Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Q&A: What Is Anthony Richardson Sr.'s Best-Case Scenario in 2026?

Starting point is 00:00:01 Can Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson regain some trade value in the preseason? Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked on Colts. I'm Zach Hicks. That's Jake Arthur, and today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus.

Starting point is 00:00:36 If your first bet wins, head to fanduil.com today to get started. On today's show, Jake and I reached out to the Everydayers Club to get some questions from you guys. It's been a long offseason, a lot of moves, a lot of draft picks, a lot of undrafted signies. A lot of moves being made with this team. It's a very different Colts football team. So we reached out to the Everdayer Club to see what their biggest questions were heading into an offseason of activities now coming up. We've got mini camp coming up soon.

Starting point is 00:01:04 We got training camp after that. preseason and then obviously the start of the regular season in September. So we're going to just jump right into it now, Jake, just all questions all day long. First one we got here from someone in the Everydayer Club was if Anthony Richardson ends up QB3 going into training camp, but let's say that Riley Lenter comes out and has some goose eggs in like the preseason and first couple days of training camp and practices.

Starting point is 00:01:27 Could Richardson come in and look really good? Like what does that do now for the Colts, right? Do they ride with Richardson? Does that just boost the training? grade value. Like, how does that change the equation if Richardson looks like a new man? I know this is purely hypotheticals with this question, but could that change the equation quite a bit if Richardson kind of surpasses Leonard and looks pretty good in the offseason? Yeah. And I want to, to make this extra interesting, I guess, let's throw in the caveat that

Starting point is 00:01:55 like Daniel Jones doesn't look himself yet. You know, maybe he's back. Maybe he's not, but he doesn't, you know, he's not really checking the boxes you want to see yet. I do think that is the absolute best way for Richardson to rehab things is just to prove to other teams that he could play football again, you know, like I think there's concerns about the vision. There's concerns about, you know, the last time we saw him was the season that he got benched for a couple of games. And then he came back and looked pretty good, let a couple fourth quarter comebacks. But then he hurts his back and then miss.

Starting point is 00:02:31 is the last couple games of the season. So he's got a lot of proving to do because one of the biggest knocks on him was injuries. And last year, he suffered a season-ending injury without even being on the field, you know. So this guy has a lot of just proving to do. I think if he remains healthy throughout the offseason and through the summer and everything, I think if he has a really good preseason, then I think that will go a long way towards proving to teams that he's at least capable of functioning on a football field again. And then the vision. I don't really know how you convince people otherwise.

Starting point is 00:03:09 Like that one's such a weird, tricky injury. But I mean, as long as you look at the film, like the All-22 from behind the offense and say, hey, it looks like this guy is seeing his peripheral vision looks just fine. Then I think that does it. And I know I'm guilty of this kind of anointing Riley-Linard early. I just feel very confident that he is going to at least be at minimum of a solid QB2, you know, but there's still a lot that needs to play out. I mean, the kid was a rookie last year.

Starting point is 00:03:43 It could have been a flash in the pan. I mean, maybe Anthony does far surpass him on the field during training camp in the preseason. I mean, that's not like a crazy, that's not a crazy notion. You know what I mean? So this scenario could unfold. But ultimately, I think. think that's Anthony's best case scenario. It's just going out and really excelling while the rest of the Colts

Starting point is 00:04:07 quarterbacks maybe don't do quite as well. Now, Jake, here's a question then for you, just to kind of build off this hypothetical that we got from the everyday air club. Do you think there's any scenario whatsoever this season, knowing what we know about Shane Steichen right now, where if all three of these quarterbacks, I will say relatively healthy, right? Because this isn't even happened if Jones is fully healthy. but if Jones looks like a shell of himself and Leonard's healthy,

Starting point is 00:04:32 do you think there's any scenario that Richardson starts over those two guys? So like, let's say if it's like the second half of the year and things are just going to slop, basically, and Jones is playing poorly enough that he looks like he's benched. Financially, I think it would be crushing for the Colts to admit they need to make a move. But I mean, sure. You don't think they would call Philip Rivers back again? No, I don't. I mean, sure, you'd probably want to give Riley Leonard a shot,

Starting point is 00:05:04 but I think if things are really looking really poor, then what does it hurt you to go to Anthony? Especially if he's looked good in practice and, like, look good in the preseason and he's healthy and everything, I don't think it hurts anything. Now, I think this is probably a fantasy land we're living in. I don't think all these scenarios do come true. but you know what, as people who cover the Colts, we have seen everything to this point.

Starting point is 00:05:33 So I'm not going to say it will never happen. That is very true. I don't think Stuyken in any scenario would go to Richardson in that. I think it would just be Leonard in that scenario. But we'll see. I think the best case scenario for both sides is Richardson shows that he can be healthy in training camp and the Colts are able to deal him by early August, mid-August, and they can move forward with who they have.

Starting point is 00:05:56 Get into our next question, though, do the Colts need to address the backup center position since our current backup center is Jimmy Morrissey? And this has been a hot topic of not only among the everyday air club, but among a lot of our comment section. We see you guys constantly asking about backup center. I know we've talked about this before, Jake, but you and I both think it's going to be Dalton, Dalton Tucker this year as that backup center. They played around with it a little bit last training camp and a little bit in the preseason. I want to say it was the game against the Baltimore Ravens. Dalton Tucker got out there for a handful of snaps, and I thought he looked pretty good in those snaps.

Starting point is 00:06:30 I think this is something they've slowly been moving towards, and now with Jalen Farmer or McInsovus, whoever wins or loses that right guard spot, it's going to be the backup guard this year. I think it opens the door for Tucker to make that full transition inside the center. So I think the Colts aren't as worried about backup center because they also view Tucker in that role. And I do think they like Morrissey for what he is.

Starting point is 00:06:51 He is built very similar to a Danny Pinter type of player. He doesn't have the pedigree, obviously, that Pinter had, but built very similar. So I don't think they're terribly concerned. And honestly, when next time you get to talk to Tony Sparano Jr., Jake, if Tony doesn't feel too bothered by it, I'm cool. Then Tony, Tony, that's what he's doing at this point. I don't try to plead to authority when it comes to these things very often. But Tony Spirano Jr. is the lone exception when it comes to this stuff. Yeah, totally with you.

Starting point is 00:07:18 And my understanding is Tucker has cross-trained at center, like throughout at least the last year. I think if you look at how the offensive line was constructed last year, I think there's probably a pretty good chance he would have been the third center if anything happened to Danny Pinter and Tanner Bordolini. But yeah, my understanding is he should be in the mix at backup center. We will actually talk to Tony on Wednesday this week, finally. That's one of the assistants, I think we've all easily been waiting to hear the most from. So yeah, Tony Sparano will talk to him Wednesday. And he's not a secretive guy. Like if there's someone in the mix or someone who we think makes sense to be in a certain spot, he'll divulge on that, which it'll also be good to get his

Starting point is 00:08:01 thoughts on where Jalen Farmer might actually fit into this whole equation. But yeah, we'll talk to him on Wednesday and get a couple more answers. Last one for this segment here. This is from Jesse in the Every Day or Club. Who do you see is the biggest X factors this season? So Zach and I did talk quite a bit about offensive X factors recently on a show last week. So, Zach, let's go to the defensive side of the ball here. Who do you think could really stand out and maybe, maybe kind of change the way that the Colts are doing some things? Yeah, I guess I'll go a little under the radar with this,

Starting point is 00:08:33 because we've talked so much about Hunter Woller this offseason and Justin Wally and those types of guys. But I think Kobe Wooden can be a bit of an X factor on defense this year. We're still a little bit concerned about the health of DeForest Buckner going forward, not only for 2026, but beyond. And I think Wooden is a play. player of the Colts very, very much valued. That's why they were comfortable doing that straight up trade for Zaire Franklin.

Starting point is 00:08:55 The film was really solid last year with Green Bay. I mean, he just kind of wore down a little bit at nose tackle. But I think getting him back out at three tech, getting him out there in some of their five-man front situations or three defensive tackle looks, wherever you want to classify it as, I think could be really good for him. I think he's going to be an upgrade over Neville Gallimore. And again, at DeForth Buckner misses some time, I think a player like Wooden can slide in and play some good football for them.

Starting point is 00:09:20 So maybe not the biggest X factor. Like he's not going to come out and get 10 sacks or anything this year, or at least I don't think he will. Maybe he does. That'd be awesome. But Kobe Wooden, I think, is going to be a pretty important piece on that defense this year. One guy I have heard a bit about coming from the Colts this offseason is Tommy. At a Tommy while out of Boire.

Starting point is 00:09:40 If we're sticking with backup three techs. So that's the interesting thing about this thing is I know the Colts want to have both of those guys pretty involved. And they're going to have to scale DeForest Buckner back a little bit. So where Buckner maybe played like 50 or 60 snaps in a game before, he really probably needs to play like 25, 30 going forward. So that's going to move Wooden up the board. It's going to move Tommy up the board.

Starting point is 00:10:03 This is a contract year for Tommy. He played a bunch on the edge last year, too. I think I was surprised when I looked at his numbers there last year. So I think they're going to continue mixing it up. And again, you don't have a clearly defined starting edge opposite. said a lot to. So I think it makes a lot of sense to have just a big rotation of guys out there. And I would like to see Tommy play more in 2026 than he hasn't any year before. Yeah, Atatoma, Atabore hitting career highs across the board last year.

Starting point is 00:10:34 I could see a scenario where a lot of rundowns, your two interior defensive linemen are Wooden and Grover. Then on passing down, your two guys are Buck and Tommy to rush the pastor, just to keep everybody fresh. So that could be a path that works for this defense next season. Coming up, though, we're going to continue our conversation with these Q&As from the Everyday Air Club. Make sure you're checking out that Everyday Air Club. More on that in just a second. But we're going to talk more on these questions here and just a few. Workplace chaos, deadlines stacking up, inbox is overflowing,

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Starting point is 00:12:44 So let's move on to the next question here. This, I think, was immediately or initially, directed at you, Zach. Who is the Colts main zero tech and who is their best backup option? Yeah, so zero technique for anyone listening at home who's not familiar with that terminology, zero tech is essentially just a nose tackle. It's going to be your defensive tackle right up, face up over top of the center. Now, most teams don't run much zero tech anymore because it really derived from the three,

Starting point is 00:13:12 four defense and teams just don't run base defense anymore. But actually, Grover Stewart, I think, was the second most zero tech snaps in the the NFL among defensive tackles last season. It was like 139, I believe is what it was because the Colts, their base defense is that 5-2 front that we talk about a lot on here. When they go to that, Grover moves down to playing that Zero Tech role. So Zero Tech not generally used as much in the NFL, but Zero Tech slash One Tech, that is going to be Grover Stewart in this defense. And when it comes to their backup, I mean, I think your guess is as good as mine when it comes to that backup. because yeah, Derek Nottie is the veteran.

Starting point is 00:13:49 They signed this offseason big body player who's won a couple of Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, certainly in the down swing of his career right now, but, you know, can probably still fall forward and do something you hope at least. Jerry Tilleries also going to battle for that spot, not really the biggest player, but Chris Ballard has talked about him being in contention for that spot. Kobe Wooden played it last season in Green Bay. The Colts have said they don't want Wooden playing that this year, but again, if you don't have anyone else you trust there,

Starting point is 00:14:19 then Kobe Wooden would potentially have to step in. And then two kind of under the radar guys, Tim Smith, the Colt's sixth round pick from last draft season. And then Cam Ball, the Colts undrafted free agent from this draft season, I think are both going to factor in as well. But I would say as of right now, the Colts are just going to have Derek Nottie as that backup. But we'll see if Ball or Smith or artillery can supplant him and take that role from him.

Starting point is 00:14:44 So that kind of rolls us into this next. and this member of the club kind of has some concerns about the teeth of the defense, basically, concern about DeForest Buckner's neck and both the fact that him and Grover will both be 33 by the time the season is over. There's not really clear evidence that there's a great option to back up Grover necessarily. And then with all that, you have a rookie Mike linebacker who is lining up right behind them. So I guess really more than anything, is it a big problem? Or do you think, like, do you think they'll perform well up the middle or, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:23 healthy skepticism until we see otherwise? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a reason to be skeptical when it comes to, when it comes to the defensive tackle death because of the Forrest Buckner's injury, right? Because we just don't know what his status is going to be this year. And then you also have that question behind Grover Stewart as nose tackle backup. So I understand there being some concern at defensive tackle, but honestly, I think the top four that they're going to run into the season with at defensive tackle is probably the best that they've had in Chris Ballard's tenure, just in terms of like if you're getting at least like 70% of Buckner, right? That's a very good player still alongside Grover Stewart, who has been very healthy in his career and played some good ball at one tech for them.

Starting point is 00:16:06 And then I think Wooden and Tommy are both playing some really good football as well. like Tommy coming off the best year of his career was a very effective pass rusher for the Colts, one of their best pass rushers on the team last year. I think Kobe Wooden, I think, can be a very versatile key depth player that could, you know, probably be a starter for a couple teams as well. So I think defensive tackle is one of their strongest positions on the roster. I understand the healthy skepticism when it comes to one tech backup and also when it comes to Buckner's neck. But I think having guys like Wooden and Atatomi, well, I think are just like,

Starting point is 00:16:39 very, very vital pieces to the equation here. And like I said earlier, Jake, you could have a situation where your run-down guys are wooden and Grover. And then on passing downs, it's Tommy and Buckner. And then you can keep those guys fresh and hopefully keep them healthy that way. So I think there are some ways that they can mix this and match it to make it work. So I'm not terribly concerned about defensive tackle. I mean, you know me.

Starting point is 00:17:03 I'm always concerned about not having like a 330-pound backup nose tackle. But aside from that. I'm not terribly concerned about defensive tackle. All right. This next one from Jesse is, this one's fun. We're going to, of course, add a little alteration to it, though. How would you rank this year's Colts team compared to the last five Colts teams? So to make it fair, since the Colts are only in May right now, OTAs,

Starting point is 00:17:28 we're going to compare them to 2021, 22, 23, 24, 25, the last five teams, what the optimism expectation level was at this point. of the calendar. Zach, so go ahead and take us back. Where would you slot this team in terms of offseason anticipation? All right, purely off of optimism on like how highly I thought of the team. Gosh, you know what? Either 2021 or 2022 would probably be the top one, right?

Starting point is 00:18:00 Which is crazy to say because 2022, it was the disaster season. But if you remember going into that season, they had just signed Stefan Gilmore. they had a couple of like good veteran players on that team. Carson Wentz was seen as like the reason why they missed the playoffs year before. They went out and got Matt Ryan pretty cheap. And, you know, so it seemed like there was a lot of optimism. They had a good draft class with Alec Pierce, Berenhardt, Reim, Nick Cross coming in. So there was a lot of optimism.

Starting point is 00:18:28 Really the only concern was Matt prior at left tackle, which it ended up being a pretty big issue for that team. So honestly, I would go 2021 at the top, 22 second. I mean, 2024, probably third for optimism. No, 2026 third. Then 2024, fourth. 2025 after that, then 2023 at the bottom. Only reason why 2023 is going to be at the very bottom, even though that was, what, I guess the best season out of all these.

Starting point is 00:18:59 2023, optimism at the bottom, because they were just coming off a dreadful 2022 season. They're running back the entire same roster, except worse at cornerback because they trade away Gilmore and they just put in a rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson who didn't even end up starting most of the year. But like it seemed like that was going to be like another like five win season. And then they succeeded expectations.

Starting point is 00:19:21 So then the expectations were set really high for 2024, which is why 2024 is in the top four of this. And then that was a bad. So it's almost like whatever expectations were, it end up being the inverse, right? They're in the next season because 2025 and 2023 or arguably the best two seasons there. So, yeah, I mean, I think 2021 and 2022 are certainly at the top of that when it comes to optimism.

Starting point is 00:19:45 And then it kind of slowly goes down because we kind of lost a lot of hope for the Chris Ballard tenure after that. But I'll let you get your words in here, Jake, before we move on to the final segment. Yeah, I think I got to go with 2021 first. Just because at the time, they were coming off the playoffs the year before with Phillip Rivers. Right. They didn't get killed in that game. A lot of fans feel like they kind of got robbed at the end of the game as well. So like optimism was high.

Starting point is 00:20:11 Philip Rivers was gone, but you get Carson Wentz to pair back up with Frank Reich. And it's like, oh, we can fix him. He'll be fine here. And Jonathan Taylor was coming into year two the last time we saw him. He rushed for a single game franchise record like 257 yards against the Jags. So like vibes were high in 2021. It's kind of same with 2022 as well. though, because, you know, the Carson Wins stuff didn't necessarily work.

Starting point is 00:20:38 They fell short. But Matt Ryan was the responsible adult at quarterback that Carson Wins wasn't, you know. And it looked like he still had some juice left. His final season in Atlanta was fine. That's not how it wound up being, but the optimism was there. I would put, I would put this year in the middle. Right. I'd put 2026 in the middle just because we saw.

Starting point is 00:21:04 how good the team was in the first half last year. And if everyone gets healthy, this should be a good team. Uh, 2023 was just like, you, you get a rookie quarterback. So like you're excited about having Richardson, but expectations for the team were low. Uh, and then 2024 was kind of the same. We approached it as another, this year is about developing Anthony year. Like you thought they'd like as long as they finished around 500, it was fine. And Anthony looks better. It was fine. Um, So yeah, I'd put those ones kind of at the bottom. But yeah, this one in the middle with 21 and 22 being at the top. Yeah, I would argue 2024 for sure over 2023.

Starting point is 00:21:43 A lot of Colts fans were expecting playoffs because of how good Richardson looked early that season. And then it was just a disaster from start to finish. Yes, it was. Rough, rough season. Coming up, though, we're going to continue the Q&A episode and get a few more in before the final whistle here. The NBA playoffs are here. We're down to the final four guys. it's crazy to even think about.

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Starting point is 00:23:02 Fandul, play your game. All right, welcome back, everybody. We are doing another Q&A episode here today. And this final segment, we're looking pretty much big picture here. There's some skepticism. There's some skepticism for sure. But this first question, we'll just go ahead and say, now that the schedule is out, how do we feel about the upcoming season

Starting point is 00:23:28 and the Colts overall strength the schedule? They say, I know by the numbers, the Colts have one of the easier schedules. But realistically, by the end of the season, we can look back and say the Colts had a tough one, playing multiple playoff caliber teams, Chiefs, Ravens, Bengals, the Texans twice, Jaguar twice, Cowboys and Eagles. I agree. I think it's actually a lot harder of a schedule than it looks because you're getting a lot of teams that are coming off uncharacteristically down years. And then there's only a few games against like just kind of crappy teams, like the Browns, the Dolphins, the Titans twice.

Starting point is 00:24:03 So how do we feel about this? It feels a lot different than last year, doesn't it? Yeah, honestly, I think it's an easier schedule on paper than last year's schedule was. I mean, I guess the way that last year's schedule turned out to be, it feels a lot easier on paper because, like, playing against Seattle, right, in Seattle, playing against San Fran down the stretch, playing against the Rams in that season, playing against a couple other, like, really strong teams. Texans and Jags both made the playoffs and they were both, like, in the final six games or something like that. Right, right. playing the Chiefs with Mahomes healthy. I know the Chiefs weren't who they were,

Starting point is 00:24:37 but like a healthy Mahomes in Arrowhead ended up being a pretty tough one in there. So, you know, I think the way that last year's schedule ended was really tough, like really, really brutal. And then I look at this year's schedule and like, yeah, you could say there's playoff caliber teams that they're playing against.

Starting point is 00:24:53 But Chiefs, even if you're saying they had a down season, I think that they're not like, they still have a lot of issues that they're still trying to iron out. They're doing, they're kind of in this like, this like changing period. for their team right now. Ravens a whole new, like just a whole new everything, right, across the board.

Starting point is 00:25:09 Like they still have Lamar Jackson, but they are drastically changing how they do things. Weird to put the bangles in here. I don't know why the bangles are some scary playoff team. That defense isn't it. Yeah, they're just, I mean, they always have a chance when you're in a shootout with Burrow, you know? I guess. Like they had one good run, I guess, but okay, we had to put them in here. And then even, yeah, like, cowboys in here, like, why we put in the cowboys in here? They haven't been. Have you ever seen the Colts play the Cowboys? Yeah, they shut them out back in 2018.

Starting point is 00:25:39 With the exception of 2018, it normally goes really poorly. But all joking aside, I don't think it's like that hard of a schedule overall. Like it's a very standard NFL schedule. Like I don't think you're looking at it saying like, oh, we play this murderers row of teams. Like, yeah, there's some tough parts and there's some easy parts. But overall, if you want to be a playoff team, there's nothing about this schedule that says like, oh, we are a really good team that just ran into a bunch of other, like, great teams. Like, it's a, at best, it's like an average schedule in terms of strength of schedule.

Starting point is 00:26:09 I know if you're looking at it from last year's stuff, it's like, wow, this is an easy schedule. It's not that case in particular, but I don't know. There's nothing about this schedule that tells me, like, it's terribly hard. And I don't want to use any excuse. Like, if they missed the playoffs this year, it's not because they ran into a bunch of good teams, like the Cowboys and the Bengals. It's because they were not a playoff caliber football team. So I don't think there's anything about the schedule that says, like, they shouldn't make the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:26:34 If they miss it, it's completely on them. All right. So let's look specifically at the division in the AFC South. Again, I mentioned the Jaguars and Texans both made the playoffs last year. Who is the biggest divisional hurdle to get through on paper now that, you know, the draft and the bulk of free agency and all that stuff is done? Which divisional team, did any of them actually worry you at all? for the divisional teams i mean the texans i think with that defense always have to worry you i mean as long as will and deniel hunter are healthy yeah it's going to be a terrifying defense to play

Starting point is 00:27:10 against because they can they just just have to rush four all the time against you and i think any secondary that can just drop seven is is in a good position against you but when you have an extra man flying around out there and they're physical guys well here's the thing right like the guys that they're dropping in the coverage right like if if this was a normal defense dropping seven in a coverage is scary, right, on a regular basis, because you still have to get the ball without under three seconds against this team. But they have Derek Stingley, Camarie Lasseter, Kaelan Bullock, Jalen Petrie, like, they have very good players back there too.

Starting point is 00:27:42 So regardless of what their offense looks like, the Texans are always going to be a threat because of that defense. As long as DeNiel Hunter is still playing football for them, I mean, heck, Will Anderson's going to be there for a long time and he's a stud. But as long as they have both of those guys, that's terrifying. and they added that Ohio State defensive tackle who's a stud as well on the interior. So that defense, I think, is really scary for sure. Even if C.J. Stroud might not be the rookie version of himself and might have some more ups and downs to his game.

Starting point is 00:28:12 I think the Texans will remain the scariest team in the division. I'm keeping my eye on the Titans, though. I don't think this is going to be the year for them, but Cam Ward did some things last year that I was really impressed by. And I'm curious to see what steps he takes this year, like if it continues going up for him or if it stagnates a little bit like a did with Stroud after his rookie season. And then the Jaguars, I think they're well coached. I think there's a lot of good things with that team. I think there were some fools gold with their team last year, though.

Starting point is 00:28:40 So I'm still kind of holding out to see how real it was. But they did lose a lot this offseason from that team, from Trevor E.T.N. or A. Chan, I guess is how you say his last name now. And Devin Lloyd on defense, like they did lose a couple of big pieces. So I'm curious to see how they bounce back from. that but I would say for me it's still the Houston Texans I mean if that defense is going to be good it's hard to project defenses to stay good over multiple seasons but there's no reason not to think like as long as the Texans stay healthy on defense it's going to be a top five defense

Starting point is 00:29:12 at the worst this year yeah I think the Jaguars lost Andrew Wingard too he seems like a big he's like a big lynchpin part of the rivalry and the Colts not being able to win in Jacksonville I always think of Wingard where I think of the Colts not being able to win down there but no I agree like some of the some of the players who you think about when you think about like the colts not being able to win in jacksonville aren't there like devon lloyd had the big plays last year a chan always had a big performance against the colts it seemed um yeah things have just changed and like they even drafted some players i liked but their draft overall stunk you know i mean they just drafted guys out of order yeah they took this crappy tight end in round two that jake hated this draft isn't that crazy like no No one was a bigger bullculture guy than me. And I'm like, oh my God, second round after you already have Brenton Strange. That's crazy. So I'm not like, I think the Jaguars will probably, they'll be relevant for sure, but they

Starting point is 00:30:10 don't worry me near as much as Houston does. If I'm not mistaken, I think Houston maybe gets Tank Dell back this year. And if you think about that's, that's when CJ Stroud stopped being rookie C.J. Stroud is when Tank Dell was getting or injured all the time. then he had that massive injury from a couple years ago. But, you know, they've done some work on their offensive line, which should be productive. They added a capable running back. So we'll see how it goes.

Starting point is 00:30:38 But Houston is definitely the team. I'm worried about the Titans. I don't know if the Colts will sweep them this year. They're definitely the Colts are better team. They've made some improvements Tennessee has, but they don't worry me quite yet. Yeah. I think they're going to have, like, take the right step. this year, but I don't know if they're quite ready to really be like competitive.

Starting point is 00:31:01 But hey, if Cam Ward has a huge breakout second season, which I think he's, yeah, I think he's very capable of doing that. They could be closer to contention than we think. I mean, the Patriots jumped all the way up to being the one scene in the AFC last year with their quarterback going into year two. So we'll see if that changes around for them. But as of right now, I think it's a fine division. I think it's a pretty competitive division, maybe not at the same level of the NSC West.

Starting point is 00:31:25 but I mean it's pretty darn good of a division to be in. So all of this to say, the Colts need to be on their A game this year if they want to make the playoffs or we'll see a clean house this next time next offseason. Thank you all for tuning in to Locked on Colts. We'll back yet again tomorrow. So make sure you subscribe and follow Locked on Colts so you get all the latest episodes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur and it's out at Zach Hakes 2 all on socials. If you never missed an episode, the Everdair Club is built for you. get us ad-free plus members-only Discord access and much more.

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