Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts MUST Invest in Free-Agent Help at Running Back, Tight End

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

The Indianapolis Colts offense has some fundamental needs, but in terms of playmaking, they need to invest free-agent help in a running mate for Jonathan Taylor and a starting-caliber tight end. Who are the best options? Pre-Order the 2025 Indy Draft Guide today! 225+ scouting reports with how each player fits the Colts: https://draftguide.gumroad.com/l/indy25 Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire 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 Indianapolis Colts must add to their running back room this offseason, but does it need to come in free agency, or can they wait until the draft? 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. 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.

And my name is Zach Hickshire, resident film nerd of HorseshoeHuddle.com. My partner, Jake Arthur, is our credentialed crocs on the ground for the site. And guys, we are getting into this whole offseason worth of coverage from free agency to the NFL draft. And if you guys followed our show a couple of days ago with Ben Boris at Colts Film Room, we talked tight ends and running backs in the NFL draft. Today, we're talking tight ends and running backs in free agency that could fit this Colts team and maybe take this Colts team to the next level in 2025. So today we're going to kick it off with why there is a need at running back, why there's a need at tight end, and then we're going to go into a couple of

big fish and maybe some lesser known buy low options at both of those positions. But Jake, let's kick this thing off talking about running backs. And we talked about it a little bit the other day with Colts Filmer, if you guys saw my episode with him. But to go into more detail on this, like, yes, Jonathan Taylor, awesome. Very good running back. Maybe not the most perfect, like, well-rounded running back because, you know, the passing game stuff's not great. The pass blocking's not great. And I think he had, like, a 10% drop rate as well last year. So not perfect, but finished the year with nearly 800 yards rushing

in the final month of the season. Had, I think, fourth in the NFL in rushing yards last year. Very good player, but the Colts need another guy in that backfield, whether it's a pass catcher, whether it's just another guy who can carry the rock. They need more in that running back field than just Jonathan Taylor because last year Trey Sermon wasn't good enough. And Tyler Goodson wasn't really good enough as a running back either.

Yeah. And we're not really, we're not saying that they need David Montgomery and Jameer Gibbs. Like that's not what you're shooting for. I mean, if you get lucky and that happens, sure. But you just need to have a well-balanced group. Like number one,

to me, what their group is right now, it's Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor. I mean, when he was in the games, he was out there, he was on the field for 82% of the offensive snaps. So their only plan was for it to be him. And he has his issues in pass protection. He has his issues catching the ball occasionally. So you don't really have that compliment. Trey Sermon is someone that kind of tried to sell as this guy who we really like Trey, you know, he's a good between the tackles runner, this and that. I mean, the stats don't lie. He had that one good game against the Steelers. Otherwise last year he had 56 carries and 16 catches, uh, averaging just 3.6 yards per touch combined. Like he was just a guy to get you a few yards, like nothing,

nothing crazy about it. And then Tyler Goodson, he's an okay, um, pass catching back, but like they can do better than the just. Okay. So when you're that reliant on Jonathan Taylor, who has missed an average of three and a half games per season in his, in his career, and you don't really have anything capable of, of duplicating any of what he can do behind him. It's you have to have something else there. And again, if you get someone who's a good backup,

like early down guy, that's good, but you really need to have that pass catcher as well to have any true threat of keeping the defense honest. Like when Trey Sermon's out there, he can catch a little bit, but defenses aren't worried about that. Even Tyler Goodson, they're aware that's what he's out there to do, but they're not really scared of it. So they've got to find a way to get this running back group more dynamic for more of a threat, but also just to not wear Jonathan Taylor completely out. Yeah, I mean, when you think about Jonathan Taylor's career with the Colts thus far, like even early in his career when he was, you know, in his prime, so to speak,

I mean, 2021 is probably going to be the best season of his NFL career. You know, he always had a running mate with him. Now, it wasn't always like the same running mate. Like it was like a Naeem Hines type of running mate early on, where Hines was more of the pass catcher, more of the every now and then rusher. And then up to last year, it was Zach Moss, where Zach Moss was a really solid back who could fill in when Taylor missed so much time. So it's like one thing if Taylor's getting 80 percent of the snaps when he's like in his 2021 version.

Right. Because he's healthy. He's dominant. He's taking over games. You're never taking him off the field. But even then, they had another guy with them in Naeem Hines. But it's another thing nowadays where the last two years he's missed a lot of games I mean he missed I think he only played 12 games this past season the year before I think it was like 10 so it's like 22 games out of 34 the last two year or yeah out of 34 the last two years so he hasn't been super healthy so you can't have games where like Trey Sermon is your lead back for like a month at a time that just can't happen I mean we even saw in the games this year when Jonathan Taylor missed they

had to go to Tyler Goodson a good bit and I like Goodson as a special teamer and as like a third or fourth running back but he's not a guy who can really like tote the rock in those games and be your number one back like they need to get a true weapon in here and I'm not saying it needs to be you know a top 50 pick on a running back but there needs to be some kind of addition to this room to take the load off of Jonathan Taylor, uh, because he's already been wearing down in recent years anyway, with the injuries, anything you can do to lessen his load. If you can get him to 70% of the snaps instead of 82% and still feel good about your offense, that's a win for your team and a win for his longevity. So yeah, he, he just can't be getting 82% of the snaps just because you want to

keep this guy around. I mean, we saw what happened. Give him 82% of the snaps last year when he was out there and he missed a month of play. Another part of it is with your offense, it's really run focused. I mean, you, you can't run a 40 pass attempt per game offense with Anthony Richardson right now. Like you you've, it's gotta be run centered, like with him included. So you have Anthony who again has struggled to stay on the field. Jonathan Taylor has his issues with staying on the field. Sometimes you're a run centric offense, but you only have two guys there who were capable of really being featured. That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

And you can look at the draft. You could, you could add both, you know, through free agency and the draft. The Colts just really haven't tried. I mean, Evan hole was something they tried to do.

Now he had a knee injury the first year. But you know, Jake Funk, like Tyler Goodson, like they haven't really given it an honest effort to address the depth. They convinced themselves that with one good game from Tyler Goodson and Trey Sermon, yeah, that that was enough to go into 2024. And that was good depth. and it just wasn't the case so we know with chris if he strikes out like in the draft and stuff like he could get maybe like a low level running back who has done it before but then i mean it's a really good draft too like go spend a day three pick on on an intriguing option there are guys throughout all three days of the draft who you know they may

be they don't have superstar potential but they can run catch and maybe give you a little bit in pass pro as well like you just got to give it an honest effort like I think this is very telling I mean Trey Sermon is a free agent anyways this year Tyler Goodson they already re-signed but I think that's mostly for special teams and for competition in depth but I, I mean, this is the year. You've got to, again, you're not going for David Montgomery and Jameer Gibbs, but put together a decent backfield. Yeah, it just needs to be a playable guy behind him. Trey Sermon was not a playable guy last year on offensive snaps.

Like, look, I loved him in college like we all did. He did some good things in the past, but he just doesn't have the juice. He doesn't have the power. Like, he was supposed to be – he was billed as, like, this between-the-tackles bruiser-type running back, but it's not like he made guys miss or, like, ran through tackles. He just kind of fell forward, you know? Like, it was kind of – I don't want to say, like, Trent Richardson-like

because I feel like he was at least – I don't want to be too low on the guy here, but it was tough, man. It just wasn't good enough play from your backup running back, especially coming off the heels of what Zach Moss did the season before where Moss had to fill in for a good chunk of games and played some really good football. And then even when Taylor came back and Taylor was playing really well down the stretch,

Zach Moss still rotated in there and gave the Colts some good juice out of their backfield. So I just want something like that. Like we got it. We're going to call this like the Zach Moss line. If a player can get to the Zach Moss line of play, that's fine as a backup running back or the Naeem Hines line, if we're going to pass catcher type of backup, like one of those type of guys to be the backup running back and I'll be perfectly fine. Yeah. I'll order one Ollie Gordon, please. That's fine.

Yeah. Like, like if we're doing draft, like, like an Ollie Gordon, Cam Scadabo. I mean, if you want to go like high draft pick like Judkins or Henderson from Ohio State, but even like on day three, like RJ Harvey from UCF. I mean, I know this is our free agency episode. We're going to talk about options of free agency, but like, if you can get one of these young guys who have been there, that in college and and bring that juice like i'm all for it what it boils down to is this is the off season to put that backfield

together if you can't put a backfield together with this off season i don't really know what you're doing but yeah guys coming up next uh the colts have similar problems at tight end without a lead dog and in the race like they have with jonathan taylor what have similar problems at tight end without a lead dog in the race like they have with Jonathan Taylor. What are the answers at tight end? This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax. Taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you were going to get any money back and then waiting, wondering and worrying some more. Now, taxes is matching with a TurboTax expert who could do your taxes as soon as today.

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No waiting, no wondering, no worries. Now this is taxes. Get an expert now on TurboTax.com. Only available with TurboTax Live Full Service. Real-life updates only on iOS mobile app. See guarantee details at TurboTax.com slash guarantees. All right, Zach. So you and I combined only barely had fewer yards than the Colts tight ends last year.

Well, let's talk about it. So forgive me, I don't remember where this stat came from, but there were 25 individual tight ends across the NFL last year who had more receiving yards just individually, again, than the 467 that the Colts put together as a group last year. They've got some blockers. They've got some guys who could do some okay things, but man, do they not have just a go-to tight end whatsoever. And you can't blame it on Anthony Richardson. I mean, whether he would fixate on one person, spread the ball around, whatever. But they also

had Joe Flacco, a veteran quarterback who knows if you have a tight end that you can rely on, you use them. We've seen Joe Flacco do it throughout his career. They just didn't have that. And so again, this is an off season where they can't get by with we like our guys like they need new guys yeah i think the big thing with tight end too is just unlike running back where it's like say they went out there and they got like and we'll talk about in the final segment like a kenneth gain well then we're feeling pretty good like okay cool you got you're running back and then maybe if they draft another one in like round six or seven, that's just money in the bank. Right. But like, as long as you just throw somebody capable at running back, we're feeling good about that need

tight end. Just one guy won't do it. Like we need multiple players thrown here. Like if they sign a higher end free agent tight end and also draft one at like 14 or in the second round that's like throw everything at tight end right now because there's just no playable players at that spot like drew ogletree i think we can both agree is worth a roster spot going into this next offseason and you know maybe some people are still high on like will mallory and stuff like he has shown some ability as a pass catcher but But aside from that, you can just wipe the whole room clean at tight end. They just don't have it. And they have a very good opportunity to kind of clean that entire room out with Moelle Cox and Kylan Granton both being free agents.

So they can kind of clean it out a little bit and kind of start fresh. But yeah, tight end, they just have nothing there whatsoever. I mean, they had a lot of individualized guys. So like if Moelle Cox was on the field, opposing teams knew a run was coming. If Drew Ogletree was on the field, they knew a run was coming. If Kylan Granson or Will Mallory were on the field, they knew a pass was coming. And if the Colts tried to change tendencies, then you had a player that was really bad at that other tendency on the field.

Like if you throw the ball to drew Ogletree, he's probably going to drop it. If you try to run the ball behind Kylan Granson, he's not going to be a great blocker. So this Colts like plan they had this past season at tight end to just be like a, some of their all, all the parts and,

and on the four adequate guys make one good tight end. It really backfired and it limited so much of what their offense could do and it made them very one-dimensional like you could tell what play was coming by what tight end was on the field and the Colts really couldn't do their 11 personnel thing that they really wanted to do last year so I mean like the number one need this offseason is getting a guy who can be an all-around tight end for you, who can do the blocking, who can also be a reliable pass catcher. It doesn't have to be a superstar. If you can get a Tyler Warren in the draft, awesome.

That's the dream. That's perfect. He fits everything. But if it's not a Tyler Warren, if you can just get a guy who can kind of operate as a pass catcher and a blocker, that's fine. We just need something that can keep defenses on edge on those early downs and 11 personnel. Yeah, I agree. And like you said, at running back,

if you just add a capable body, you feel better about it. But with tight end, I think you have to use every Avenue possible. Cause again, all you, all you're working with right now is drew Ogletree, Will Mallory and Jelani Woods, who Jelani Woods has now gotten beyond the Juju Brents thing, where it's like you kind of have to operate as if he's not even there whatsoever. He's in the Paris Campbell threshold right now.

I think he's beyond that. Yeah, he's even worse than that. Two full years without getting on the field, yeah. I think the Colts just, I think they factored him in, and they thought, you know, out of this group, something will stick. We'll be able to do something. And they just really couldn't. So if I were them, I would definitely grab a veteran tight end who they know can get the job done. Because so far, drafting guys hasn't really worked out all that well.

So get a veteran through free agency you know can do it. And then spend a pick in your first three rounds on a really highly talented player and then hopefully that that helps it gives the rookie some time to develop while you have a guy who can do it with this new free agent drew ogletree is an okay placeholder in there you know will mallory can. Like he, he at least doesn't really drop the ball, at least, you know, uncontested catches. He doesn't. So I'm more comfortable with them saying we'll figure it out if they add quality bodies to the group. But yeah, my only question now is what do they want in a tight end? Are they leaning into more blocking? Are they trying to get

like a true dynamic difference maker in the passing game? Like, cause you know, that that's going to change, you know, who kind of comes up? Are they wanting more Colston Loveland, Harold Fannin, or they want a, you know, a bigger body guy who they know is a no doubt blocker. What are they looking for? I think that's very curious. I do think, again, I don't want him to be the guy, but I do think I want Mo Alley Cox back. Just again, he's a veteran.

You know you could do some things with. He's smart. That's not my big free agent addition. I'm going to say say that but i do want him back i want him in the room because it makes you feel at least a little better because if there was ever a tight end the last couple years you could rely on to do something it was him yeah i just think they need to throw as many resources as possible like if this were up to me it would be something where say you don't bring back anybody like like Marley Cox isn't back and Kylan Granson isn't back.

I would do something like you sign a guy like a Tyler Conklin to like a mid-level deal. You also take a flyer on Atomic Tremble and you're spending a top 100 pick on tight end. Like throw as many resources as possible. And as long as one of those guys stick you're fine you know but you need something to stick this next season it just can't be another season where all three or four or five guys flame out in in your in your offseason because we saw what happened last year and I'm not saying like the Colts are this drastically better offense with a playable tight end last year like they still had a lot of other problems um you know, particularly a quarterback, but tight ends one of their biggest needs.

Like this is one of the weakest spots on the roster. They just don't have anything there. So yeah, they got to throw as many resources as possible at tight end this off season. Like, again, this can be something where it's like, you know, you give like that Eric Ebron type of like one or two year prove it deal to a former guy like highly touted guy that didn't work out and then you also bring in a veteran who knows what they're doing and you invest a draft pick like yeah because one of those things will hit you know hopefully one of those things will hit and i'm fine with over investing rather than under investing when it comes to end, considering how bad it was last year. Yeah, and I don't know.

I think you owe it to, like, if you're Chris Ballard, you owe it to Shane Steichen to not leave your head coach hanging like that. Like, one reason you brought him in and thought he was this offensive genius and everything was he did always have tight ends at his disposal before this. Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goddard. Like, he's always have tight ends at his disposal before this hunter henry zack or dallas goddard like he's always had a guy and i don't want to kill the colts for never trying it tight end because they have tried it just largely hasn't worked you know the johnny woods thing looked promising drew over tree looked promising for a bit like they had some guys i

i saw where they were going with it it just didn didn't work. But now I think they, hopefully they know it's time to hit the reset button. And like you said, wholesale changes, bring in like three new bodies. Yeah. I mean, you just can't run it back with these guys. And I can't,

I can't do another off season. If they even mentioned Jelani Woods, his name, I can't do it, man. I can't. I don't, I forget the kid's name already.

The safety from Cal who injured two years ago yeah yeah Chris mentions Daniel Scott so I I'll have to scream if he does it again Daniel Scott can get through a practice I love Daniel Scott yeah Daniel Scott can get through a practice I tried to hype him up a little bit last offseason and unfortunately like he suffered another injury but yeah we part of what's wrong with their mentality is trying to remind us they have these like third level of the depth chart guys that they can go to and it's like they're down there on the depth chart for a reason chris so time to invest in shiny new toys this year yeah definitely which leads us to say we're going to talk about some free Asian options that fit this Colts team. I sprinkled in a couple throughout this episode so far,

but we're going to get down to the nitty gritty in the final segment and really talk about some tight ends and running backs that fit the Colts in free agency this offseason. When the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started and there's no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. With FanDuel, you can place live bets throughout the game, so even if you miss the opening tip-off or you want to bet on a fourth-quarter comeback, you can stay in on the action. And if you're looking for a bigger payout, you can even combine all your live bets together into a same game parlay i like using

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Just visit FanDuel.com to join today. That's FanDuel.com for your shot at $150 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, so we'll get to more draft stuff throughout the coming weeks and stuff, but this is primarily focused on free agency today because we want the Colts to be active. We don't want them with gaping needs going into the draft. You got to address them at least a little bit in free agency. So we're going to start out with some long shots and some big fish, both at running back and tight end, and then some more reasonable, realistic ones. But if you're looking at big fish in the

free agent market for running back, if you want to try and replicate some sort of David Montgomery, Jameer Gibbs thing, the diet version that is not that explosive. You know, Najee Harris is the biggest name out there. Javante Williams, a guy who, you know, always was promising, but couldn't really avoid the injury bug. Neither of those really screams super powered backfield to me, but two talented guys, nonetheless, who can still do things for you. So you could pair them up with Jonathan Taylor and not have to give Jonathan a million percent of the action on offense. Um, but that's a lot of money to tie into the running back position. Yeah. I think

running backs definitely position. I wouldn't go big fish free agent. Uh, so like Najee Harris, Javante Williams, like you already got a big fish at home yeah you'd be spending way too much there I think when we get to the more reasonable options at running back that's where they become something that the Colts could look at in free agency uh even though I think you and I are both in agreement that we'd rather just spend a draft pick uh for that backup running back spot but it doesn't hurt to also bring in like one of these like lower end running backs that we're going to talk about so yeah big fish at running back not a huge fan there but tight end big fish it's not the best tight end class in free agency but i am kind of intrigued here at these tight ends uh you know the two that

you have listed as like the bigger signings would mike joseki and juwan johnson so joseki from the bangles this past season was a very reliable option and i always see him listed in those um what is it joe burrow's gonna take a pay cut so he can bring back the big three of jamar chase t higgins and mike just he did say he he did say he wants him back but i think the bangles could live with gaseki being the the odd man out on well that was it's just funny that he's lumped in with those two guys i guess but look if they see him as like that big guy they need to bring back then they might do it but if he touches the market that's just a reliable pass catcher who was big time for that Bengals offense on third downs last year and then Jawan Johnson again not really much of a blocker but a guy who can get out there get open can be

a reliable pass catcher and at least give the Colts some more juice at pass catcher at the tight end position more so than what they had last year where i mean who who led the colts tight ends and receiving yards last year was it granson or was it i think granson yeah yeah and granson was not very good as a receiver last year so it would at least be an upgrade over that so i'm more intrigued by that at tight end uh than i am at running, but not the greatest options at either spot here when it comes to those big names. No, let's talk more, more reasonable and realistic options. So at running back, Raheem Mostert is probably the bell of the ball among the reasonable ones. He's going to be like what, 32 or so. Yeah. I don't think he's going to command a very big deal at

this point. Plus he's a guy that a very big deal at this point plus he's a guy that's dealt with injury so even that alone for me is like yeah you could probably do better but he is a guy who still has a little bit of burst left he's able to catch the ball as well rico dowdle who is a guy the cowboys turned to uh to be their their featured back when they were they were done farting around with the zeke ell experiment last year um so Dowdwell's got some use to him Khalil Herbert always been a guy that's been uh teams seem to like him a little bit had had some juice with the Bears uh Ty Johnson pass catcher I think he's bounced around a little bit Jets and Bills uh then Kenneth Gainwell who has history with Shane Steichen yeah I think Ty Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell are the two big ones for me that just fit this Colts team really well. Johnson, I mean, if you look last year,

I know the Bills had a handful of running backs that they turned to in that running back field, but Johnson, it felt like every time he got on the field, he was making plays happen. And he finally found his footing in the NFL. I think he was out of Maryland back when he was a draft prospect. Really liked him out of Maryland. And he finally found that footing that he needed to find with the Bills last year. I think what he brings as a pass catcher and as a rotational back is exactly what the Colts are looking for. And then Kenneth Gainwell in the exact same breath there. I mean, he has been one of the cliche pass catching running backs in the NFL the past couple seasons.

He was returning kicks in the Super Bowl, I saw, and for most of the season as well for the Eagles. And then you can give you a little bit as a running back, like as an actual runner and running back to good pass blocker as well, despite his size. So Gainwell, I think would be like the home run signing for the Colts. You know, you get in a guy who is just a part of I mean, he's been to two Super Bowls. He's won one now. He does everything that you need a backup running back to do behind Jonathan Taylor and has the history with Shane Steichen. I think that's your home run hit. Ty Johnson, if he touches the market is another guy that I think would be a really

good fit. Those are the two guys I'm really circling at that, like by low option at running back. Yeah, I would definitely want them to go someone at that level. Herbert would be in there as well for me, those three, but yeah, option at running back. Yeah, I would definitely want them to go someone of that level. Herbert would be in there as well for me, those three. But yeah, Dowdle is maybe going to be a little expensive than Mostert, just the age and injury history. He's going to probably be cheaper than

he was with Miami, but I still don't love it. There's a few more options with tight ends, though. Tyler Conklin, who just came off an okay season with the jets and aaron rogers zach ertz i'll get to zach ertz more in a moment uh jordan akins i think from the browns he was with last austin hooper uh john bates chris manhurtz and tommy tremble who you just mentioned a little bit ago i am so conflicted on zach Ertz because like he's super old too, but like, he's still doing it like with the commanders last year. But I also think maybe the Colts,

if they're, if they're going to allow Shane to succeed and they are going to give him the resources to succeed this year, bring in a guy who fills a need, still has some use to him, and who really understands Steichen and can relay the message. Ertz was with Steichen for those two years in Philly. As long as you spend another top 50, top 100 pick on a young tight end,

I think I'm okay with bringing in Zachacherts as well. I just have the problem of it. People have been calling for the Colts to bring in Zacherts for like four years. And it's like, he's getting older every year guys. But I think I'm more on board with it than I'm not at this point. Yeah. I think my only thing with Zacherts and why it's hard for me to include him here is why would Washington let him walk? He was such a great fit in that offense and they have like billions in cap space this offseason so I don't envision him even touching the market this offseason especially he's an older player that just went to the NFC championship game like you have everything you want basically if you're Zach Ertz really the only reason they

would move on is if they're like seeing Ben Sennett in practice and they're like, yes, this kid is ready to take over the league. But even then, Ertz might want to come back as a backup. So I don't know. It's hard to really put Ertz in like this conversation at all. But I am intrigued by like a Tyler Conklin who he can kind of do both as a pass catcher and run blocker. Now, he's not perfect in either because then we would have him in like the big fish type of mold here. But I think he's a guy who gives you a good floor at both pass catcher and run blocker. So he's like, you know what, we're gonna take a swing in the draft. And if that draft swing doesn't work, we have a guy like Conklin who can at least be adequate at the

position. And then I like some of the by low like John Bates, I liked as a pass catcher coming out. He's basically only been at run blocker in his NFL career. So maybe you can tap into a little bit of that pass catching. Tommy Tremble is like the ultimate buy low option because he has not done anything on his rookie contract with the Carolina Panthers. And I think even like I think they took Jatavian Sanders in his past draft and he's quickly surpassed Tommy Tremble on the depth chart. So Tremble, you know, we all loved him as a blocker coming out. So maybe you can tap into that a little bit. But then you can also go like the veteran route, like a Manhurts or a Hooper.

And just that can be your like Mo'Ally Cox type replacement, just a veteran type guy who can block, who can catch a couple passes. You know, I think there's a lot of options just to bring bodies into this tight end room and make it better just by addition this off season. I will say I was in love with Conklin coming out at college. What was he like central Michigan? Or he was one of those like max schools, but really, really liked him coming out. He hasn't been the player I thought he would be,

but he can, he could stay on the field for three downs. He can block, he can catch like that is the level of tight end you're looking to add in free agency this year or like you said do that and tommy tremble and draft somebody i'm cool with it yeah yeah just just keep adding to the room there like this is just free agency like we're not like like you can you could sign to tyler conklin and then also draft uh tyler warren as well and you know and just have two guys that you really feel good about and,

and you don't really need to play anybody else there. Like I don't think signing any of these tight ends or even any of those running backs we mentioned either takes you out of the market in the draft at those positions. But I would like to go to the draft with something at those positions. You know, I don't want to go to the draft where, you know, it's just drew Ogletree and Jelani Woods sitting at the top of your tight end step chart because then everyone knows that you're going to go for a tight end. At least make it so where if the draft board doesn't fall a there you can take him but don't make it don't

force your hand to where warren is gone you have to take loveland at 14 or something you know or you have to take other tight ends in like day two when there's other players on the board that you like more like i just don't want them to be forced into taking a certain position get like a tyler conklin in here and then just see how the draft goes. You know, you can still take Tyler Warren, but Conklin, you know, can also be a guy where if you don't take Warren, you're still feeling okay. I agree. And I want them to have conviction in what they do this off season. Like if you try something that doesn't work initially, like keep going,

like at tight end, like, obviously we think they wanted Brock Bowers, like high in the draft. It didn't work out, but keep trying. keep trying you like you obviously wanted a tight end like keep trying to get that uh and then as far as running back goes there was a lot of smoke there involving like AJ Dillon from the Packers and it's like okay you wanted a pretty decent RB2 and free agency where'd that go it's Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson now so if if you strike out on something, just keep trying. Like, you still have the need whether or not it worked out. Like, just keep going. And like you said, don't go into the draft with, like,

these huge needs that you haven't addressed yet. Yeah, for sure. We want to thank you guys, though, for making Locked On Culture first listen today. Now for your second listen, check out Locked On NFL Draft with Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez. Now for your second listen, check out Locked On NFL Draft with Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez. Now the season is over. Get the latest draft rankings, rumors,

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