Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -2/23- Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) Breaks Down His Latest Mock Draft

Episode Date: February 23, 2017

Joe Marino of NDT Scouting/FanRag Sports/Draft Dudes joins Matt to break down his latest #MockDraft. Matt and Joe discuss options for the second and third rounds, and alternate picks for their first round selection as well. #Colts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. No, I'm not for sale. You are lockeded On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to Locked On Colts, ladies and gentlemen. I am your host, Matt Dainley, and thank you for joining me here on a Thursday, February 23rd. And we are here today with none other than Joe Marino, NDT Scouting's Assistant Director. How you doing, my man? Matt, I'm doing good. Thanks for reaching out and have me on the podcast. I am anxious to talk Colts and NFL Draft with you, so this should be a lot of fun. I'm excited myself because we had a little

bit of a conversation there on Twitter. It was more like a statement or so. You knew that I wasn't too excited about the running backs going to the Colts at 14th and 15th. This seems to be a very common occurrence through just about any mock draft. In fact, I saw something the other day that there hasn't been a single lineman mocked to the Colts in the first round at all in any of the big mocks. And that's something that's totally off the radar for Colts fans. They've been mocked linemen for the past five years. And then this year, it's the running back position. So let's kick this off right off the jump, and we'll get all the way down here.

And I'm going to run through your first 15 picks real quick, just so that the listeners can kind of get a gauge for it. But if you guys haven't seen this article, if you guys haven't seen Joe's mock on FanRag Sports, please go check that out. But I'm going to spoil a little bit of it here for you. Miles Garrett first to the Browns, Mitch Trubisky second to the 49ers, Deshaun Watson to the Bears at three, Jonathan Allen, Jaguars,isky second to the 49ers, Deshaun Watson to the Bears at three, Jonathan

Allen, Jaguars, Jamal Adams to the Titans, Marshawn Lattimore number six to the Jets, Malik Hooker seventh to the Chargers, Taco Charlton number eight to the Panthers, Reuben Foster ninth to the Bengals, O.J. Howard tenth to the Bills. I think you probably did that out of your own self-preservation there to help your fan base a little bit. 11, Solomon Thomas to the Saints. 12, Deshaun Kaiser to the Browns. 13, Sidney Jones to the Cardinals. 14, Tease Tabor to the Eagles. And the Colts landed Leonard Fournette running back out of LSU. So first and foremost, you've known that Dalvin Cook has been the guy that's been mocked to the Colts over and over again. Was it just to change up a little bit here? Or do you actually think Leonard Fournette is a better running back option, maybe for the Colts system or just in general out of pure athletic talent? Do you

think Fournette may be the better option there? Well, I think what was interesting about this scenario is that when I got to the Colts pick and I started thinking about running backs, I still had Leonard Fournette available, right? So how many of these other mock drafts that you've seen that have the Colts selecting Dalvin Cook don't actually have Leonard Fournette

on the clock as well, right? So this was a unique scenario. And so in my mind, when I was choosing between Fournette and Cook, one of the overarching issues that came to mind is first, Dalvin Cook has some shoulder injuries and problems that we need to be aware of. And the combine is going to be pretty revealing for that. And each team is going to have to look at his shoulders and understand how comfortable you are with him. So that's strike one. Now, the other issue that I've been made aware of through some circles that I'm in is that Dalvin Cook has some considerable baggage that's going to be coming along with him with some of his off the field issues, not necessarily what we've, what's been documented and we know about, but, um, so other things and, um, you know, not that

I'm not, I'm not in the breaking news business, right? So I'm going to keep that to myself, but I think there are some, there's some vetting that these teams are going to have to do not only on the injury side of things, but from a, uh, what the total package, the person that Dalvin Cook is and what is potentially going to come with him. So when I thought about all of that and that I actually like Leonard Fournette a tick better than Dalvin Cook as a prospect, the running back choice that I gave the Colts was Leonard Fournette for those reasons. Now this is, and I, and my listeners have heard me talk about this probably four or five times, uh, mainly because we keep talking about some of the, some of these mocks where we go to the running back, but running back is a weird position for me just, uh, as a

reaction to a draft. If this is how the draft goes right now and the Colts have Leonard Fournette in the first round, I'm going to have a hard time being ticked off about it. You know, he's a really a top talent at the position. He and Cook both are both very dynamic options for the Colts and are going to bring a vast skill set, which the Colts desperately need in the backfield to come in immediately as a number two guy. On the other hand, this Colts defense has been just awful and needs some of this first round talent that's going to be available. And I feel like if we go running back in round one, we're going to be missing out on some of these top, this toplevel talent. Is this kind of not the case? Do you feel

like the second half of the first round may kind of level things out a little bit and still leave some of that talent for the second and third rounds? Yeah, I think so. I think there's going to be quality defensive talent available into the second and third round. And when I really settled in on running back, because it's easy to pick just about any defensive position to the Colts, right? My thought was this, and you have to understand that I am very much a get your running backs in the middle of the draft. There's too many stories of proven productive backs coming from that area. And you can get starters. You don't have to, you don't have to draft running backs in the first round. But then I started to think about,

you know, Ezekiel Elliott and the impact that he had on the Dallas Cowboys. And I'm not saying that they're the same thing or the same circumstances at all. But when I've looked at the Colts and I saw they had a, what, a top five passing offense and a bottom 10 rushing offense. That didn't really mesh well. It didn't make sense to me. When you are having that much success in one area, you should have some more balance. And by getting a back like Leonard Fournette, it's going to make, obviously, the rushing attacks better because you have one of the most talented people that we've seen come

into the NFL to play running back in Leonard Fournette. But think about the impact that it's going to have on that passing game. Now, all of a sudden, you know, you have that threat. You have that threat in the backfield that you've got to account for. Andrew Luck is going to have more favorable looks in the passing game because of the attention that the running back game or the running back is going to take, you know, in terms of different spacing and having more men in the box and vice versa. The running game, you can run it when you want to because of the threat of passing. So I think the dimension and layers that it gives the offense just to be more balanced and have better looks, be able to run it when you want to and throw it,

you know, have a run look, but still have Andrew Luck able to throw it because you have numbers and you know how smart he is and able to get its team into the right plays. I think that it's just going to add another layer that's going to make this offense tremendously explosive. And you start thinking about the receivers and D.Y. Hilton and potentially more chances for him in space. And when I thought about what this offense could be with that type of ground game, I overlooked the defensive help and thought I can get help there in the second and third round. Very interesting, because that's something that Colts fans are definitely going, I think, and everybody has their favorites for this first round.

What are we going to do? But the Colts have so much to do in free agency that I think that running back in free agency would kind of not be the smarter hand to deal when you have this sort of a running back class and the cupboard is so bare on the defensive side of the ball. I think that that's where you could double dip between free agency and the draft. Now, let's say that everything's the same through the first 14 picks. The Colts decide not to go running back here. What would your pick be if it was not Fournette here for the Colts? You know, the more that I looked at certain players after I even wrote this mock draft, this is obviously a fluid process. We're still watching film and gathering information.

But you really like some of these edge rushers that could have been available. Look at a Carl Lawson from Auburn or a Tack McKinley from UCLA. Both of those guys I think are going to be dynamic pass rushers in the NFL that would be really nice fits for the Colts and then when I looked at cornerback as well I did Marlon Humphrey his deep my deep dive on his film Monday night in this the mock draft I turned in on Sunday and I came away blown away with Marlon Humphrey's tape and I thought he was a tier one cornerback in this draft and so I think Marlon Humphrey Marshawn Lattimore and Sidney Jones are the tier one corners and I think what what were the way that the scenario the scenario outplayed itself before the Colts pick that

you would have a Marlon Humphrey on the board and you can get a tier one corner like him uh you know that would be another interesting avenue to go. So I don't necessarily like the linebacker options at this point in terms of off-ball guys. So in terms of edge rushers and cornerback, I think that's where the value, given the scenario that played out in my mock draft, would be the best choices for the Colts if they didn't go running back. And so you have been high onan Reddick, correct? I'm very high on Hassan Reddick, and I like him very much as either a 3-4 Mike or a 4-3 Will. Obviously, a transition. He played defensive end in college, but he started that transition at the Senior Bowl,

and he really stood out. He's quick to process and closes fast. He has a lot of mobility in space. He can run sideline to sideline. He can cover just based on athletic traits. His ability to carry tight ends and running backs into space is obvious. So I like him quite a bit transitioning off the ball from the edge to off the ball. So in terms of a three, four Mike, yeah, I think Hassan Reddick would be a really nice pick. I don't think he's better than Marlon Humphrey in

terms of an overall prospect in a vacuum. So I would still go Humphrey in that situation. But Reddick's really exciting. I think I pegged him to the Giants in the early 20s. So interesting player that I think is going to be a good pro. I was curious about that, if you thought that might be a little bit too early for him there versus what talent would be left on the board. You know, one of the things that I think Colts fans have understood is that the Colts need possibly another lineman. I think that a lot of us would rather all that happen in free agency because it's a noticeably bare, bare may not be the right word, but a less talented offensive line group than we've seen in years past.

And there's a couple guys that have caught my eye, but I'm not, offensive line's not really my thing other than I can see when guys are successful, more or less, you know what I'm saying? So when I look at a guy like Garrett Bowles, and I know that his age could play a factor in this, is what he'll be coming in, but you had him going 20 to the Broncos. Is 15 too early and kind of out of the realm of possibilities there for the Colts, do you think? Or would that be, if the Colts wanted to go offensive line, would he be a guy that you would plug there? Well, it's interesting because where the Colts were picking, they would have had their choice

of offensive line, right? They didn't have any going before them. So they could have the opportunity to pick their highest rated offensive lineman. Specifically on Garrett Bowles, I'm not going to nitpick five spots. If I thought he was worth a 20th pick, then he's probably worth a 15th pick. But Garrett Bowles, the overarching concern is always going to be the age, and not necessarily because you can't get a good eight years out of him. It's just that how much better can he get?

How much development is really going to be on the table? I like Garrett Bowles quite a bit. I think he's got excellent feet. That's obvious. I think he's going to be a left side, blind side protector in the NFL. I think he's got that type of mobility, feet and pop in his hands. He's a very aggressive run blocker, maybe a bit too frenetic at times where he's so aggressive that he's almost out of control. But if you watch the tape, this guy's pushing guys off the screen. Get a ton of movement. So for me, I don't like these offensive linemen enough to start drafting them at 15.

And to me, there's going to be better value seeing what's available in the second round and probably ultimately getting some of the free agent options that are available. Because for all the top four or five offensive tackles in this class, there's things that I really like about them. But then there's things about them at the same time. I'm actually writing a piece for FanRag Sports that will come out next week about the offensive line, offensive tackle specifically and the cause for hope and the cause for concern. And there's notable things on each one of those top guys in each category

that is going to make you second guess and probably just take a different player. Now, I saw Mike Mayock actually had Cam Robinson listed as one of his top five guards. How do you think he translates to an interior lineman? It's interesting because one of my gripes about cam robinson is the mental side of the game he commits a lot of false start penalties he misses he misses his assignments on twists and stunts quite a bit and i worry about him not that he's not strong enough to handle the power right on top of him but everything on the interior happens quicker and so when you already have concerns about somebody's mental processing

and then you make him play faster on the inside, it's a concern. Now, from a power perspective and his, his core strength and his power in his legs and in his hands and his ability to re-leverage his, his hips and absorb contract contact and redirect it. I have zero concerns. Certainly from a physical side of things, he can absolutely play on the inside. But I am of the opinion when you have these offensive tackles in college and they meet the baseline arm length and they have enough movement that you let them fail at tackle before you move them into guard because that those types of transitions are a lot easier said than done there is a muscle memory there is a uh you know just how you make your steps and and how you uh you know you shoot your hands and and your your fit work is all muscle memory so you're asking someone to to change up what they've done for you know probably three four seasons for most

these offensive linemen and asking them to do it completely different. And not only that, but do it against the best football players in the world. So I'm always very, very hesitant to start moving guys around on the offensive line, because it does seem like such a simple, simple thing to say, but a harder thing to do. I'm going to give Cam Robinson an opportunity to fail at left tackle before I think about moving them. And that makes sense. And I really, I like that. Not only do I like that answer, but I like that thought process. As a guy who's seen this happen to a few different guys on the Colts in the past, it seems like when they try to, and I think that you've got to have a really keen eye for something like this to be able to

make that work whether it's uh moving a linebacker excuse me moving a safety into be uh become a linebacker or uh vice versa you know just whatever the the the the taking from one position and formatting them into another position that's something something that, like you said, let them fail at what they're doing first. Don't just do it because simply you need a body at this position or whatever because that ultimately will end up being a wasted pick in the end more times than not. Would you agree with that? Yeah, I agree. But then there's exceptions, right?

Jabril Peppers is 6'205". He can't play linebacker, right? He's got to play safety hassan reddick is uh six six and six one two thirty yeah he's not going to play edge in the nfl so some guys just because of their their their size they have to move but in this situation you know that's just you're you're just moving a guy to move a guy to for your own benefit where it's maybe not where he's most comfortable and you don't have to do it. So I think there is a difference, but I think that's a great point as well, Matt.

Right. And, well, I think that the Colts are kind of in that situation now, although it may be more fan and media driven a little bit just to find some interesting storylines in the offseason. But Clayton Gethers is a little larger of a safety, you know, and a lot of people have been driving the conversation about possibly moving him into a linebacker role. Um, and also I think that might be out of necessity because the Colts don't have any linebackers right now, you know, they're, they're a little bear there too.

Uh, but let me go through the rest of your draft. We'll, we'll, we'll in this exercise here, we'll stick with Fournette being the Colts pick at 15. You had Corey Davis going to the Ravens at 16. Cook to the Redskins at 17. Mike Williams, a receiver, to the Titans at 18. David Njoku. Is it Joku or Njoku? Oh gosh, I think it's Njoku. Okay. That's how I've been saying it. I wasn't really sure. I think that I've heard it a few different ways myself. I wasn't really sure what was the right way to go there.

Yeah, him going to the Bucs at 19th. Like I said earlier, Bowles to the Broncos at 20th. Gary and Conley to the Lions at 21. Derek Barnett, somebody that a lot of people have seen mocked to the Colts a couple times here. He's definitely interesting for Colts. You had him going to the Dolphins at 22. Hassan Reddick, another guy we've mentioned earlier, to the Giants at 23. Alvin Kamara out of Tennessee to the Raiders at 24. Patrick Mahomes to the Texans at 25. I think that's really interesting. And I kind of hope for that because I guess as a fan of good football, I want to see the Colts with good competition, but I also want to see interesting football. I don't want to see the Colts suck,

and I don't want to see anybody else in the division suck. I want to see quality football within. And I think Patrick Mahomes going to the Texans here in your mock makes it much more interesting than anything Brock Eisweiler could possibly hope to do. And I would love just to see, even if he failed, which I would never want that for anybody coming out of school. I'm not hoping for that, but I'm saying I would rather watch Patrick Mahomes play his game and fail than Brock Osweiler succeed at his. He is just a mind-numbing quarterback, and watching him play just makes you want to fall asleep. I had a lot of trouble watching him this past year, and I feel sorry for the Texans in that they wasted a ton of money on him. And now they are kind of limited, at least in this coming year, where this would be the year you'd kind of want to put everything together if you were a Texans fan or somebody putting that roster together for the Texans because you would have those options with you. And you've got guys coming back, hopefully a you know, a solid team, a good roster

that, that played well outside of the quarterback position. So, uh, that's an interesting pick there at 25. You had Cam Robinson going to the Seahawks at 26, Tack McKinley to the Chiefs at 27. Uh, some guy who Carlos Henderson, who has been, uh, really getting a lot of attention lately, a wide receiver out of Louisiana Tech, correct? Yes, he's good. Yeah, people are loving him right now on Twitter especially. He's getting the GIF treatment on Twitter for sure. Yeah, he deserves it.

And unfortunately, this is kind of an interesting point here, is the point that I made, and I'm sorry to bring this up to a Colts podcast, but one of the things that I've been saying, I've been asked about Carlos Henderson. I was on ESPN Radio in Louisiana this past week, and they asked me about Carlos Henderson. And the point that I made was, if Philip Dorsett can get drafted where he did. Oh yeah. You know, Carlos Henderson's a much better football player than Philip Dorsett. And, uh, uh, you know, we see these guys, uh, you know, Tavon Austin and, and, uh, Corey Coleman, these guys get drafted in the first round. And for me, Carlos Henderson's a superior player coming out. He's going to be a legitimate six foot around 190 pounds.

So he's not a Smurf. You know, this guy's this guy's gives you the speed, quickness, yards after the catch, the ability to go vertical, good hands, good ball skills, and just that dynamic ability with the ball in his hands with a decent amount of size to go with it. The NFL is taking much worse guys in the first round that do the same, that do what they want Carlos Henderson to do in the NFL. So this is one for everyone to tuck away in their back pocket. And when the combine hits Indy next week

and everyone's talking about Carlos Henderson as a first-round pick after that, y'all can remember that I said it first. And give me the little one-two punch there with the clowning on the door set pick and then hitting me with Tavon Austin, who sucks, and the only thing he's ever done was against the Colts in 2013 where he ran a couple kickoffs back. We ought to move on. Marlon Humphrey you had going 29th to the Packers.

I'll tell you right now, I was too low on that. You think so? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's good. He now, I was too low on that. You think so? Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's good. He's tier one cornerback in this class. So if Marlon Humphrey gets to the Packers at 29, that would be a shocker. So if I had anything to do over in this draft, this mock draft that I, that I put out, it would be that you could swap him out for one of the cornerbacks that went much earlier. Interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind when we go through. Because you know what? The more mocks like this that you do,

you have to kind of supplement certain guys in certain areas. And unfortunately, one of these guys that nobody expects to be past the top 10 or even the top 15 is going to not fall necessarily, but they're going to land in the bottom of the first round. That's just the way it goes every year. Well, yeah, it's just a numbers game, right? Right now there's 15 names being mentioned as top 10 picks. Well, got news for you. They're not all going to be top 10 picks.

So it does come down to numbers, and guys, they fall, quote, unquote. I agree. Now, Carl Lawson you had going 30th to the Steelers. I loved his tape. Tell me what people are finding wrong with him. It's nothing on tape. It's the hips. He's got some injury stuff. This guy, if you watch his tape last year, he was healthy for the season. I mean, as dynamic an edge rusher as you're going to get with good technique, power, he's not a big guy, but he has the ability to anchor and set the edge. I mean, when you talk about a stand-up 34 outside linebacker, from a traits perspective, I mean, he checks every box. He seems like he could really set a team on fire.

But that injury stuff, you just never know with that. But everybody is going to be getting these checks here in the next week or so at the Combine. So that'll be interesting to see kind of what storylines come out of Indianapolis for that. Caleb Brantley to the Falcons at 31. And Jabril Peppers to the Patriots at 32. So if we rewind back to the Colts taking Leonard Fournette, where are the Colts now legitimately when thinking of second round talents for all the defensive positions, basically, where the Colts are in need and maybe even offensive line as well. Where are the Colts in the second round

as far as maybe top level talent that they can still achieve? Yeah, there's a lot of names. I'll give you just a kind of a quick blurb on some of them that come to mind. From an offensive line perspective, I've still got a lot of good offensive tackles available. Ryan Ramchick, he's probably got the best tape of anybody in the class in terms of offensive tackle, but he's got a hip injury, and he's having labrum surgery on his hip. We're not going to see him at the combine, so we're going to have to trust that he'll be ready for the season. But his tape is outstanding. It's first-round caliber tape. When you look at some of the more defensive options,

Jared Davis, a linebacker from Florida, would be perfect as an inside linebacker. I think he's got a lot of the physical traits to play three downs. He's physical. He can attack downhill and close in a hurry. You've got a guy like Chris Wormley out of Michigan who's a pure power guy. You can put him as a five technique on rundowns and let him rush from the interior on passing downs. I think he's a really nice player that I actually did a film study today. I have a lot of good safeties available.

Obi Melifanwu. I mean, my goodness, you want to talk about a special player? He's 6'4", 220, has speed, range, physicality. He's a guy that I just couldn't find a place for him in the first round, but he's probably going to go in the first round just because people as big as him shouldn't move as fast as he does and have the ball skills that he does. And then one of my most favorite players in this this class is Derek Rivers there he is yeah he's coming you knew it yeah Youngstown State edge player he blew up the senior bowl he's got great

tape uh obviously when you're watching a guy against lower level competition you're always a little concerned about you know how how they're going to stack up but if the senior bowl was any indication he's going to be just fine a ton of of production. And I think he's a ready-made 34 edge. I think he's the player that a lot of people want Ryan Anderson to be, the Alabama 34 outside linebacker. Derek Rivers offers a ton of power and a lot more flexibility and fluidity in his frame to really get the corner on these offensive tackles. So, you know, if Derek Rivers, if the Colts went Leonard Fournette, Derek Rivers, I mean, that'd be a heck of a one-two in my opinion. So I think there's a lot of options in the second round that I, you know, even if you start getting to the cornerbacks, the Tredavious

White still available out of LSU. The corner from Washington and Kevin King. I mean, there is a ton of options. Jaleel Johnson, the Iowa defensive lineman. So if you think the cover's bare, you know, if the scenario, you know, it's February, right? The scenario that I presented is not likely going to happen, but if it's close and you look at the way things unfolded, I mean, I've got talent for you in the second round Colts fan on defense. So, you know, not to say that if you don't want to take a running back and you just, you think that the running backs right now would be a better choice

and get one of the more premium defensive players. Well, fine that's going to be a preferential type thing obviously what chris ballard wants is is what's going to happen but uh you know the cupboard's not bare the cupboard's not bare at all at this point in the draft for defensive help and that's kind of interesting how you think about that because if in your head now you're processing the colts have leonard fernette and derrick rivers or the Colts have, man, I don't know. Let's say they have Carl Lawson and Kareem Hunt, or Carl Lawson and Christian McCaffrey. What makes you more excited?

Right. What side of the scales tips higher than the other? Think in terms of combinations. Absolutely. Yeah. And I like that Fournette Rivers, Fournette Melifonwu, Fournette Jaleel Johnson. Fournette and any defensive player I just told you about is better than some of the what I think is a little bit riskier talent, right?

I'll talk McKinley, stud football player. Carl Lawson, stud football player, but they have injury concerns. I don't have injury concerns about Derek rivers. Right. You know, but on, on the other note, then you legit see Derek rivers.

I mean, cause he's been in the top, uh, in the first round in a lot of, you know, or, well, let me say that again.

People are moving him towards the top of the, or the back end of the first round, as far as his talent, uh, from, from his film work and stuff. He. He kind of started out as, I love this guy in the second round, and now it's like he's kind of moving towards the end of the first round for a lot of people. I mean, is he legit a top talent in here? Who would be one of the guys that has been talked up considerably since all this process started as far as an edge player that you think Derek Rivers could, and I don't mean that they play like or anything like that, they're similar in their styles, but who's a guy that you could say, flip a coin,

you're going to get a great edge guy with this guy or Derek Rivers? You know, if I didn't have injury concerns with Carl Lawson and Tack McKinley, you know, geez, I'd really, I'd really like those guys. But I have injury concerns. But I mean, I think when you start talking, you know, flip a coin, I think the name I mentioned earlier and Ryan Anderson, very similar in terms of what I think they're going to do, not necessarily stylistically similar. But, but, you know, I think they're going to do, not necessarily stylistically similar. But, but, you know, I think if you want that ready-made 34 edge that can rush the passer, play the run, get out into the pass coverage, you know, these guys are ready to do it. And

those are, those are my guys. You know, I think that's the flip of coin guy to answer your question on that. Now he's got got some off-the-field issues. Is that correct? No, not Ryan Anderson. Tim Williams, the other Alabama. Oh, that's right. Yeah, yeah. So that's alarming stuff.

I was tipped off on that over the summer, some circles that I'm in. And, again, like I said about the other guy, I'm not in the breaking news business, and I'll keep that to myself and let other people do that. But, uh, it's, it's, it sounds like it's at a, at a Randy Gregory level of a, of drug issues. And, um, you know, kind of, you know, not, not exactly the same, but when you start thinking about the guys with off the field issues and injured guys and, and you have to, you know, these draft picks are huge. You got to have return on investment. This is your capital.

This is how you make your team better. You need to know that you're going to have reliable football players. Bill Belichick, what does he say? Your best ability is your availability. Because if you can't get on the field because you're suspended or you're hurt, you can't help your football team. And so you need to get guys that you think they're going to be there for you. They're going to be reliable.

Unfortunately with Tim Williams, there's some highly questionable things going on there and whether or not he's going to be able to step away from some of his problems. I hope he does. I really do because he's a talented player. But when you start talking about, well, this guy's similar and he doesn't have drug problems, you're probably going to take the other guy. So that's, uh, that's the unfortunate part of this process is that these are people and, you know, have different issues and, um, it's to their detriment. So all the best. And that's too bad too, because, uh, you get into situations like that where it's really all about priorities with each

guy. Yeah, I made a mistake, but my priorities are right. It's not an issue long term or anything like that. That's a completely different story than this guy just can't get out of his own way. He's constantly doing this or doing that. And that was really Gregory's issue. And he's kind of proved that since he's been in the league as well. And I think that a lot of people figured that to be the case. If this guy doesn't get his head out, he's missing out on A, a ton of money. And B, I mean, is there a better career in this world than playing football for money? I mean, just in general, having, you know, the best job in the world other than, you know, us who get to critique it and write about it, you know, I mean, just in general, having the best job in the world other than us who get to critique it and write about it. It just doesn't seem like it would be that hard of an issue to overcome naturally when you start dealing with substances and stuff, other things at play.

But you got to think that somebody's going to shake the snot out of him one time and be like, wake up. And hopefully that's the case. Yes, it's tough. It's a people thing. Right. I mean, even even, you know, I'll be very broad with my statement here. But there are people there are things that everyday people do that are going to kill them. But they continue to do it.

And and people addictions are hard to kill them, but they continue to do it. And people – addictions are hard to shake, right? And even though the ultimate overarching issue is that you're not going to get to play in the NFL or you're going to die sooner. If people just – they can't shake addictions and it's a powerful – it's a powerful shackles to be in, if you will. You're kind of chained out by that stuff. And, you know, I can only hope that people get help and, and, uh, understand the, the full weight of the decisions that they make and how it really does impact the future. Yep. I totally agree. So now we're playing the game where the Colts now have Leonard Fournette

and Derek Rivers out of their first two picks. So the Colts have a third round pick coming up and we've got an edge rusher. We've got a running back. Uh, where would you go next? Well, you know, it's, it's a lot of, it's going to depend on how the board unfolds. Um, so, you know, I, I think when I start thinking about the depth of this class, I start getting excited about the cornerbacks. I think there's a lot of really quality guys that, even into this part of the draft, inside the top 100, that can help a team. Look at a guy like Cam Sutton from Tennessee. Everybody was pegging him as a first-round pick over the summer. He got hurt with a foot injury, and he wound up coming back

and finishing the season. But he lost some of his thunder, and he's good. He's a really good punt returner, really good cover guy, can play the ball well. Look at a guy like Corn Elder from Miami. Talk about a guy that likes to just come up and hit people, can win in press situations, really nice inside option, can mirror and play the ball. He doesn't have a ton of long speed, but what he can do in press situations, really nice inside option, can mirror and play the ball.

He doesn't have a ton of long speed, but what he can do in short areas and zones, pretty exciting. So some of those cornerback options at this point in the draft, I think are going to be pretty nice for the way that things will unfold. So go ahead and help yourself in the secondary here. You've had a nice one, two, three in my opinion. Yeah, I think so too. Is any expectations of Mel Fonwu still being on the board in the third round for you? Oh gosh, no, no. I think he's, you know, it's tough, right? Kind of like what I said with the top 10, we're talking about

15 guys, you know, for the first round, you know, it feels like we're talking about like 50 guys for 32 slots. And, and, uh, you know, the, the combine is going to be decisive, right? So there's going to be people that just are not the athletes people think they are, or information comes out, medicals, they got the, you know, degenerative knees and all this stuff's going to come out. So that's going to help, help us get a better understanding of where this is going to go. But man, Melifan, the problem is he played for UConn. And I actually interviewed Melifan with the Senior Bowl and wrote a piece on him. And the title of the piece was, you know, Obi Melifan, who's flying

under the radar no more. And, you know, it's just a matter of, I think at UConn, they've been so bad over the last four years. And he's just been a really good player on a bad team. And now that he's been at the Senior Bowl and he's checked in at a chiseled 6'4", 220, and you see him run around, you go back and watch his tape because nobody's watching UConn, so nobody knows about him in season. You go back and watch his tape, and you're like, holy crap, this guy's got range, and he's got ball skills, and he can cover tight ends. Look at this NFL. Look at these tight ends that exist now, these big freaky guys that can run. Well, this is your chess piece. This is your guy that's going to be able to match up with your O.J.

Howards coming in and your David Njoku's, and they can handle those guys one-on-one. And now you don't have to commit two guys to these big slot receivers or these big tight ends. He can handle that assignment and give you a lot more versatility and multiplicity on your defense. He's got some work to do in terms of the way he tackles, but he'll get downhill and he'll get himself in position to make plays. Kind of like I said earlier, guys that are 6'4", 220 just shouldn't move like he does, should not be as fluid. And he's just a special physical specimen who could play football. And don't be surprised if he doesn't go in the top 32.

And I think it'd be really out of the question for him to be available at this point in the draft. I kind of figured as much, but I was hoping that you would say, yeah, it's possible. Give me that false sense of hope there. There's a guy that I'm really kind of struggling to put him in a box anywhere. And let me kind of preface this with, any more, the more I'm at a game or you actually get to see the size of these guys as they're playing in the NFL, size from there's a definite advantage to these guys. And not always the guy. And the guy that I constantly see in my head when I talk about this is Dee Ford.

But Dee Ford's only 6'2". At least they have him that. And I'm telling you, I was on the field next to this guy. And if he's 6'2", then I'm not sure how tall I am. Because I think I'm 6'2". And if he's 6'2", I'm 6'4". It just doesn't make sense to me, but he is so big and so long, and it's an innotable disadvantage to the offensive lines. There's a guy who comes in, he's not that kind of player, but there's a lot of these 6'4", 6'5", guys in this draft

that aren't that extreme bend, you know, like Dee Ford, or have the outside leverage type with the speed that can get around the outside for the tackles. But guys like Jordan Willis out of Kansas State, he's a guy that I liked on tape a lot, but I see him more as a bull rush guy, a little bit more. He's not a guy who's going to, you know, be able to fend anybody off getting around the tackle. And I'm curious kind of where you see him just in a box, a third round, fourth

round. I'm just, what do you see in him? So, so Jordan Willis is a pure effort power guy, right? And, um, and to your point, you know, he's going to carry his rush angles, nine yards upfield, and he doesn't have enough twitch or bend to corner around that edge and just run that arc and be able to come back underneath pads with, with bend all the things you just said and get, and get to the quarterback. So you worry about a guy that's just that stiff. I just don't see him being able to get that edge against the NFL caliber offensive tackle. So he's a guy that is, I think, ultimately going to be a much better college player than he was in the NFL. You never want to overlook that the guy made plays. The guy has incredible production.

He didn't do well in the senior bowl practices, but in the game, I think he had two sacks and a forced fumble. So he shows up. Every time he shows up with big plays, but from what you think wins in the NFL, he doesn't really have that. So, you know, I like a lot more flexibility in Twitch and bend in my edge rushers. And so a guy like Jordan Willis is a guy that I'm not going to value as much because he

doesn't give me those traits that, that from when I watch NFL football, I know what wins. And usually that type of stiffness is not a recipe for a consistent, uh, pass rusher. So, um, you know, i think in the fourth fifth round i think you start thinking about it but a lot of that's going to be dictated on you know who's available and um you know you do you have players that were higher rated that just you know shouldn't be there in the fourth round and that's probably true for most teams and um you know i think that you're going to probably let those types of players be someone else's risk-reward, in my opinion,

and go ahead and get you a player that checks more boxes. Yeah, see, he was kind of making me wonder if he was a guy even that could be possibly later into the sixth round or something like that that is going to be a guy that a team drafts simply for their sub packages, just to have an extra guy be able to, to collapse the pocket more or less that he doesn't really have a position almost that he's somewhere in between a defensive tackle, defensive end and an edge guy, you know, just a guy who's,

he's cause he's definitely strong. I mean, you watch the guy on tape and he is definitely strong. He definitely has, he gets his momentum going and he's able to produce a lot of leverage and get some tackles and some guards on their heels. So that, I mean, there's definitely a place for that in the league, but like you said, I mean, how much of a place, you know, he's not a guy that you're going to send after the, the passer, uh, at a constant rate or anything like that. So I was just curious, wanting to get your opinion on him. He was a guy that I've liked quite a bit,

but like I said, I've had a hard time kind of placing him anywhere. Right. Yeah. It's tough because there's not a whole lot of value behind what you just said, right? If he's a pocket collapse for on sub packages,

you know, I just don't know what type of, you know, that seems, that seems like a very ordinary ability. So wishing the best. That's kind of the hard – it's the hard part about this because if anybody follows me on Twitter,

I don't say a lot of negative things about prospects. It's the worst. They're all searching their names, their parents, their girlfriends, their families all looking their names up. And, you know, my job is to evaluate these players, and they take it personal, and I'm sure they – you know, I would too. But at the end of the day, you know, we all got our job to do. Mine is to evaluate and give opinions,

and yours is to become a great football player and, you know, all the best. Because I think low of you as a player doesn't mean that I hope that you don't do well. I literally hope everyone achieves every bit of success that they can. But at the end of the day, I'm tasked with making hard-line opinions on players, and I've got to trust what I'm seeing. And the reality is not everybody is going to be a great player. So it's just part of the job, man. Yeah. And not only that, but you've got guys that are already the 1% who are fighting to be the 1% of

the 1%. And that's, that's a hard thing to do. So I would hope that, I mean, you know, these are guys getting ready to try to make this their career. Uh, but I, I find it really hard to ever try to say, uh, this guy's not good. If you're not good because you're not the 1% of the 1%, then I think that you need to kind of reel back your expectations just a touch. So, man, Joe, I really appreciate you coming on. So far, you've done great. You know, I started to think you didn't like the Colts because you were going to give us a running back. But you've given us Derek Rivers also, and you've given us a couple guys to look at there in the secondary and the third round. So far through three rounds, it looks like the Colts have done

a pretty good job so far in their draft, getting a couple defenders and also getting what we would hope at least to be a franchise running back over the next five to seven years. Yeah, and that's just it, how much he can do for that offense and getting that running game behind Andrew Luck to help him to make the offense better, make the offense more explosive, and maybe get you back to the points that got the Colts, their dynasty there for a while, was predicated on offense and explosive scoring. It's always been an issue on defense. I don't remember the last time the Colts were good on defense.

They have a lot of flexibility here with free agents. And, you know, we'll see how it all shapes up. There's a lot coming. There's a lot of information that's going to be available here on these prospects and who the Colts are able to acquire in free agency. And you've got a good GM. Chris Ballard was a great hire, and, you know, you should be excited about him calling the shots on the roster. And, you know, I think the Colts will figure it out.

I like the direction that they're headed. I do too. We are excited as a fan base. I do know that. And I know that largely Colts fans right now have more trust in Chris Ballard just simply because he's in-house than they ever had, I think, in Ryan Grigson necessarily. And that, you know, not a personal shot by any means, but I also think it's absolutely accurate.

The guy comes in, he's got a background and not a background of treating people a bad sort of way. Whereas, you know, people kind of always got that, you know, Grixen kind of just looks like the, you know, people kind of always got that, you know, uh, Grixen kind of just looks like the, you know, the, the greasy vacuum salesman that, you know, stiffed your grandma or something like that. And it just doesn't, uh, just doesn't just on site doesn't, uh, turn people on, but, you know, you have Chris Bauer on the other hand, it kind of looks like the boy next door selling you the vacuums, you know, or something like that. So it's, it's kind of a a it's a lot of perception uh in general uh as little as anybody actually knows that what goes on back in those offices sure and

behind the scenes it's it's a very interesting uh situation and i and i honestly i can't wait to see the direction that the colts go in the draft and free agency because we are about to to go full force into the next two months of nothing but building this roster and the Colts are going to have or the Colts fans are going to have a real good idea of where they're going to go this next year I think here in just the next 60 days or so so once again Joe fantastic stuff from you really appreciate you for coming on can you tell everybody here where they can catch you on Twitter and where they can find your work Fantastic stuff from you. Really appreciate you for coming on. Can you tell everybody here where they can catch you on Twitter and where they can find your work as well?

Yeah, absolutely. You can follow me on Twitter, at TheJoeMarino. All of our written work is on fanragsports.com, so you can watch or read everything there. And also co-hosting the Draft Dudes podcast. If you want to hear NFL draft talk three times a week, we've got that for you Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So Twitter is the best place to just kind of keep up with all of it.

We've got a lot of exciting things coming. And, yeah, this was a blast talking football with you. And the first offseason under a new GM is always quite revealing. So this should be a fun ride monitoring the Colts over the next several months. Absolutely. It was great. I really appreciate you coming on. And if you guys haven't subscribed to the Draft Dudes podcast, please go do that.

Really good stuff. If you guys were on, checked, checked out the locked on network previous to that, they, uh, Kyle and Joe both did the locked on NFL draft. They've kept that going with the draft dudes podcast. It's one of my daily listens. It's a fantastic show. These guys know their stuff. You know that by now and you get constant content, uh, for your ears. It's like a little bit, uh, it's like roses for your your ears when you hear these guys talk about everything that they know. It's nothing but just sponging in all this information that you and I and everybody else couldn't possibly do on their own, but these guys are doing it. So please go out and check out

their stuff. Make sure you're subscribing. And you guys are on all the platforms right now, correct? Yeah, all the platforms. So Facebook, we are facebook.com slash NDTScouting, and then Twitter at the Joe Marino. Kyle is at NDTScouting. And then Draft Dudes, you can find that on iTunes or Audioboom or however you like to listen to podcasts. Love it, love it. And thank you, Colts fans.

Thank you, guys. Make sure you guys are getting out and subscribing to this podcast, Locked On Colts. Make sure you guys are giving me ratings and reviews on iTunes. Those are always fantastic. I truly appreciate it because as you well know by now, we have had this show grow considerably since I started taking it over and we grew it together from the bottom. And that's the way we're going to continue to do it.

So thank you for that and continue to do that. Tell a friend, tell your mom, get them on the podcast, tell them what they need to be looking for and everything else. And let's get excited because we're about to get to the combine. I will be down there as well. And then we're going to have free agency kick up immediately after that almost. And then we're less than 30 days to the draft. So we've got an exciting time ahead of us. So everybody stay tuned. We're going to continue to come back with more quality content. And I will check you guys all out on Friday, right here on Locked on Colts.

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