Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts MUST Learn from Super Bowl Champ Philadelphia Eagles

Episode Date: February 10, 2025

The Indianapolis Colts need to take what the Philadelphia Eagles did to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX and apply it to what they do moving forward. That involves investing in the trenches, h...itting on their early draft picks, and using free agency as a real tool to keep the roster fresh. 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! Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus; it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLFanDuelRight 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 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)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Eagles just dominated a dynastic opponent in the Super Bowl and kept them from achieving history. And there's a thing or two about how the Colts can learn from how this Eagles team was put together. 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.
Starting point is 00:00:30 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. And today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. New customers can bet just $5 and if you win, you'll score 200 bucks in bonus bets. Download the app or head to FanDuel.com to get started. What is up everybody? This is Jake Arthur of HorseshoeHuddle.com, your resident credentialed media member for the site and happy post-Superbowl Monday to everybody. Hope you guys
Starting point is 00:01:02 are recovering nicely. Obviously, hopefully better than Chiefs fans and Chiefs kingdom is today. Wow. Eagles just laid it down on the Chiefs last night, 40 to 22 in the Super Bowl. And I don't know that any of us saw this coming outside of Philadelphia. I certainly thought there was an avenue for them to win, but certainly not in that fashion. Anyone who asked me how I thought the game was going to go, I said I thought the Eagles were more talented, but the Chiefs are hard to beat in a Super Bowl,
Starting point is 00:01:35 and ultimately I thought that would somehow make some sort of magical difference that the Chiefs would win. But wow, 40-22. At no time were the Chiefs in control of this thing. Early, the tone was kind of set, we thought, with that bogus OPI call against A.J. Brown. Everyone kind of thought, oh, here we go again. This is how it's going to go. But no, from there, it was all Eagles all the time. And how does that relate to the Colts? Well, let's go ahead and talk about it
Starting point is 00:02:05 I want to I want to get into how this Eagles team was put together and how they rebounded so quickly from their Super Bowl loss a couple years ago to where they are now to winning in dominant fashion one of the best defensive performances we've ever seen in a Super Bowl so defensively how it looks offensively um it's probably a little more attainable for the Colts in the short term maybe not to look exactly like that but they the offense doesn't necessarily need as much work as that defense does but overall I want to look at like how the Eagles got here and how it kind of compares to the Colts and how the roster and this whole thing was constructed. And, you know, when I look at this thing, I look at the job that Eagles GM Howie Roseman has done,
Starting point is 00:02:56 and I say, this guy is intentional about improving, and there's just really no complacency there. Chris Ballard already admitted this fault of his after his postseason press conference back in January that he cares a lot. He's emotional and gets really attached to some of these players, and he's let that affect the way that the roster is constructed. And you just can't do that. You know, there's going to be homegrown players, you know, like mid-round guys that are really good, and you want to reward them ascending to startable players. But your roster
Starting point is 00:03:27 just can't be made up of good stories. Basically, you need difference makers in there. And, you know, from the coaching staff to players, important players included, the Eagles have made necessary moves to get better. If you look at this time last year, you know, Brian Johnson was the offensive coordinator. Defensive coordinator was Sean Desai. And then after that, they had to move on to Matt Patricia for a portion of the year. That this year is Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio, like an incredible glow up, basically. Kellen Moore's probably about to go be the head coach of the Saints. And Vic Fangio is one of the more renowned defensive coordinators that we've seen of the last 15, 20 years.
Starting point is 00:04:10 Like the guy is well-documented as one of the best defensive coordinators. So starting with the coaching staff, they were intentional about getting better. They're active in free agency, not just resigning their own. They do a lot of one, two, three year deals like the Colts like to do just short term deals. But they're willing to get guys in and out quickly. They'll they'll bring guys in that they really liked and be willing
Starting point is 00:04:35 to part with them just a year or so later. You look at guys, they've really liked it, they had to let go of at some point. And some of these are even guys they just had initially brought in uh tj edwards jevon hargrave miles sanders isaac sumalo boston scott kez walkins deandre swift cj gardner johnson some of them are you know get homegrown guys uh guys that really flourish with them now you look at like a gardner johnson that's someone they let go and already brought back as well someone who of course made a difference for them was a key linchpin for them in the secondary this year but Swift you know they brought him in he had a really productive year and then they let him walk again he's with the the Bears now obviously some of the big moves the guys they brought in Saquon Barkley, Zach Vaughn, Makai Beckton. They were all obviously enormous for the Super Bowl run. Obviously, you know, Isaiah Rogers, everybody around here with the Colts is very familiar with that.
Starting point is 00:05:32 I'd already mentioned DeAndre Swift. Kevin Byard was someone who was there for a little bit. So this is all just within the last couple of years. They're willing to be very fluid with the roster and make improvements and keep it so it's not complacent it's just not stagnant water there that that creek is always moving there's always new exciting productive things coming down the pipe for them and I think you have to be willing to get uncomfortable and hurt feelings and things like that and bring in the right players they're active in the right players.
Starting point is 00:06:09 They're active in the trade market. Howie Roseman is very active when it comes to trades. DeAndre Swift was someone they had involved. Kevin Byard as well, like I mentioned. Kenny Pickett, Jahan Dotson, their slot receiver, had nearly what was the first touchdown of the day last night, but it was rolled down at like the one yard line. So difference maker there, they traded away Hassan Redick. They move around a lot of draft picks for these guys. And they're also not afraid to include small time players in these. But I mean, Chris Ballard is someone who is willing to trade, but like it's probably not at the level of Howie Roseman, someone who sees something he wants to do and does it. He doesn't let all this red tape get in his way
Starting point is 00:06:50 or hard, stubborn lines get in his way. He makes moves. In the draft, hitting on your early round draft picks is enormous because as we've seen, Ballard and his group are awesome when it comes to finding mid and late round players, but their roster is just full of nice stories like that. Like guys who overachieved his mid or late round picks, they don't hit on their early round picks all that much. Like some of them are good players.
Starting point is 00:07:16 You look like Quidipe and guys like that, but they're not like huge difference makers. And positional value doesn't, or not positional value, but need necessarily doesn't always come into play. And when it does, it's okay because they use free agency to make it to where draft picks don't have to be hits right away. We've seen that the Eagles are very good at planning ahead. Guys like Milton Williams and Cam Juergens and Nolan Smith, they weren't necessarily immediate needs, but they needed them to contribute within a year or so. And then by the time they were ready to contribute, they were really good players. They didn't need to be difference makers right away. But Milton Williams is about to get a freaking bag and
Starting point is 00:08:02 free agency. Nolan Smith really blew up in this season. Look at the postseason he just had. Cam Juergens had to replace Jason Kelsey, and none of them were guys who had to be splashes right away. You could draft guys, and they can sit and develop. Just use free agency to make it so the needs are not so dire. And then you look at the draft picks they've had in those early rounds. Jalen Carter, first rounder, Nolan Smith, first rounder, Quinnian Mitchell, first rounder, Cooper DeGene, second round, Jalex Hunt, third.
Starting point is 00:08:37 You know, they're getting a lot of these guys who some of them, you know, obviously Jalen Carter is a freak in nature and can contribute immediately Mitchell and Cooper Degene as well but they're hitting on these early round picks uh they I think they have the right idea that Colts do with athleticism of course it's it's great but I think a track record in college and a pedigree matters like look at the Eagles they're loaded with like proven collegiate talent from like the SEC and Georgia specifically. You're getting a lot of guys who aren't mysterious. You're drafting them and you figure these are going to be really good players. I don't want this to seem like any sort of like subtweet, like Laatu Laatu, for instance.
Starting point is 00:09:19 I do think he's going to be a good player. And honestly, the Laatu pick, I think, is very well thought of, like how the Eagles would have done this thing, because they didn't necessarily need edge help right away. But you look at all the other stuff the Colts have done in early rounds, and it's just been whelming at best, for the most part. They're getting okay players, but not big time players. And so, you know, I think if you kind of change the way you do things a little bit, it's not just going to magically happen overnight. And again, this is a process. This is something Howie Roseman and the Eagles do year after year after year, and they
Starting point is 00:09:56 built it to be able to withstand changes each season. So, you know, they're not going to build Rome in a day, but these are things that they can start doing right now it's not too late uh they're in the off season right now start doing these things to build a better foundation to get over the hump and not just be a 500 team an eight and nine team you can start getting back on the right track you know wild card win the division you got to start somewhere uh And then obviously something that Colts are already very well aware of built through the trenches. You know, the Eagles have Jeff Stoutland coaching their offensive line. So that's one thing.
Starting point is 00:10:36 Those guys don't grow on trees, but I do think the Colts are already in the right direction. Like Tony Sperano Jr. I think is a very good offensive line coach. He's a guy who brought the Colts offensive line back to their dominant form. They rolled with the punches with all the injuries they were dealt with, but I think it's safe to say the Colts are on the right track with their coaching, but just keep an eye on the trenches and make the right picks. That is so important. Again, Chris Ballard, I think he's on the on the trenches and make the right picks that is so important again chris ballard i i think he's on the right track when it comes to building through the trenches but getting your right draft picks certainly matters and again use free agency to supplement your roster so that guys don't have to be splashes right away so off the soapbox for now we're
Starting point is 00:11:21 going to go talk about specifically the offensive side of all here in just a moment. As a small business owner, your work does not end when the clock hits five. Your business is always on your mind, which means it's time to hire. You need a partner that works just as hard as you do. And that's where LinkedIn Jobs comes in. When you clock out LinkedIn, they clock right in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job for free, share it with your network, and get qualified candidates all in one place. Just post your job. LinkedIn's new
Starting point is 00:11:50 feature can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. And here's a pro tip from them. If you add the hashtag hiring frame to your profile picture, you can double your reach to qualified candidates. It's no wonder that 72% of small businesses say that LinkedIn helps them find high quality hires. So post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. All right, so let's look at the Eagles offensively real quick. Just if you didn't watch the Super Bowl, they didn't necessarily use the same recipe that had been working all year.
Starting point is 00:12:34 The Chiefs are a good run defense and obviously knew that the Eagles were going to want to use Saquon Barkley to dominate. Now, what happened with Saquon Barkley this year, number one, you're running behind an elite offensive line coached by an elite coach in Jeff Stoutland. So, again, not every team is going to be able to replicate that. That's so much easier said than done. done a nice job of creating that offensive line core that's going to be really necessary to move forward and start a new chapter where they remain at an elite level, but this is going to be an important offseason because obviously Ryan Kelly is a free agent. Will Fries is a free agent. Braden Smith, we don't really know what's going on there so you've got the coaching you've still got you know bernard ryman and quentin nelson uh some recent draft picks like matt gonzalez and
Starting point is 00:13:31 tanner borderline are going to help but you're gonna have to have more depth there so this is going to be really important to see how the colts attack it uh but yeah you look at what the eagles were able to do uh just looking at like pro football focus grades, for example, just at least gives you a general idea of where the Eagles are really, really good and kind of top of the class. Their grade in the run game was a 90.2 this year, which is a super elite grade, but it actually is only tied for the ninth best in the league.
Starting point is 00:14:02 And they had one of the best rushing performances of all time from Saquon Barkley this year. So that's pretty attainable. You know, you've got Jonathan Taylor. That's great. That's a great start. Still in his prime, probably getting towards the latter part of his prime, but nonetheless, it's a guy that just finished fourth in the league in rushing. So you've got a quarterback who is of the same mobile skill set as Jalen Hurts. Now, Jalen Hurts does get dinged up a bit and misses some games occasionally, not to the level of Anthony Richardson, but you've got Anthony Richardson. That's a plus. You got him teamed up with Jonathan Taylor.
Starting point is 00:14:38 That's a great start. It's not necessarily Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, obviously, but if you can get that elite offensive line really flowing and built up like it should be, injuries have been a huge problem there. You know, obviously for the offensive line, guys have been missing time left and right. Anthony Richardson's missed time left and right. Even Jonathan Taylor has. So injuries are a huge but,
Starting point is 00:15:03 but all you can do is construct these levels, um, properly. So O-line, O-line, O-line, again, it doesn't have to be right away. It doesn't have to be first, second round, but just keep investing decent picks third, fourth, fifth round picks each year. Uh, in these guys, you may have to use free agency sometimes, but O-line has always got to be critical. Like we mentioned, Cam Juergens taking over for Jason Kelsey. It was seamless. It worked for the Eagles. As far as quarterback goes,
Starting point is 00:15:35 you got to plan for Anthony Richardson to miss a little time during the year. So your second, your backup quarterback has got to be someone who's suitable enough to provide competition to Richardson, because as we all know, Anthony Richardson has not earned the right to be like the face of the franchise yet. He's had the injury problems and got benched for a couple of games last year. Let's be real about it. But this this backup quarterback has got to be able to provide competition. But he's also going to have to be a guy who's got some sort of mobility. I get what the Colts were doing with Joe Flacco last year.
Starting point is 00:16:11 He was coming off the heels of the Comeback Player of the Year award the year before with the Browns. Looked like a quality backup. Could maybe teach Richardson a thing or two. But stylistically, these dudes were not similar. Joe Flacco is just kind of a gunslinger at this point with no mobility and that's just not what Anthony Richardson is right now it's a guy that can escape sacks with the best of them can run with the best of them and he's got a really strong arm but struggles with consistency of all the little things so your backup quarterback is going to have to be
Starting point is 00:16:45 somewhat similar to your starter. We've been saying this for a long time and it's just not really been the case, but you got to do something to figure it out. I know Justin Fields is going to be an expensive guy, but if that's the avenue you want to go, that's someone who could start when Richardson, if Richardson gets hurt. And it's someone who could start when richardson if richardson gets hurt and it's someone who i think could really push him as a player and shane steichen could surely do a couple nice things with justin fields if he has to play so get someone who's somewhat like anthony richards and that also keeps that power run game really working and it makes it dynamic as well. So again, you've got Anthony Richardson, that's good. Jonathan Taylor, again, he's the 2021 rushing champ. He finished fourth this year
Starting point is 00:17:32 in rushing. Among all active NFL running backs right now, he's actually number one in career yards per carry per game among Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, all these guys. So you've got the horses, so to speak. Just keep investing in offensive line play. You know, when it comes to the passing game as well, obviously you can't just have a non-existent passing game. The Colts are not going to be able to replicate A.J. Brown and Devontae Smith right now, but they've got Dallas Goddard as well. Jahan Dotson is a nice piece. You know, Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce is a nice start. They're not Brown and Smith, but I think that's okay. You know, they've got Josh Downs, which not every team has, but adding a real tight end to the mix, I think could take them to another level. Tyler
Starting point is 00:18:23 Warren in the draft obviously would be huge, but if you could get like a Mike Gusecki or Jawan Johnson in free agency, a pass catching tight end who, again, doesn't put so much pressure on you having to nail the rookie tight end pick. The tight end, which is a hard, that's one of the longer developing positions to really acclimate to the nfl buy yourself some time get a proven pass catching tight end just to like help get some sort of consistency in your passing game which there has not been in years now it seems
Starting point is 00:19:00 um but these these aren't again they're not going to be done at the level that Philadelphia has been doing them, but there are things that can certainly help move it in the right direction. Continue with the O-line. Try to not make any huge blunders with how you handle this free agent class because you got guys who are going to be going out. Continue to invest in these young guys. Quarterback is going to be important. Get Jonathan Taylor some suitable help as well. Trey Sermon's a free agent, but him and Tyler Goodson, that was not cutting it.
Starting point is 00:19:38 Jonathan Taylor accounted for over 80% of the offensive snaps when he was healthy. That's too much. You got to have someone who is capable of helping. You cannot be a stick in the mud on this one. You got to understand that some of these guys are going to run down and when they need to come off the field, those can't just be punts. Essentially, you got to be able to bring something to the table when your biggest
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Starting point is 00:21:37 and make worse decisions and be under more duress than he was against the Eagles in that Super Bowl. And you look at a couple of big things the Eagles do well. They did it all season and they did it in this game against the Super Bowl. Their PFF grade for pass rush was a 90. That was second best in the NFL only to the Steelers. And in coverage, their 93.9 was comfortably first. And you look at what they've done. They feed that pass rush year after year. They already had Josh Sweat. You know, they had Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith. They reinvested. They keep bringing in all these guys. And then coverage, their first two picks were Quinian Mitchell and Cooper DeGene this year.
Starting point is 00:22:16 And they brought back C.J. Gardner-Johnson. So they reinvested in that secondary. They kept feeding the pass rush. And then a move they really, a good move they made to supplement the middle of the defense was bringing in Zach Bond from the Saints, who had one of the better linebacker years we've seen in a while. Like, you look at what Fred Warner has done and, you know, with the 49ers stuff that, you know, Roquan Smith has done in the past few years. I think you throw Zach Vaughn's season he just had in with the Eagles right in there with the stuff those guys had been doing, what Shaquille Leonard had been doing in his prime with the Colts.
Starting point is 00:22:59 Zach Vaughn just had a monster season and was a defensive player of the year candidate legitimately. And we saw why in the Super Bowl. He had a pick, you know, earlier in the playoffs, he had a key forced fumble. This guy was all over the place. He's a free agent. If the Colts want to throw a ton of money at him, Zach Vaughn is a free agent, so they could certainly do that. But no, the Eagles showed us there is never too much investment in the defensive line.
Starting point is 00:23:20 The Eagles were relentless against Mahomes, and I think the last time I saw the stat in the game, they hadn't blitzed yet. They were getting home with four all game long. They were terrorizing Kansas City's offensive line. And that was an offensive line with some good players on it. You know, Trey Smith, Joe Tooney, like those guys aren't anything to snip at. So if you're looking what the colts need i think they're
Starting point is 00:23:47 starting for is fine it's okay but they've got to have more juice for death uh and if that results in different starters then it results in different starters before spuckner and grover stewart i think that's guys you feel comfortable saying should remain where they're at. But Quidipe and Liatulatu and Taekwondo, those are nice players. But you got Dayo Dangbo, who's a free agent. Samson Ebicom is coming back from an Achilles. There's nothing about that group that says you need to remain status quo and run it back. If I'm the Colts, I'm thinking you got to throw a bunch of resources at this defensive line again this year. And that involves getting real backups on the interior.
Starting point is 00:24:32 And I don't even want to call them backups. I think it ought to be a rotation. And DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart are both going to be 31 this season. And, you know, they're close to the twilight of their careers these aren't guys who are probably going to have like five more pro bowl level years in them if you get another like Milton Williams I think has probably priced himself out at this point but if you invest early in a defensive lineman which this is a huge draft for it like a just an example Walter Nolan is someone you guys have heard me talk about a lot about lately he threw Walter Nolan into the mix early number one that checks the box if he doesn't have to be a huge contributor right away he has
Starting point is 00:25:09 time to develop because you have buckner and stewart but there's going to be enough snaps available to where he can get those those live reps because tayvon bryan is a free agent and for all intents and purposes why would he come back rayquan davis if you cut him you create a lot of salary cap space so he is someone who maybe now won't be back either so you look at that on the edges you got to think lotto is going to take another step forward if he can finish some of those pressures he had and turn them into sacks i think he'll have a good looking resume this year uh Quidipe, he's going to be going into that final year, but he's never been much more than just a really solid edge player.
Starting point is 00:25:52 Good against the run is going to give you about six to eight sacks per year, but you obviously need more there. So whatever resources the Colts want to pour into the defensive line this year, I'd do it. I think they really need to. In the middle of the defense at linebacker, I think they need more range, violence, and just overall playmakers. If you looked at that Super Bowl win over the Chiefs, the whole team was flying around. The whole defense was flying around and swarming to the ball. But you look at the linebackers and like a Zach Vaughn is just everywhere all the time. So Zyra Franklin, that's probably not changing at all. I know people have their opinions about Zyra Franklin. He's probably going to be the starting Mike again,
Starting point is 00:26:36 but you have a real opportunity to see what you can do with those other two linebacker spots. So Jalen Carlisle could be a nice little player for them, but he definitely needs competition. Franklin needs competition. But you also have an opportunity to create kind of a special role at Sam Linebacker. You don't, it doesn't have to be a thing where you just like plop a regular backup, you know, Grant Stewart or Cameron McGrone type player in there, you could get a really nice defensive player and put them in there and have a special role for them where they're a dynamic player. And it's not just base defense. We need an extra guy out there to play the run. Like you could do something interesting there. So you bring in another linebacker and maybe you see an
Starting point is 00:27:20 increase in snaps there and it's still in sub packages. Like with Lou Anarumo as the defensive coordinator, I feel like the defense isn't going to be so boring and static as it was before. So maybe their thought process expands a little bit there with the creativity they could do with the defense, but we'll see. And then in the secondary, obviously you saw they invested early in cornerbacks. I think that is a group the Colts are still going to have to do. Jalen Jones, Samuel Womack, that's nice. Kenny Moore, obviously, I think is still an elite slot defender,
Starting point is 00:27:52 but he's getting older as well. Juju Brents at this point is just, he's kind of a bonus player. Whatever else you get from him, that's nice, but you cannot count on him. He's not been 100% at any point since he's been with the Colts. So really nice player when he's out there, but at this point, you cannot count on him being out there. So if they, again, want to throw another couple cornerbacks into the mix, you might do it. I think they clearly were not satisfied with what they wanted last year, and the proof was in what they drafted.
Starting point is 00:28:25 They drafted Micah Abraham and Jalen Simpson as well. Those guys aren't still with the team, but they drafted them to be players on that team. So I think the Colts are still going to go out for cornerbacks, and they might do it early. And then we already knew this with Lou Anarumo and the new defense, but you're going to need a smart, instinctive safety. CJ Garner Johnson, for example, they have him in read blank and shit.
Starting point is 00:28:49 But like Garner Johnson is not the type of guy that's going to be the workout warrior. But I go back to when I was watching him coming out of Florida and he was one of my absolute favorite safeties I've ever watched prior to a draft because he was so smart, had such good instincts, and he just seemed like he was playing chess out there while the other guys were playing checkers. And I do think that's one area where the Colts struggled to draft safety help is they're probably too reliant on those athletic thresholds. You get a safety who just knows what he's doing is going to be in the right spots. That makes such a big difference. And so I think safety is going to be really important, specifically free safety, because I like what you got going to Nick Cross. I think that's moving in the right direction. But your single high safety, I think, is going to have to be a super instinctive
Starting point is 00:29:43 player, and that's going to make a big difference. You get that, and then you continue to invest somewhat early picks and cornerbacks, and I think that'll make a big difference. Again, Rome was not built in a day. The Colts are obviously not going to duplicate what the Eagles did anytime soon, but you look at what the Eagles did, and they don't really have any clear weaknesses. You can use them as a nice blueprint of like how you might want to move forward, because how do you how do you beat that Eagles team? You shut down Saquon Barkley and then you've got A.J. Brown and Devontae Smith and Dallas Goddard going over your head.
Starting point is 00:30:21 And then defensively, it's a relentless pass rush. They can stop the run a bit and then they have a really nice young secondary. So invest in those picks, really hit on your early draft picks is so incredibly important as we've seen. And I think you'll be moving in the right direction. So thanks for listening to me talk today, guys. I was really pumped to get to talk to you guys about this one. I don't know about you, but it does. I know a lot of people are down on the direction of the Colts and everything, but look at the Super Bowl. Let it excite you for what you hope the Colts can do in the off season. After all, you know, there's no more football now. So that's all we have right now is, is hope that the teams we follow and cover do the right things and do exciting things to move in the right direction.
Starting point is 00:31:05 So let me know what you guys think, what you think the Colts could do based on what you just saw the Eagles do against the Chiefs. And that's all we got for you guys today. Thanks again for making us your first listen of the day. Now go find Locked on NFL. It's twice a day. And first, the Madman Tyler Rowland is going to kick off your morning
Starting point is 00:31:21 with a double shot of NFL espresso and then stop by the barbershop with Tony Wiggins for some real NFL talk. Find Locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you guys want to become a Locked on Colts insider and chat with us directly, ask us your questions, get the inside scoop, follow the link in our show notes. If you don't already, please follow at Locked on Colts, at JakeArthurN, and at Zach Hicks 2 on Twitter. We're also on TikTok and Instagram as well. Also, please be sure to subscribe on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. Ratings and reviews are very much appreciated as well. And with that, we will see you guys later this week. We got a big week ahead that we're pumped about.

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