Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS QB COMPETITION: Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones True Split (w/ James Boyd)

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

The Indianapolis Colts made a little news this week at the NFL annual meeting, as Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard reiterated that Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones will be a true QB competition with a 50-50 split in reps throughout the offseason. Did Steichen and Ballard tip any other info this week? The 2025 Indy Draft Guide is officially available for pre-orders! 225+ in-depth scouting reports, plus how each player fits the Indianapolis Colts. Pre-Order Now: https://draftguide.gumroad.com/l/indy25 Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Today's episode is brought to you by the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada.  Stay tuned for the Armada “Player of the Week” later in the show.  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Chris Ballard and Shane Stiken spoke at the NFL's annual meeting this week and we are reading between the lines. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right. of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, all right. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day.

This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by the all new 2025 Nissan Armada. Stay tuned for the Armada Player of the Week later in the show. What is up, everybody?

This is Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks at horseshoehuddle.com. We are joined by a very special guest today, James Boyd of The Athletic. He is also host of the fan morning show and host of the James Boyd podcast, as that would make a lot of sense. Welcome to the show buddy. I think it's the first time in a while we've had you.

Yeah, yeah. Obviously when you reached out, I was like, let's do it, man. Always excited to talk to you and Zach. Obviously I read a lot of your stuff throughout the season. Zach, I'm looking forward to the draft guide every year as well, like those types of things. I invest in local journalism for sure. And yeah, having the privilege to go down to owner's meetings. I know everyone can't do it, but I'm always happy to share what I've learned and, and things we'll talk

about for months at a time for sure. Of course. Now it's the annual meeting is something I always say I'm going to every year and I never do. And of course I think I would have rather been down there in Florida than any other weather and everything. But you. But this is a good opportunity for those of you who are able to go down there. Free agency has happened, so some big stuff has happened. The last time we talked to Shane Steichen and Chris was at the Combine, so obviously there's been a lot

of development since then. Obviously Charvarius Ward, Cam Bynum, and Daniel Jones is here now. So one of the bigger takeaways, at least nationally, I think locally we all kind of expected it to go this way. But one of the big things that came out of this is Shane Steichen and Chris both confirmed that, you know, starting this spring in OTAs

and throughout the entire off season, it's gonna be a pretty split load between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, leading to it being like a true 50 50 winner take all kind of thing. And sure, like I think Anthony is, you know, he's kind of earned the right to go in as the leader in the clubhouse a bit. But it's probably seems like a little more than it's his job to lose. Is that right? I would definitely say that was my reaction to what took place down there in Florida? I was like wow like they're really

Not hanging him out to dry, but it's very much like you have to earn it You know all of us have talked at length whether it's been on the podcast like this one or in the media room Jake Where we're like man like reps reps reps. That's what they preached at us, and then now it's like Hey, by the way you said he's reps now you're gonna split him And so go ahead so you, make the most of them. And I was like, dang, okay. And then you have Chris Ballard saying that I have to be best friends, they'll be respectful and professional because of their character.

And there's no reason to think that they would be like mean towards each other. But it's definitely gonna be a little bit awkward, I think, when you know, this guy's my teammate, but he's here to take my spot if you're Anthony Richardson. So I definitely left that feeling like, oh, this is more of a legit QB competition than I probably thought. And not saying it wasn't going to be, but I always had the mindset of, oh, they're gonna start Anthony week one,

and then from there, that's when the competition starts. But now I'm thinking more like, man, okay, these are like some real reps and some real, certainly competition before week one even begins and credit to the Colts I guess because it's always there from the beginning But I feel more inclined to drink the Kool-Aid now just based off some of the reactions we got and then on top of that just knowing What's at stake and I think one of the most telling things that Chris Ballard said and I'm sure we'll get into a lot of it But I believe holder

Stephen holder from ESPN asked him hey, you know Hypothetically is the best-case scenario for you to have Anthony Richardson, you know win the job But I believe Holder, Stephen Holder from ESPN asked him, hey, hypothetically, is the best case scenario for you to have Anthony Richardson win the job? That way you kind of have that long term stability, like not only win the job but play well in 2025. And then you have stability at quarterback, you have an answer at quarterback, you probably have a long term answer at quarterback. And his response was no, our best case scenario is to start the guy who wins the most games and that's us that's what

we're trying to do and I was like wow okay and it didn't sound like you know one if it was one game or ten games more like it didn't matter that's what it came off as and I was like okay like they're really trying to make sure that whatever the case may be they win games in 2025 whether it's with Anthony or Daniel Jones and the youth of Anthony, the longevity that he could possibly provide. Daniel Jones being on a one-year contract, none of that really seemed to matter to Chris Ballard and crew because they were just like, hey, we're here to win, which they are paid to do. But yeah, a bit of a different stance, I would say, certainly from where Anthony was when

he came back from the bench and they can't say they're all saying, oh, he's our friendship quarterback to the end of the season. Oh, we need competition to doubling down on it. They're in Palm beach. Yeah. And I gotta say, I agree with that. Zach, what do you think? Cause at a certain point, you know, we all thought, you know, Shane, Chris and Anthony are kind of a package deal and how one of them goes, they're all going to go. But now kind of at a point where they got to win games by any means necessary and got to take the training wheels off and it's it's kind of up to Anthony to make sure that he wins the job if it's up to him.

So does this kind of change your gauge on this at all that? Not too much for me personally and James can obviously react to what I'm about to say here but my speculation reading between the lines is you kind of have to speak like that to keep that fire lit under Anthony's butt you know even if this is an expensive way to light a fire under him is to throw all this money at Daniel Jones you have to say it like that so he works his butt off this off season you know so he comes in as the best prepared Anthony Richardson that he can be. So I do think to a degree some of it is just like that messaging being consistent with that messaging towards Anthony Richardson.

But I think another aspect of this, and maybe this is the Colts looking back at the last two offseasons being like, part of the reason why these backup quarterbacks weren't as successful come regular season as maybe they could have been is because they didn't get a ton of off season reps. I know Gardner Mentshu did obviously but those got taken away after like week one of the preseason Joe Flacco obviously didn't really get many of the first team snaps and maybe it's just the fact that look Anthony's probably gonna get hurt again it's an unfortunate reality you can't come out and just say like we expect Anthony to get hurt But if the Colts need to win as many games as possible this year to get to the playoffs and to you know

Maybe keep the jobs of Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard They kind of need Daniel Jones ready to go even if he's just the backup this season You gotta be prepared to play Six seven eight games because that's what we've gotten out of the recent history of Anthony Richardson So even if they're being completely truthful saying like this is a legit competition Whoever is better even by the slightest margin will be the starter like yes, I think all this tracks But even if they're not being truthful I think there still is a reason to give Jones those reps is because odds are we're gonna see him for a good amount

of snaps this year. So this is why I read Zack. I definitely agree there because the elephant in the room is the injuries. And that's the part that no one can really give you a definitive answer on. Like you can't predict the future. I believe at the combine, I asked Chris Ballard and others did as well, like what's the difference between like being injury prone versus being, know a guy who is just unlucky and Is there really a difference like I mean we can talk about it all day, but it doesn't matter

We're gonna look at games played and that's the thing that Anthony just hasn't had You know you can look back on it and say oh if he never got hurt or if we didn't start him right away But you can't go back and rewind time and say oh this particular play was just unlucky the bottom line is he's missed time and you can kind of bank on that happening again because if you look at Anthony's career I mean going back to high school which I'm sure you all have talked about right two things he's never been as healthy and accurate like those are the two things that have kind of plagued him throughout his life even at the age of 22 about to be 23 so I'm excited to see how he responds to it. Because I thought that they don't have to be best friends comment was interesting

from Chris Ballard and I'm like, okay. But also, to Zach's point, I also believe that there's no reason for you to come in and feel comfortable at all. Like maybe that was a little bit too much of that last year, which led to the benching perhaps or maybe feeling a little bit too much of that last year, which led to the benching perhaps, or maybe feeling a little bit too much of yourself, too big of yourself, and you hadn't accomplished anything. Whereas with Daniel Jones, I mean, yes, he struggled in the NFL. He had the one kind of like anomaly season in 2022, but the one thing we never hear about

him and from talking to people who've covered him, written about him, people who obviously have worked with him just internally, the working hard part is not an issue at all. And so if I'm Anthony Richardson, I am stalking Daniel Jones. I'm doing everything he does. And you are not, I'm looking over my shoulder, you know, making sure that you're right there, looking over your shoulder to make sure I'm right there

because you don't want to be seen as the guy who isn't working just as hard as a new guy. Yeah, and I don't want to add to speculation about Richardson, what happened last year, anything like that, because I wasn't there. I hard as a new guy. Yeah. And I don't want to add to speculation about Richardson, what happened last year or anything like that. Cause I wasn't there. I wasn't in the room, but this is a way of the Colts saying like, you need to be 100% committed to everything Colts football this year, Anthony, because you are not walking in here as the starter.

This is a real competition. Even if it's not a real competition, even if behind closed doors, Stiken and Ballard are, you know, doing rituals saying like, please, Anthony, please figure it out, like, say healthy, do your thing. Like, even if they're doing everything they can possible to make sure it's going to be Anthony, they still need to tell him that maybe it's not. So he is 100% committed. Again, I think maybe it's an expensive way of doing something where in a job setting, if you're telling someone like, hey, you're on the hot seat, usually that lights the fire.

But if you have to do it like this, because he's a young kid and that's the way you think it can get through to him, you know, as long as it ends up working, that's fine for me, you know? Yeah, that is it's certainly the biggest yet again storyline for the Colts is quarterback Will there be consecutive seasons ever where we're not questioning the quarterback? We do not know I've been coming up guys We're going to talk about the defensive side of the ball and a couple eye-opening statements that were made this week The Armada player of the week is brought to you by our friends at Nissan and the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada each week player of the week is brou at Nissan and the all new

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That was smooth. So, all right. We're talking defense and this, you know, by the time the draft is over, maybe the much more exciting side of the ball. And I mean that in a really good way, because some of the start that the Colts have gotten off to this off season on defense by no means should they be done, but getting Traverrius Warden can't bind them to the top defensive backs in the free agent market. Absolutely. They had to do that. And it was also turning over newly. We saw them be more aggressive and close deals like they really haven't done before.

But there are, you know, some still some needs still available and some comments that were made. So let's start up front with the defensive line, obviously. So Daiwa Dengbo leaves in for agency to the Bears. Uh, there's obviously only so much money that can go around, but it seems like the Colts are really reliant on Laotu. Laotu taking a big jump and also Samson Ebikam kind of bucking the trend of father time and being a 30 year old coming off in Achilles. That's going to look remotely like he did two years ago. So James, what are we thinking here? Are they too reliant on the guys they've got? I mean, surely you expect more to more to come in the next month or so, right? I try to give some GMs grace because I mean every team in the league, they're never going

to be like a foolproof system. I guess you're the Eagles in every position is just loaded, right? And you draft well and you replenish well and you cut guys and you add guys for cheap contracts that all work out but in the case of the Colts, I'm like man are they kind of Overstating what Samson Ebukam could be in the absence of Di-O O'Dangbo who obviously went to Chicago played the most snaps for you last year at that position I'm like man, so me and Chris Bauer had a little like this, you know little head-to-head at the

Owners meeting nothing like too crazy. It was respectful, but Look I respect it. I mean we throw jabs at the guy all day in a respectful way and he throws one back I'm not gonna get offended about it at all It's funny whenever that happens like publicly and I'll get a message like man. He was so mean to you and it's like no It's fine. Like we're just talking ball, but Talking about ball. I was like look man. I understand that you know, we were talking about Samson Epcom and he brought him up He's like man James you even har on this guy and I'm like, yes, but not because I don't like him Not because I think he can't be a good player or hasn't been a good player

I have doubts about him being a good player again, but it's because of the Achilles in the age I'm like, he's 30 man He's not you know cam Akers and you know had it super early and was you know, a very lighter player and things like that With Samson, I'm just concerned that he can even get back to a level of being a disruptive defensive lineman just because we've seen the Achilles injury play out. And I asked Chris Bell, like, hey, I know you're pushing back at me, but I'm pushing back against you for a moment. Why do you keep believing in this?

Like we've seen Achilles tears really derail careers at this stage of them, especially being just one year removed. It's always usually, I'm not a doctor here, but it's usually like that second year post-op when people become who they were. You know, you look at, obviously, Dyle early in his career, Julian Blackmon was another one. And then just as fresh as it was last year, you cut Dallas Flowers after telling us

that he was gonna be a guy for you because he just wasn't the same athlete after the Achilles. Like he would probably admit that himself now. But I say all this and I look at it like, man, to me it's a gamble and I just wonder if you had cut him and used that money elsewhere to go get maybe not the high market super high end defensive end, but someone who's a veteran, proven guy, somebody that's more of a healthier option, would that have been a smarter bet? So that's one of my biggest things with ballad this off season is like, yeah, the QB competition

is one thing, but that to me is a hell of a risk. And then to kind of put a button on it, you're really banking on Latou becoming a dude next year, which is fine. Like in this upcoming season, you didn't draft him 15 overall to not be a guy, but you're really, really banking on him being a 10-sack guy so that Samson Epocom doesn't have to be that guy which he kind of was two years ago. I believe it was like nine and a half sacks.

So we'll see. But I was just like, man, look, check the tape when it comes to Achilles' injuries that first year. And I don't even care that it happened before the season and all that. To me, it rarely, rarely, rarely works out that first year post-op. Well, I want to give him credit because we're not even to the draft yet, but this is kind of shaping up to be the secondary last year, how we're like, dude, you're relying on a bunch of guys who have never had a clean bill of health.

And that's what you're looking at now. Outside of lotto, pretty much your entire defensive end group is entering their final year on their contracts and Taekwon has had issues. Samson's had injury issues. Quiddy pay has never been the healthiest guy on earth. So you gotta make some, probably a veteran and another rookie or something you can't enter how it is right now. Cause you're just putting a lot on the plates of guys who have not really had

the longevity throughout the season. But Zach, what do you think? I mean, it's, it's gotta be a decent priority to add on the defensive line, right? Yeah, I can't really add too much to what James said there because he kind of sums up a lot of our conversations prior to free agency on here. I mean, look, at the end of the day, I'm not rooting against Sanson EpiCom. Like I want this guy to be awesome. I want to be proven wrong.

It's just, I don't want to invest nine and a half million reasons into whatever it was, $10 million into, you know, this guy overcoming these crazy odds that we just haven't seen guys overcome. I mean, arguably guys like Romeo O'Quara and Carl Lawson were more productive than him heading into their tour Achilles when they were near nearly 30 years old. In Lawson, it's taken like three years to get back to being a productive NFL player Aqours is basically out of football right now So it's just a very unlikely thing that the Colts are banking on with a bucom One thing I will defend though with Ballard is there is still some guys out there who can be productive pass rushers on the open market

And when you see like oh the Colts aren't signing anybody right now They currently have a comp pick coming in for EJ Speed as of right now. So there's no real rush for them unless guys start flying off the board. So they'll wait until after the draft to maybe address that. So there is still some time, but like James said, I mean, we said it so many times on the show prior to free agency, like this is a no, this is like an easy decision. Like you should cut EBCOM most GMs to do that, but Ballard does get a little sentimental with his guys

and relies on their own like effort coming back from injury a little too much. Right, I promise I'm not heartless, but I was just like, look man, this is what you gotta do sometimes. So again, to Zach's point, if I'm wrong, great, I will eat it, I will stand before Samson EBCOM and write the greatest redemption story ever.

But I'm just, I'm eat it. I will stand before Samson Epcom write the greatest redemption story ever. Yeah, but I'm just I'm skeptical to say the least Like we as people covering the team we have to view it from the sentimentality of just being like, oh my gosh We overcomes this is great. This is great. Con right great do like I hope he does it But we also have to cover it from like the asset management perspective of the Colts, where it's like, this is a bad way of managing assets for me. I'm glad he's getting his money. I'm happy. He's getting his money. I don't care. You can take it. It's not my money, but covering the Colts. Like I think the Colts could spend money in better ways than a near 30 year old passports were coming off and it kill its injury.

I will say, I mean, if he's good at all, he's obviously an, and a good asset to have there. I think he was sorely missed last year. It's no, it's no mistake that they had such a productive pass rush two years ago. And then it fell off quite a bit last year. It wasn't just because of him, but I mean, if he can give them anything, let's, let's say he's not going to be an explosive pass rusher, but he can set a mean edge and is good against the run.

Like you can take that. I mean, it's probably a high price tag for it, but I feel he'll have some utility for the Colts, but I mean, it's probably not what you got a couple of years ago coming up, guys. There were some other stuff to take away. You know, if you read through, if you read James's work and looked at what Chris Ballard said, Shane Steichen said, kind of opened up some things about Lou Anna Rumo and maybe some things about how the Colts may approach the draft as well.

All right, let's stick on the theme of defense here real quick. So reading you James and reading Joel this week, I just really started looking at Lou Anarumo a little bit and think more of what might happen and multiple just that's the word that keeps coming up. Versatility, aggressive, multiple ever since they hired him. We hear that every time someone talks about Lou. And to me, I'm thinking, you know, positions they need or don't need. I don't, I don't know that any position group is off the board, even in the first round.

Like, are you kind of, are you guys kind of getting that too? Like, would there be any position group on defense that they draft and you're surprised that even if it's cornerback or safety? Yeah, I will probably be a little surprised if they went like safety in the first round just because they invest so much money in camp Bynum and they are so high on Nick cross after the season he had and his pairing I, you know, in theory with camp Bynum, but I mean, I could see them going cornerback, D-line, lineback or whatever,

because you don't really have those positions that I just spoke about, like solidified, if that makes sense. There's no one, and then because you're picking 14, it makes it more fluid anyway. Like even last year, I don't think any of us could have necessarily predicted that they would land Layotu Laotu.

Not that like they would land him, but land him in that fashion where you see 14 offensive guys go. So who's to say how the board falls this year? And everyone is saying boo, get Tyler Warren, but that's not exactly how it goes. You can't just magically make it happen. But looking at the defense, I mean, I could see them going linebacker. And to me, that's one where I could really make an argument, like, wow,

could they go and get like a really versatile linebacker? I'm blanking on his name right now, out of like the guy to UCLA. I'm not saying go first round, but second round. Yes, I like him, versatile guy, very range, he's on the sideline. I could see Lou Anarumo toying with that type of guy and making him a really impactful player in this defense to pair with Zaire Franklin. So I could see them going a couple different places

for sure and maybe that's better for the Colts. That way I don't get a chance to really predict their board. I know Chris Ball gave us some slack there, Jake. You were down there, he's like, yeah, you guys always want to predict stuff. And some of you guys are wrong. And I'm like like, well tell us, feel free to share your board with us, but that's where that conversation kind of stopped a little bit so we'll see what they decide but defensively there are definitely some holes there they have to fill

or at least just give you more depth there. I mean even cornerback man, I would definitely not opposed to a for drafting a cornerback and even getting more competition in that room Whether it's the new rookie assuming you draft one with Sammy Womack with Jalen Jones Just again to kind of create more that competition that Chris Ballard doubled down on after the season Yeah, and Zach I know you and I feel kind of the same on this, but it looks even better if you trade down and get more assets. Now, like, let's say you sit at 20 and you gain an extra third or fourth round pick whatever. I mean, you got more shots at the board and it becomes a little more enticing to get some of those defensive players then.

How dare you say trade down to a Colts fan base that you cannot mention those are those are both trade down. Trading down is typically the right play when it comes to asset management. When it comes, I mean, analytics back this up, that the more shots you have, the more likely chance that you have of hitting on these shots here. Yeah, I think that does change if like a Tyler Warren's on the board, which I'm sure we're going to talk about in just a second, because the need at tight end is so massive that they just can't ignore it

in the top 50 picks in this draft, but They certainly just need talent when it comes to the defense You were like the 31st defense in almost every metric last season and you're getting a new coach in here Nobody's safe. You know, I know they have some high paid guys They have some veterans on there But nobody should be safe on this defense when they perform the way they did last year. So corner safety, even linebacker defensive end, even as a tackle. Look, if they have a blue chip grade on one of these guys and they fall to 14,

whatever the position is, take it because this team's not in a great enough spot to where you can just ignore a blue chip talent, you know? So I know they're going to be pretty pigeonholed when it comes to tight end, but you know, other positions, I feel like they can just, can just just you know get the best player available for lack of a better term there. Zach and Jake trying to keep us in the facility even longer but no I would not be surprised by a trade back honestly it'll be a smart move in my opinion if you can't get you know just your number one guy at that spot I don't mind that at all and hell if as long as you don't trade back on day three I'll

be fine but we'll see what the Colts do cuz seven picks. I mean, I'm sure you all talked about it I would not bet that they keep just seven picks. This is Chris Ballard. We're talking about so that day three Yeah, exactly Might get a little a little dicey there, you know as far as you know, my weekend plans when the draft comes up But I'm looking forward to a lot of Jake for sure. That's right. That's right. We're getting cozy. Uh, but no, I think when it comes to getting someone in that first round on defense, I think it definitely would have to be someone that kind of wears a lot of hats to like Jaylen Walker and Jahad Campbell both affect the game in so many different ways. Even Malachi Starks, maybe we're too quick to dismiss Malachi

Starks as a possibility because of everything he can do. Um, but I don't see them grabbing someone who's kind of a one trick pony. But we're kind of talking about tight in there. Let's let's shift that way. So again, I was reading your piece again this morning James and how Chris Ballard was talking about tight end. It really really sounds to me like without saying yes, we're going to try like hell to get a tight end like that. They have every intention of getting one within their first few picks. I've got to think if

not there in the first round. Absolutely. I thought there was like a Freudian slip there for a second because we, we didn't get a chance to like, I don't want to phrase it's like, I did not ask flat out, do you need to draft a tight end? But I was like, you know, how do you evaluate the tight end room? And I, I don't know what I was expecting ask flat out, do you need to draft a tight end? But I was like, how do you evaluate the tight end room? And I don't know what I was expecting as an answer, but that's when Chris Ballard kind of got fired up and he went on his soapbox and talked about Jack Doyle being a difference maker and a game changer.

And I thought that was a different tone than we've heard from him and Shane, honestly, about that room and about those guys, because last year and the year before it was, oh, we know a number of guys who? Do different things a collection of who they are like it was basically like the sum of the parts But now it's all man you yeah, we could use a playmaker We could use a game changer and he talked at length Chris ballot that is about Jack Doyle I mean it was like a minute and 30 seconds of him just ranting raving about how great Jack Doyle was. It wasn't sexy

but it was effective and if you look back he was like their last like year-to-year productive tight end from just a receiving standpoint. I don't even know if you look at Jack Doyle's like his best trait was receiving. I mean he was a great phenomenal phenomenal blocker, but he also produced and so when he mentions at the end there, you know, I can't dictate the draft. I was like, hmm This has been on your mind for the draft. Mr. Ballard, which is it shouldn't be a surprise This is like some huge scoop that he you know spilled the beans I mean we all know they need one

But for him to kind of come out and say that lets me know that we should expect a tight end drafted I would say in round one or two or at least day one or day two To address that need because right now To be quite honest, they don't have a starting caliber tight end on their roster at all I know someone asked me other day on the radio about Jelani Woods and our YouTube chat and I was like look Jelani Woods in theory is great I know we all love the idea of Jelani Woods how big he is how strong he is how fast he is He hasn't played football in two years

like you cannot bank on that at all just like you can't bank on Juju Brent. It's fine to have him on the roster as depth and as competition. And if they surprise you in camp, great. But you need to go out there and I believe definitively get a guy you can plug and play right away. And in this year's class, there are, I would say Zach probably knows more than me cuz he's huge on tape and learning these guys. But just even now outside the combine, anytime I talk to anybody about tight ends, it's a deeper class than

in years past. So there are options out there and I would expect the coach to go out there and get one of them. Yeah. I think it's from the sound of it. They want like a bona fide guy. They don't want like a, they don't want a Jelani Woods that they have to wait a couple of years on. It sounds like they want a dude there. You know, we've heard in the past Chris say, you know, it'd be great to have Travis Kelsey, but we don't have that. We don't need it.

You know, I, like you said, kind of a sum of their parts, like the group can accomplish what a tight end needs to. But it sounds like him and Shane are very much swaying towards like we need a guy who can stay on the field and do a bit of everything. So Zach, I know you feel that way too. That got to be accomplished in the first two days though. Yeah First two rounds. Honestly, I don't even think you can wait until round there I know this is a good tight end class that you can get a bunch of Solid role players after the top three guys

But I do think it kind of stops after those top three guys of getting players who can let you live in 11 personnel And I can't remember if it was your piece James James, or if it was the cold stock calm piece from, from JJ that I read where Shane's I can specifically mentioned that getting it. It must have been JJ. Yes. Yes, for sure. Getting a tight end that lets you play in 11 personnel. And look, when you're looking at this class, it's really just the top three guys. It's Warren, it's Loveland, it's Mason Taylor, and even Taylor and Loveland, their blocking is not perfect right now, but I think that they can be fine enough to where you can live in 11 personnel. But once you get past those guys and you get to like the Harold Fannins who are playing at like 215 pounds, you're probably not going

to play them in line too much. When you get to the Thomas Fadones, he's not a great pass catcher in college and you have to project that a little bit I really do think the Colts of Pigeon hold themselves so much here at tight end That one of those three guys has to be within the top 50 picks So whether it's holding your breath for Tyler Warren to fall at 14 moving back and taking Loveland or Moving up in round two to get Mason Taylor if you go best defender available in in round one I think the Colts are kind of stuck having to take that tight end. And that's not even from, you know, just from the owners meetings, from hearing what James and JJ and all you guys had to say, it's like,

you can just look at the roster. You can just look at the roster and be like, yeah, you guys have to take, like, even if Ballard came out here and said we like who we have and we love the, you know, Albert Oh is going to have a great season this year like there's nothing he could have said that would have made me look at that roster spot be like no you guys are obviously taking one like the top 50 picks they're certainly gonna take one honestly I would say top 40 picks they're guaranteed to take one and they don't even have two picks in the top 40 it's just if you don't get one round one

you almost got to move up just to get Mason Taylor to lock in a guy who can start an 11th personnel next year. So it's not the way that I prefer a GM to operate. And this is probably my biggest bone to pick with Ballard every off season is there's always a position that is so clearly needed in the draft. And I hate relying on these young kids to be like day one stars, but at tight end, they need it. They need one of those top three guys, or it's going to be a failure of a draft. Yeah. I think the only one I'm confident they can come away with is Colston Loveland cause there's a lot of smoke about Tyler Warren being in the top 10.

Loveland usually is anywhere in that, you know, dozen to 20. And then Mason Taylor probably not going to be able to get them. If you wait at 45, you're going to have to move up or move back in the first round. So you're probably going to have to do a little bit of moving. Like if you're that intentional about getting a tight end, you probably can't just sit on your hands and let the draft come to you. But yeah, go ahead, James. I will say this real quick. I know that Loveland's coming off the shoulder surgery.

So you say soldier surgery in Indianapolis and everyone's like, Oh my God, like Andrew, Anthony, like we don't want to hear that. And he told us that the combine, you might've been there Jake, but I believe he was saying he won't be, he won't even be clear for contact. I believe it's like August. And so I just wonder like, does that, you know, hinder your development and your ability to come right in right away and you know, be a factor. And obviously there's other things that learn to playbook and schemes and stuff like that, but your ability to come right in right away and be a factor. And obviously there's other things you learn to play book and schemes and stuff like that, but your ability to hit the ground running because they can't wait. That's the thing. I know Lovin is like the younger prospect when it comes to him or

Tyler Warren, and he has a ton of upside, but upside isn't necessarily the thing that they can wait for, if that makes sense. Like yes, you want all these young players to have a ton of upside, especially when you're picking on that high. But also, you need it right now because if you don't have a great season, who's to say anybody's going to be back next year? So I know some Colts fans are like, well, it's the Colts, they'll all be back next year. What are you saying, James?

But for security purposes, even if you did your job, it'd probably behoove you to go out there and get somebody who can help you right away. And I just wonder how they feel about the shoulder and if that's something that would potentially make them a Little bit hesitant or even you know just make Loveland slide a little bit that makes you makes them available for you Let's say a safer pick or something like that like if you trade back to 20 or something like that Maybe you feel more comfortable taking them there versus taking them at 14. Yeah, that's a really good point I mean if you look at Loveland or

Mason Taylor and you fast forward a few years both of them could be better players than Tyler Warren. But Tyler Warren is probably the guy that gets on the field and contributes most heavily immediately among that group. So that is a good way to look at it. I mean, that because Titan isn't always an immediate hit, even the best ones like you have to wait a couple of years. So if you've got a guy who you know, you need to tighten right now, you don't need a project. So like if you've got a guy who's going to be able to come in and do a lot of different things for you and contribute right away, you probably got to get a little aggressive and see how much you can move up. I mean, obviously they tried last year, but.

Would you all consider trading for one like a veteran? If you don't get one of these top three, you have to. You have to go, you have to be a little aggressive to get a Goddard. You have to be a little aggressive to get, I mean, I don't even know if Mayer really does much to like with his production last year and he missed some time. I know, I think he had like some personal stuff last year that caused him to miss some time. But yeah, I mean, you have to if you don't get one of these top three, it's just,

they're so pigeonholed right now. I've ranted about this too much. It's just not the way you should operate with a position. But culture like we don't know your, you don't know our board, but I'm like, I know, I know this need is very high on the board. Like, yes, I do. No, I agree. I think if you like, if you're top tight end that you come out of the strap with is like Terrence Ferguson or something great player who projects well, I think, but you have to go out and get avoid having to acquire two tight ends is to get one of those top three. Otherwise, I think you're you got more work to do. Yeah, absolutely. Yep. All right, guys. Well, we scrapped one whole topic. So we maybe get to that another

time. We we obviously went a little long. But this was great. Now for a quick little somber moment here. We didn't want to get out of here without mentioning the fact that our colleague John Simasco, Jersey Johnny from 1070 passed away this week. Incredibly great guy with a philanthropic heart like did so much for the community and especially the veterans. Did a lot with World War II veterans and everything. I always had positive experiences with him when he was with the radio station and he was in the Colts facility. We were doing locker room stuff all the time.

So, uh, really good guy. I mean, the first time I ever got on, on radio, uh, doing cold stuff here in town was with him on his weekend show. And I used to listen to that all the time. So, um, I don't know how much interaction you guys had, but obviously he's kind of left a lasting impact here in the city. Yeah, personally for me, I didn't know him like personally, but just for hearing the stories from the station the last few days, last week or so.

And enthusiasm he had for the Colts like moving his family here and laughing about those things and obviously honoring veterans. I know we can kind of get caught up in our daily lives and take for granted, at least I do sometimes, of, you know, the beauty of living in America and having the privileges and freedoms that we have. So I have to respect anyone who continues to honor those who really put their lives on the line for us. And so, yeah, rest in peace to him for sure. I know Zach knew him better than I did just personally, but I want to just jump in there and say, yes, our radio family at the fan was certainly, you know, feeling and thinking about his family throughout this time. Yeah, no, Jersey Johnny gave me my first radio spot, like just weekly call in stuff in the

indie market. About four, probably four years ago at this point, I was going on there on and off for about two two ish years or so until his unfortunate when he like left the station due to his health concerns. And I remember I was like on one of his last couple shows and stuff and it was it was kind of emotional even for me just one of his last couple shows as someone who came on every now and then and got to talk with him. Yeah I wish the best for his family. Johnny was a really good dude from all my conversations with him and I wish I could have met him in person. Obviously, you know, the distance is a little bit tough there.

But yeah, really nice dude. And I always appreciate him getting me on the radio out there in Indy for those couple years that he did. Yeah, absolutely. So his family mentioned that an obituary and services will be coming. So if you're interested in any of that, keep an eye out. Just a tough week in Indiana altogether, weather as well. We didn't want to gloss over the fact that there's been tornadoes and probable flooding in these next few days that have impacted people greatly.

I live in Brownsburg. I've lived here almost my whole life, and I can't recall a worse storm than what we had this week. Where we had my daughter's birthday party, that place is ruined. Where I used to take my very first car to get fixed. That building was built in the 1800s and it's gonna have to be demolished now. So it's a lot of memories gone this week. Obviously Brownsburg, the Carmel area,

Terre Haute area, South Bend, Bloomington, lots of places I'm sure a lot of you watching and listening right now have been affected in one way or another. So our thoughts are with you. For me personally in Brownsburg, I've looked around for ways to help. There doesn't seem to be anything like official, but whether it's Brownsburg or any of these other areas, if you want to help redcross.org is always a great resource. You can choose to donate to like your local community impact cells there. So there's there's that obviously like in Brownsburg, the town has just recommended

going around and seeing where there's damage and seeing if businesses and people need help. So if you're looking for ways to help there, obviously those those are ways you can do it. So we're thinking about you, Andy, and it's not been the greatest week. Um, but with that, we are going to sign off for today. Um, obviously thanks for James being on here. Follow us all on social media. Uh, if you don't already, uh, like and subscribe, you know, James has got his podcast as well. The James Boyd podcast. So, uh, hope you guys enjoyed the show today. We had a blast.

We got more stuff coming next week. A lot of stuff hit the cutting room for today's because we had some fun here. But yeah, you guys have a great day and we will see you next week.