Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: New UPDATES Come In for Alec Pierce, Anthony Richardson vs. Riley Leonard

Starting point is 00:00:00 Could we see Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce back at practice this week? Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked-on Colts. I'm Zach Hicks. That's Jake Arthur. And on today's show, we have some more news and notes from practice, some injury updates,

Starting point is 00:00:31 some very positive signs about some veteran players, some highly paid veteran players on this Colts team. So we're going to make sure that we really hammer that home in the first segment. And then we have stock up and stock down. Training camp is officially behind us. Now the Colts are getting into like true practices. They're treating this last preseason game like is a regular season game with their practice schedule this week. So we're getting into real practices.

Starting point is 00:00:56 We have the cut downs on Sunday. So with all that coming up really soon, we're going to go into stock up, stock down, and talk about the players that help themselves the most and hurt themselves the most this offseason. Quite a few notable players on both of those lists. But Jake, let's start off here with our news and notes. The Colts did have a practice today. Not much to write home about the practice. Like you'll go through a little bit of that here in a minute.

Starting point is 00:01:17 But I think the biggest bit of news was the whole Alec Pierce situation, right? Like this has been something that's been talked about by every single person who's connected to football this offseason, right? From fantasy accounts to Colts media to national media. And we haven't had this firm timeline on Alec Pierce outside of four to six months removed from that surgery. We're in month five right now. And it does appear that he's getting closer and closer. He's been doing a lot of individual work behind the scenes. And Shane Steichen actually offered like the most positive update that we've gotten in a while when he said that, you know, they're hopeful to get Alex Pierce out there at practice this week.

Starting point is 00:01:57 Yeah. You know, Shane said, you know, he's not going to practice today, but hopefully we get him out there sometimes. this week. So they're practicing Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So by deductive reasoning, we'll either see him out there. Hopefully tomorrow or Thursday, they've got to activate them off of pup first. But that does seem to be kind of everybody's expectation as long as there's no setbacks or anything like that. So that's incredibly good news to hear. You get him at least, you know, a few weeks of practice in under his belt before the regular season gets here. And I was kind of talking with some of the other guys earlier. I think the Keenan Allen side,

Starting point is 00:02:32 really helps this situation as well because Alec Pierce can kind of just stay in the role he's used to a little bit. You're not going to have all these dudes running underneath routes and all the short stuff. That's what Keenan Allen is here for. Josh Downs does that. Tyler Warren does that. Alec Pierce can kind of do the kind of stuff he's very much used to doing and everything extra, all the new targets and stuff. They can kind of just bring him along slowly into that stuff week by week. I think this is all, given the circumstances of the fact he hasn't practiced since December,

Starting point is 00:03:09 I think this is all setting up well. Like, I think the table is set well for him to come back here. Yeah. So we were talking, I think, off air last week where, like, again, with some of the stuff that Pierce was doing behind the scenes, it did seem like a return was coming close. I think Shane Steichen, too, also said, and you can correct with him wrong here, Jake, that they haven't even discussed the possibility of him staying on the pub list. either coming through Sunday.

Starting point is 00:03:33 So the Colts have that decision to make come Sunday, either activate him by then or keep him on the Publis. He'd be out for the first, I think, six weeks is what it is of the regular season. The fact that they're not having the conversation of keeping him on that means that he's much closer than, I think, you know, closer. He's sooner, going to be back sooner rather than later, I guess, is the one way to say it there. So I'm fully expecting Alex Pierce, like, at the latest, we'll practice, like, early next week. He should be back for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:04:00 So he'll have about two and a half to almost three weeks of practice before the first game. And like you and I have said, all offseason here, Jake, we fully expect him to play in that first game from our speculation, I guess, is what I should put on top of that there. Some other injury news and notes, though, for the Colts, Mooney Ward returned to practice, which is another great sign because we hadn't really been getting that much update about him. So hearing that he was back at practice, he was doing some individual stuff today, right? Jake, he wasn't doing like full team stuff today. No, he didn't quite get into all that. He didn't get into the full team, but he was doing plenty of the individual work and position stuff. Perfect, perfect. So yeah, just getting him back out there is great. Another player that I was very excited to see back out there, Luke Tanuda, the player who I firmly believe should be the swing tackle for this team, the third best tackle or fourth best, whether you consider Matt Gonzalez as the swing tackle.

Starting point is 00:04:54 Luke Tanuda should be on this roster, and I'm happy to see him back out there. Nolan Rucci, undrafted free agent tackle is back out there as well. And Ulysses Bentley, the fourth, our running back crush of the offseason. He is back out there too. We certainly missed him in the game on Saturday, but it's good to see that he is back on the field. In terms of players who were out of this practice, Josh Downs missed today. Again, don't get too freaked out guys right now. It's still just a preseason game week.

Starting point is 00:05:20 We'll see if this means anything. The Colts didn't seem too concerned when it came to that one. Anthony Gould also missed practice. He's been out for a while with his injury, so something to monitor for sure. DJ Montgomery at wide receiver was also out. Tyler Warren will not practice this week. He is dealing with that groin injury. The Colts were pretty clear about that last week as well,

Starting point is 00:05:40 that he was not going to participate in practice this week. So we won't really see him in the preseason game either, I'm assuming, and we'll get him back after that before week one. Now, Will Mallory has a thumb injury. I'm sorry to say, Jake, because I know that's your boy right there. And Shane Steichen did kind of voice some doubt for him playing in week one and maybe past that. So we'll see if the Colts want to do some roster manipulation with that. You know, the IR rules are very different now where back in the day, if you place a player on IR,

Starting point is 00:06:09 it would be like a season long thing unless you activate them after a certain time. Now guys are eligible to return after four weeks on IR. So the Colts on roster cutdowns could put Mallory on IR, miss the first month of the season, and come back. but that's still, again, a little ways out here. We're still seeing how serious the injury will be. Jonathan Edwards missed practice as well, as well as A.J. Halsey at safety. So kind of a CVS receipt of guys missing practice,

Starting point is 00:06:35 but it is early in the week. They're coming off a game from the past Saturday. So nothing too crazy and we'll wait to get updates on a lot of these guys. But the Will Mallory update is pretty notable, Jake. I think so because I think once again, the guys earned his way onto the roster, has had a great summer like he, tends to do.

Starting point is 00:06:54 I know the Colts head, you know, whether it was lip service or not or just coach speak, they had spoken positively about like his growth as a blocker and things like that. I believe you've even mentioned, like him out in the open as a move blocker is perfectly adequate. You know, it's it's not a detriment to have a guy like that out on the field. So I think they were hoping to finally have a role for this guy in the offense occasionally. Shane said his timeline for return kind of matches up with that week one area. So it sounds optimistic that he will be on the roster somewhat.

Starting point is 00:07:33 Like the plan is for him to be a part of the Colts this year. But whether or not he is healthy enough to be active week one, that's a totally different thing. Yeah. So we'll see what's in the cards there and how the Colts want to play it. And then one more bit of news and notes that we're going to get to real quick before we get to a little bit of practice. CJ Allen, a lot of people have had questions about him running with the second team.

Starting point is 00:07:54 He got 20 snaps on Saturday, mostly working alongside Bryce Betcher. Got a little bit wrong with Jalen Carlis as well in the second half. But Louan Rumo talked about him and his potential role going forward, kind of having to not like earn his way into the starting lineup, but more so just get the reps in the offseason before he can eventually break into that starting lineup. So it's about time with him. He's not fully going to be like just named the starter just because of. of his draft status. He has to really work his way back because of those injury setbacks.

Starting point is 00:08:23 So we'll see ultimately when he does take over as a starter. But I still firmly believe the best starting combination for the Colts this year is C.J. Allen and Acquine Davis Gather, at least for the time being. And we'll see how long it takes to get out there. But Jake, we have some practice that happened. Again, not the longest practice, not the most impactful practice because a lot of guys were out. But do you want to run through some of your news and notes from this practice? Yeah, just some quick hitters here. So, Daniel Jones started a little slow, ultimately finished 11 to 16, pretty solid day overall. I thought the pass rush for all three teams was pretty intense.

Starting point is 00:08:59 Like the quarterback seemed to have guys in their face a lot. I had an at Tommy wall with a couple sacks. So Riley Leonard got a little more work than Anthony Richardson. Richardson is going to get, you know, a little bit more of the work in the preseason game, at least with the ones. Leonard was five of 12, had an interception that bounced off. off Dionne Burke's hands into Trey Washington's grasp. Not the first time that has happened to Berks.

Starting point is 00:09:25 And also, that's like Washington's maybe third interception in the summer. Good start for him. Anthony, two of five. So his three incompletions, he could not hit the broadside of a barn on that series. But one of his completions absolutely threaded a needle perfectly to Dionne Burke. So again, as far as passing goes with Anthony Richardson, you get the whole experience. there. It was good to see Sauce Gardner matched up on like a real bona fide receiver like Keenan Allen today, had a nice pass breakup. Keenan Allen caught his first few balls as a member

Starting point is 00:10:01 of the Colts during 11 on 11s. And then let's see from the kicking competition, Blake Groupie was six of six today and Spencer Schrader was five of six. Zach, fill me in on where the miss was. How did that look? Oh, it definitely went left, didn't it? It did. It did. It did. wide left i i have no clue how they're going to pick this kicker like like blake i hope blakey comes out here makes eight straight kicks on the game on saturday so then we don't have to really worry about it because if we continue this trend of one guy missing in practice constantly in one guy only making it in the games but the other guy missing it like uh i have no clue how you pick it but i know that's brian there's i guess yeah like one of them's been so much better in

Starting point is 00:10:44 practice, but they've already acknowledged, like, groupie has to be kind of perfect, especially on power kicks to make him. Spencer Schrader is a much more naturally gifted kicker, but right now he is missing left at least once a day. It seems like, so I don't really know what you do there. Yeah, I don't know. I think they're both good kickers, but they also both have their warts right now. So we'll see what happens with the Colts.

Starting point is 00:11:06 Coming up, we're going to continue this conversation by going into our stock up of the all season, which players really improve their stock, at least in Jake and I's eyes. from where we thought of them going into training camp to now where we think of them coming out of it before we get into the regular season. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of different systems that were never designed to work together. You got one app for accounting, you got another for an inventory, another for sales, and somehow none of them seem to talk to each other. But that's where Odo comes in. Odo is an all-in-one business management software that brings every part of your business together in one powerful platform. From sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, everything works all in one place.

Starting point is 00:11:50 Odo is one platform to manage, grow, and scale your business. And we know that the best organizations know that success isn't just about talent. It's about having everyone working towards the same goal. And that's true in sports, just like it is in business. An example for me when it comes to the Colts, you know, you're adding someone who I like to say they have gravity about them. You know, everyone around them seems to kind of be affected just by their presence. Daniel Jones kind of strikes me as that type of guy for the Colts. You know, he's maybe not like an elite player, but his presence on the Colts,

Starting point is 00:12:24 the example that he sets day in and day out. We hear guys talk about it all the time. He's the first guy in, last guy out type of guy. He's late to team dinners all the time because he's crushing more tape. He pulls guys in under his wings to show him the ropes on certain things. So a guy like that leads by example, but is also like a verbal vocal leader. So you got guys like that, bringing in the right cast of characters really can have an effect on your whole team. A great organizations win because operations matter.

Starting point is 00:12:56 And that's why you should get O-D-O-D-O-D-O-com slash locked-on. That's O-D-O-O-O-O-com slash locked on. All right, welcome back, everybody. Before we move on to talk about which Colts players have been. boosted their stock the most this offseason. Don't forget to check out the EveryDare Club for ad-free audio episodes of the show, as well as access to a group chat with other listeners of the show as well as Zach and myself.

Starting point is 00:13:26 Just tap the link in the show notes or go to Lockdowncultz. com to join today. All right. So we're going to list some players here who relative to, I guess, Zach and my expectations for them entering training camp, have really boosted their stock. And, Zach, I think two guys who immediately come to mind when we even thought about this topic was a pair of running backs. That's rookie seventh round pick Seth McGowan and second year undrafted rookie Ulysses Bentley. Like we're both like stands ready to die on the hill that they probably need to be the RB2 and RB3 entering the year.

Starting point is 00:14:02 Yeah, and I will say this though. With Bentley, I was a big fan of him last offseason, you know, and I even said coming into training camp like, look, if we're up to me, Ulysses Bentley the fourth is my favorite. running back after Jonathan Taylor. So it's not so much that, like, Bentley looked so much better this offseason than he did last year in my eyes. It's just the fact that he went from, okay, maybe he can be a practice squad guy to, okay, maybe he's in the top, like, 55 guys on the roster, and he's really battling for one of those last two to three spots.

Starting point is 00:14:31 So I think he really improved his stock throughout the course of training camp this year. But Seth McGowan was probably the draft pick I was the least excited about coming in the training camp. I saw the vision with him coming out. Like, I like the draft class as a whole. So me being least excited about him doesn't mean like I thought he was terrible. But it was just I didn't see the past blocking. I didn't see the past catching. I thought his vision was suspect on film in college. So I wasn't super, super high on him. But seeing him compared to some of these other running back, seeing him on film in the preseason game, seeing him in person when I went out there. Yeah, I'm a lot higher on him now. I think he had a really good training camp. He looks a little bit

Starting point is 00:15:09 thinner. I think that some of his vision has been a lot better than what I saw in college. So Seth McGowan certainly looks the part. I still have some concerns with him, but overall, I think he should be RB2 for this team going into the year. Yeah, I feel like when I look at those guys behind Jonathan Taylor, I feel like it resembles a real running back group. You know, when you've had guys in the recent past with like Tray Sermon and I mean, even DJ Giddens last year, There was like no, I feel like there was no relief for Taylor last year. You had DJ Giddens who couldn't really buy playing time. Amir Abdullah, who was like 32, 33 years old.

Starting point is 00:15:50 Tyler Goodson was a scat back as well. Like there's just been no true compliment to Taylor since Zach Moss. And Seth McGowan very much gives me those vibes. And you got a guy like Ulysses Bentley who he kind of hit, not even kind of. He can hit the home run and he's a really good pass catcher. He had a run today that was just out. standing. And I think he's gotten a lot better with his decisiveness and just hitting the hole this offseason as well. So yeah, Bentley and McGowan have been awesome for me.

Starting point is 00:16:20 Yeah. Let's go to a couple bigger names here. And this is kind of on different ends of the spectrum here because Justin Wally, I was very high on. So he's not really even like a stockup for me. But I think you seeing him in person all the time this off season, you become even more and more of a fan of Justin Wally this off season. But DeForest Buckner, we have as a of stock up just because we were so pessimistic coming into training camp about his availability this year and seeing him out there at practice he looks like to Forrest Buckner again, which has been great to see. So two guys on stock up who had injury concerns coming into training camp, one who's been a superstar and another guy who every day, I feel like you become

Starting point is 00:17:00 more and more of a Justin Wally fan, Jake. Yeah, I have become a Justin Wally Stan. But I mean, the thing about it really was, you know, he's coming back from the ACL. He was a summer superstar last year and then unfortunately didn't make it to the season, but also moving from outside to end of the slot, taking over for a guy and Kenny Moore, who was like a franchise pillar for a for a while here. So the fact that he not only lived up to like internal hype, but I think he exceeded expectations. I thought he was just outstanding. like i i would say outside of sauce i'm probably next most excited about wally in the corner room this year i just think like him at his best i really want to see what that looks like

Starting point is 00:17:47 uh so yeah wallie's been unbelievable and then buckner i would even up to like a couple weeks ago i was still skeptical because he just hadn't gotten much work like in 11 on 11s with pads on and then all of a sudden in these last couple weeks since i i basically asked him about that i was like hey, his week one still the target. He's gotten a lot more involved. You see him out there against like the Falcons, just making Chris Lindstrom look like a little kid. Like, he does look like DeForest Buckner again.

Starting point is 00:18:15 And that's awesome because our expectations for the season were like, if he could just be like 70% of DeForest Buckner, then that's great. Now I'm not saying he's going to be like his 2021 all pro-looking self out there. But if he's some semblance of what we have become accustomed to seeing from Buckner, then that's enormous for a defensive line that's really going to need it this year. Yeah, no for sure. And then two more guys that we were pretty pessimistic about coming into training camp, Camp Taylor Britt, who last year his film with the Bengals was dreadful.

Starting point is 00:18:48 He was dealing with an injury. And then he was coming off the list for rank injury as well. I was very, very pessimistic about him coming into camp. But he has solidified himself as the like bonafide cornerback four on the roster, backup outside corner. or like he can kind of do it all, and he's looked like himself again. And then Jalen Carlize, I think, is the most interesting one. Because when I was out there for training camp, you know, after the scrimmage days,

Starting point is 00:19:13 and then right before the first preseason game, I was like, yeah, he just kind of looks like a guy out there. Like he's running with like the second team mostly. And when he gets some first team run, I'm not seeing it whatsoever. And then it seems like the second I left Indy, he became a guy who's capable of starting for this team. He had great joint practices against the Patriots and the Falcons look pretty good in both the games as well. So it's like me getting out of Indy made Jailen Carlyse just flip a switch or something.

Starting point is 00:19:41 So to you guys, I was pretty pessimistic on. I mean, Carlize as early as a couple weeks ago, have both become big time winners for the Colts this off season. Yeah. It seems like he's a good fit in this defense as well. I've seen him affect the I've seen him affect things in all three phases of linebacker. play against the run in coverage. And then I've counted him with probably like at least three sacks this summer. So he's getting home really successfully on blitzes as well. I'm very pleasantly surprised because I had I had written him off essentially. I just I stop having time for guys

Starting point is 00:20:18 who were injured all the time and don't even have really the chance to like show what they could do. And I figured, you know, they're remaking this linebacker room. And even when he was barely healthy last year. It didn't seem like they were super interested in him. Lo on the whole, they give him more of a chance, and he kind of steps up and looks apart. In the last week or two, it's been heavy on the Akeem Davis Gathehr and Jalen Carlis. The Colts have been running with their veterans, and they're doing a really nice job. Yeah, so Carlis is certainly improving his stock. So another couple guys are going to run through real quick before we get to our final segment.

Starting point is 00:20:56 Coleman Owen didn't improve his stock in my eyes. His stock was always number one in my heart. possible. But I think him going from like, yes, this is definitely a practice squad guy to, I think he's in the conversation, Jake, to being that six wide receiver. And I mean, Stephen Holder had him in his final 53 man prediction. I had him in mine as well. Like, I do think he's in like a serious contender spot. Now we'll see what happens with Ashton Doolin potentially returning some puns and see that guy not Coleman Owen went off. But I think Owen's in a good battle right there. Luke Tanuta, maybe not because of what he's done, but because of what every other tackle in the roster

Starting point is 00:21:30 I think Luke Tanuta's stock has to be up just because he's the only capable guy there. George Gums Jr. and Caden Curry, we both came into this all season thinking these guys were projects, but again, maybe because of guys in front of them disappointing or maybe because of their own play, they might have bigger roles this year than what we expected. And then Trey Washington as well, another undrafted free agent from last year who he just keeps getting better and better. Every single practice. The coaches rave about him every practice as well. I want them to find a way to get him on this roster.

Starting point is 00:22:01 I just don't know if there's space. I mean, look, I know Jonathan Owens has had a fine camp as well, but maybe just get him over Jonathan Owens if you like him that much. I don't know. We'll see what happens there. I don't think that they're going to go that far with it, but they do like Trey Washington, and I want to see them try to find a way to get him on the roster.

Starting point is 00:22:19 But coming up, guys, we're going to dive into stock down. You know, for all you negative Nancy's out there, this is your favorite segment. So we're going to talk about guys who maybe played themselves, off the roster this off season or in some cases played themselves out of a starting role and maybe out of a rotational spot because their play has been that poor. Support for today's episode comes from Indeed Sponsored Jobs. When workplace chaos hits and you need the right hire, Indeed Sponsored Jobs helps connect

Starting point is 00:22:48 employers with candidates who match specific needs like skills, certifications, and location so that less time gets spent searching and more time gets spent finding the right thing. People are finding quality hires on Indeed right now. In the minute that I've been talking to you about it, companies like yours have made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide. One great addition can have a ripple effect on everyone around them, just like we talked about earlier.

Starting point is 00:23:15 When you find someone who brings the right skills, attitude, and experience, it makes the entire group better. And that's why finding qualified candidates matter so much. And that's why tools like Indeed sponsored jobs can help make the process easier. So spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing Canada to check all your boxes. Less dress, less time, and more results.

Starting point is 00:23:35 When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of the show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to help your job get the premium status that it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. All right. Welcome back to the player haters club, everybody. Zach, let's be haters real quick here. Okay. So we've got all the mushy stuff out of the way, all the guys we've loved all summer. Let's talk about some guys who maybe we have been unkind to or maybe just objectively these guys have taken a little bit of a nosedive in their stock.

Starting point is 00:24:29 whether it was relative to our expectations, whether, you know, they've been too hurt to defend themselves, you know, you kind of run the gamut here of all the types of different situations. So who really comes to mind when you think of someone whose stock is down? Yeah, there's one guy like 100% who comes to mind here. And it is second year past Russia, Jalen to him a low-out. Now, he had the, I mean, the dream situation coming into this offseason, right? The Colts struck out on Trey Hendrickson. so his path to starting was wide open.

Starting point is 00:25:00 Like his only competition was a veteran past wrestler who's never really been a starter before in Arden Key, right? Like Arden Key's gotten some starts, obviously, but like he's never really been a full-time starter, maybe since his rookie contract, you know, in the NFL. He's really found a home as a rotational guy. So all the writing was there for Jalen Tuamala to take over a starting job and solidify himself as that guy next to Laotu. And, I mean, you've covered it the whole time.

Starting point is 00:25:27 Jake, basically from day one, he was not getting run with the starters, like at all. He really didn't push Arden Key whatsoever for that starting job. And while you did make note throughout the training camp of like some good moments here and there and him getting some like some sacks here and there, when the preseason games came on, I mean, the film is just rough. And I know a lot of Colts fans are looking at that film and saying like, oh, like he's just not there as a pass rusher or the past rushing is not there. but I'm telling you guys as a pass rusher, yeah, there's not much to write home about it.

Starting point is 00:26:00 It's perfectly fine. The run defense, though, is just unplayable in these preseason games. I really can't mince my words any other way right now. Like, he's just getting blown off the ball by tight ends. If there's any kind of semblance of two people blocking him, he's just not, he's just kind of like a traffic cone out there right now. The play strength is not good. Excuse me there.

Starting point is 00:26:24 play strength is not good um you're not seeing the strengths that he had in college like i don't know what to do with him at all and again this was a guy who coming into training camp were like oh yeah like it's wide open for him to start and now i'm sitting here being like do we healthy scratch in week one like i wouldn't play in week one i think george gums junior is better than him right now i think kate and curry's probably better than him right now so i have no i i really have no idea what to do with him right now jay Like I'm sure the Colts will still trot him out there. But I will tell you this, if I am the Baltimore Ravens, I'm just running power to his side, but every single play.

Starting point is 00:27:05 Because that run fits not going to be there. I'm going to have a tight end just block him from its outside. He's going to have bad technique. And we're going to get a 30-yard run on every single play to that side. Like, I have no clue what to do, man. Like look at all the longest runs the Colts have allowed in the preseason here. Look who they're running at. The Tyler Goodson long touchdown run.

Starting point is 00:27:23 Look which side they ran the ball. at the 15-yard run for the Patriots before half time. Look who they ran the ball at. Like, it's bad, man. I like we're saying stock down. This is stock like way down after everything I've seen. And by all accounts, it wasn't a horrible camp for it just wasn't a good camp. It wasn't a horrible camp. But these preseason games, man, like I I really have no clue what to do with them. And so you mentioned all these guys who were overmatching him. That's second and third team tackles and tight ends and guys who are just chipping off the line. First team offensive linemen don't come off the field in an NFL game.

Starting point is 00:28:02 So he'll be going up against Trent Williams, Laramie Tunsell, like the big time tackles of the league, you know, those type of guys. So, yeah, that's, I mean, that's definitely concerning. And you have to think if he wasn't a second round pick, would he potentially be on the bubble, you know? You just kind of owe yourself patience as a team to see. if anything ever, if the light ever comes on with him because of his draft status. But that's really it.

Starting point is 00:28:29 Another guy who I want to give this guy a little bit of grace just because like sometimes, like when you come from a certain type of run scheme in college, it does take you a minute to acclimate. But DJ Giddens and I'm hard. I feel like I'm hard on him all the time. But like McGowan and Bentley have just passed him by so badly. Lastly, this offseason, I thought he was thinking too much last year when I watched him play, both like in training camp during the regular season. It was just, it was boring.

Starting point is 00:29:08 It wasn't creative at all as far as running goes. And it's been, I think he's looked a little better this off season. But he's been hurt for a good chunk of training camp, had a hamstring injury. And then he wasn't all that inspiring when he was on the field. He had a start to camp where he was dropping a bunch of balls. That has smoothed out, and I don't think he's really dropped one since then. And he's looked fine since then, but McGowan and Bentley have looked more than fine. So where this guy maybe needs the time to grow a little bit, he's getting passed by by a couple of guys who already look like they're beyond it.

Starting point is 00:29:47 Yeah, and honestly, unlike Tumolo, he doesn't have that second round draft status to rely on either. He's got fifth round draft status. status. So, I mean, it might save him because this organization sometimes does hold on to those guys a little bit long, but he's got to get out there Saturday and show something for sure. Yeah. Now, Jake and I have gone through our passion please now about stock down guys, so we'll kind of be a little quicker with the rest of these guys. But I think Mackay Blackman also kind of falls in the Tumelowal status where it's like, don't think he really had that awful of a camp, but the second the preseason game started, like he's unplayable against

Starting point is 00:30:24 backups. And what do you do? You can't be little and grabbing. You can't be undersized and committing a bunch of DPI's. Right. And here's the thing, right? Like, it's like what you said about Tuma Loa. Like, if you can't play him against Mack Hollins, if you can't play him against,

Starting point is 00:30:39 I don't even know who the Falcons were throwing out there at wide receiver. I couldn't even name. I know Zacharii Branch was out there for like a couple of snaps. But outside of that, I didn't know any of the other receivers. You couldn't play him against those guys. What are you going to do in week one against Zay Flowers? I mean, say Moody Ward got hurt, right? And can Taylor Brits suspended?

Starting point is 00:30:59 Is Mackay Blackman your next guy up? You couldn't play him in the preseason. Like, it was so bad in the preseason, you're saying, let's bench this guy. And I think Jonathan Edwards kind of falls in the same boat as well, right? Which is disappointing for our brand. We both like the potential there. But the NFL is the not for long. If you can't show it by year two, especially as an undrafted free agent, like he might be saved because of his ability is a gunner.

Starting point is 00:31:21 I think he can be a good gunner. he's on thin ice, man, because there's more guys that can play Gunner that can play corner. And you have to show it as a corner. And his ball tracking in these preseason games has been dreadful. He cannot find the football. And it's the one thing, man, it's the one thing I told you to do. I was so bummed about that because I thought he had a great spring. And so I was hyping him up coming into the summer.

Starting point is 00:31:44 Like he knows where the ball is now. He doesn't just have to play the receiver, but that is not the case. His best pass breakup of the summer came on a ball. ball hit him in the back of the helmet and it's like oh my god yeah he did have a pass breakup in the game against the falcons so he's shown a little bit more than blackman at least right where blackman has not been within 10 yards of a receiver who's caught the ball like Edwards is at least kind of been close um but yeah both those guys went from like absolute roster locks going into the preseason games to now if they cut both them I wouldn't be shocked you know like it's not like it's not

Starting point is 00:32:20 undeserved right yeah A couple more guys here at the bottom, Anthony Gould, been a roster regular the last couple years. The injury has really weighed on it where, like, other guys are getting opportunities. Now we're going to get Ashton Doolin getting a shot at Pump Returner, and Ash and Doolin is good enough at everything he does. Everything Doolin does, he's A-O-K at, not great, a-ok-a, except for Gunner. He's great at Gunner. So Doolin will probably take that job. Kik Returner, he was one of the league's best last year.

Starting point is 00:32:46 That's true. Maybe I am sliding Ash. I can't believe I slided Ashton. And now McGowan is getting some work as kick returners. Yeah. Yeah, so I just think Gould's time has run up here with the Colts and a lot more of it's to do with injury here than anything, but that's kind of where his stock down is. And then two offensive linemen. One, I mean, look, could his stock have gotten much lower in our eyes, Jake?

Starting point is 00:33:07 Probably not, but the Colts still liked him. Blake Freeland, the expectations were low, but it somehow, his play has been lower this all season. You accused him of treason during the game. It was treason for sure. But here's my thing, Jake. I'm also now accusing him of hyping up Jalen Tumolo out throughout training camp because all training camp, you're like, oh, yeah, Toomolo is getting some sacks. And I'm like, probably because he was going against Blake Freeland in practice. But again, not to be two slanders here.

Starting point is 00:33:34 One more guy who I do think really wasted a prime opportunity this offseason to turn out a long career. Dalton Tucker was getting a shot as a backup center throughout training camp. And was he getting center reps today, Jake? Did you pay attention to that at all? I couldn't tell. Okay, because he didn't get any in the preseason game. And that was coming right off of a joint practice where he said he threw a snap or threw a snap or two over Anthony Richardson's head again. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:34:01 And I think that that experiment's probably done. I think maybe Josh Krutz has a chance at making the roster now over him. I think Josh Sills, who's played guard and tackle now this off season, might have a roster spot over him. I like Gino Van derrick first. Yeah, Vander Mark might like Dalton Tucker went from you're going to be a roster lock if you can be the backup center to now. you lost that job so now other guys can kind of have a shot at taking your roster spot so he really blew a big opportunity for himself this off season yeah that that one was disappointed because i thought he'd be a pretty good hit there but if you can't convert the most basic part of center which is

Starting point is 00:34:36 making the snap then i don't know what they do to you i'll i'll throw one more in there this is more of a group thing you and i were pretty high on the fact that there'd probably be at least one udFA that made it now a lot of those guys i don't feel like they've made compelling arguments you know like west weeks was someone that even ed dodds was hyping up in the spring at minicamp uh rookie minicamp saying you know we brought him to be a special team's ace he hasn't done anything that's really moved me um you know nolan rucci i i think ruchy's probably like a practice squad guy but he hasn't like he's been a mainstay kind of with the third team um there's just not many guys, Cam Ball, a guy who we really hoped would step up behind Grover Stewart.

Starting point is 00:35:24 But really, none of these guys have been awesome. Like, Tosh Chambers, I think has been awesome. But I don't think that was someone who was really going to be given the red carpet to make a spot in the first place. So, yeah, I think some of the UDFAs kind of fell a little short of where we hoped they'd be. Yeah, Tosh Chambers and what, Anderson Castle, probably been the two best undrafted free agents. and they were not some of the high. I mean, I think Anderson Castle is the lowest paid undrafted free agent on the roster. So, yeah, it certainly has not been as great.

Starting point is 00:35:57 I mean, part of it, I think, too, is that, like, we're going to have maybe all eight draft picks make the roster. At least seven of them should make the roster. So that's part of it here. But, yeah, the undrafted free agents didn't really break through at all. We ran a little bit late today, but we appreciate you guys sticking with us. Thank you for making lockdown culture. First, listen today and every day now on video. We send you over to the first ever 24-7 YouTube channel on the NFL.

Starting point is 00:36:20 And on audio, check out Lockdown Fantasy Football with Fabs and Marcus for your second. Listen, if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks 2 on social medias. And if you never miss an episode, the Everday Air Club is built for you. Get us ad-free plus members-only Discord access and much more. Head to LockdownColts.com to join the club. Thank you all for tuning in and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon. Thank you.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: New UPDATES Come In for Alec Pierce, Anthony Richardson vs. Riley Leonard

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.