Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Trade Back, Get Explosive Weapon for Anthony Richardson in New Mock Draft

Starting point is 00:00:00 Today is the day the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off tonight, and we're bringing you our final mock drafts throughout the day. In this episode, the Colts slide back in the first round to gain more early round capital. 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, what's up, everyone? Welcome to the show and for making us your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:44 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 Monopoly Go. I'm Jake Arthur of HorseshoeHuddle.com And today, and again it is draft day, I am bringing you the results of my mock draft that I put out on Horseshoe Huddle yesterday Hopefully before this you caught Zach doing the same thing as I'm doing now His mock draft came out on Horseshoe Huddle this morning So the links for both of our mocks will be in each of these videos in the show notes So please be sure to check those out after we kind of give you a little verbal journey through this if you will So in the first round I went with a trade back for the Colts because I think that's always the most likely I think this is a very very good offensive draft as well

Starting point is 00:01:42 So with that, I think the Colts will probably have a chunk of players that they like around 15. But I have them moving down from 15 to 20 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In exchange, they obviously get the 20th pick, the 84th overall pick, which is round three, and then 178th, which is round six. So I have them getting a couple picks back in return there. The Steelers are one of those teams that I think a lot of people assume are going to be looking for an offensive tackle. And a lot of teams apparently are wanting to move up for a tackle. So that could take care of that.

Starting point is 00:02:20 For the Colts to get Thomas at 20 here, I think we'd all be just as fine if they got him at 15 as well. So it's a pretty good value pick. Thomas adds an explosive element to the Colts offense that they are missing. Now, I do think that Alec Pierce is a very useful player. I think he excels in his role. He's a very good deep threat. He does win his matchups more than you would think.

Starting point is 00:02:47 He just hasn't been able to get the ball as much based on just what the offense is doing, what the quarterback is thinking. And he is a very good blocker as well, which is why he almost never leaves the field. However, I think for the offense to evolve and become really, really good, he's going to have to be able to do more and not be such a niche player. And the funny thing is with Thomas, he's kind of

Starting point is 00:03:12 got the same thing going on. He's an elite deep threat, one of the very best in this class. He led the nation last year at LSU with 17 receiving touchdowns in an offense that had Malik neighbors in it, mind you. However, I think there's probably more room to grow there. There's a much higher ceiling than you have with Alec Pierce. So Thomas, for example, is able to do more after the catch than Pierce does. Pierce has done nothing after the catch so far in his career. He's not had a lot of receptions anyways, but there has not really been much going on. It's not something the Colts have really even tried to do. But with Thomas, you get more of that. He's got 4'3 speed.

Starting point is 00:03:56 He's at 6'3", over 200 pounds. So you have a bigger, faster, more explosive Alec Pierce, who can do more with the ball in his hands. So I think that adds a great element for the Colts. You obviously have Michael Pittman Jr. on the other side of X, Josh Downs at the slot. And I think specifically adding an explosive receiver to the outside, I think that's really helpful. If you caught our episode with Rick Venturi,

Starting point is 00:04:22 he kind of mentioned why that makes a lot more sense. Brock Bowers would be a great pick, but when you add Brock Bowers, you're putting another player into your passing game who really excels in the middle of the field or close by the line of scrimmage like Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs was. So it kind of clogs things up a little bit. But when you have someone like Thomas on the outside that stretches the field a little bit and you take the secondary with you when you go downfield, which then gives Pittman and Downs and your tight ends a little more room to operate closer to the line of scrimmage. So that was my first pick. We'll go ahead and move on to day two after this. And then of course, followed by day three. Okay. So yeah,

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Starting point is 00:06:33 dunks, all on an app that is safe, secure, and easy to use. What are you waiting for? Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and make your first bet and automatic win. FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. All right, so let's go ahead and move along to day two now. So we're looking at round two, pick 46. I'm going to stay put there, even though I think if the Colts are going to trade back at any point, the most likely scenario is probably round two. But for the sake of it, I just went ahead and did it in round one. They could do it twice, but I went ahead and did it in round one. They could do it twice, but I'm not trying to get too chaotic here. So I do feel like the Colts want to add

Starting point is 00:07:10 edge at some point in the first half of the draft. They could do it in the first if Dallas Turner falls to them, if they trade back and Jared Versus there or Chop Robinson, all three of those guys make a lot of sense. But I have been waiting till day two and getting adisa isaac from penn state i think isaac fits really well with the colts as well uh he's very much a chris ballard style of edge defender he's he's got that typical frame that the speed rushers have 64 247 his arms are almost 34 inches long uh he's an explosive guy as well runs a 4740 has a 34 and a half in the vertical over a 10 foot broad jump uh so a guy like that makes a lot of sense he's also by no means a finished product i feel like ballard always goes for those those guys with the twitchy

Starting point is 00:08:01 size and athleticism but who haven't really reached much potential yet. I think Isaac's got like 14 and a half career sacks in college, which of course isn't much when you, you know, put it over a few years span, obviously room to grow there. So I think he very much fits what the Colts have looked for in edge defenders in the past.

Starting point is 00:08:22 And obviously when you look at the next couple of years, you have most of your exterior rush is coming up on free agency. Quiddy Pay, fifth year option or not, he's going to be a free agent in a year or two years. Dio Adango next year, Tyquan Lewis in two years. So, you know, Samson Ebicom in two years. So you need to,

Starting point is 00:08:43 assuming not all four of those guys are going to come back, you need to start replacing those guys. And again, if the Colts want to keep drafting edge defenders, like they do, these are guys that are not ready-made products. They're going to need a year or so to develop. So I think Isaac is a great pick there. One of my favorite picks I made is coming up next round three, pick 82 safety, Javon Bullard out of Georgia.

Starting point is 00:09:07 Now, I mentioned in my written-up mock draft on Horseshoe Huddle that I might have been just taking this one too literally, but during Chris Ballard's pre-draft press conference recently, he went out of his way to talk about just the football IQ of defenders from the University of Georgia. And, of course, obviously you're like, oh, man, he's probably thinking of one of the guys this year. But in general, I just think he probably feels that way about guys

Starting point is 00:09:32 who have come out under Kirby Smart in the last several years. One of my favorite Georgia defenders, probably my favorite one this year, is Javon Bullard. He's a free safety prospect that you can just immediately plug in next to Julian Blackman. But it's a guy that prospect that you can just immediately plug in next to Julian Blackman. But it's a guy that can also play in the nickel as well. I know a lot of analysts and teams have him as a nickel. So that's a guy who has the versatility of Blackman. He is a little undersized. He's at 5'10.5", 198 pounds. So he's a little smaller than you would want him to be. But this is a

Starting point is 00:10:05 safety class where you're just not getting a bunch of well-rounded products. There are guys that are either athletic, but aren't very good, or they're good on film, but they don't have athleticism or they lack size. You're not really getting guys who have everything. And so if I'm getting a guy who has the versatility and coverage to play in the nickel or free safety, he also has the mentality to play a strong safety. You kind of have to playing at Georgia and playing in the SEC. He's a guy who for in the NFL, you probably don't want him playing in the box a ton because, you know, at that size, you hope he doesn't, you know, get banged up that much. So you're probably looking at it more as a free safety. But for me, it's just a guy that checks a lot of boxes other

Starting point is 00:10:50 than size. He's athletic. He is, he's very willing to get his nose dirty. But one of the, and the versatility, of course, but one of the biggest things with me when it comes to safeties is their instincts and their football IQ. Like when you're watching some guys, especially at safety, they're just almost like never involved unless the ball comes their way. They're not making things happen. They're just so reactive and they're hard to evaluate because it's like they're just not ever doing anything, you know? But a guy like Bullard is always around the ball, always trying to make an impact somewhere, whether the target is near him or not, you're going to see him near the ball

Starting point is 00:11:31 at the end of the play. You just watch him and you can tell he understands where he's supposed to be. He is always in the mix. He never really looks like he's being outsmarted so I personally love him I think he'd be a great fit with the Colts so that's one I would definitely keep an eye out for and then I have an extra pick in the third round now as well after that trade with the Steelers up in the first round it's pick 84 so just two picks later cornerback Elijah Jones out of Boston College. So this is another one where you probably want to add a corner in a perfect world before 84. But I had him go on receiver first, had him take a couple other things. Personally, I just don't think the Colts see their cornerback room as needy as everybody else does.

Starting point is 00:12:26 And I'm not saying that's right or wrong. I just think we know that's how they operate. It's Chris Ballard said it himself, you know, we all, we all dogged him for the offensive line, looking how it did. And then him not really doing anything with it last going into last year, it turns out it looked pretty well or look pretty good. It's not the same thing at all. Cause those were all like established veterans who we'd seen play elite football before on the offensive line. This was a completely new and inexperienced secondary for the most part last year. But this is a guy in Elijah Jones who I think if you're not getting someone who's like a day one starter, I think he's a very appropriate pick. So he's got, he's got the good size. He's somewhat comparable to a Juju Brents type. Brents is a little grittier against the run, I think.

Starting point is 00:13:13 But with Jones, he's over 6'1". He's got a little shorter arms at 31 and a half. So that's not great, but the length of being 6'1 certainly helps. he's about, he's one 85 as well. So a little more, you know, narrow and you'd probably like him to be a little longer. Uh, but he was a senior bull standout. He's a little faster than Brent's at four or four, uh, 4.44 speed. Uh, it's really explosive to 42 and a half inch vertical jump with a 10 foot 11 inch broad jump. So this is an explosive guy with decent speed. He just like Brent's very scrappy and competitive when the ball gets in his area is always wanting to try to make a play on the ball.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Again, I think he's a very solid quality player that you could add into that secondary to compete with a Jalen Jones for a spot as a starter. You know, I wouldn't, I really wouldn't hate the cornerback group on the outside of, you know, you got Juju Branson, Jalen Jones and Dallas flowers and Elijah Jones battling for these two spots on the outside. I think you could do much worse than that. At the very least, you're kind of betting on some athleticism and guys with ball skills, because Jones is another guy that has really decent ball production numbers as well.

Starting point is 00:14:36 And then, of course, Kenny Moore in the nickel, kind of leading the whole thing and kind of helping guys along. I really don't hate that one. Again, would you love like Quenian Mitchell in the first round or something? Yeah, absolutely. Max Melton, Cam Hart on day two. Absolutely. But I think Elijah Jones is another guy that makes a lot of sense for the Colts as well.

Starting point is 00:14:58 All right. Lots of talking. But coming up next, we're going to look at day three. And lots of picks on this one. Because remember, I added another six from that trade with the Steelers. So we'll go ahead and talk about filling out the rest of that roster with this bevy of day three picks. When you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality professionals who are right for the actual role. And that's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs, which is the

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Starting point is 00:16:05 launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions, which makes the process even easier and quicker. So post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. All right, we got five shots at the dartboard on day three. So let's get into this one. Now. So in round four, pick 116. This is someone who I think both Zach and I feel strongest about being a fit with the Colts. And that is Washington linebacker Edifon Ulofoshio. So he is a little bit undersized as well. We're looking at six foot and a half, 236 pounds. Uh, but his arms are essentially 33 inches long, which is a pretty decent fit with the

Starting point is 00:16:51 Colts. Um, I think kind of like an Elijah Jones, he fits the Colts timeline at linebacker as well. You obviously know Zyger Franklin and EJ speed are your guys as starter. Um, but the Sam linebacker isn't necessarily set in stone. And then EJ Speed and like all of your depth at linebacker are free agents after the season. It's like Speed, Saguna Luby, Grant Stewart, pretty much Cam McGrone,

Starting point is 00:17:22 like anyone who has played a semblance of a role on defense for the Colts coming up on, on free agency at linebacker other than Zyra Franklin. So you're going to need some new blood in there. You will Fosio is a guy kind of like Saguna Luby who needs a little time to develop. When you're looking at a league that runs a lot of, of option stuff,

Starting point is 00:17:44 that's a guy of option stuff, that's a guy who needs some work identifying what he's seeing. Lots of film work can help with that, whether it's a run or a pass. But he is a guy that I really like in terms of what he can do in the open field. His eyes seem very confident, and he will attack things in the backfield. I love a linebacker that can kind of sift through the trash and get to the ball in the backfield. That's one of the most endearing traits to me, and he is a guy who has it.

Starting point is 00:18:11 So I really like his fit with the Colts. Coming up next, running back Isaac Garendo from Louisville. This is a kid out of Avon High School, played for a family member of mine, Martin Bless. So I've heard some really good things about Garendo. Avon High School played for a family member of mine, Martin Bless. So I've heard some really good things about Garendo. He was a wide receiver going out of high school, going into University of Wisconsin. The guy who helped teach him how to be a running back, Jonathan Taylor,

Starting point is 00:18:42 while the two of them were at Wisconsin. Garendo, we talked to him at the Colts local pro day, and he just gave glowing reviews of his time with Jonathan Taylor. Would really love to learn from Jonathan Taylor. And I think considering what the Colts appeared to be looking for at running back this off season at free agency, they wanted Zach Moss back for the right price. They were reportedly in on A.J. Dillon as well. So you're looking at kind of a big, broad guy who can run between the tackles,

Starting point is 00:19:14 has the ability to catch the ball, but is just kind of a grinder in the middle, has just got that juice. But the thing about Grendo, so he's got the great size here. He's 6'2", 121 pounds, awesome size, but he blew up the combine. You have a guy that big running a 40 at 433, a vertical jump of 41 and a half, broad jump of 10 foot nine, three cone under seven, 694. This is a dude with speed, explosion, and agility at that size. Like that is awesome. I mean, he's not Jonathan Taylor, but if you're taking Jonathan Taylor off the field for a break and you're replacing him with a guy who has great size,

Starting point is 00:19:52 has great explosion and speed, can also catch the ball, that's going to be a problem for defenses. Not to mention that the quarterback who is handing him the ball is Anthony Richardson and can do all those same things. So I think adding Correndo, if he's there in the fifth round, awesome move for the Colts to do. Now moving along to round six, pick 178. This is the extra one we got from Pittsburgh in that first round trade. This is someone who I think Zach has kind of put him on the map in terms of guys to watch in the late rounds for the Colts. Wyoming offensive tackle,

Starting point is 00:20:27 Frank Crum. So this dude is a mountain of a man, six foot eight, 313 pounds, 33 and seven eighth inch arms. So essentially 34 inch arms, really athletic as well. For an offensive tackle that big to run his 40 under five seconds is really good. He was 494, 31 and a half inch vertical, nine six broad. That's all really good as well. Seven, three, nine, three cone drills, pretty decent for a guy that size. So that's another really good one. You look at him and he is a four year starter who has started in multiple spots, left tackle and right tackle, small school guy that

Starting point is 00:21:05 kind of has the Colts written all over him. Next pick round six, pick 190. This is a really interesting guy. And I, I think he's only projected to go this late because he's from a military academy and that's a safety Trey Taylor from air force. Now, again, in a really kind of man safety class, I think Taylor is a really intriguing guy because he's got decent size, a six foot, 213 pounds, a awesome athleticism. His RAS is sky high as well,

Starting point is 00:21:39 which of course all the guys I've picked today have a RAS of right around nine or much higher. Taylor, I think let's see. Yeah. He is the cousin of Ed Reed, course all the guys i've picked today have a raz of right around nine or much higher uh taylor i think let's see yeah he is the cousin of ed reed which you tell any fan that they're going to take that and run with it of course um but one of the most impressive things for me was he won the jim thorpe award last year which is great i mean any that's for the top defensive back in the country anyone can win that but i just can't remember the last time a major college football award like that

Starting point is 00:22:08 was given to a military academy player. So that's very, very telling for me. This is a guy who his traits and his play style probably says more strong safety, but his athleticism, he could play the back end as well. I mean, you're not really, you're not really drafting him to start right away anyways, but he's someone to throw in the mix. Obviously, Julian Blackman is on a one-year deal. Rodney Thomas, this seems like an audition year for him,

Starting point is 00:22:37 you know, one last chance. Kind of the same with Nick Cross. I think they like Nick Cross, but it's like, dude, come on, let's move it along a little more. So your safety group is really in flux. At the very worst with Taylor, I think you get a pretty good special teamer as a rookie, and then you see what he's got potentially in a defensive role, maybe as a starter in year two. But, I mean, if you're taking a sixth-round shot on a super athletic safety with good size who won the award for the best defensive back in college football, But I mean, if you're taking a sixth round shot on a super athletic safety with good size, who won the award for the best defensive back in college football the prior year, you could do so much worse than that than taking that shot at the dartboard.

Starting point is 00:23:20 The last one is kind of from that Frank Crum vein, another small school offensive lineman. This is Jake Kubas, interior offensive lineman from North Dakota State. So this is another one. Chris Ballard mentioned in his pre-draft presser, giving Anthony Richardson a bunch of weapons to help develop him and help him make plays. But even more than weapons, he talked about protecting him. He talked about that's something that, you know, every GM knows they need to protect their quarterback, but it's just a lesson that Chris Ballard learned from working closely with like Andrew Luck, for example. Andrew said, you know, just protect me and I'll make whatever else

Starting point is 00:23:56 happen with the weapons. But the number one thing is just keep guys out of my face. So Jake Kubas, that's a three-year starter who has experience playing all along the interior of the offensive line. The Colts have really, really good depth on the line right now this year. But you look next year and it's going to get a little bit messy. Ryan Kelly and Will Fries, Wesley French, Arlington Hambright, Josh Sills, like pretty much all of your interior depth is going to be a free agent next year. And apparently your starters with Kelly and Fries. Quentin Nelson is really the only guy, you know, is coming back next year in terms of the Colts interior offensive line. So you add a guy like Crum, who's got a bunch of experience and is super

Starting point is 00:24:41 athletic. Same thing with Jake Kubas, super athletic as well. Lots of experience. And you're just trying to stoke the fire and keep that offensive line performing at a high level for the foreseeable future because you cannot, cannot, cannot make the same mistake with Anthony Richardson that you did with Andrew Luck. Like you have to keep getting offensive linemen. You have to get young ones to develop

Starting point is 00:25:07 with really good athleticism and traits that translate to the NFL. And you have to keep doing it. And you have to make sure these are guys that are good. You can't just get all of these veterans out of the bargain bin. You know what I mean? Like that's just not how it's gonna work

Starting point is 00:25:24 if you want Anthony Richardson to be a thing even three, four years from now. Chris Ballard knows that though. I think they've done a pretty good job at offensive line evaluation in his time here. So that is my mock. Again, if you didn't already go check out Zach's as well, his video post this morning.

Starting point is 00:25:41 Both of us have our articles with our full explanations and everything on horseshoehuddle.com. The links to both of those are in the show notes. I know it's draft night, but don't forget that the Indie Draft Guide is available for you for $8.99 with code DRAFTMAS, D-R-A-F-T-M-A-S. You get access to an essential piece of reading for Colts fans, both before and after the draft, because I mean, don't forget the Colts are going to draft these guys. It doesn't mean you know everything about them already.

Starting point is 00:26:10 So get the guide, the Colts draft, all these guys, and then you read about them after that. Again, a lot of people think just because the draft is over that a guide is useless and it very much is not. So that is an essential piece of reading for Colts fans.

Starting point is 00:26:25 If you, of course, if you don't already follow at locked on Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach Hicks too on Twitter, also be sure to subscribe on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. We would love your ratings and reviews as well. It just warms our heart. And with that, we'll see you guys right after the Colts make their pick and then shoot right again at the end of the night.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Trade Back, Get Explosive Weapon for Anthony Richardson in New Mock Draft

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