Jones is pretty comfortable with Doolin. Those other guys have been out there, of course, because with no Pierce out there, everyone has to, you know, you need bodies out there. But no one has even come close to making the amount of plays that Doolin has or receive

Starting point is 00:16:54 the amount of reps or attention that he has. Yeah. And I agree with all that. Like he's just the better guy for the role. And I think that he can be a very serviceable player for the Colts. So I'm excited about Ashton Doolin. I'm going to mention this real quick, but we'll probably do like another segment in the future show or something.

Starting point is 00:17:10 But Stephen Holder of ESPN did mention the other day in an article that the Colts have kicked the tires on veterans like. Keenan Allen and Debo Samuel and they're kind of debating whether they want to go that veteran receiver route. So while it could be Doolin's role right now, I still think Akina Allen and Debo Samuel could make some sense for this Colts team and just again, properly define the room a little bit because of Doolin is wide receiver four. You can still have him do some special team stuff while also doing some more on offense, but not like a full workload on offense. So I think some of that could make sense as well. But again, it is nice to hear Doolin doing what we

Starting point is 00:17:45 know. Like he's just being. Ashton Doolin, right, at all times. Because he is just, yeah, he's just that guy, right? Real quick, though, while we're still in the wide receiver, you have a note here about Nick Westbrook Aquina, a player where, again, I'm not trying to tube my own horn. It's only mini-camp right now, Jake. But I have said that I would take Treadwell over Westbrook-Akeena this season,

Starting point is 00:18:04 and you have it right here that Westbrook-Kina might not be a shoe-in on the roster. So you want to elaborate a little bit on that point? Yeah, I mean, they've got like seven receivers now who could have an argument for the roster. and they're probably only going to keep six max. And that's before a potential veteran signing too. Yeah, I mean, that's obviously still on the table. They could bring in a veteran.

Starting point is 00:18:24 You know, there's a lot of stuff for them to consider. I already think Anthony Gould's going to have a tough time to make it if it's directly between him and Birx. But if you're looking at like the big body guys on special teams, well, is Westbrook Aquino really that much more valuable to them than like Laquan Treadwell? Who was awesome last year on special teams? If you bring in a veteran, it's going to be a guy who only plays offense. And then so you're going to need someone who plays special teams.

Starting point is 00:18:52 I mean, Westbrook does as well. But it certainly knocks a couple of these guys who are currently on the roster off. So it's definitely something to keep an eye on. And Westbrook and Keene, I mean, I know a lot of people are big fans, but he's making the vet minimum. And like he's not, I don't think he's a huge part of their plans. I think they'd be completely open to what he can provide. but I don't think they're really like hanging their hat on him being around.

Starting point is 00:19:18 Yeah, I mean, follow the money, him and Treadwell are making comparable money this year. Like, so I don't think it's like a foregone conclusion that he's above Treadwell on this roster, especially when Treadwell has a leg up in terms of he's been here for like three years. He's been here the whole Shane Stuykenera, you know, in some capacity. So I do think that Treadwell is going to have a little bit of a leg up in that competition, and we shall see where the Colts ultimately go. Before we get out of the segment, though, Jake, you want to give us a little bit, of a kicker update. I'm going to tune out for this. I'm going to leave the show for a few minutes.

Starting point is 00:19:48 You can talk about kicker all you want, though. Perfect. Yep. So this is the first time we've been able to see Spencer Schrader versus Blake Groupie. Schrader is back. That's very good to hear. Now, the angle at which they had them kicking, we could not tell the distances. But I know normally they do like 27 yards, 33, 40, about 45 and 50 plus. So it ranges about 27 to 50 plus. groupie made all five and Schrader missed the third and fourth kicks. He made his fifth one again from like 50 plus whatever it was. So so far the scorecard from what the media has seen is five for five on Groupie and three of five for Schrader.

Starting point is 00:20:28 So it ain't over. It's only really just getting started. But from what we've seen so far, Groupie might have the upper hand. I'll never forget. Or the leg up. Yeah, the leg. I was to say you missed that opportunity, Jake.

Starting point is 00:20:39 Damn. I'll never forget last off season at the Ravens joint practice where they were doing the two-minute drill stuff. And I'm just so pessimistic with kickers. I said that Schrader was going to miss it 10 yards to the left on like the 40-yard kick to win it. And he missed it like five yards to the last. Yeah. I was like, all right. Yeah, I was close.

Starting point is 00:20:56 I was close. So the thing with Schrader, it's tricky though, because like you almost have to erase everything they knew about them last year because the injury affects a lot for a kicker. That's true. That's very true. So we'll see. Blake Groupie is on it all. time heater right now. So you might want to ride that hot hand. And if he's in his Jeremy Lynn Sanity run right now, he brought in with that kicker. Coming up, we're going to shift over to

Starting point is 00:21:20 defense where Jake has quite a few notable notes, including a certain edge rusher, not getting run with the first team, and then the greatest undrafted free agent of all time, just stepping up in the secondary. We're going to talk about that here in just a second. All righty, locked on Colts Everdaeers. We are back wrapping up mandatory minicamp before the Colts. Get on to this six-week break and we wait until training camp. We wait for all the veteran free agent rumors and all those things coming up, I'm sure, for the rest of the offseason. But while we are wrapping up mini camp, I do want to start us off at the cornerback position, Jake, because my boy, apparently is just playing well. Like, I need more video proof. I know you're not allowed to record

Starting point is 00:22:03 there, Jake, but I need you to start recording or something or, you know, sweet talk some of the Colts media team to post more Jonathan Edwards content because from your notes every day that I've been reading. It has just been the Jonathan Edwards show this off season. And he's had a great up, just like last off season, right? Like great opportunity to play more because of injuries in front of him. And that's how he was able to make the roster this year so far, right? We haven't seen Mooney Ward. We haven't seen Cam Taylor Britt. So Edwards has been getting more and more run. And according to your notes every day, he looks like an even better player than what he was in the last off season, when again, he was good enough to make the team. So my boy, Jonathan Edwards, finally finding the football

Starting point is 00:22:41 it appears. I'm super excited for him. Yeah. And I mean, Mackay Blackman and Jalen Jones both missed most, if not all, of mandatory minicamp as well. Like, there was a bunch of corners out. If it's me, I have Edwards firmly as the third boundary corner. Like, there's no reason not to do it. You know, he played over 300 snaps for you last year. He played decently well if he could just locate the ball, which he's doing this offseason. I think I've counted three or four pass breakups for him, really competitive ones as well. He looks confident out there, has got a ton of run with the ones because Mooney's been out. You know, he wasn't, he was away from the team during voluntary stuff and then out with a little

Starting point is 00:23:22 minor back thing during mandatory. Sauce wasn't there during voluntary. So like Edwards has probably been, he's probably had their most first team reps among all corners throughout the offseason if I had to guess. So he's looked really, really good. I mean, that was our big gripe about him last year was, man, he's right there in coverage. He just never knows where the ball is. Well, the coverage is still there, and he's finding the ball this offseason.

Starting point is 00:23:47 So we know injuries happen. If he's forced into another decent role this year, I think he might take another step forward. Cameron Mitchell was another one. He'll be probably battling for like the final roster spot for corner. He had a couple good breakups on Thursday as well. So I was like, all right, on brand for the show. This is going well. Yeah, I'm intrigued.

Starting point is 00:24:08 by both those guys, but especially Edwards. I think there's a lot of potential there. 6-2, 200 pounds, can run with anybody. I think he can be a good corner in this league. He just needs to keep getting better. And by your notes every day again, it appears he is getting better. So let's keep that work coming from Jonathan Edwards.

Starting point is 00:24:24 Let's keep moving down the defensive depth chart here. Linebacker, you know, we talk about my boy in the secondary. Let's talk about your boy at linebacker, just playing really well this off season. And by your notes here, I mean, the competition's getting a little bit stiffer for that, that will linebacker spot. Yeah, there's really two things we can say for sure about linebacker,

Starting point is 00:24:43 and that CJ Allen is your mic, and that Hunter-Woller is going to factor in in some sort of sub-packaged situation. Other than that, we don't know how things are going to get stacked up. So I thought it's very, very interesting. My assumption all along is that it's Hakeem Davis-Gaithers' job to lose at Will. They'll set him there next to Allen. That's who we'll see most of the off-season. And then unless someone else comes and blows everyone away,

Starting point is 00:25:07 it's probably what it's going to be. Well, they were mixing up a lot of different combinations throughout minicamp. I would say, other than Allen, I think Bryce Betcher got the most run with the first team. And, you know, he had on Tuesday, he had that pick six off Riley Leonard. I thought he got physical with Moe Alley Cox on one play on Wednesday.

Starting point is 00:25:31 It wasn't really too rough of a hit, but, you know, he went to punch out the ball and then Mo hit the ground and, you know, this whole thing, whatever. But they just, they really like him a lot. That was a guy who we said, you know, maybe he can be the will, but they probably don't want to start to rookies. I feel like that's a little more of a possibility now.

Starting point is 00:25:53 No, I'm not saying that he's the leader in the clubhouse for Will yet, but I think it's certainly more of a possibility than I did ask me a week ago. But Davis Gather also got some run there. Jalen Carlis has been more involved than I thought. He got some run with the first team as well. So like we saw Alan, Betcher, Akeem Davis-Gather, and Carlis all get run with the ones throughout the week. Carlyce was just really involved. It's good to see him healthy out there.

Starting point is 00:26:24 And you forget about him because he spent the last year and a half injured. But there was high hopes for him coming out of his rookie year. The Colts basically gave him the starting will job and he was never healthy enough to retain it. So the guy's got some talent. There's some decent things there in his game if he can stay healthy. I don't think he'll really compete to be the starting will necessarily. But there's a lot less definition to the linebacker depth chart than what I thought there was before. I assumed a GK would just be that guy who they know him, they like him, and he'll be there to kind of clean up the scraps.

Starting point is 00:27:03 but he's probably been like the fifth guy. So I'm pretty intrigued to see how this whole thing shakes out throughout training camp. It's just, it's cool that Carlize is there and able to compete, and it's cool that Betcher might legitimately have a chance to be the starting will if, you know, if he earns it, of course, but they really, really like him and he's performing well. Yeah, and one more rotation to talk about, one that hasn't been as bigger rotation as you wanted at edge rusher, you're a little concerned that Jalen Tuamolo is not getting a ton of run with the first team, right?

Starting point is 00:27:38 Yeah, which of course that's on him. They're going to give guys reps that are, you know, are earning it. I just thought we would see it being more of like an open competition than we have so far. I can't really recall many reps at all that Tuamolo has been out there with the ones. Like every time I look up and I'm paying attention to it, it's usually art and key. that's the other guy opposite of Latu. Now they're mixing up a lot of stuff. I think I saw a couple five-man fronts in there as well.

Starting point is 00:28:10 But I'm just, I'm not seeing two-a-low out there as much as I thought I would. That could change in training camp. But again, a lot of it's got to be on him. And I have concern about this because he's going into year nine. He's really only been counted on to be a full-time starter, like one year of his previous eight years. So it's like, all right, if you make him the starter, you do it because you have, you feel you have to, or you think you see something that he's going to unlock going into year nine, which seems unlikely. So that probably means to him low, out isn't taking the big jump you think and you just have to go with the guy who's been there and done that. So I think there should be some concern there.

Starting point is 00:28:56 And again, it's just been a three day sample size. I don't want to raise the alarm flags yet. but I just thought I would see more of a rotation there. Yeah, it's certainly a little concerning. It kind of gives the vibes of, like, again, like Moe-Cock starting at tight end before Tyler Warren was here. It's like, yeah, we like Mo for sure, but he's not a starting tight end. It's kind of like that with Arden Key where, like, I like Arden Key.

Starting point is 00:29:18 Probably not a starting defensive end for your team, which is a little bit concerning, given the urgency for the season for the Colts. You have one more note here before we get out of here about a couple of fringe roster players, including a cornerback that I think a lot of Colts fans were excited about signing. So with Jonathan Edwards, with Jonathan Edwards stepping up this offseason with Cam Mitchell having some good moments, a veteran who is here on the vet minimum who hasn't practiced yet this off season and is coming off a rough season. I think I'm with you on this, Jake, where I think his roster spot's not as safe as what some Colts fans thought. Yeah, Cam Taylor Britt is a guy who obviously has the history with Lou Anna Rumo.

Starting point is 00:29:58 and name recognition alone, you're like, okay, that's an awesome name to add to the group. But, I mean, he had the Liz Frank injury last year and he hasn't practiced yet. He's been out there watching, but he hasn't practiced yet. Meanwhile, Jonathan Edwards is out there looking really good. Cameron Mitchell is doing nice things. You know, you can only carry so many corners. And I don't know that Cam Taylor Britt is necessarily a guy they feel they have to have. You know, it's a vet minimum deal.

Starting point is 00:30:26 he's probably on his last legs at being a significant contributor in the NFL. So he could, you know, he may miss it all together. Safety, we've seen how deep this is. I mean, one of them dropped off with Ruben Lowry retiring. But, I mean, Wania Thomas is a guy who I assumed would be in the mix to start at one point. And now I'm like, I don't know if he makes it necessarily. There's a lot of guys there. I think Halsey probably starts with, we know Wooler's going to be heavily.

Starting point is 00:30:56 involved. Jonathan Owens, from my observations, has been used in some nickel situations as well. So you've got a guy in Owens who has always been a special team's contributor, has played free and strong safety, and now you're seeing him contribute at nickel a little bit. Well, the more you can do, you're probably going to earn a spot. I've seen Daniel Scott out there quite a bit as well, just as much as I've seen Juanier Thomas. So these cheaper vets who we thought might play decent roles may not, you know, they may have a pretty tough road to make it. And then Michael Clemens, he's going to make the roster.

Starting point is 00:31:33 He's guaranteed almost $4 million this year. But that's a crowded room. I don't think he necessarily is guaranteed a bunch of playing time. I mean, at some point, they're going to want to see what Caden Curry and George Gums can do. I mean, I don't think those guys are going to play a whole heck of a lot. But Latu, Arden Key, Tee, Tewan Maloney. low out, like there's just not a million snaps to go around for guys. And so Clemens, I don't necessarily think he'll be like a healthy scratch all the time.

Starting point is 00:32:01 But just because they signed him to like, what, a three-year deal, I don't think he, the recipe is there for him to not be a significant contributor. Yeah, I mean, I don't expect him to play that many snaps because he's mostly filling the Taekwon Lewis void anyway. So I don't expect a ton of snaps from him this year. But we shall see. I mean, if two and a low-ow can't break in into end. anything. Maybe Clemens will have to have a bigger role.

Starting point is 00:32:24 So that is all we have for today, though. This is the last of the Colts mandatory mini-camp practices. Again, the Colts are off for about six weeks until training camp kicks off in late July. So thank you all for tuning in the lockdown Colts. We'll be back yet again next week. So make sure you subscribe and follow Lockedon Colts. So you get all of the latest episodes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur

Starting point is 00:32:44 NFL and at Zach Hicks to all on social media. And if you never miss an episode, the Every Day or Club is built for you. get us ad free plus members only Discord access and much more. Head of locked on, goets dot Supercast to join the club. Thank you all for tuning in. And again, we'll catch you guys back here next week.

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