Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 12/23/19: Colts win big in meaningless game, reportedly eyeing QB early in 2020 draft

Episode Date: December 23, 2019

On today's episode, Zach Hicks of Stampede Blue is back to go over the Colts' 38-6 win over the Carolina Panthers. What were the biggest takeaways from when the Colts improved their record to 7-8? The running game was huge, but Nyheim Hines looks like a future superstar as a returner taking two to the house. We close talking about another inconsistent outing from Jacoby Brissett before hopping into an interesting subject.We've talked plenty about Brissett not being the likely long-term answer, but Ian Rapoport's report might have cemented it. With quotes directly from Jim Irsay, soak this all in. Zach and I dive deep into it and what this could mean for an important offseason.Finally, we talk about Jordan Love and Justin Herbert. The two most realistic options for the Colts as their future QB1 in the 2020 NFL Draft, which direction does Zach lean for a preference? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into our latest edition of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's audience is your hosts, Evan Sutter and Joe Meyer, our weekly guests on the show each Monday throughout the season. Zach Hicks, Stampede Blue. How are you today, Zach? Pretty good, man. Good to be back on after a win for the first time in, you know, it seems like 100 years.

So it's good to see the Colts get a win, even though it kind of hurts the draft prospects. Yeah, it was a very exciting win for sure. Zach, let me ask before we get into the game, kind of a weird point. I know Colts fans – I put a poll on the Twitter account. I locked on Colts and asked some fans, like, what you're rooting for on Sunday, a loss or a win? And it was almost 70-30 as far as a loss versus a win.

How are you watching that game, Ishra? You know, it's weird. Like, obviously a loss helps the team at this point more than winning, but I don't really think you go into it rooting for a loss, you know. Maybe it's different if you're rooting for, like, a bottom-dweller team, but I don't know. Like, I honestly would have preferred for them to lose just because it would have helped draft position but it's a win it's fun to watch it's exciting especially the way they won uh so the way i've been putting on twitter when people are saying like you're not a true fan if you uh root for a loss on the weekend and you know one seven nine a fan i just cover the team but uh the other side of it's like you're not really

actively rooting for a loss you just you know, cool, I get to see a win. If they lose, you know that it really helps them in the long term. So it's kind of a win-win going into the weekend. So I didn't really watch it hoping that they would lose. But a loss definitely would have helped more than a win. Yeah, that's for sure. As far as draft vision goes, the Colts have lost down a top ten pick at this point with their latest win on Sunday. And I think it was a great win, of course, which is the way they went over.

But let me ask you about the Carolina side of things because you, of course, watched the game yesterday. It seems like that Carolina team has really quit on their coaching staff at this point. Yeah, I mean, well, they don't even have a head coach right now. You know, they have an interim guy in there. And they have – you know, they're on their third quarterback on the year they have a couple injuries they had a you know that whole incident with Vernon Butler that happened halfway through the game uh so yeah I think it's a team that's

kind of needs a change of culture and change of uh identity there uh they're definitely in the uh the in between right now with Cam Newton likely on his way out this offseason uh so, yeah, I mean, that's kind of what happens when you hit that rock bottom. You know, it's honestly better to bottom out like that, though, than kind of be stuck in mediocre. So it's probably better for them that they're losing like this so they can maybe move on to a different quarterback and whatnot. But, you know, whoever the next coach is that goes there is going to have to kind of turn that culture around a little bit,

maybe get some other guys out of there because they're kind of a little bit of a mess right now. Yeah, you spoke about that Jack Doyle incident. I was going to ask you about that a little bit this show, but since you brought it up, I might as well talk about it now because that was a very interesting point of the game. I was actually there yesterday. And when I saw that, I'm just like, poor Jack Doyle, because we've now seen two instances where you have Vontaze Burfecht just trying to end his

career pretty much in September now you have Vernon Butler punching the wrong guy he was supposed to be Mark Lewinsky but he punched Jack Doyle instead just a weird season for Jack Doyle all around at this point yeah you know that was uh that was definitely a weird moment in the game that he you know Vernon Butler former first round pick about four years ago hasn't really turned out or turned out the way that anyone expected. But, yeah, he was grabbing the face mask, and Mark Galinsky fell down and then turned around and punched Doyle in the head thinking it was Galinsky. It was a really weird sequence.

You know, I'm glad that Doyle's okay. But like you said, it's been a weird season. We threw a couple head shots there, missed, you know, a couple throws that have been missed his way going from uh from brissette but also turning in a uh a pro bowl alternate season and a new contract so uh you know the way that i said it i'm glad that i said to my dad when we're watching the game i'm glad that um you know he he didn't fight back but i'm sure he was thinking like hey i just got paid i don't need to fight back here so uh it was good to see him not really retaliate and the refs take the proper measure to throw Butler out of the game

because that was absolutely worthy of an ejection. Yeah, absolutely. I do wonder if Butler is even suspended at some points of next year too because that was pretty obvious what he did. But let's get to the game here, Zach. Naheem Hines is the star of this game, and it wasn't really much of receiving or on the ground, but you've been an advocate all year about Naheem Hines getting more touches.

And even though it was three parter turned just yesterday two for touchdowns, electrifying the entire crowd there, I think your point has been proven here, Zach. I think Naeem Hines definitely needs to be a weapon utilized more often in this offense next year. Yeah, you know, it's funny. I mean, obviously, if any of you guys follow me on Twitter, at ThatKicks2, you know, I was talking all day Saturday about, I even wrote an article for Stampy Blue. I said that no matter how you get the ball to Hines, you know, passing it to him, running it with him, using it on reverses or trick plays or just letting him return punts, just get the ball in Hines' hands

and get him in space. And, you know, that article kind of came out at a perfect time. And on Sunday we saw how good Hines can be with the ball in his hands in space. You know, he didn't really get the ball on offense too much, but those three punt returns, I mean, one of them he just barely got tripped up, and the other two he scored on, you know, we saw just how electric he is. I think he's currently like top three or top four in the NFL in punt return yardage on the season,

and he already leads the NFL in punt return touchdowns now with those two. So I wish this breakout would have came a little earlier in the season. He would have made the Pro Bowl as a punt returner. But, you know, right now it's looking good putting him back there, and hopefully, you know, this last game of the year and early next year, you know, whenever he kind of shows electricity more. But, you know, he's probably a starting punt returner going forward for the foreseeable future, and hopefully, you know, he's probably your starting punt returner going forward for, you know, the foreseeable

future. And hopefully, you know, this inspires Reich and everybody on the offensive staff to get him more involved in offense. Because like you said, I've been an advocate all season to, you know, get the ball to Naeem Hines. He's not the most consistent player. You know, he'll have a lot of plays that go for one yard, two yard, three yards, but he gets those chunk plays. And that's the most important thing in offense, especially in offense like this, where you have kind of that game manager quarterback, you need those chunk plays, especially a guy who can turn, you know, a two yard out route into a 20 or 30 yard catch. I mean,

get him more involved in the offense, get him in space and let him go to work. I think that, you know, we saw it on this past weekend, the punt returns, we've seen a lot through his first two seasons as well, the way he gets those chunk plays. So hopefully this leads to just more opportunities for him in the offense going forward. Yeah, speaking of Hines and also adding him into the special teams point of it,

I think adding Hines as the punt returner, really kick returner at this point. If he's your guy back there, I think that's a rock-solid option over Chester Riders long-term, of course. But Chase McLaughlin, too, Zach, I haven't had to worry about a kick really at all since he became a starting kicker a couple weeks ago. What's been your thoughts on Chase McLaughlin and now adding in Naeem Hines-Burns as a returner?

I think the special teams has potential moving forward. Yeah, you know, and like I've kind of talked about on the show the last couple weeks, the special teams play overall has really not been that bad. You know, there was a couple blocked punts. You know, Jordan Wilkins, or there was a one block punt that Jordan Wilkins misses block. The one block kick, obviously, against Tennessee at the end of the season for the Colts. And then all the misses from Vinatieri. But, you know, outside of those two miscues and blocking and all of Vinny's misses this year, special teams play has been pretty good. You

know, Ashton Newland's a really good gunner on the outside. Truster Rogers, even before his injury and before Naeem Hines showed how electric he can be back there, Truster Rogers was top five in the NFL in punt return average. And I don't think he had any muffs on the year or anything like that. So overall, special teams play really wasn't that bad outside of Vinatieri missing a bunch of kicks. But now with McLaughlin there, we don't really have to talk about kicker every single week, which is music to my ears. The less I have to talk about kickers is more enjoyable for me when it comes to covering football. So I'm going to be the biggest Chase McLaughlin fan as long as he's making kicks out there. But yeah, I think going forward, Rigoberto Sanchez is one of the best punters in football. Ash Newland's a really good gunner.

They're really good in their kick coverage. George Odom's also a really good special teamer. Hines looks really explosive. So, yeah, I think going forward, the special team's looking good as long as they can hold their blocks up front and not have many mistakes. Yeah, yeah, I like the direction of the special teams unit. I feel this is an easy question for you, Zach. I'm curious just to hear where you're leaning. Because personally, I think he should be the kicker next year,

really, with not much competition. But obviously, he's an undrafted rookie at this point, a one-year experience in the NFL. But how would you go about with the Colts claiming Chase McLaughlin and having him do well these past couple weeks? Do you think the Colts should still be in the kicker market that's all seen for competition for McLaughlin? Or how would you go about doing that?

I mean, probably bring in some guy in training training camp like an undrafted free agent again uh kind of like what the colts did with chase headland this past year you know and if he kicks better than the glockland all offseason then yeah sure you know make the move but you know as of right now i don't really see a need i think he's a he's fine kicker he's been all right um and again unless i need to talk about kickers so yeah i'm all for just going forward with him and, and you know, letting him kind of at least be the starter going into the off season with the Colts. Let's move on now to the running backs here,

a really dominant running game for the Colts yesterday, 218 rushing yards, the third game this year of 200 plus rushing yards, the first time in over 31 years it's happened for the Colts organization. Jordan Wilkins had a good game yesterday, as well as Marlon Mack, who had 1,000 yards. What was your thoughts on the running game, not only today but throughout the season here? It's been really good, and I think, you know,

they're a top-five running game in the NFL this year, and that's with, you know, their bell cow back missing a couple games. That's with a couple other players getting injured. You know, Jonathan Williams was a little injured this year. Jordan Wilkins was a little banged up this year. Marlon Mack, like I just said, missed a couple games. That's with a couple other players getting injured. You know, Jonathan Williams was a little injured this year. Jordan Wilkins was a little banged up this year. Marlon Mack, like I just said, missed a couple games. So with running back injuries, with quarterback play that really hasn't, you know, forced defenses to not stack the box, I think it's been really, really good. You know, they're top five rushing teams in the NFL, and that's with, you know, again, poor quarterback play, not really much of a passing offense to kind of assist them, so yeah, I think it's been great, you know, I think

a lot of it goes to the offensive line, they have obviously a, you know, top five center in football, maybe the top, you know, not even maybe, but definitely the top left guard in football, this year a top five, top ten tackle in football, and Anthony Costanzo, and then the right side, I know a lot of people give that right side a lot of crap in pass protection but Mark Lewinsky and Braden Smith are really good run blockers I mean Braden Smith is probably a top three or four run blocking right tackle in football and Mark Lewinsky is no slouch in that department either so overall you're seeing just really good run blocking up front from a dominant offensive line in that category and then these running backs you know whether it be Jonathan Williams or Jordan Wilkins,

and there are a couple of weeks that they've been out there and, and Marlon Mack for most of the year getting a thousand yards. I think they've, they've run really well. So yeah, it's been a great running game for the Colts this whole season. If you're looking for a last minute fun sports gift for the holidays, go to breakingtea.com slash locked on. Breaking Tea makes sports t-shirts around team's most passionate moments. And it's great for all fans. Go to breakingtea.com slash LockedOn. Breaking Tea makes sports t-shirts around teams' most passionate moments, and it's great for all fans.

Go to BreakingTea.com slash LockedOn, and then feel free to search the site for great shirts and fun sports kits for the holiday. Moving on to the elephant in the room, as we do usually every week, Jacoby Bursette. A very interesting game for Jacoby. He didn't have to do much in the passing game. Really a perfect game manager type of game for Jacoby Bursette.

119 passing yards, though. 14- 27 overall, 51.9% completion percentage. He's definitely not going to get it done long-term. His last three games, too, Zach, 52.5% completion percentage. And looking at his touchdown and interception ratio, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, but only two touchdowns over that three-game span. What do you think is up with Jacoby Bursette at this point in his accuracy? Because this is a really steep regression. You know, I think early in the season, a lot of the offense was kind of

caving to those short passes, to kind of getting it to guys. And I also think that a little bit with talent earlier in the year, you know, Paschal was balling out a little bit more. And I'm not saying Paschal struggled recently, but, you know, he was kind of coming in hot and teams weren't really accounting for him as much. I think Hilton coming back or yeah Hilton coming back I think he's forcing things a little bit down the field too I think there's a variety of factors but honestly I just think the big thing with Jacoby was earlier in the year especially when it comes to the touchdowns they were all red zone touchdowns and you just knew that touchdown was going to regress because touchdowns are so sporadic when it comes to the NFL. So the regression was coming, you know, he obviously wasn't going to

make a whole season's worth of five yard touchdown passes and, and get to, you know, 30, 40 touchdowns. That just wasn't happening. So we're kind of seeing regression in those numbers, you know, natural regression in those numbers, natural regression in passing yards when he's not throwing the ball down the field. But accuracy, I mean, he's been sporadic for a lot of the year, but he was keeping it kind of short early in the season. This year he's trying – or this past few weeks he's trying to be more aggressive, but that's when his accuracy is starting to fail on him. So, again, we've talked about it for weeks now on here.

It's kind of beating a dead horse at this point. He's just not the guy going for it. I mean, he's 27. He's not going to get much better. This is just who he is. Yeah, I mean, he's 27. He's not going to get much better. This is just who he is. Yeah, I mean, it is what it is at this point. He's a backup in the NFL. What did you make of their changes offensively, Frank, right,

going to more of a no huddle on Sunday? Did you notice any difference with Jacoby in the offense during that stretch? Not super different. I mean, I like that they were getting the ball to ty a little bit more uh getting the ball kind of out on the perimeter a bit more but you know honestly their offense this year has kind of been ride or die with however their running game's been going and the running game was really good this past weekend so overall the offense was was pretty good uh I don't think the changes were big enough to where if the running game got shut down Brissette was going to

beat the the Panthers with his arm uh just because I haven't seen it since, you know, the Denver game. I have not seen him be able to actually do anything with his arm since then. So, yeah, I don't think there was too much difference, especially in the passing game, but the biggest difference, again, was just the running game came alive for the first time since, you know, the Jacksonville game, and when the running game's going well, you know, that's kind of been the Colts' only offense this whole year. Going on now to a very interesting report that came out this year from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

He had a chance to talk to Jim Ursa and a couple other sources, and it really sounds like at this point the Colts will be in the quarterback market this offseason, really through the draft. Ian Rapoport also mentioned that. It sounds like at this point it's not confirmed. Of course, it wasn't really mentioned in it. But from Jim Mercer's comments in there, it sounds like he has talked to Andrew Luck already.

Andrew Luck's probably going to stay retired. What was your thoughts on that entire Rapport report? And how did the Colts really go about after that? Because it just seems like at this point, Zach, that we're really full steam ahead towards the draft and how intriguing it could be from a quarterback standpoint. Yeah, I mean, starting with the Andrew Luck aspect, I never really thought he was

coming back I don't really I know there was a couple people that were kind of holding out hope but you know when you see that press conference and you see everything that kind of went into it you could kind of tell he was done and again you know not to kind of just dwell on that but it sucks for this whole season it sucks for Colts fans that he had to kind of hang them up, but completely respect the decision. I get it. So that part wasn't really too, I guess, surprising when it came to it. But I do like the overall report that was saying that the Colts aren't really content with Brissette, that they might be in the draft market.

I mean, honestly, it was kind of, again, it was kind of expected given just how bad Brissette has been since that Denver game. I mean, we were talking, you know, going up to that Denver Broncos game, you could kind of make a case for Jacoby Brissette being the guy going forward. I mean, his stats weren't amazing, and honestly, his film wasn't that great up to that point. But he was winning games. He was managing games.

He made a couple plays down the stretch. But since that game, he just really hasn't been a very good quarterback at all. I mean, he's barely even getting up to 200 yards passing. He's barely throwing touchdowns. He's missing receivers left and right. So, you know, these last few weeks especially have really made, you know, that whole decision to look into the draft and find a different quarterback pretty easy on the Colts front office.

But I do like that, you know know it's out there on paper or say saying like hey we might be looking in the draft here for a quarterback so I think that's a positive sign for for Colts fans that this front office might not just settle with what is a pretty average quarterback in Jacoby set yeah this quote is especially from rapid report really made me my ears perk up a little bit this quote quote, still expect the Colts to be in the quarterback market, perhaps significantly, in the draft to bolster their position. I think at this point, especially with the win, and if they do get another win on Sunday, Zach, they'll be picking 18th in the draft.

Do you think it's probably likely at this point that the Colts will have to trade for a quarterback because Jordan Love's stock is going to go up higher and higher as we get closer. I know some fans don't like Jordan Love, but his bowl game performance, his senior bowl is going to be pretty big. If he blows out of the water, we've seen every year a senior bowl candidate really rise to the top 15, top 20. Justin Herbert's not going to slip that much, I don't think.

Same with Tua Tagovailoa. Do you think the Colts, if they do, let's say pick 18, Zach, they're going to have to tree up at this point? Do you think they want to get a top-notch franchise quarterback? I wouldn't say have to. I mean, we've seen franchise quarterbacks go later in the first round or even outside the first round. I mean, the MVP this year went 31st in the first round.

The MVP last year went about 11th or 12th, I believe, or maybe 10th was where Mahomes went. You know, the guy who just broke Peyton Manning's all-time record went in the second round. So I don't think you necessarily have to trade up. It's all about whoever Ballard identifies as his guy or one or two guys that he is like, hey, this is the guy that I want leading my franchise. I mean, if he finds one of those guys or two of those guys in this draft,

then I fully believe Ballard would do whatever to get him. So if he wants to trade up to pick number three, I don't think Ballard would hesitate. I know a lot of people say, you know, Ballard loves his draft picks. He would never trade up. We've seen Ballard trade up a couple times for players. I believe he traded up for,

I think it was Kamoku Ture in his second draft, traded all the way back up to the second round to get him. And then last year, he gave up two fourth-round picks and looked for the early fourth to get Kari Willis, a player that he was considering in the third round because he liked him so much. And both those end up going pretty well for the Colts. So he loves his draft picks, obviously. He's not afraid to trade back. I mean, we always joke that he'll just keep trading back, but Ballard understands how to run an NFL franchise. I mean, he's done it for three years now, and he's done a really good job at it, given all the circumstances. So if the opportunity is there to trade up for a guy that he really likes and he feels like it's necessary to trade up for him, I don't doubt one bit that Ballard would trade up.

He understands what it takes to get your franchise quarterback. So I'm not too worried. And again, yeah, if he thinks you have to trade up number three to get your franchise guy and it will take X amount of ticks, I don't think you'll hesitate. If he has to trade up to number 11 to get his franchise guy, I don't think you'll hesitate. But if he has to stay put at 18 or even maybe trade back a little bit and thinks he can still get his guy, again, I don't think he'll hesitate. I think he's going to make the right call come draft day for whatever guy he falls in love with this draft process.

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We'll be with you guys all throughout the year here. Just realistically, let's take out Joe Burrow and Tua for a second and talk about two quarterbacks. I think we did this a couple weeks ago, but I just want to get a more in-depth look at Justin Herbert and Jordan Love. How would you rank those two prospects right now, Zach? Because I think it's really close for me personally between Love and Herbert. How would you rank Herbert and Love right now if they had to go one-on-one against each other?

Yeah, so personally I would probably go Love a little bit higher. The big reason is I think Love just has more of those intangible traits that I feel like I can mold personally. He has a big arm, but he also has this elite touch that just showcases on a lot of his film. And then when you add in, you know, his ability to improvise, keep his eyes down the field, he's aggressive. He's kind of a gunslinger back there. I think there's a lot to like with Jordan Love. I think there's definitely some aspects he can improve upon a lot mechanics wise, which, you know, luckily the Colts are really close to Tom House and can hopefully improve his mechanics through a quarterback guru like Tom House

but I think that you know mechanics wise he has to improve I think that his decision making has to improve a bit how he reads the field on defense can improve but overall I just like that upside I think unlike Herbert I think he's pretty naturally accurate, even though his, you know, completion percentage won't really dictate that. I won't really say that, you know, if you look just at the completion percentage, but I think he has that natural accuracy that was a lot different from guys like, you know, Ryan Tannehill coming out, Josh Allen, guys that a lot of people are comparing him to. I think that he was just more naturally accurate coming out. But going to Justin Herbert, again, a very good prospect.

I don't know if he's completely ready to start right now because he just has so many moments of poor quarterback play here in college even. But also, I don't think his offense really did him too many favors with how many bubble screens, quick screens. It's like quick screen vertical, quick screen vertical. It's really how I would run a Madden offense. And I think that's going to be a tough transition going from that kind of offense in college to the NFL where you have to read so much so I think that's going to be really tough for him going forward but kind of like Love he has all the natural traits you know he has a big arm throws some anticipation he's a bit of a gunslinger so I like a lot about both these

guys I think I would lean Jordan Love right now. But, you know, if the Colts end up with Herbert on draft day or Love, I'm cool with either. I think both could be, you know, NFL franchise quarterbacks. How intrigued are you, Zach? You're going to actually be down in Mobile, so if we have the chance to talk during that, I'd love to have you on again during that time.

Because it's going to be so intriguing to see you up close with Jordan Love. I don't know if Justin Herbert's going to be there or not, but Jordan Love especially. How intrigued are you to watch a guy like him in person? I'm excited. I mean, I want to see what that arm looks like in person. I remember, you know, a couple years ago, I was down in Mobile for my first time, and Josh Allen was down there, and I mean, his arm live was unreal. I mean, it was better than anything on tape. You could see just how the ball just quickly came off of Josh Allen's arm. And it came out like a fireball. I mean, even checkdowns are coming out that fast. I mean, we all know Josh Allen as a prospect, but

I'm excited to see how Jordan Love, at least in my mind, will compare to that experience from a couple years ago. But I'm also excited to see him against other top quarterbacks. I mean, you just mentioned that Herbert might be down there there but Joe Burrow might also be down there even though he doesn't really have to he could still be down there and he seems like the type that would kind of like how Baker went a couple years ago even though he was kind of considered a top five top ten pick so we could definitely see him down there as well we could see Jalen Hurts down there who I don't love his arm strength so I want to see Jordan Love against him kind of uh how strong both their guys arms next to each other but there's also other intriguing guys you know Nate Stanley uh Shea Patterson um Anthony Gordon's going to be down

there I think it's a really good quarterback group overall so I want to see you know for me to really jump on the Jordan Love train and be like this is the guy for the Colts I want to see how he looks against these other top quarterbacks uh which you, what looks like a pretty good class of quarterbacks. I want to see how he's going to look against them. Yeah, last question before I let you go, Zach. Appreciate the time, as always. Just looking at the teams that need quarterbacks and still can't draft. Obviously, the Bengals and Joe Burrow are going to be linked every single day

until the draft actually happens here. Talk about maybe another one, like the Dolphins, the Tua, Tug of Iloa. But then talk about the Chargers, the Panthers, the Raiders. Those three might be taking quarterbacks ahead of the Colts if the draft order stays the same. So we have about six or seven teams that might need a quarterback this offseason. I think this environment – let's talk about that for a second before I let you go because I think the environment that the Colts have in place,

an offensive line, a good coach, a bridge quarterback in Jacoby Brissett, do you feel like the Colts' environment to really draft and develop a high-end quarterback, maybe the first or second round, is a really good spot for wherever quarterback lands here? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, you look at these quarterbacks who were, you know, those high upside developmental quarterbacks that succeeded in the NFL. I mean, we look at Lamar Jackson.

You know, we look at Patrick Mahomes. Those guys were super high upside, guys that were boom or bust. I mean, we were all talking about it during the draft time and they have all become booms. I mean, those are two MVP winners right there. You know, one's going to be a future MVP winner here coming in a couple of weeks. But the two really main similarities with where they went, I mean, they went with, you know, head coaches that were great play callers. I mean, obviously Harbaugh is not a play caller, but the offense coordinator that got there was great with Kaepernick. I mean, Greg Roman is well known throughout the league, and he really carried that offense to Lamar Jackson. And then you look at Kansas City, and Andy Reid is one of the best

play callers in football. So I think the Colts already have that in their play caller. They also have a very great offensive line, which the Ravens this year have a perennial all-pro in Marshall Yanda. They're going to have an all-pro again in Ronnie Stanley. And then you look at the Chiefs and they also have a pretty good offensive line. Maybe it's not as good as the Ravens, obviously, but it's good enough to keep a quarterback like Mahomes kind of in the pocket and keeping him, you know, alive back there. So I think when you look at the Colts, they have both those aspects. They have that great offensive line. They have, you know, a head coach that's really going to cater to the offense

and make things easier for a quarterback. So I think the Colts more so than most of these teams. I mean, you look at the Chargers, their offensive line is probably the worst in football. You look at the Dolphins, they might have the worst overall team in football. I look at the Raiders, even though I don't think they're really going to take a quarterback you know you got to kind of question overall how well a quarterback can be in that system because their offense is just kind of kind of blessed honestly with with Carr right now who's kind of average so yeah I think the Colts overall probably are the best team in this whole draft to develop a quarterback

so I think the type of team that can take a shot on, you know, a Jordan Love in the first round or take a shot on, you know, Justin Herbert or Tua if he slips. I think any of those guys who are quote unquote like developmental type guys or high upside guys, I think the Colts are the perfect landing spot just because all the stuff they have in place right now. This is going to be such an interesting offseason, especially after that report yesterday from me and Rob report.

Zach, appreciate that time. As always, you can follow him on Twitter at Zach Hicks to read his work at Stampede blue as always. Zach, this will be our last episode again until the holiday. If you guys want to know that. So appreciate the time and Merry Christmas to you, Zach. Yeah. Merry Christmas to you, man.