Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts NEED Laiatu Latu, Second-Year Players to Step Up

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts need A.D. Mitchell and Leatu Laatu to break out in 2025. 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 colds part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Hello everyone,

Starting point is 00:00:40 my name is Zach Hickster, resident film nerd of HorseshoeHuddle.com. We have a fun show planned for you guys here. Each week throughout the offseason, I'm going to be doing two to three scouting reports on interesting players on the Colts roster, and then I'm going to bring those scouting reports to you guys here in audio or video form on Lockdown Colts. So as of right now, two of these scouting reports are posted over at HorseshoeHuddle.com. The layout to Lot 21 should be up Friday afternoon saturday afternoon somewhere in that time period as well. That one's going to be very beefy so that's why that one's taking a little bit longer. But yeah we're going to be

Starting point is 00:01:14 doing a lot of those all season scouting reports to get you guys ready for next season and these scouting reports going to cover what these players did in 2024, what the expectation is for them in 2025, and how they can get to that expectation with certain things they can work on. So today's episode is a trio of second year players, AD Mitchell, Leatu, Latu and Jalen Carlis and we're going to kick it off with AD Mitchell, a very, very polarizing player among Colts fans. A lot of fans are torn whether or not his lack of production last year was more so due to the quarterback play just being atrocious and missing him, which I think is part of this. Or also torn on whether a lot of it's just him dropping the ball a lot, not being reliable and not hitting his landmarks, which is also kind of fair.

Starting point is 00:02:00 So let's bring all the nuance to this conversation and talk about this second year wide receiver. Mitchell was obviously not the receiver the Colts were absolutely targeting in the 2024 NFL draft, but the player they were comfortable enough taking in round two. And he was a bit of a project. If you look at what AD Mitchell did in college, he wasn't hyper productive at any of his stops at Texas or Georgia, but he always had the flashes of being something much more than what he showed in college. And I think that's kind of what we could see on his rookie, on his rookie film. You know, there's a lot of good flashes, but you really want to see him become much more going forward. You know, in his first year, he was very much a role player.

Starting point is 00:02:38 He was behind three receivers on the Colts roster. You know, Josh Downs was starting in the slot. He was competing with Alec Pierce in camp, but Alec Pierce came out and just became a star all of a sudden for the Colts roster. You know, Josh Downs was starting in the slot. He was competing with Alec Pierce in camp, but Alec Pierce came out and just became a star all of a sudden for the Colts, led the team in a lot of categories. So there wasn't really much of a role for Mitchell in year one. And even when he did get his chances last year, it was very, very, very, very hit or miss for him on film. To start with the positives, though, the route running and just the ability to be an isolation thread is Astronomically high like this is awesome in his game. This is where he really wins right now His yards per route run against man coverage was the highest among all Colts outside wide receivers

Starting point is 00:03:18 It was like 2.4 yards per route run Which is like almost a yard higher than what Pearson Pittman were averaging. Now, he did struggle against zone coverage, but he is a pure man coverage beater and he was doing it from the outside. The only receiver who had similar numbers to him against man was Josh Downs. And Josh Downs is playing in the slot, playing against more linebackers and safety coverage. So Mitchell was doing this against top corners like Christian Benford, for instance, against the Buffalo Bills. He was mostly running all his routes against him. You can look at Tyson Campbell with the Jaguars, like, you know, just outside corners, luxurious Snead with the Titans. So Mitchell was running a lot of his routes against outside

Starting point is 00:03:57 corners and he was still winning them and separating with Ys on the outside. Had several really high end reps last year and the Colts found a really good way of getting him involved on the outside had several really high end reps last year and the Colts found a really good way of getting him involved on the season with 3x1 concepts. So for a basic breakdown of 3x1 concepts when as a defense you're seeing three receivers to one side or three pass catchers to one side and one receiver to the back side a lot of the way that these teams run zone matching systems is you will do more zone coverage that three receiver side So you're using four to five defenders to cover up those three guys and then on the back side

Starting point is 00:04:31 You're pretty much relying on man-to-man coverage So on the back side you want to put your top corner on whoever that receiver is back there Just to isolate that guy and take him out of the play So the Colts were perfectly comfortable putting AD Mitchell backside against, again, the Benfords and the Derrick Stinglies and in the top corners that they faced this year. And Mitchell had a lot of success on those routes. He was able to separate with ease using a variety of routes from slants to comeback routes to outspeed out routes were really good for him.

Starting point is 00:05:02 Whip routes had a really nasty whip route separate separation against. I want to say it was against. I think luxurious need was the whip route that he had against Tennessee Titans. So yeah, he did a lot of great things in those three by one concepts. And I think that's really where like the base of his play is right now. It's like the more we can isolate him one-on-one with someone and give him two way goes, we can really make this kid a ball winner right there on the outside. So I think that was a big plus for him.

Starting point is 00:05:33 I think we could see the upside with him as an athlete. We saw the Colts get him involved in a lot of mesh concepts, drag routes, crossing routes to let him just run away from corners. And again, that next level speed that he has at six foot two, long strider can hit the four threes pretty easy. You can see him separate with just that natural speed. And there were even several downfield, like vertical plays, like on double moves and go routes where he was able to separate

Starting point is 00:06:00 in that capacity as well. So a lot of just run away from them routes, but sometimes the run away from them routes work pretty well. And then there was also really good flashes of just that ability to throttle down and use his speed to set up his route running. I was very TY Hilton in a lot of ways and I know that's kind of sacrilege to mention TY Hilton in the same regard as such a polarizing wide receiver but I do think there were a lot of moments last year where I'm watching the way he's running a comeback route

Starting point is 00:06:29 or the way he's running a speed out route. And I'm like, man, that reminds me of what I saw with T.Y. Hilton. So the flashes are there. The athleticism is there. The separation is there. There's so much good in his game. But the reason why it didn't come together this past season,

Starting point is 00:06:44 aside from just the quarterback play being bad, because look, the quarterback play was bad, but Mitchell had the lowest catch rate on the team by far. He was the only guy under a 50% catch rate in the Colts wide receiver room. So there's something more than just the quarterback play being bad with him. And a lot of it was just his reliability, you know, not fighting for balls. He was 0 for 5 on contested catch situations last year. He was also a player who I think catches over expected or under expect whatever it is for next gen stats. He had the worst catch rate over expected on the team.

Starting point is 00:07:15 He had four drops last year, which was the second most among receivers over 40 targets last year behind only Jonathan Mingo, who has traded halfway through the season from the Panthers to the Cowboys. So, yeah, he just wasn't this this contested catch ball winner. If there was any kind of physicality or contact, he wasn't winning the ball. And also a lot of it was just like even when he was open, it was kind of 50 50. He was catching him. He had like a 14 percent drop rate last year, which was way, way higher than anybody else on the team especially when you consider what some of the cold side ends were doing last year. And then another this is a more minor things you didn't get many opportunities but his run after catch ability was also not where you want to be but he was always like that in college as well.

Starting point is 00:07:59 I just never really an after the catch threat so. really an after the catch threat. So really when you're looking at him right now, he's like this weird player where like you can isolate him and he can win his routes and he can you know if you have a third and five you can put him on an island and he'll get you that third and five. But just everything in between that is so hit or miss right now. Will he catch the easy passes? Will he show the ability to get more physical and get stronger and fight through contact better? Can he create after the catch and turn 5 yard gains into 20 yard gains? All of those things are big question marks right now for AD Mitchell. So I think there is reason to be concerned with him because you need to see more growth in every other phase of his game. But he's kind of like an Anthony Richardson type of player to me where

Starting point is 00:08:44 like he's got the hardest part of Richardson type of player to me where like he's got the hardest part of playing the position down. With Richardson it's like you've got this sack avoidance and the deep ball down, but like can you get the accuracy down? With AD Mitchell it's like you've got the ability to separate down. This is the hardest part of playing wide receiver. He can also win at the line. He's great against press coverage, but can he play physical enough to play the position? Can he fight through contact well enough? Can he be reliable enough and just catch the ball? Those are the questions you have with A.D. Mitchell. So overall, I'm optimistic with him. He's still a young player. He's only 22 years old. There's no reason to be completely out on him, but he needs to show more progress going into year two. He needs to take that next step.

Starting point is 00:09:22 He needs to win some contested catch situations. There needs to be some 50-50 balls that he turns into 55-45, 60-40 balls for the offense. That is what separates the the good role-playing receivers from those guys who can take that next step. So overall, I think he's gonna be more productive in year two. I mean there were what four touchdowns left on the table last year from his quarterbacks missing him and another one or two touchdowns left on the table for him just not getting his feet inbounds. So I do think he's gonna be more productive in year two but how high can this really get? Well it really comes down to his work in the offseason because the ceiling is just it's way up there with what he can do when left on an island and left one-on-one but can he

Starting point is 00:10:04 add more to his game? That's the biggest question with A.D. Mitchell. So overall, not the most optimistic rookie season, but not a rookie season. We're going to kill the guy. I think there is still a ceiling that he can get to, even with the issues that we have in this Colts offense right now. But coming up, we're going to talk about another polarizing Colts rookie, and that is Leatu Latu.

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Starting point is 00:11:37 Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Guaranteed. Alrighty, Locked On Colts everydayers. We are back talking offseason scouting reports and diving into the second year players for the Indianapolis Colts. And the next player up to talk about is Leatsu Lachu, the Colts first round pick, the best effing pass rusher in the 2024 draft, according to Chris Ballard. And obviously the rookie season didn't go the way that we expected in terms of just the raw production. The pass rushing certainly is a little bit further away than what I think the Colts even expected. And he was kind of surpassed by other players in the class, players

Starting point is 00:12:19 who were taken after him like Jared verse and shop Robinson, who I think had fantastic rookie seasons. Lot to was kind of a product of You know the Colts when they were playing against teams were throwing the ball very very quick I mean the Colts the players the teams playing against the Colts Sorry were throwing the ball very very quick because the Colts were sitting back in soft zone coverage So the ball was out very very quick And he wasn't able to really generate the same amount of raw production as these other players but on the other hand Latou still has some some ways to go as a player to be

Starting point is 00:12:50 as productive as a Jared verse for instance who was a fantastic player and received all pro votes as as a rookie for the Los Angeles Rams. So to start with the positives in Latou's game I think two areas that really really impressed me on his rookie film or just his overall awareness and then his run defense as well so starting with the awareness I mean I'm so used to seeing the cults take the swings on high athlete high. players right now so like you know your Dio Dang Bows your Quiddy Pays your Ben Banagu's like those type of guys who were you know they're super athletic and they had the potential to be like really really good players, but they're not really like veteran football players you know guys who have played a ton of football and just know what they're seeing know what they're reading so when you see a guy like Laotua Lahtu where you know if you're looking on like the backside of play action he's not over pursuing he is staying home and crashing the quarterback and making plays on the quarterback. If you see screens to his

Starting point is 00:13:50 side he's not over pursuing and and leaving his side vulnerable to a big screenplay he's bailing out of pass rush and getting in the way of that screen pass and forcing quarterbacks to eat it. If you're looking at you know sweep plays and toss plays to his side, he's either getting instant penetration and forcing the run back inside or he's feeling out the pin block to his side, shedding that and getting a play on the ball. So I thought he was a very aware player, very just aware of his surroundings and knew what he was doing on the football field and played a lot like a veteran. And I think that's where a lot of his big plays came last year where it's like he's

Starting point is 00:14:28 playing this position like a five to 10 year vet, where a lot of players would over pursue and leave the backside vulnerable. He did a lot of good things there. And then I thought the same with run defense as well. It was very much a situation where when he was left with an offensive tackle blocking him, he did a good job of maintaining his outside leverage, rarely got driven off the ball outside of some double teams here and there, and kept his gap integrity. And then if he got left with a tight end and run blocking, he did a good job of attacking that

Starting point is 00:15:00 tight end, forcing that tight end into difficult situations and making plays on the ball. So I was really impressed by the run defense and the awareness. I think it raised his floor quite a bit as a rookie. And I thought his overall rookie season is a little bit underrated because of those two aspects. Those two aspects were very high levels last season. And like I'm not saying it overshadowsadows the fact that you wanted to see more as a pass rusher, but I do think it made him a better overall defender than what a lot of the conversation is around him.

Starting point is 00:15:33 Speaking of the pass rushing, again, we have some negatives to talk about there with it, but I do think there were some high level flashes. He had some good moments with his hands and just overall swipes. He had a really nasty win against Pene Sewell late in the season, which I thought was one of his highlights of the season because We'll talk about it in the negatives. He did struggle in some big-time matchups, but that went against Pene Sewell He had a couple I want to say against Garrett Bowles where he got the corner on Garrett Bowles couple times JC Latham He had his fair share wins against JC Latham look, Latham didn't have a great rookie season

Starting point is 00:16:06 but he was still a first round pick. You want to see some of that production against other high level starters. So I do think Lotu had some of those high level flashes and then overall the cross chop I think was in a really good place as a rookie. You know, he did a good job of getting that corner with the cross chop, breaking the hands, You know, he did a good job of getting that corner with the cross chop breaking the hands using his hands effectively to create separation as a pass rusher. And as a result, we saw some pretty productive reps with that cross chop move. But now we have to get to the negatives where it's like my issue with Leatsu Latsu off his rookie fill is he doesn't really have the bend to be a finesse rusher and he doesn't have the power to be a power rusher right now. So you're kind of stuck with this guy who has the size in the

Starting point is 00:16:50 athleticism as a power rusher, but has the play style and hands as a finesse rusher. So to me, he kind of needs to make this big decision going forward where it's like, am I going to slim down a little bit and work on my bend and work on my athleticism to be this pure finesse rusher that can win around the corner? Or am I going to try to work my hand with this long arm with the bull rushing, with being a power rusher so he can set up his finesse moves and his quick hands? I think that's the easier route. I think if he can just generate more pop with his overall long arm and with his

Starting point is 00:17:26 bull rush, his life will get a lot easier because kind of what we saw last year is he would try to work his cross chop or work his two-hand swipe or just, you know, his swipes or whatever it was, any of those things. And he would create the separation, but unless he created a very soft edge on the outside, he doesn't have the athletic athleticism turn the corner and bend with ease and get to that quarterback He needs to create a much softer edge and the way you do that is by using more power To set up those those type those offensive tackles to brace for impact a little bit more because currently where he's at Guys like I mean just the guys in his division like Loremi Tunsil for instance, this past year, I guess Loremi Tunsil is not there anymore. But like last year when you played against Tunsil, Tunsil was able to set pretty wide and not really worry about

Starting point is 00:18:14 Latu getting his hand into his chest because Latu just couldn't generate the power needed to drive Tunsel back. So I do think if lots who can develop more power in his pet, like just more pop in his hands, more power going forward, it'll serve him so well. And he can be a really effective pass rusher and be a player where, you know, maybe like a Carl Lawson type player in the past or, you know, to a degree, I can't go this crazy because Hendrickson is so good, but kind of the way that Trey Hendrickson broke out after a couple seasons where he learned to add more power to his game And then it made bending the corner so much easier for him I think though there is logical routes for him to go to take that next step But as a rookie we did see issues with the power there were issues with the bend where he just struggled to get around the corner

Starting point is 00:19:04 Top tackles did give him a lot of trouble and I'm not gonna say that he should be beating Loremi Tunsel every single snap But when you're a top 15 pick you want to see a little bit of effectiveness against a Loremi Tunsel I didn't really see that this past year And there were a lot of plays where he just didn't finish sacks and get quarterbacks on the ground And that's why we saw the sack number be as low as it was Despite his pass rush win rate be pretty good. So overall I think he's a fine player. I think that the floor is extremely high with him. He's got high awareness, very good run defense,

Starting point is 00:19:34 and the flashes are there with the hand usage, the size, the cross chop is really good, but he really needs to add power to his game. If he doesn't add power to his game, I think he's going to be stuck in this like high level role player type role for the rest of his career. Whereas if he adds some good strong power to his hands and to his and just to his arms in general, to his core in general even, I think he can be like a Carl Lawson type player with maybe a little bit more longevity. So overall, not out on layout too lot to by any means I am a little scared going forward of him because While I did see a lot of good flashes as a rookie there were a lot of moments where it's like, okay Like he's winning with his hands, but can he do the next step of finishing plays? Can he finish sacks?

Starting point is 00:20:16 Can he turn the corner? Can he use his power to set up these moves going forward and I have question marks with that but for the the, on the, on the optimistic side of all this, lots of lot to, is a player who's had to work through a lot in his career is very, very much a guy who, uh, puts a lot of effort in, in the off season. That's honestly the biggest step and the biggest difference between guys being role players and start players is what they do in the off season. So if he comes in looking stronger, more ready for the NFL game and adds a little bit of that power, I think he can be a 10 plus sack guy in the offseason. So if he comes in looking stronger, more ready for the NFL game and adds

Starting point is 00:20:45 a little bit of that power, I think he can be a 10-plus sack guy in the NFL for sure. It's just about actually doing that. So again, there's optimism there, but there are a lot of things to work on for him to be that next level pass rusher. I think Luan Arumbo is going to be good for him this next season as well, but he certainly needs to take that step in year two. And I think he certainly can. So Laiatu Lattu, good player right now, very, very high floor player. Maybe the ceiling isn't as high as like even what Jared Verst showed last year, but I think he can be an 8 to 10 sack guy with just a little bit more power in this game. He's got to add that power. That is the most important thing. You can't be a 265 pound pass rusher without legit power. And that's going to be the big step for him this off season.

Starting point is 00:21:29 So as long as he can add that power, I think he can be a good player for the Colts going forward. But coming up guys, we have one more player to talk about and that is linebacker Jaylen Carlis, a former fifth round pick who is in line to start for the Colts at Off Wall Linebacker heading into 2025. But first, scaling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more. Experts ready to take your business to the next level. Upwork gives businesses flexibility by connecting them with top freelance talent across multiple industries including IT, AI, web development and marketing. Whether you need extra hands for project or a long term partner, Upwork makes hiring simple and affordable. Some of the best things

Starting point is 00:22:17 about Upwork is you can just find that right talent. If you need help with a marketing campaign, Upwork can connect you with a freelance expert who's delivered incredible results and also it's cost-effective growth. Instead of hiring full-time Upwork helps find affordable top-tier freelancers to scale any business efficiently. So visit Upwork.com right now and post your job free. That's Upwork, U-P-W-O-R-K.com, Upwork.com to connect with top talent and grow your business today. All right. Locked on Colts every day as we are back talking about all season scouting reports. We've talked about AD Mitchell. We've talked about Leatsu Latu.

Starting point is 00:22:56 Now let's dive into another 2024 rookie that is set to have a big role going forward. And that is linebacker Jaylen Carlis. Now the scouting report on Carlis is a lot less conclusive like just indicative of his player conclusive even because he just didn't play as many snaps. I mean Carlis was what Pro Football Focus's second highest graded linebacker in pass coverage last year albeit only in like 86 pass coverage snaps and doing what like Sam coverage linebacker role stuff is. So there's really not many like advanced stats to talk about with Carlize. There's not a ton of just overall film to go off of, but we can kind of talk about

Starting point is 00:23:36 what his role was last year and what the flashes were like on film. And the first thing that really stands out is, is look, Carlize the Colts Sam linebacker last year So the overall responsibilities weren't too crazy. It was mostly You know line up on the side of the ball that has the heavier personnel on on odd fronts You're gonna be on the line of scrimmage even fronts. You're gonna be off the line you're gonna be thumping against the lead blocker in the hole and Try to make some plays and then in pass coverage you're gonna be matching against the the running back or you're going to be hitting the flats.

Starting point is 00:24:12 And you're going to have very, very limited coverage responsibilities. So that's kind of what his role was for majority of the season. And overall, though, I thought he played very well in that role. His run defense was mostly solid for a guy moving from safety to linebacker. I didn't really have too many complaints with his run defense whatsoever. And then we look at his pass coverage. I mean, he was very, very strong in the flats. He limited receivers to very little after the catch, separated man from ball. I think on like two, two occasions, one of them was a, was a penalty on the Colts defense, but two occasions where he got pass breakups covering the flats as well and did some good things covering the flats.

Starting point is 00:24:49 So overall for how he played at Sam Linebacker, I thought it was a very productive and positive rookie season for him. Now the hard part is projecting that to play Will next season for the Colts in Luan Arummo's scheme which is very very different of what it asked of the Linebackers where you know last year Gus Bradley was playing a lot of cover too a lot of spot dropping where these linebackers are just getting to the hook zones and attacking downhill and not really having to think or do too much with Anarumo there's gonna be more matching there's gonna be more late rotations there can be more man coverage involved so it's hard to project what Carlisle is going to look like off of just what he did as a sandbacker in Gus Bradley's system. Now the one thing I will say is there were some positives in terms of he didn't make

Starting point is 00:25:34 one start at Will Linebacker last year against the Tennessee Titans in week 16, I believe is what it was. And I thought overall it was a very strong game from him. He had a couple of moments in that game where I was like, okay Yeah, he can be a starting wheel linebacker There was a couple there was one where he roboted back to a post route over the middle of the field had another coverage route early in the season where He spotted the leaking tight end out of the backfield on fourth down and and had really good coverage on that had some good

Starting point is 00:26:02 RPO reps where he maintained his depth and took away the quarterback So I do think there is upside in coverage with him And I do think he has the ability to be a really good coverage linebacker It's just those three to four moments that I saw last year aren't enough to convince me that like yes This guy is a big-time upgrade. He's gonna be a fantastic player So yeah, there were some good moments last year. I really like some of the moments that he showed on film, but is it enough? That's the big question there.

Starting point is 00:26:30 To talk about some negatives, though, just to do the, you know, just the overall perspective of the scouting report, I do think his overall awareness at linebacker could be a little bit better just in terms of again, he's not used to the sightlines of being in the box with the physicality of being in the box. So you do want to see him spot play action passes a little bit earlier, just identify run versus pass a little bit quicker, but that'll come with time. And then really the other thing is like when it comes to run defense, probably my only nitpick would be filling his run gaps a little bit quicker. Again, that comes down to just identifying run versus pass. So there were some areas of growth needed there

Starting point is 00:27:08 but nothing that really can't be fixed with just more playing time on the field which kind of gets to my final negative though is just his overall health. I mean he dealt with two major injuries last year. I don't want to call them major injuries because he didn't miss the whole season but he missed a good chunk of time due to a shoulder injury that required surgery this offseason and a fibula injury which was kind of you know shoved under the rug a little bit not really talked about a ton. But there were some legit injuries with him last year so yes there are a lot of things that he can improve upon with more experience on the field,

Starting point is 00:27:40 but he needs to be healthy for that and that's going to be the big question for him this next season. So overall, I mean from the limited stuff that we got from him as a rookie, there's a lot to be excited about. I think he has the length, the size, the speed, and the flashes to be a good coverage linebacker and being, you know, pretty adequate run defender as well. But overall, he needs to have that experience. He needs to stay healthy and he needs to keep getting better with more play on the field. And I think really where I landed on it when I was watching his film is like

Starting point is 00:28:13 I'm very much a fan of giving him a shot in training camp and even letting him be like a high end rotational player just to keep getting his feet wet and keep getting involved on the defense. But getting handed the linebacker job going into year two, that's a little bit much for me. That's a big jump for him. And, and I'm, I'm scared that the Colts might be throwing him to the wolves in a lot of ways here because I'm not sure he's completely ready for that. I think he's certainly ready for a bigger role on defense and a high end

Starting point is 00:28:40 rotational roller, you know, even a chance to start, he has a great camp, but I think just simply giving him the job is, in a high-end rotational role or you know even a chance to start he has a great camp but I think just simply giving him the job is is a little bit concerning because he still isn't fully there in terms of his ability to again identify a run versus pass fill fill effectively in the run game um you know separate man from ball I didn't mention he separated I think like two passes in the flats but overall I think it was like He was like 16 targets in the past game and he allowed 15 catches last year because one of those One of those pass breakups was on a penalty on the Colts defense

Starting point is 00:29:15 So he didn't have a lot of pass breakups not a lot of effective players in the ball He dropped his one interception chance he had last year. So I'm not saying he's a bad player I do think he can be a legit starting linebacker for the Colts and he can be that as early as this next season I'm just a little nervous. It's a little bit too early for a player who Just moved from safety to linebacker and was coming from being a fifth round pick You know, it's a big jump. It's a big jump, especially when he only played like half of his rookie season So I'm very optimistic with Jalen Carlis. Like I know this sounds negative on him, but I'm very optimistic. I think there are a lot of good things on his film, but I really wish

Starting point is 00:29:53 it would have been a bit slower of a progression to where we're at now, rather than just throwing him to the wolves this next season, because the last thing you want to do is hurt this player's confidence. But when it comes to Carlisle, I fully believe that he can have a good camp and be a guy who works well in this system. It just might take some time this next season. I do think like the first month or so of the season might be a bit rough for him. And hopefully he can stay confident and headstrong and survive into the October and November months and play some good football.

Starting point is 00:30:22 So overall, those are my thoughts on these three players. I think Mitchell, Latu, and Carlisle have some very positive traits in their game. And I think they're going to serve big roles for this Colts team going forward. But, you know, with Mitchell, it's about being more physical, adding that physicality to his game and just being more confident out there. Lattu, Lattu adding more power to his game so he can really set up those softer edges and win his pass rush reps and Carlisle is just getting on the field and staying on the field because I think he's a legit

Starting point is 00:30:49 player it's just can he develop that experience quick enough this next season for the Colts not to lose games early in the year but I think these guys have some legit potential for the Colts and I'm excited to see what they do in year two coming up in 2025 so thank you guys for listening to Locked on Colts and making it your first listen today. And every day now for your second listen, check out Locked on NFL Scouting. The NFL draft is over, but the roster moves and news

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts NEED Laiatu Latu, Second-Year Players to Step Up

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