Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Which Quarterback Earned Their Horseshoe at the Combine?

Episode Date: March 7, 2023

The Indianapolis Colts got to see the top quarterbacks in action this past week. Which player is their QB 1 this draft season? Who are the top veteran backup/bridge quarterback options to pair with their rookie?We are thrilled to announce the second edition of the Indy Draft Guide is available for pre-order!The 2023 Indy Draft Guide provides a one-stop shop as to how the top college prospects fit with the Indianapolis Colts. This digital download will include detailed analysis and profiles of hundreds of prospects, player comps, scheme-fit analysis, a Colts draft pick trade chart, features, and more!The most comprehensive Colts draft coverage you can find anywhere releases April 10th, 2023.Pre-order now with this special discount code! https://draftguide.gumroad.com/l/indy23/draftmasFind and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're going to put our tinfoil hats on today as we use what we found out from the combine to tell you which quarterbacks we think could land in Indy. 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. Hello, wonderful people. 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 every day. I am Jake Arthur. He is Zach Hicks. And you know the two of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com. Today, the combine is kaput, and it is time to analyze what went down there. We're going to say who we think could land with the colts just from a general speaking who helped their chances uh who meets their athletic and size margins uh we'll also talk about some veteran quarterback bridge options

who could wind up in indy and why it's really no reason for you guys to panic but first zach and i are ready to make some declarations on which rookie quarterback we think could wind up in Indy. So Zach, you know, we obviously talked to several people throughout the week. We listened to the interviews. We were there speaking with the guys at the press conferences. We listened to Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard you know we've digested a lot of information and kind of created our own hot takes so personal quarterback rankings aside how would you rank these top four guys in in what order they could land to the Colts yeah you know it's fascinating because again I think we're in this type of draft year where you could really talk yourself into any

of these top four guys you know whether you're a team or whether you're a person just evaluating like there is something to like and something to dislike about every single one of these top four guys and we've talked about that a lot here on this show this offseason but gun to my head the guy who I think is going to win over the Indianapolis Colts front office and an overall team. The most I'm going to say CJ Stroud for now. I'm going to say CJ Stroud,

although I think they're the next guy I'm going to list here is pretty close. But I think CJ Stroud purely off of, we know, we kind of know what Chris Ballard likes in players and what he likes in quarterbacks. And we especially know that because of how Carson Wentz did not relate to this locker room at all. You know, Carson Wentz was very much just another guy.

You know, he was another guy. The guys who were really, really big in Chris Ballard's mind, and obviously in anyone's mind, are Phillip Rivers and Andrew Luck. The guys that when they walked into a room, every single person looked. Everybody wanted to be like those guys. They listened to those guys. They were lock and step with them. And to me, that guy is C.J. Stroud in this draft class.

C.J. Stroud is – you were there at that press conference or at that podium thing with C.J. Stroud. He's a very, very open and confident personality, a guy that's very likable. Again, he has that confidence, but it's not like the Baker Mayfield confidence, where I'm the greatest thing ever and I have nothing else I have to do. It's a guy who acknowledges his flaws, acknowledges areas that he needs to get better, while also being like, look, I'm going to get better.

This is an area where I'm going to get better. So I think when you factor in all that, when you factor in that he's a very accurate and safe quarterback in terms of, you know, he doesn't turn the ball over. It doesn't make a lot of dumb decisions, which is something that a new head coach is going to love. I'm going to lean CJ Stroud for now, just off the personality and off of what he already gets you. And then again, on top of all this, even though he didn't test this week,

I think he's going to be a pretty good athlete when he eventually does test. I think there's a lot of reasons why the Colts will be really high on him. So I'm going to lean CJ Stroud for now, even though, again, I'm going to list the next guy here in a second, but I think this other guy's pretty close. But CJ Stroud, I think, knowing what we know about Chris Ballard, knowing what we know about what this team kind of covets at the quarterback position, I think CJ Stroud's the guy. But again, this could change tomorrow. That's the same thing with me. You know, that entire time he was speaking to the media,

I was like, this dude checks every box they want. You know, like you mentioned, he's confident, but it's not arrogant. He likes to hold his teammates accountable in a way that is like relatable to them. Like it's not talking down to them. You know, he wants to be a leader, but he wants everyone to get things right so they can get rolling onto the next page. I also think he probably offers the Colts the best opportunity to just pick their guy, get up and go week one, you know Anthony Richardson.

I think we both are of the opinion he could start. There's a way you could have him start this year, but CJ Stroud is probably their most ready-made quarterback. Bryce Young as well, but there's the whole, of course, size thing you have to be worried about. But no, Stroud, confidence, accuracy. He's got the deep ball. We think he's more athletic than most of his tape shows.

Gosh, there's just really, there's really nothing I don't think he couldn't do for the Colts that they'll want. It sounds like he should do pretty well on or probably did do very well on the boards. You know, the typical Ohio State quarterback is kind of gets a knock for how they, you know, read through an offense and pre-snap stuff. But it sounds like he kind of is breaking the mold on that. He's not the same old Ohio State quarterback. So that's my top guy as well. But I know who your next guy is going to be on that he's not the same old ohio state quarterback so that's that's my top guy as well but i know who your next guy is gonna be but it's really a 1a 1b situation

yeah and it's tough for me because i think if the colts were picking where carolina's picking if they were picking ninth i think this next guy anthony richardson would be a lock for the colts i i firmly believe they're picking like that 9-12 range that they would move up a little less than like the fourth pick or something and try to get Anthony Richardson. You know, I think that would be their guy. It's just they're picking so high and this season means so much to Chris Ballard and obviously a first-time head coach. I feel like they're going to play it a little bit safer, but from everything we heard there in Indy and at the Combine was the Colts have done a ton of research on Anthony Richardson.

You know that I think I heard something like they have, they'd sent a contingent of scouts to multiple games this season. They've talked with a lot of people close to them. They obviously had a lengthy informal meeting with him at the combine, which is interesting. It wasn't technically a formal one, but it was one, you know,

where they talked with him in length. So they've been doing a ton of research on Anthony Richardson if you talk to you know some guys who have sources I've talked to a couple behind closed doors they say like of all the teams they've talked to Anthony Richards or the Colts seem to be the highest on Anthony Richardson than any other team they talked to any kind of sources they've talked to with teams now again that doesn't mean that he's over CJ Stroud, but it means I think the Colts really, really like him. And we know Chris Ballard is a size queen. He loves those big, those, those big RAS guys, RAS guys, you know, perfect 10 at the quarterback position.

We saw him blow away scouts at the combine with his workout numbers and just throwing. So I, again, I firmly believe they get any inkling that he is the type of mindset that Josh Allen has or the type of mindset that Pat Mahomes had again I'm not saying he's the same level of prospect to those two guys but he had if he has that mindset that growth mindset that Shane Steichen mentioned in one of his pressers I think he's the guy it's just this season it means a lot and it's tough to take a guy who needs a lot of work as a passer but I I will say for a fact I know this they really like him and they are doing a lot of research

and work on him I don't know if that's enough to be QB1 for them but I do think that they're going to be one of the teams that is really really interested in Anthony Richardson yeah without a doubt you know if if you're looking if if you just know what Chris Ballard in Anthony Richardson. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, if, if you're looking, if, if you just know what Chris Ballard does, Anthony Richardson is such a Chris Ballard prospect traits. He is all get out ceiling through the roof, but still like, he's not completely as raw as people think he is. Um, I mean, you, you've shown he's, he's more advanced than you would think when it comes to eye manipulation and looking defenders off, things like that.

Right. But no, the guy, if they think he's going to be – if he's going to develop along as a more complete passer, they already know the athleticism is there. He is a Chris Ballard type for sure. What I think – I think it could be a thing where Jim Irsay maybe senses Chris Ballard's hesitancy and is like you know look if you believe in this kid and you really if if you really feel

the strongest about him but are apprehensive swing for the fences go do it you know Stroud is the safer pick but Richardson is the swing for the fences grand slam potential pick yeah or strike out potentially we know but they're striking out with every quarterback prospect but yeah I think the swing for the fences grand slam potential pick yeah or strike out potential but we don't but they're striking out with every quarterback prospect but yeah i think i think uh you know our colleague shod mcginnis on twitter put it today 1a and 1b is where i would lean with these two guys i don't know who this team is going to prefer but i feel like just from the sense we got this past week those are the top two guys for the colts now the other two guys we're going to mention here and i'll hit them quick

because we got to move on. But Bryce Young, I think Shane Steichen is going to love him. I think on the board, this whole team is going to love him. And I think he's a phenomenal prospect. But Chris Ballard, he doesn't take outliers high. He just doesn't do it. You know, he sticks to his size molds for the most part. Yes, that could change with the quarterback position position but he just doesn't do it I no matter what they say I cannot get it through my head

that he's going to take quarterback that small uh that high I just can't get it and then Will Levis again a good prospect and I think again if they're picking somewhere in that 9 to 12 range they'd be fine with taking him uh that high but, you know, again, a 24-year-old prospect in the top five or the top three if they trade up, when you have these like much younger, maybe more traits or more developed players, I just don't see him on the same level as these other guys, even though it wouldn't shock me if Chris Brown likes him.

It's just, I think, again, if they were picking like ninth or 10th, they'd be fine there, but I don't see in the top five. Yeah, and it's really not a knock on Levis. Cause I mean, there's four bonafide guys you could pick in the top 10 here, but someone has to be ranked last among the group. And it's, it's not that he doesn't have traits and that he doesn't have high potential. It's just not maybe at the same level or flash as the other guys. And exactly the same thing with Bryce Young. We've said it before.

Of course, if the guy was six foot two 10 naturally, then you'd be comfortable with it. But he's what he was, what two Oh four to Oh six or something, but that's not his playing way. And so if he can find a way to book on and maintain it terrific, but you know,

just gambling on that is probably as risky as anthony richardson is you know so you just swap the guy who's enormous so um yeah next up we're going to talk about what veterans could be either backing up this rookie or even showing them the ropes a little bit until they're ready but first let's talk about our friends over at built bar if you're looking for a delicious treat but don't want all of the fat and the calories, then you guys have got to try a Built Bar. What makes them so good? Well, for starters, they're covered in 100% real chocolate. That's right. I said real chocolate. And they come in unbelievable flavors like churro,

peanut butter brownie, and coconut almond. I'm not sure how Bill does it, but these bars taste like a candy bar while maintaining amazing macros. And what's even better is they are healthy. Only 130 calories and four grams of sugar with a whopping 17 grams of protein. Head to Walmart or Sam's Club today to buy a box. All right, Jake, so we're going to talk about some veteran free agents. And this was actually something that for some reason all of us indie media guys whenever we got together and talked we talked about this a lot you know like like obviously if you talk to george bremer whatsoever

this past week his mind his the gears were turning about the rookie quarterbacks but if you talk to anyone else you know we were kind of fascinated about uh all the other veteran options and just who they would bring in once they were to cut slash release Matt Ryan and Nick Foles and I think we kind of all settle on this group of four you know so I'm going to read this group of four here and then Jake you can say who you think might be most most intriguing or most interesting or who you think the Colts might like but the four we kind of all settled on and these are guys that the Colts have had interested in the past, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Andy Dalton, and Gardner Minshew. Yeah. So looking at the most recent example, I think you look at Jameis Winston first. He was pretty much the fallback option last year if Matt Ryan wasn't going to come through. If you guys remember all those quarterback dominoes fell within like 24 hours last year.

Deshaun Watson gets traded to the Browns. Matt Ryan gets traded to the Colts. Mariota to the Falcons, and then Winston back to the Saints. They all were waiting on that. They all were just pretty much going to swap places. But no, Winston to the Colts was something that seemed like it could very well happen last year. He looks like it's going to be a free agent again now that the Saints are bringing in Derek Carr. So there's really no reason for the Colts not to be interested, especially with the fact, you know,

he backed up Andy Dalton for the majority of the season last year. So if you're taking, you know, the pride into it, he knows that he's probably at the point in his career where he could be backing up a rookie. He could even start for a little bit if the Colts grab someone they aren't comfortable with quite yet starting. Winston is a smart guy. He was a wow-em on the blackboard guy before his draft class. So I think he would fit in with Shane Steichen. I'm sure Steichen could think of plenty to do with him. Yeah, I think the one thing I will say about Jameis Winston is obviously there is a past there. There's bad influences in his life. You know,

I can't go into details. I just don't know the guy. So I don't want to disparage someone. But we all know the past and he has seemed to have grown from it in recent years, but it is always going to be there. You know, so I know a lot of people are going to have grown from it in recent years but it is always going to be there you know so I know a lot of people are going to be off because of that I'm not even saying I'm on you know for Jameis Winston but that past is certainly there I will say with Jameis Winston yes he was the fallback option last year and I can't say too much now because he's technically not a free agent but I think Indy's going to be interested in him is the best I'll say for that right there. For the other guys on this list, Marcus Mariota, the Colts nearly traded a third round pick for him in 2020 before trading, you know, all they did for Carson Wentz.

So they were very interested in Marcus Mariota a couple of years ago. Andy Dalton, I remember. I've heard about him a couple of actually i think his was the philip rivers year too in 2020 so sorry mariotta was the 2021 offseason that nearly traded for him andy dalton was the philip rivers offseason 2020 that chris fowler was interested in signing him instead but ultimately they went with frank sky and philip rivers gardener mint you i haven't heard much of over the years but i think that's more because he was always in the division. You know, you weren't going to trade with the Jaguars for him. And the more connection there is Shane Steichen now, you know, Shane Steichen has

worked with him the last two seasons. So there are connections to each one of these guys. This is why we've kind of come up with this group before. I would say the most likely is Jameis right now, but I can be talked in either way. Cause I think Andy Dalton would say the most likely is Jameis right now, but I can be talked in either way. Cause I think Andy Dalton would be the most susceptible one here to being a backup, you know, compared to these other guys, even though he probably had the best season out of all four of these guys

last year, I would say Andy Dalton be the most susceptible one to being a backup because he's done it a lot in recent seasons, but you know, Marcus Mariota could do it and he could probably fit this offense. Gardner Minshew, I know wants to be a starter somewhere, but I think he wants to see, you know Marcus Mariota could do it and he could probably fit this offense Garner Minshew I know wants to be a starter somewhere but I think he wants to see you know if it comes down to it he'll be a backup again I mean it's it's a job so Jameis I think is a wild card because

he's sometimes good enough to start sometimes really really bad and not good enough to start so who knows and Joel Erickson brought up a lot of good points this week when we're talking about it is you know he kept telling me he's like you don't want to Ryan Fitzpatrick into a tag of a low situation where the guy you have is that backup slash spot starter is very good or has a really good stretch and then you're stuck not playing the young guy that you just spent a high pick on because this other veteran is playing so well of everyone on this list Jameis Winston's the one who could do that compared to the other three. The other three are not going to give you any reason not to play the young guy. So, you know, the Colts do have to kind of work around these situations and such.

And there's obviously going to be markets for each one of these four guys. But ultimately, they will get a veteran quarterback behind the rookie or maybe the spot start if the rookie's Anthony Richardson or something. But yeah, I think it's going to be among these four guys if I had to guess yeah that's definitely the most common group that makes the most sense of course with Minshew you know I think he's a big x factor because yes he probably does still want an opportunity to to start but at the same time you have that connection with Shane Steichen and if it bleeds through the offseason and the interest just isn't there for a potential starting job,

then he's going to have no choice. But really the reason why it's no big deal. Like if you hear rumblings, free agency and all that stuff is about to start here soon. If you hear rumblings about quarterbacks, it doesn't mean they're not going to draft someone. It just means they need insurance. You know, Sam Ellinger is going to have to earn it. You know, they're not going to draft someone it just means they need insurance you know sam ellinger is going to have to earn it you know they're probably going to bring in a veteran to compete with ellinger um you know to rein in things with this rookie so it doesn't mean they're not going to draft someone if jamis winston's the quarterback it doesn't mean that jamis winston is the hope for the next 10 years it just means they need insurance right and another thing is, look,

they can't bring Matt Ryan back because of that money, and they absolutely cannot bring Nick Foles back because... Because of the football. Because of the football aspect of it. It wasn't very good at all. So this is why we're mentioning these other guys is, as of right now, Sam Ellinger is the only quarterback on the roster. They're going to need somebody else before they bring that rookie in, unless they fully believe Sam Ellinger is the only quarterback on the roster. Like they're going to need somebody else before they bring that rookie.

And unless, unless they fully believe Sam Ellinger can be the backup, which, you know, I don't hate it. I don't hate it. Like in two of his three games last year, he played fine,

like perfectly fine for a backup caliber quarterback. So if they don't, they grab a veteran, you know, it's not the biggest deal to me, but I do think ultimately they're going to grab some kind of veteran placeholder type. No, for sure.

Like, honestly, with how bad things were with Ellinger or anyone else behind center last year, I really don't fully hold it against him. Like, what did you expect from a guy making his first two starts in as bad of a scenario as that was? I think it would look better with Steichen and a hopefully improved offensive line.

So if that happens, cool. If not, whatever. Coming up, we're going to talk about some of the players who had solid showings at the Combine and make a lot of sense for Indy coming up here in April. All right, everybody. So if you've been living under a rock and you're in colts country build a ballard started today uh zach got things kicked off with the wide receivers

now that we got the metrics in there the combine is here we know what the the chris ballard types are so zach if you want to go ahead and run us through some of these build a ballard receivers let's see who could be catching passes from this new rookie quarterback. Yeah. So before we get into the Bill DeBallard receivers, again, if you guys have been living under a rock or maybe you're just not too familiar with my written work, you only like my voice and you don't like my written stuff. Bill DeBallard is a series that I've been doing for, I think it's my fourth season now of Bill DeBallard. You know, it started as a little research project for me. I looked at every single draft pick that Chris Bowd has made with the Indianapolis Colts and also was heavily involved with the Kansas City Chiefs.

You know, I didn't use his Bears days because he was only really just a pro scout. You know, he wasn't really as big a factor as he was with the Chiefs and Colts. So I didn't use the Bears days, but I did use everything he's done with the Chiefs and the Colts. And honestly, going forward, I'm going to start cutting more and more of the Chiefs out because we don't really need that data anymore. We have all this Colts data. But yeah, the Build a Ballard series looks at all these guys and sees some common themes, common threads, and just what Chris Ballard likes in certain positions.

And I can say with full confidence, I think I have wide receiver down almost exactly. I think I have cornerback down pretty good. And defensive end, I think I'm pretty good. Because those are the ones that, one, he drafts almost every year. I think when I wrote the wide receiver one the other day, he's taken 10 receivers and 10 drafts across the two teams. Cornerback, it's like 12 or 13 in those 10 drafts. And defensive end, it's around 12 or 13 in those 10 drafts. And defensive end,

it's around 12 or 13 as well. So he takes a lot of those guys. So you have a lot of data points to throw in there. But yeah, starting with wide receivers, it's the big boys. It's the big explosive guys. That's the thing that's going to be common with Builder Ballard is it's going to be the big and explosive players. That's what he likes. He's a size queen who likes explosive players. So if we look at common threads with Build-A-Ballard wide receivers, it's almost always over six foot. I think Paris Campbell was the only one under six foot. Oh, and Tyree Kill. But Tyree Kill obviously is the outlier among all outliers, a day three pick that kind of just fell in their lap. But yeah, Paris Campbell was 5'11", so nearly six foot. Every receiver has been over 200 pounds outside Tyreek Hill. Again, the only outlier there.

They've all jumped over 35 inches in the vertical jump, which is like above average. It's not like phenomenal, but it's above average. Typically, that number is closer to 38, 39, but there are a couple of guys who bring that number down. The broad jump, it's like over 120 inches, which again is pretty good, not amazing. But typically you want to have that much higher and higher. And the common theme is these are jump ball non-separator receivers. You know, guys who are great after the catch maybe, guys who are good blockers, but they struggle with their route running. They struggle with their separation.

I think you guys know just from Chris Ballard's pass with the Colts that that kind of tracks. Michael Pittman Jr., a decent route runner, but still not a bona fide separator. Alec Pierce, Michael Strawn, Desmond Patman. Paris Campbell is kind of an exception, but he still is a super explosive guy who's super fast. So yeah, guys, we're looking for big explosive receivers who are kind of more overpowering types than they are route runners. And I think the number one guy who popped me was Jonathan Mingo from Ole Miss. Wide receiver from Ole Miss. I think it came in at 6'2", 220.

Ran a 4'4", 6", jumped like 39 inches. I believe he had 129 inch broad jump. If you watch his film at Ole Miss he's actually a slot receiver which it's kind of what propelled him up to number one on this year's build of Ballard because the Colts kind of need a slot receiver you know if Paris Kimball walks they're gonna need a slot receiver and why not just go the big slot route knowing Chris Ballard just go with a big slot route this is a guy where he dominates on bubble screens he dominates in that short to intermediate area and he doesn't do it with like

being a great separator that just pulls away from guys he does it by just overpowering people on bubble screens he's running through tackles running past guys as well and he's just he's just a load to bring down so I think you know if Chris Ballard's looking to upgrade that slot or just get a new slot in here, he can stay with his mold while also getting a really good slot in Jonathan Mingo. So yeah, I'm not gonna say he's as much a build-a-ballard fit as Alec Pierce was last year,

but Jonathan Mingo, I think, is going to be the wide receiver one throughout this whole draft process on the build-a-ballard wide receiver rankings. I whole draft process on the build of ballard wide receiver rankings i hope that happens if for no other reason i can title one of our shows and mingo was his name oh because i'll do it i i'm telling you jake go watch some of his film you'll enjoy it he's he's a blast to watch he's like i i heard he is i heard he's diet aj brown yeah yeah so he's not he's not as explosive as A.J. Brown.

Nobody says explosive. I mean, A.J. Brown is just so, so powerful and explosive. But if you're looking for like 80% of that explosion, 80% of that power, and not as good a jump ball guy, but just more of just that, you know, you can get him the ball in space underneath and he'll run through guys, that's not the Mingo, man. And I think he wears the same number that A.J. Brown did at Ole Miss too. So it looks a lot like him.

It does look a lot like him. So were there any other positions? The Colts love those lengthy, explosive defensive linemen. They could be looking for some linebackers. Bobby Okereke is reportedly in high demand or will be in free agency. E.J. Speed could be too. Were there any other positions that kind of jumped out to you that could have earned their horseshoe this weekend?

I will say the two guys, so I haven't gone too deep in the other two position groups that I feel comfortable with, but I will say the two guys that popped out on my, just from just looking at it generally, Ohio State defensive end Zach Harrison. I think he was like 6'6 like 275 or something with like 36 inch arms or 35 inch arms and he actually didn't end up testing uh like i think he pulled his hamstring or something like that so he didn't run the 40 and didn't do a bunch of other stuff but even without that i was like just that length alone like there we go he's already he's already high on chris ballard's board right there so that's dio size

that's dio size yeah so really really hoping that he can test ohio state's pro day here in the next couple weeks uh so we'll see if if those numbers line up with build a ballad but he's going to be really high uh and the other guy who i think is going to be is almost certainly going to be the number one build a ballad corner this offseason is julius brentz from kansas state now if you guys know julius brentz i think he was born in i want to say fort what no he was born in indianapolis i think indianapolis he's yeah he's from here i forget what high school you said he went to but yeah he went somewhere in indy there was another prospect from fort wayne i believe but no i think brentz was born in indy uh and if you just look at i mean that's one thing that you just are like, okay, cool.

Like, there we go. We have an Indy native kid. Hopefully Chris Ballard doesn't do the Terry McLaurin thing and miss out on the, I was going to say, he's got to write the Terry McLaurin wrongs. Right, right. But if you look at Julius Brent's six, three corner, nearly 200 pounds, I think he ran the fastest three cone as well, which is not even a requirement for the build of Ballard corners, but it works like that's cool. I think he ran the four, four or no, he ran

a four or five actually. So that wasn't, wasn't that fast, but that doesn't really matter for Chris Ballard's corners. You know, he likes the explosive, the lengthy guys had the over 32 inch arm length jumped, I think 40 inches or nearly 40 inches as well. Like this is an explosive, powerful, long corner who likes to mix it up in the run game. Had a good senior bowl. I think he was a transfer. Chris Ballard loves transfers as well.

Like we're looking at a guy who I think Chris Ballard is salivating over. And I think on day two, if they're still looking for corner, Julius Francis is going to be really high on their board. Like I cannot imagine Chris Ballard looking at that profile and not wanting every part of it.

It kind of reminds me of how easy it was to predict Rakia Sin being a Chris Ballard corner. You know, Rakia Sin being a former wrestler that transferred up and got that single digit at Temple and played in the Senior Bowl really well. That is kind of what I get. I get the same kind of vibe from Julius Brentz there. Different corners, but similar vibes. So yeah, those guys stood out to me and I'm excited to dive into them once I,

once I get over to their build of Ballards. That could also be a little bit of a Tariq Woolen redemption as well. That, that, that big, potentially stud corner. I don't know. I don't know. Now, because there is literally no possible answer for this next one i have to ask you jaylen carter um messy situation there georgia would probably be the top defensive player non-quarterback off the board if not for uh what tragically happened in january

you know was was reportedly racing had there was um death involved in in the wreck and so he's in a little legal trouble now had to leave the combine briefly to go meet with police and you know do that whole thing uh he was able to return to the combine though do you have you even thought about whether there could be any connection with the colts at any point in the draft. I don't think so. And also, I think to clarify something you said there, I think he was actually arrested in Georgia and he's out on bond. He's out on bond right now.

So it's not like he, it's not like he was interviewing or something like that for what happened. Like he's, he was arrested and out on bond. So yeah, it's a tricky situation. I mean, hopefully we just have more facts about it come draft day because you know we had things with the lyle collins thing years ago where i think he it came out that he wasn't really involved in the thing that happened he ended up going undrafted when he was like a top 10 pick projection uh so hopefully either way you know if

he's someone who needs to be held liable and actually be put in jail for this, it happens before the draft. So there's more clarity and there's not this limbo thing with him. And then if it's something where he's completely exonerated again, hopefully this comes before the draft so he can, you know, go where he deserves to go. You know, so it's it's a tricky thing to comment on right now because it's a legal issue. It's kind of away from football. It's not something that I feel qualified to talk about but I will say I don't think like purely talking draft related and Colts related the only thing this probably does is it makes the Bears look at it and go we don't want to go back that far now because what it used to be like we could get Will Anderson or Jalen Carter now has turned into, we can only get Will Anderson because who knows what Jalen Carter right now.

So yeah, we'll see how it affects draft stuff, but it's kind of just a tricky thing to comment on. And the last thing I want to do is have my foot in my mouth with saying something or predicting something when I don't know the whole story and I don't want to say this kid's guilty or innocent based off some new stuff. So really, really crazy situation. It sucks that

it had to come out 45 days after it happened, you know, right when this kid was at the combine, but you know, hopefully at the end of the day, if, if, you know, if he did something wrong, he gets, you know, he faces consequences for it. And if he does, if he didn't do something wrong, then hopefully he gets exonerated for it. Yeah, definitely an odd situation where, again, the timing is not great. And we have seen examples of this before. But yeah, I mean, that one's just tough. It does affect the Colts a little bit with that trading in the top four. But that's kind of on the back burner, at least of anyone's worries.

But I know that's one I've, I've been asked about. It's again, there's just really no answer for it right now. But shoot, you know, it, you know, melancholy topics aside, was, was there any anything else from the combine that you want to throw in there? Nope. The other thing I'll say is, cause we mentioned the build a Ballard piece. You guys can go check that out on horseshoehull.com. I only mentioned the number one Ballard piece, you guys can go check that out on horseshoehull.com.

I only mentioned the number one guy, Jonathan Mingo. There were two other guys that made that top three, and then there's honorable mentions as well of guys who hit that Chris Ballard mold. And what we're seeing in more recent years is these guys are testing so freaky that these articles used to have only five to six guys, and now it's like 10 guys who fit. So that's a good thing. That's a good thing. There's more guys that fit that chris ballard mold so i definitely go check that out and see

which guys uh kind of hit you guys can even go look at past articles and see you know ones i've hit and missed on in recent years you know again alec pierce was my crown jewel last year and i was saying all off season that he was built in a lab for chris ballard and and we hit on that so hopefully we're trying to build on that going forward with build a Ballard and, and hitting on more of these. Yeah, for sure. I mean, there's, there's of course, reason why that series does so well each year. It's, it's like a dang near a crystal ball. That's it for us today.

We'll be back tomorrow to keep breaking down this, this whole thing that is the Colts off season, what the roster looks like, what they need to be doing this offseason. Again, free agency is right around the corner, legal tampering, all that. So, you know, we'll have some for you. Yeah, the official legal tampering starts around the corner.

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