Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Trade Back, Draft JuJu Brents, Josh Downs: Instant Reaction!

Starting point is 00:00:00 the Colts checked off some big boxes on Friday night and they keep making my co-host very happy. Let's get into it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, friends? Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:43 Probably because it's about to be midnight. So this one is going to count for this, your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's show is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. If you've ever dreamed of becoming an NFL GM yourself and managing your own franchise, then this game is definitely for you to download it. Just visit ultimate dash gm.com or look it up on your app store. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo

Starting point is 00:01:15 locked on and all caps in the game. I am Jake Arthur. He is Zach Hicks. I have been camped out here at the Colts facility for a couple of days. Now it'll continue through to tomorrow. is Zach Hicks. I have been camped out here at the Colts facility for a couple days now. It'll continue through to tomorrow. Zach has been busting hump, giving interviews on these draft picks, putting out film room pieces on them.

Starting point is 00:01:33 So hang with us here and on horseshoehuddle.com. We've got some good stuff for you. Today was day two of the draft, which meant rounds two and three. The Colts, as you knew they would at some point, got the day started by trading back twice from their original pick at 35. They first went down to 38 and then from 38 to 44. In the process, they added a fourth round pick, 110 overall, and a fifth round pick, 141st overall. They wound up making two selections. They drafted Kansas State cornerback Juju Brents at 44 and North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs at 79. We're going to

Starting point is 00:02:13 talk about those picks as well as what we would like to see happen on Saturday, day three of the draft because they do have three players, but they also have eight more picks on Saturday. So there's double the work to be done still. So Zach Juju Brintz is a big get. That's another Bill the Ballard guy. 9.65 on the Raz, so another elite athlete. 6'2", some consider him 6'3", 198, 34-inch arms. he's got decent speed four or five speed uh but he jumps out of the gym 41 and a half inch vertical uh 11 foot six inch broad jump uh so this this is a guy you've had on your radar it is very much a colt style cornerback and it's a position they needed dearly you know it's funny you just said build a ballard corner and i'm trying to think i think he was my number one build a Ballard corner and I'm trying to think,

Starting point is 00:03:07 I think he was my number one build a Ballard corner this year. I think he was. He was the display photo of it if I remember correctly. He was. He was, wasn't he? I think I even claimed him early in the process of the Alec Pierce of cornerbacks. Yeah, there you go. I think that's, I don't know how,

Starting point is 00:03:21 I was just so busy today with all the picks up. I completely forgot I could have really championed that I'll have to go champion that tomorrow and really really toot my own horn with that uh but no I I really really like Julius Brentz yes there are some concerns the uh the foot speed is not is not exactly where you want it to be he can have the propensity to be beat deep uh but when you're really looking at this type of player, I mean, again, 34 inch arms, he's going to be so physical and attacking there at the line of scrimmage. He's so, so explosive. So when you get him into those cover three sets, those cover three shuffles or whatever, and he's coming downhill,

Starting point is 00:04:00 that is the type of guy that you want. A guy who's going to explode downhill, a guy who can break up passes with ease, with that length, with that explosion. I'm all for it. I love this pick. He's a guy that I think can start day one. Yes, it would be a little bit like Rakia Sin during his rookie season where you see some flashes, but overall it's going to be kind of a rough season.

Starting point is 00:04:22 But the Colts are not in this window right now where we are trying to win a Super Bowl next year. It would be awesome. We would love to win a Super Bowl next year. But when you're looking at kind of the direction the Colts are going with the quarterback position and a couple other spots, it's really just getting these young guys on the field, letting them play, let them work through some of the tougher aspects of their game

Starting point is 00:04:44 and letting them go. So I think a guy like Julius Brents has the potential and the frame to be a really good starting corner. You're just gonna have to live through some of the lumps and bruises early on, but I really like him. I really like him for the strong side cornerback position. You're gonna have Isaiah Rogers on that backside. When you face those three by ones and you are gonna have kind of that backside being man to man, you're going to have Isaiah Rogers and your weak side linebacker and man to man. You're going to have that strong side dropping into a traditional cover three. And that's what Julius Brentz is going to be able to do. He's going to be able to get into that shuffle. He's going to get back. He's going to be able to read what's in front of him and

Starting point is 00:05:19 attack downhill. I really do think Julius Brentz is a perfect fit for Gus Bradley's scheme. Yeah, and you just touched on something I was about to mention, and that's the role that he's going to play. Right now, by default, he's pretty much a starter. I imagine they'll have him compete with Dallas Flowers for that other outside spot at the moment. But, I mean, they've just been a top 50 pick on the corner. One thing that is going to make things a little tougher for him is I think he's going to miss

Starting point is 00:05:48 spring ball or at least the full, the full activity of it because, uh, he does have a left wrist injury. And, uh, Chris Ballard said that's going to keep him out until training camp, but he will be there for camp. Um, when I talked to him at the local pro day, he said he was going to be fine for football stuff after the draft uh maybe it's something where the team is like no we're gonna we're gonna hold you a little bit um but regardless it's a risk thing basically he can run he just can't punch like he he doesn't have they're not giving him the full green light on using that arm physically so yeah i don't know how much that's going to hold him back, but it will somewhat. Do they still need more corners?

Starting point is 00:06:31 Because I think yes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's always room to add there. And luckily they have eight picks to work with here on day three. There's still quality corners there in free agency like Arakia Sin, like Shaquille Griffin. There are guys that they can add. So I highly doubt this is the only corner we're going to see the Colts add the rest of the offseason. But again, Julius Brents is a guy where if you have to start him all year

Starting point is 00:06:54 and he's going to play 70, 80% of the snaps, I think that's fine. Like again, you're going to get some lumps and bruises in there, but I think it'd be fine. But ideally, yeah, you get a guy like a Rocky Sin or someone in there to kind of alleviate some of the pressure you put on this young corner. But again, I just want to, I want to reiterate that I think Julius Brents is a type of player where with the right time, with the right coaching and getting that technique kind of just kind of ironed out a little bit. And luckily again, the Colts have Ron Milas there as our DB coach is a phenomenal coach that, that knows how to get the best out of his defensive backs. I really think Julius Brents can be a solid starting corner.

Starting point is 00:07:30 And I think the potential is immense here in Gus Bradley's scheme. Yeah, and I get the feeling that Brent's probably had a strong feeling for a while that he might be coming here. Number one, it's where he wanted to be as a local kid. He comes from Warren Central High School, of course, one of the Blue Blood High School programs here in Indy. But during the local pro day, he also spent an inordinate amount of time talking with Shane Steichen. And he was kind of, he was kind of ho-hum on it at the time because the draft wasn't here yet. But I have a feeling some things were discussed of like, you know, if we could get you here, this and this and this.

Starting point is 00:08:14 So, yeah, he's excited to be here. He was in Westfield where the Colts actually have training camp for his draft party today. So, good day for Juju. He wanted to be here. Great pickup for the Colts. So next we're going to discuss what new receiver Josh Downs brings to the Colts. But first, a word from our friends over at Ultimate Football GM. Today's show is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. You've heard us talk all about this game for months now. And again, if you ever thought you would make a great GM, you love the draft, you love Madden, you love fantasy, all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:08:51 This game is right up your alley. With the draft here, you're responsible for controlling everything about your team. From the front office, training staff, picks, players, everything. Locked on Colts listeners, you get a 100% free boost to your franchise when using the promo code LOCKEDON in all caps in the game store. That's LOCKEDON in all caps. So make sure to check it out today. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up in the app store.

Starting point is 00:09:19 That's ultimate-gm.com. And guys, join Kyle Krabs, Joe Marino, and other Locked On NFL experts on the Locked On NFL Scouting YouTube page over for their live NFL draft coverage presented by Ultimate Football GM. Kyle and Joe will be live on Saturday getting you caught up after each and every round. All right, Jake, so let's talk about the more surprising pick here because Julius Brents is a player that I think we all kind of expected to be a target again like you said a build a

Starting point is 00:09:51 Ballard champion apparently I need to go back and check my own work there to see if that's really what it is but we're going to say a build a Ballard champion uh Julius Brents there Josh Downs is the opposite of a build a Ballallard champion. Bill DeBallard wide receivers, they're 6'3", 215 pounds, jump 50 inches. These guys are all vertical threat guys. You're not really going to get underneath separators, but Josh Downs is exactly that, 5'9", 171 pounds, but he's an all underneath player that knows how to get open. Jake, I'm going to give my opinions on Josh Downs here in a second, but what do you all underneath player that knows how to get open. Jake, I'm going to give my opinions on Josh Downs here in a second, but what do you think about Josh Downs?

Starting point is 00:10:29 Yeah, of course, a little uncharacteristic for Chris Ballard, who definitely has a type, those six foot 200 pound receivers. But I see why they like him. You know, I asked, I asked Josh, I was like, I'll be be honest the colts have a type and you aren't necessarily at size wise so like what have they told you about your role uh he doesn't necessarily know it yet uh but you know he said he's able to play insider out chris ballard said that as well uh ballard did address downsize when he talked to us after the draft uh you know he acknowledged they obviously normally like the bigger guys but despite his measurements his build is actually a lot bigger than that like he's he's thick in the in the quads

Starting point is 00:11:12 you know he's got a thick lower body and that's uh that can honestly be kind of important because it the the weight distribution everything i just don't think they're concerned about him being undersized and getting hurt and everything. He's also a little different. You know, these smaller guys with speed, a lot of times you think downfield threats, things like that.

Starting point is 00:11:33 Like you said earlier, he's all underneath. I think he's going to clean up for Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew. He is that money down, third down guy we talked about. I saw a tweet from Mina Kimes earlier that was perfect. She said Anthony Richardson can struggle with short accuracy, but the good news is that Downs catches everything. We talked to Downs after he was picked. He loved the fact he was coming here with Anthony Richardson.

Starting point is 00:12:07 Loves the player, loves the upside. He said all along he wanted to go to a place where he could grow with a young quarterback, and so he's ecstatic to be here. He was uber productive, over 200 catches, nearly 2,500 yards, 22 touchdowns in the last three years. So I think it's pretty good. Yeah, no, let me talk about why I think this is such a great pick for Shane Steichen's offense. Because again, this whole offseason, I've been saying Shane Steichen's this explosive

Starting point is 00:12:34 vertical offense guy. That's all he wants. But you need to set up that vertical game with the underneath game. You can't just throw the ball down the field 50 times a game and expect that to have tangible or efficient results. You know, you have to pepper the short game to open up the deep game and the Colts, you know, they have the deep threat guys. They have Alec Pierce, they have Jelani Woods, they have Michael Pittman Jr. These are guys that can win vertically down the field. They did not have the underneath separator. They did not have that at all. Outside of what Kylan Granson, you know,

Starting point is 00:13:05 Kylan Granson generated some separation next year or last year, but like, that's not the type of guy that you want to rely on, you know, your, your, your second string tight end to be your, your prime separator, uh, with Josh Downs, they have a guy who can get open, you know, and that is so, so vital for what the Colts need because Shane Steichen, again, his offense is about attacking vertically, but also attacking horizontally. You know, we're going to make you cover sideline to sideline, end zone to end zone every single play. You know, you're covering 200 yards of field, not just the hundred. You know, you're covering the entire football field every single snap. And a guy like Josh Downs downs you can use them in so many

Starting point is 00:13:45 different ways you know you're gonna you're gonna sneak him out there in those bunch sets you're gonna put him as the inside receiver on the three by ones you can even put him as the backside receiver on three by ones because he knows how to get open on those uh you can put him in the backfield and run some texas routes out of there i saw north carolina did that quite a bit last year i like that idea oh yeah no he was he was good on them last year like and sh Shane Steichen has this play design where it's the four verts and then you have the Texas route out of the backfield. I could just totally envision, you know, Jelani Woods, Alec Pierce, Michael Pittman, Jr. Isaiah McKenzie out wide. And then you get Josh Downs in the backfield running a Texas route against a linebacker. Like that is what Shane Steichen is going to be able

Starting point is 00:14:21 to do with a playmaker like Josh Downs. And then on top of that, this is a guy who can win contested catches despite his smaller size and smaller frame. So this is a player where I think Anthony Richardson is going to love. And like Mina Kimes said, if you have a quarterback that struggles with underneath accuracy, getting a pure separator that can also catch the ball in contested situations is the perfect weapon for him. So I think Shane Steichen is going to have a blast mixing him in on mesh concepts and bunch concepts and getting him in those three by

Starting point is 00:14:51 one sets. But I also think Anthony Richardson is going to love to have a weapon like this where, look, I have my vertical guys. I have my guys. I can just throw it deep and hope they win the jump ball. But now we have a guy who, you know, third and five, third and six, he's going to get open and get me that first down. You know, Shane Steigen's always had this. He had this with Keenan Allen in Los Angeles. He had it with Devonta Smith the last two years. Now we have it with Josh Downs at Indianapolis.

Starting point is 00:15:17 I'm not saying he's the same caliber as those guys, but it's the same archetype. It's the same mold that the Colts were missing. So, yeah, I'm really high on this. I wasn't even that high on Josh Downs as a prospect, but I am really high on his fit in Indianapolis. Yeah, and, I mean, he's a mid-third-round pick, but I could see him being an instant impact player.

Starting point is 00:15:37 And I'll tell you who was high on this pick was wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne and Morocco Brown in the front office. Both of those guys, I don't know if they were, you know, staying on the table for downs, but they both were like, yeah, we really need this guy. Apparently Reggie Wayne told Chris Ballard at the combine that downs was just incredible. And Wayne told downs that he was the best receiver in his group. And that included some first rounders as well um but no they're really high on him um for all the reasons you just said like i think they're really eager to

Starting point is 00:16:13 get him in there and essentially what they're they're missing and losing naheem hines is probably some stuff they can get back with him he's not he's obviously not going to be lined up at running back and stuff as, as often as Heinz was, but we could see some gadgety stuff like that, but just in general, their guy that cleans up underneath what used to be Heinz and Paris Campbell, that's going to be downs and Isaiah McKenzie now.

Starting point is 00:16:39 Yeah. Yeah. No, this is what Shane Steichen wants. You know, you get your vertical threat in Isaiah McKenzie to go along with your Alec Pierce and your Michael Pittman Jr. and all them. But then you get this guy who can get open underneath. It is so, so vital. And honestly, again, I don't want to go too much on this because we have a whole offseason worth of content to fill

Starting point is 00:16:58 here. But Shane Steichen is a big subscriber to empty theory and working out of empty personnel and empty sets. When you have a player like Josh Downs, where if you're going to put him as the innermost receiver on these empty sets, and he's going to be lined up against a linebacker or a safety in there where your quarterbacks read is just, I'm looking at that linebacker. If they're shading inside, I'm throwing it outside. If they're shading outside, I'm throwing it inside because Josh Downs is going to win that matchup. That is is what the colts needed they did not have that before this and it was gonna hurt the colts ability to do empty theory and empty personnel here next season but again having a guy like josh downs who can win those matchups not only like quickly but just with ease that is going to

Starting point is 00:17:39 be so big for the colts running empty and then getting obviously anthony richardson in that empty personnel so he can run qb power and qb you know out of out of empty there up the middle so I really think Josh Downs is going to be a really really strong addition to this Colts team but guys before we discuss what we'd like to see on day three of the draft let's hear from our sponsor Built. Looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugar and calories then you need the best tasting protein bar ever. That's Built. You've got to try this.

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Starting point is 00:18:37 and grab yourself a box of Built Bars. You can pick up a four-bar box of cookies and cream, double chocolate bar, or coconut puff. If you're close to a Sam's Club, run in and grab a four-bar box of cookies and cream, double chocolate bar, or coconut puff. If you're close to a Sam's Club, run in and grab a 13-bar box with our hit flavors, brownie batter puff and churro puff. You guys can thank me later. All right, Jake. So you said at the very top of this show here, like, Chris Ballard traded back a ton today. And I love it. You know, keep adding those picks. You know, just keep stockpiling shots at the NFL draft you know cheap young talent that you're going to be

Starting point is 00:19:12 bringing in here to compete that's always the way to go and again they still got their guy they were targeting it at 35 they got him at 44 while picking up two prime picks here on day three so as of right now, eight picks tomorrow. They have eight picks. They own the fifth round. They have four picks in that fifth round, along with two fourth rounders and two seventh rounders. I'm excited, man.

Starting point is 00:19:35 Again, they're just going to be able to take so many shots here. I'm assuming there'll be some trade-ups and moving around a little bit, maybe getting some picks for next season as well. But the Colts are in prime position to add some real young talent here on day three. Yeah, some of those picks almost disappeared because Ballard said they were trying for like 30 minutes to trade up for Josh Downs, and it just didn't materialize. But no, I mean, what we're going to see with these picks, I'm sure a couple of them will go away with a trade up but you're going to see some key special teams players which is probably going to come in in the form of linebackers

Starting point is 00:20:10 at least one or two i would say as a safety um but now that you you have so much ammo to work with and fill all these holes they drafted three needs right off the bat, which means they could pretty much do whatever they want with these. These picks come with no strings attached, no pressure. So any player they choose to use these on, best player available, they can go ahead and do that. So there are several key players still available. Kelly Ringo was someone that we would have been comfortable with at 35. There's injury concerns there, I believe. Same with DeJuan Jones, another guy who could have taken it at 35.

Starting point is 00:20:52 Some really quality players here. Is there anyone that you've got circled? Yeah, I mean, you mentioned a couple guys there. I'm shocked that Luke Whipler out of Ohio State slipped to day three, but I get some of the concerns there. Jalen Duncan, I know there were some overall concerns there. Nick Saldivari, I'm a huge fan of out of Old Dominion. You guys can see that in the indie draft guide. I love him. I think he's a great, great young player,

Starting point is 00:21:17 and I think it's going to be a steal wherever he goes here on day three. But I fully expect a handful of these picks to be offensive linemen i really really do think a lot of these can be offensive linemen because if you look at the colts offensive line right now you have what six guys maybe seven that are locked to make the team next year i i honestly seven's probably a stretch i think it's like five or six that are locks to make the team next year uh they need depth like even if they're not drafting guys to start just getting more bodies in the room to compete. And there's going to be a lot of quality guys here on day three.

Starting point is 00:21:52 I know the Michigan center is a guy that they're really high on. I'm not even going to attempt his name, but you guys can look it up. Cause I, Dustin is a, is a big fan of him. He's been pointing him out a lot. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:22:02 I'm just going to say Olu, I think is how you say his first three letters of his first name. You guys can look him up though. I think the Colts are pretty high on him. Chandler Zavala, I think is another guy that they're pretty high on. And then John Gaines, the second out of UCLA is another guy. I think they're pretty high on super athlete there from UCLA who can play all five positions. I wouldn't be shocked if he was one of their first, first picks here on day three. But yeah, I think they're going to add a lot of depth and competition to the offensive line. And then I still wouldn't be shocked whatsoever if they go get a guy like Dalton Reisner in free agency. The Colts are still, I think, third in cap space right now.

Starting point is 00:22:39 And they're going to leave this draft with potential holes still at corner, potential holes still at right guard. So I don't think the Colts are done adding whatsoever here. And obviously not in the draft, but in free agency. So if we, if you guys come out of day three being like, oh my gosh, they didn't draft a starting right guard. Don't worry. They still have some money.

Starting point is 00:22:58 They still have some time. The Colts have made signings after the draft before it happens. I wouldn't be too shocked there that to see a signing at one of those spots. Yeah, I think they're definitely going to be adding some bodies in the trenches. That's two areas Chris Ballard pointed out. They like the offensive line depth and the defensive line depth. It sounded to me like offensive line was something they had wanted to try and address to this point already, but just weren't able to. Just how their board fell.

Starting point is 00:23:30 But I think they're definitely going to do it. They'll do it here coming up on Saturday. I do like their current defensive tackle depth, but I think they could use probably one more capable pass rusher on the outside. That's always something that they're going to look for. So it'll be a good day on day three. It'll also allow them to lock up some guys they thought would be undrafted free agents. I'm sure they'd prefer to do that in the sixth or seventh round if they want to trade down again. But they've got the am again eight picks in four rounds they can they could do whatever they want yeah yeah they can move around all they want they can draft positions that going into the draft we were like oh they probably won't draft that

Starting point is 00:24:16 uh yeah they'll be able to throw some safeties in there they could draft a running back they could draft a linebacker which i fully expect a linebacker pick somewhere here on at least one yeah yeah yeah i definitely expect a linebacker pick because that's where you grab your special teamers and linebackers are the prime special teamers valid will grab somebody with some special teams experience who can maybe play a little bit on defense as well so it's gonna be a fun day there's a lot of picks i i really don't expect the colts to come out of this with eight new players tomorrow. I would guess it's more around six to seven, maybe five even,

Starting point is 00:24:50 if they keep moving up quite a bit. But, yeah, he'll be able to wheel and deal quite a bit and take some guys that he really likes there. So, yeah, excited for tomorrow. Again, a lot of talent still on the board. Chris Ballard didn't mention that. And Colts have two picks within the first ten tomorrow. So they're going to be able to get some of that talent that, you know, if you guys are looking at it as like Keely Ringo, Adi Adi out of Northwestern, Darius Rush, Chandler Zavala, like we mentioned, like these are guys

Starting point is 00:25:13 that we expected to go day two, slip to day three for injury concerns or what's, or, you know, whatever else is happening behind the scenes. And this is where the Colts could maybe scoop up some, some legit talent there early in round four. I'd also throw tight end into the mix too. It's a group that Chris Ballard mentioned before the draft and our guy Payne Durham is still out there. They could use another young blocking tight end right now. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:40 Yeah. A lot of ways the Colts go with this guys. Make sure you are keeping up with locked on Colts, obviously. A lot of ways the Colts go with this, guys. Make sure you are keeping up with Locked on Colts, obviously. And every day, you know that we've got you covered with all these draft picks and UDFAs coming tomorrow. Pick to pick. Stay tuned with us for analysis on each selection. And obviously, we're going to be going live tomorrow

Starting point is 00:25:56 after the draft is finally concluded. And just talk about our overall thoughts about day three and the draft itself. So make sure you guys are following us on social medias at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to LockedOnColts on YouTube, wherever you listen to your podcasts. We love your ratings, reviews. And guys, we will see you after day three tomorrow.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Trade Back, Draft JuJu Brents, Josh Downs: Instant Reaction!

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