Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: What If They Had to Re-Draft Their Own Players?

Starting point is 00:00:00 What would the Colts do if they had to redraft their own current players? 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. What is up, everybody? Thank you 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 the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I am Jake Arthur from horseshoehuddle.com writing

Starting point is 00:00:51 solo today. And you know, today, I think we're going to break up the monotony of the 2023 NFL draft process just a little bit. We've got about a week left. Let's just throw something different your way, right? So using the Colts 2023 NFL draft slots that they've gotten each round, which of their own players that they've drafted from the last decade would they pick in those spots? So I put a couple of ground rules in there just so it's not a big free for all. So the Colts have to pick a player in the round that they were originally drafted. So you can't, in the second round, go get Rodney Thomas or whatever, for example. They also can't pick a player in a slot that is later than they were actually picked within that round.

Starting point is 00:01:38 An exception to all this is in the fifth round, the Colts haven't picked at 176 or later within the fifth round in that last 10 years in this timeframe that we're doing. So I made an exception for that because they have made several fifth round picks overall. So first up, the Colts obviously picked number four overall in this year's draft. So just kind of looking at some of their most recent first round picks from the last decade. I think you still got to go with Quentin Nelson there, who was picked with the sixth overall pick in 2018. For me, this was a somewhat close call between Nelson and Quiddie Paye. But you know, Quentin Nelson, the only reason that this is even really a discussion is because he's been a bit banged up the last couple

Starting point is 00:02:25 years right uh so he's had the back injury and he hasn't looked like the same dominant quentin nelson in the last two years that he did in his first few years and hopefully you know that's that's just kind of something he's gonna hopefully that's something in the past hopefully you know he's a little healthier this year and everything. And when it comes to Quidipe, he himself has been a bit banged up. He had an ankle that caused him some issues last year. If he'd already gotten to be like a 10-12 sack guy, I might actually reconsider, just because I think we all know that an effective edge rusher is going to have more value than a perennial pro bowl guard really any day of the

Starting point is 00:03:06 week. But still, you really can't ignore Quentin Nelson's resume. His first few years from 2018 to 2021, he allowed just four sacks total. That's one each in his first two years and then none in his third year. That's outstanding. He did miss four games in 2021, two years ago, when he kind of started that little slide. Didn't miss any last year, but still was not himself. I think he's probably still the Colts' best offensive lineman overall, because he just always is. Quentin Nelson playing at 75, 80% is still going to be better than a lot of the offensive linemen throughout the league. But yeah, you want to see him for the price he's being paid. You know, you want to see him playing at that Hall of Fame caliber level.

Starting point is 00:03:52 I had a little, a quick interaction with Duke Manyweather on Twitter not too long ago. And he had mentioned some guys currently in the league who are locks for the Hall of Fame. You know, mentioned Zach Martin, guys like that. I asked him about Quentin. I was like, is the only thing keeping him from being on your list the fact that he's been banged up? who are locks for the Hall of Fame. You know, mentioned Zach Martin, guys like that. I asked him about Quentin. I was like, is the only thing keeping him from being on your list the fact that he's been banged up? But otherwise, he's on a Hall of Fame trajectory. And he said, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:04:14 So from guys who really, really study offensive line play, train these guys and know it, they still absolutely love Quentin Nelson. But yeah, four All-Pros in his career, five Pro Bowls. He's been decorated in some fashion each year in the league. So again, really can't ignore that resume. Moving on to the 35th overall pick, round two, another guy who's been banged up. I think you're going to go with linebacker Shaquille Leonard still. Now, his issues right now, to me, are more worrisome than what Quentin Nelson's has been.

Starting point is 00:04:46 You know, you dealing with a back surgery last year that never really saw him regain full comfort in that lower leg. You know, those two things were kind of married hand in hand. And things sound more optimistic this offseason, but I think you kind of have to see it to believe it first. It's tough because just like Nelson, he's been on a Hall of Fame trajectory to start his career before he got banged up. He barely played this year at just a few games, so these stats may not still be the same case. But going into last year, the beginning of Leonard's career really was unparalleled when you consider just the amount of stats he could stuff on that stat sheet. So far through his career, 549 tackles, including 30 for loss, 15 sacks, 17 forced fumbles, seven recovered, 12 interceptions, and another 31 pass breakups.

Starting point is 00:05:45 That's all for an off-ball linebacker, basically doing things that a stud at each level of the defense would do. So I think you still got to go with someone like that. Off-ball linebacker, kind of like guard again, isn't really a cornerstone position. But when you have a player that has special abilities like that, I think you still go there. This one was really close with me over Jonathan Taylor, who was picked number 41 back in 2020. Now running backs, again, running backs don't matter. You know, everyone's heard the saying. But to me, someone like Taylor is a special player. Back in 2021, when the Colts' second half of the season, the team no one wanted to face. They were really hot. Don't forget, they kind of had to hide Carson

Starting point is 00:06:32 Wentz for a good portion of that. And if you don't have Jonathan Taylor playing at a ridiculous level, that team stinks and probably looks a lot closer to what they looked like last year. So Taylor is a difference maker. And I think the Colts will probably think that way as well when it comes time to dealing out a contract extension. If he looks healthy, you know, recovered from this ankle injury from last year and looks like himself again, I think the Colts probably will value that.

Starting point is 00:07:00 They want to draft and develop their own guys and reward them with new deals. And, you know, for running backs, it can be really tough to get something beyond your second contract. So he'll probably want to come back to the Colts if they offer him something worthwhile. Moving on to the third round, the 79th overall pick, which the Colts have from Washington this year. I'm going with linebacker Bobby O'Kerrick. Yes, he did just leave to go to the Giants, but going through this offseason, he still counts in this exercise. This guy is truly someone who developed and got better each year. Statistically, he increased each season. He was only a full-time starter for two years,

Starting point is 00:07:45 but was just awesome during that time. He averaged a legit 140 tackles in each of those two seasons. And I'm really excited to see what he does with the New York Giants over in Wink-Martindale's defense. A really kind of sneaky defense. They like their players to be multiple. They like to do a lot of different things with those guys. So he's an athletic, long, you know, his game has diversity to it. He's a playmaker. So I'm interested to see what the Giants can do with him there. Rounding out in the fourth round, Grover Stewart back in 2017 was the 144th overall pick. That was, you know, right off the bat with Chris Ballard in 2017.

Starting point is 00:08:28 That was one of his best value picks that we've seen to date. Grover Stewart, you know, knows tackles, don't put up those gaudy stats. But Stewart has been awesome. Like, the Colts run defense, since he's been an Indy, has been really good above average pretty much that whole time. And he's a huge part of it. I think, you know, guys like DeForest Buckner last year, Stephon Gilmore, Leonard, those guys have everyone comments on their value to the team.

Starting point is 00:08:55 I think if you take Stewart out of this lineup, that's a huge issue in itself. And again, I mentioned nose tackles don't really put up stats, but he actually had a big statistical year last year, which has been his best year. And these stats, even for a three technique, which do put up more stats, would be really good. Career highs pretty much across the board, 70 tackles, including nine for loss, four sacks, another seven quarterback hits, a fumble recovered, and then three pass breakups. So Grover Stewart, that's been, so far that's been one of Chris Ballard's best draft picks overall. Finding a guy like that on day three, who is one of the best at his position still, all these years later, that was a heck of a pick by Ballard. So we're going to move on to rounds five, six, and seven in a second.

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Starting point is 00:10:38 Just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up in your app store. That's ultimate-gm.com ultimate look it up in your app store. That's ultimate-gm.com. Ultimate Football GM, start your dynasty today. All right, so we're going to move on to the fifth round now. So fifth round, they've had some good picks on day three as well. And again, this guy is not still with the team, but he was really good for the Colts in his first four years. That's the Swiss Army knife on offensive line.

Starting point is 00:11:06 That was Joe Haig. So he was picked 155th overall back in 2016. And when he faithfully left the Colts that went offseason, I believe it was for the Buccaneers, it was basically for the Colts down to LaRaven Clark and Joe Haig. They had both of those guys on expiring contracts, and they gave the deal to LaRaven Clark and Joe Haag. They had both of those guys on expiring contracts and they gave the deal to LaRaven Clark. Probably we're going to have to pay a bit more for Joe Haag. But Haag left and the rest is history. He hasn't had the greatest time either since he left.

Starting point is 00:11:37 And the Colts obviously have been searching for a player like him since he did leave. In those first four years, he started 35 games for them between 2016 to 2019, including the preseason. I believe we actually did see him at all five spots on the offensive line. So that was a guy who could do anything. Certainly with the issues the Colts have had on the line these last couple of years, someone like that would have come in pretty handy uh going on to the 162nd overall pick for the colts still in round five uh they have this pick from buffalo in exchange with the naheem hinds deal danny pinter who was picked at 149 back in 2020 uh so yes obviously the danny pinter thing at right guard as the starting right guard this year did not go well.

Starting point is 00:12:29 But the reason the Colts even felt confident to do that in the first place was because how steady he was filling in for Ryan Kelly at center anytime that Kelly would get hurt in those first couple of years. So even as a rookie, Pinscher looked pretty good at center. I think we now realize that's his home position. I think he could probably start at center and be fine. But yeah, guard, he's probably lacking the sand in the pants, lacking the power on that one. But still a really good value pick for the Colts. If he had to start, he could at center, of course. But yeah, you're looking in the mid-fifth round after all. So good pick there for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:13:05 At number 176, which they have from Dallas, which is a compensatory pick in exchange for Stephon Gilmore. Again, we had to make an exception for this because since it's at the end of the fifth round, the Colts really haven't picked that late. We're going to add in EJ Speed to this one, another linebacker. Back in 2019, he was picked 164th overall. Kind of like Bobby Okereke, but just not to the volume yet.

Starting point is 00:13:31 This guy's gotten better each year. He's been a special team standout for former coordinator Bubba Ventrone each of his first four years. Got a shiny new contract this year. Things have peaked in this last year. He really earned it, finally getting some starts. 63 tackles, including seven for loss. He had a sack, two forced fumbles, and a pair of pass breakups.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Again, I mentioned he has been a good special teams player for Ventron. He even scored a couple touchdowns off that, too. So I actually don't see that changing much under new coordinator Brian Mason, who also has a big play special teams unit as well. The only exception I could see to that is with the loss of Okereke and uncertain future of Shaquille Leonard getting on the field if speed takes on a much bigger role as a defender, which is fine. You want to see that as a team who drafted him. If he's going to play his home position and hold it down and maybe sacrifice some special team snaps,

Starting point is 00:14:35 again, that kind of speaks to the development of the player, so that's really good. Moving on, the Colts have no sixth-round picks as part of some of the trades that they've made in the last year. They have two in the seventh. The first one is number two hundred twenty one. This one is a layup for me, and I think you guys probably all agree we're going with linebackers. I hear Franklin and I feel like we've drafted four hundred linebackers in this exercise, but the Colts are really good at drafting linebackers. So Franklin was picked 235th overall in the 2018 draft. And man, he's been awesome. He kind of blew up out of nowhere last year in his first full season as a starter. Before that, he was a team captain and a special team's ace. But with the injury to Shaquille Leonard and the Colts ushering in a new defense under Gus Bradley,

Starting point is 00:15:27 Zyra Franklin was the starting mic throughout the season and was really, really good. 167 tackles, including 12 for loss, three sacks, six other quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, and six pass breakups. He's generally an unknown player to NFL fans around the league, but if you assign those numbers to most other guys who have notoriety, like a Bobby Wagner or someone like that, that gets you in the Pro Bowl. His numbers were really, really good, and he actually spoke to us in the media last week, and he was asked about that.

Starting point is 00:16:01 He's like, it didn't come out of nowhere. That's just what it looks like when I'm given a full season to start, really. And, you know, if that happens again, which, you know, by all accounts, it looks like he's going to be a full-time starting linebacker again for the Colts. Might be time for an encore. Really, the only thing missing is probably adding more wrinkles to his game in pass defense. Okereke was their best linebacker in coverage, so you'd love to kind of see Zaire Franklin maybe get a little more

Starting point is 00:16:29 comfortable in that area, a little more effective. He's not a total dud, but he doesn't play to the level that Okereke did. And our final pick in this exercise, it's pick number 236 that the Colts have from the Buccaneers. They got this pick in the Grant Stewart pick swap last year. Rodney Thomas, he was a rookie last year, the safety out of Yale. He was picked 239th overall. Now this guy came out of nowhere, and I thought he was a really intriguing story.

Starting point is 00:16:59 So at Yale, he played linebacker and cornerback. And then in 2020, he didn't have a season because it was a COVID season. The Colts drafted him at safety. They were perhaps going to play him at cornerback, but he stayed there at safety. I didn't see a lot, honestly, from him in training camp up to about midway through. But the Colts had him pretty high on the depth chart. And then when the preseason started, you could see why. You know, he wasn't like flying around and making all these plays in the pass game yet,

Starting point is 00:17:30 but he was tackling everything in sight. He was a really sure tackler. So I figured he would make the roster, you know, maybe not contribute much, but you could see that the guy could tackle somebody and be really good as the last line of defense. And then it was week three for the Colts last season against the Chiefs, a game they improbably won. And against Patrick Mahomes, Rodney Thomas, this rookie seventh-round pick,

Starting point is 00:17:53 again, out of Yale, was thrown into the lineup, and he did really well. He had a couple nice pass breakups against Mahomes and was a key part to the Colts winning that game. He went on to start 10 out of 17 games, so he saw action in every game, 52 tackles, six pass breakups, but four picks. So for the Colts, safeties have not really racked up the interception numbers in recent years, and really in the NFL in general, I don't feel like it's as common anymore to see safeties with four interceptions

Starting point is 00:18:23 or more. This guy's got good ball skills. His range and just speed overall is awesome. I'm really looking forward to seeing him perhaps as the new full-time starting free safety for the Colts. It's interesting to see what they're going to do because they obviously drafted Nick Cross last year. He's a strong safety. Julian Blackman is a free safety and title. But him and Thomas could probably play a little bit of everywhere all over the lineup.

Starting point is 00:18:50 Rodney McLeod has not been re-signed yet. So I'm really interested to see what the Colts do at safety this coming season. They could still do something in the draft. But all I know is I definitely want to see Rodney Thomas all the time. That guy earned a full-time starting role with the Colts defense. So I'm going to wrap up here in a moment, but first a word from another one of today's sponsors, FanDuel.

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Starting point is 00:19:56 Hope you like this little break from all the who are the Colts picking, what quarterback is it going to be. We'll be back with you tomorrow to keep getting into all that, because again, the numbers have shown whether it's us writing or shoe huddle.com or here with you guys, that's still what everyone, we all care about quarterback. And until that pick is made by the Colts in the first round, I think that's gonna,

Starting point is 00:20:17 that's, that's still how it's going to be. But Zach and I have some really good guests planned for the next couple of weeks from now up into the draft. So definitely stick with us each day here. You regulars, we appreciate you sticking with us all the time. If you're new, if this is your first time listening to the show, of course, go ahead, hit subscribe, give us a follow on Twitter and everything.

Starting point is 00:20:37 Follow at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to LockedOnColts on YouTube and wherever you guys listen to podcasts, we would also love your ratings and reviews as well, because that's what helps us get on the charts. So we will see you guys tomorrow.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: What If They Had to Re-Draft Their Own Players?

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