Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 3/12/19: Kevin Bowen on the Devin Funchess signing, free agency and the draft

Episode Date: March 12, 2019

On today's episode of Locked On Colts, Evan is joined by 1070 The Fan's Kevin Bowen to discuss all things happening right now with the Colts.Indianapolis seems to be playing it conservative early on, possibly going the route of young options or veterans looking to ring chase on short-term deals.How does the Devin Funchess signing impact the Colts' receiving corps? With all the top names going off the board, is GM Chris Ballard betting big on the draft again?We covered all of this, plus way more, so tune in for a great conversation! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Locked On Colts, part of Locked On Podcast Network. Welcome into your newest Colts podcast. Today, I'm your host, Evan Sider, and joined by a very special guest for episode one, Kevin Bowen over at 1070 The Fan. He also runs his own podcast, Kevin's Corner, which I listen and subscribe to. Kevin, how are you doing today? Doing great, Evan. Thanks for having me on. I'm excited that Locked On Colts is getting started again.

Yeah, for sure. It's been a hiatus for a little bit, and now I'm lucky to bring it back on here. We'll start off here, Kevin, with the biggest news in the Colts land right now. They have over $100 million in cash by saying the free agency. Day one, they spend it on Devin Funchess, who I think you talked about a little bit in your podcast over the past few weeks as a possible target. He's 24 years old, 6'4", 230 pounds. He had some issues with some drops last year, but he got a one-year $10 million guaranteed contract, $3 million within steps to bring up to $13 million. What's your initial thoughts on that? Well, yeah, I thought when I saw this deal, this is something that kind of speaks to Chris Ballard's belief in free agency, and that's finding a young, in this case,

skilled player that hasn't reached his full potential in a previous home, and you feel like your change of scenery, your culture, and in this case your offensive system can lend a, you know, tapping into that potential that I think some people had when Funt just came out of Michigan, you know, back in 2015. You know, clearly his big body is unique, and I think that diversifies what the Colts have at their receiver position, and that's something that I think has always been desired. I mean, frankly, the Colts have just been looking for any sort of number two receiver to be consistent,

but I think if you were going to mold kind of an ideal body frame, a bigger target would be something that you would try to achieve. And that's definitely what Funchess brings. So it's a totally different atmosphere from Carolina in how the Colts handle their passing game, how Andrew Luck throws the football versus Cam Newton. Newton, obviously Funchess will be around T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron, which should take away some of the attention that maybe he saw as more of Carolina's number one target, along with Greg Olson, for the past couple of years. So I think those are the reasons why the Colts feel like, similar to Eric Ebron last year, that they have the resources around Devin Funchess for him to be able to reach his potential. Speaking of Funchess, the other free agent signings around the market with wide receivers,

Adam Humphries went to Tennessee for four years. Jameson Crocker went to New York for four years. Do you think they went the route with Funchess now because he's a young guy at 24 and now going to be 25 to start next season? But he's also just a one-year guy. Maybe they're more committed to Deion Kane and maybe some other guys in the draft long-term instead of those spots. Yeah. I mean, I think that's another reason why this, this move makes sense to me is that you aren't tying your hands, you know,

this time next year, Devin Funches could be gone. You are betting, you know, on showing him that he can reach his potential here in Indianapolis. And if it doesn't work out like Ryan Grant last year, then you just move on and there's no ties really to him, you know, past this 12 month window. So I thought going into free agency to me, the receiver position was pretty weak. And I thought outside of Tyrell Williams,

it was going to be more of a short-term fix. You know, the Adam Humphreys and Jameson Crowders, I wasn't totally sure how the Colts felt about flat receivers. If you look at what Chris Ballard has brought in, he's brought in a lot of bigger wideouts. That's kind of been a trait that he's wanted, you know, whether it's Deion Kane or Reese Fountain or even some of the free agent wideouts. You know, I know Grant is a little bit smaller, but, you know, a lot of the wide outs he has acquired have been a little bit bigger. So I thought that was the route that they might take. And, you know, we'll see as we're taping this, you know, Tyrell Williams is still in the open market. I don't expect him to come to Indianapolis, but I thought that was the other name that could be in play at receiver. I am, you know, all in on the draft day receiver relatively early come next month.

I don't know how much Chris Ballard fully believes in that. You know, I think Ballard's a little bit skeptical just on what is at the top end of this draft class at the receiver position in 2019. But I do think that this is a need for the long term. And I don't think you can sit here considering the draft capital that you have and considering the need that you have a receiver and think that Devin Funches is going to solve all of your questions that you have at that position.

One more question here on Funches. We're going to our next topic. It's just a more of a strategical fit. As far as with T.Y. Hilton, do you think with Deion Cannon, he's fully healthy and he reached his potential, as we saw in training camp. Do you think we see T.Y. Hilton. Do you think with Deion Cannon, if he's fully healthy and he reaches his potential, what we saw in training camp, do you think we see T.Y. Hilton more in the slot this year? Because I'm based out in Arizona right now.

Bruce Arians played Larry Fitzgerald a lot in the slot a couple of years down the road, and he really thrived there. Do you think maybe with these two big body guys on the outside, maybe T.Y. goes inside,

maybe dice some guys up from there? You know, I think it's a really, really good point that you make, Evan, and it's something I know Frank Reich even tried to achieve last year, just moving Hilton around. I can think of several big plays that Hilton made from the slot or just kind of more of an inside, wide-out position, where in past years, the Colts probably didn't have that sort of luxury with Hilton. And I don't think maybe past offensive coordinators were as open to moving

Hilton around as we saw the Colts do last year. And I think, you know, let's say Deion Kane reaches that, you know, flash we saw in training camp, a potential that we saw in three years at Clemson as well, and proves that he's healthy coming off the ACL. You know, maybe midway point of the season, there are some sets where it is a cane outside, it is a punches outside, depending on what other acquisitions you make a receiver. And then you're trying to isolate Hilton on a nickelback or, you know,

God forbid for the opposing defense, putting a linebacker or safety on him, something like that. That's where you can get your best playmaker the ball into more advantageous situations. So that's why I go back to what I said earlier, and the ability to diversify your skill group is so, so important. And I think if you were looking for the compliment to Hilton, it would be to find a bigger body. You can't teach 6'4", 225 pounds. Yes, you know, Funches has suffered, especially last year,

threw a ton of drops, and there were several factors that played into that. But that frame has led to 21 touchdowns in four years, and I think that's a big reason why. You know, there have been some moments for Funches where he's been a really solid player making contested catches. Now moving on to our next point here, I have to think after the Devin Funches sign, the Colts aren't done. I don't know the exact number, the percentage,

but they have to spend at least some sort of amount of money near the salary cap threshold. So there's definitely gonna be some more moves coming. I just saw a flash across my screen. Zedaria Smith signed at the Packers for $66 million over four years. That's a lot of money for a pass rusher. Also Preston Smith went off the board today. A lot of safeties are off the board as well, Kevin. So there might be some maybe bargain-bend, more mercenary options

or maybe some one-two-year deals like an Earl Thomas, a Justin Houston, an Adamican Sioux maybe. Where do you think the Colts go next with this money? Yeah, I mean, this definitely screams kind of what Chris Bauer has been about in his first two years as a general manager here in Indianapolis. Last year, it was Danica Autry, the only signing, I believe, the first couple of days in a free agency. Eric Ebron, I think, came around March 17th, I believe it was, or maybe even later than that. And then, you know, as free agency played on, you re-signed Pierre Desir, you signed

Ryan Grant, you re-signed Jack Newhort. There were some other moves that you made. So I think that's what it will be like for Ballard. There are some veterans, like you've thrown out a few of those names that you could get on the one to two year, you know, sort of bargain price. And I'm really curious to see how the rest of the safety market plays out, because I believe that is a definite need for the Colts. You know, even if you bring back Clayton Gethers, I was talking to Chris Bauer for the Colts. Even if you bring back Clayton Gethers, I was talking to Chris Bauer at the Combine a couple weeks ago, and I pitched to him in a way, is it similar, the Clayton Gethers situation, to what you had with Jack Mewhart

last year? And I know they aren't identical, but it is similar in that you have this starter, this former draft pick who suffered through injuries, and he brought back Muhort on a one-year deal, sort of prove-it deal, and then said, look, that's not going to be the end-all, be-all for the offensive line. I still have to invest a lot into that position. And he did that, of course, with Quentin Nelson and Braden Smith. And he said that he could see something similar at safety. You know, I think that safety might not be a position group we've talked a whole lot

about from a draft standpoint, but it looks like there are some, you know, decent amount of depth options there come next month. And so maybe you do bring that together and you have a bit of a passing of the torch to a younger safety. Part of me is a little bit hesitant on that just because I think you're investing a lot of draft capital at safety here in recent years, but it is a need on this roster with the injury situations that you've had there. So I still look at safety, corner with the peer decision that is still up in the air. That is something that has to be addressed. If you look at corner right now, I mean, that's similar to receiver. It is a very, very ugly-looking group of free agents when you look at that list. Pierre Desir is probably one of the top five corners, maybe even higher, top three corners, hitting the open market.

So that is something I think to keep an eye on. And then what happens with the pass rush group? Do we see anything of significance? I thought Preston Smith was a name that the Colts could be in on. We saw him ink up with Zedarius Smith as well. Those two guys joined forces in Green Bay. So I still think you could find a pass rusher. Maybe it is Justin Houston.

Maybe it's a little bit lesser of a name. But I think pairing a bit of a veteran pass rusher with a young draft pick would make sense to me as well. I totally agree with that stance. And you look at the money being thrown around now, Kevin, hundreds of millions of dollars. But the annual amount of money that I'm seeing right now, Landon Collins, $14 million a year for a box safety.

C.J. Mosey, $17 million a year for a linebacker. Is Chris Ballard smart to maybe drive up these prices for other teams and then dipping out at the last minute? Because it really seems like that might be what's happening because this money is some crazy money being thrown right now. Yeah, I mean, I don't think Ballard is consciously thinking like, okay, we're going to hang in there, hang in there, hang in there, and then just drive up the market and get out. I don't think that's part of kind of his belief.

I do honestly believe they have legit interest in Landon Collins, but, you know, it's an article I posted at 1070thefan.com late on Monday. There is a strict value that Chris Ballard places on players and no amount of cap space, even $101 million, like he entered the week with, is going to sway his overall beliefs. And people can disagree with that. And look, I have probably been more on the, I think you should spend in free agency a little bit more than Chris Ballard has been willing to do. Because I think it's a great opportunity to find upper echelon talent, you know, not as long-term and roster sustainable in terms of building a foundation as hitting on draft picks, which Ballard did unbelievably well last year,

but you can still find answers in free agency or via trades. We've seen the Rams, you know, build a team that went to the Superbowl last year through, you know, several pieces that didn't come necessarily through the draft. So I believe with Ballard, it's something where people don't want the Ryan Gregson spending spree, but maybe they would like a little bit more activity. You had mentioned kind of the cash spending threshold that the Colts need to achieve at some point. It's 89% of the overall cap, and that has to be done by next offseason. spendings, but I don't believe that's a worry

of the Colts. And I think they will hit that mark because there are some names coming up next year that you're going to have to spend. But part of me thought they'd be a little bit busier than this. But I think once the market went up for guys like Collins or Preston Smith or some of these other names, Chris Ballard feels very confident in his scouting department to be able to take care of these needs in other avenues. I'm glad you brought up the point about re-signing your own guys because I feel like that's a big point why they're being so conservative right now for Aids because this is only a few of the names here

that are up for contracts next season. You can also include T.Y. Hilton for a possible extension here as well. Anthony Costanzo, Jabal Sheard, Eric Ebron, Jack Doyle, Devin Funchess, Chester Rogers, Adam Vinatieri, Ryan Kelly, Kenny Moore. That's a lot of cash that the Colts got to spend to keep all their own guys next year. That's a lot. And did you mention Anthony Costanzo's name as well?

I believe he is up. Yeah, I mean, and that is a huge decision to just what your future looks like at left tackle. So, you know, having said that, you know, I still thought there was an opportunity to front load some deals here in free agency, and I guess I still think there is. You know, a guy like Landon Collins,

you're not going to be able to front load it too, too much because you're going to have to commit, you know, multiple years and guaranteed money to him down the road. And then, you know, if you're going to be able to front load it too, too much because you're going to have to commit, you know, multiple years and guaranteed money to him down the road. And then, you know, if you're looking ahead, you got guys like T.Y. Hilton and Ryan Kelly up. And then eventually, you know, there is a second or the third contract, I guess, for Andrew Luck. And Darius Leonard is three more years left.

So there are other deals, you know, Moley Cooker as well that you would have to think about. And maybe Ballard is just hesitant and investing that much money at safety, you know, tied up long term, you know, considering you would hope that you're going to resign Malik Hooker at some point as well. So that has been Ballard's kind of common answer when asked about that 89% floor that he has to reach by next offseason but at the same time um i think

the colts are in a position to still make some significant moves here in free agency i i kind of went into this process with with thinking to myself you know maybe a collins plus a fourth or fifth wide out plus a fourth or fifth pass pressure and by fourth or fifth wideout plus a fourth or fifth pass rusher. And by fourth or fifth wideout, fourth or fifth pass rusher, I mean their free agent rankings. I don't mean them on the Colts roster. I mean when you look at the overall free agency list here in 2019 across the NFL, I guess Funchess would qualify as that. You haven't found that pass rusher yet.

And, of course, you didn't ultimately get Collins. So that rearranges your line of thinking with that money. They aren't obviously going to spend a huge, huge chunk of that. I think it's right around $85 million they have left as we record this. They obviously won't be spending too, too much of that because there just aren't a lot of bigger names that are going to merit those types of contracts for multiple years still on the market. One more point I wanted to bring up about free agency here is re-signing

two of the cold zone guys possibly, and that's Clayton Gathers and Pierre Desir. What's your inklings about what's going to happen with those two guys? Because I think Desir is probably the number two guy on the market right now behind Ronald Darby at cornerback. Gathers is probably top ten on the market right now. What Darby at cornerback. Gathers is probably a top ten on the market right now. What do you think about those two guys long-term, Andy? Well, I'm really, really interested to see how this plays out. You know, I feel like those are the two names right now of the remaining free agents

that make the most sense to bring back. And I think they're very important because let's start with Pierre Desir. You know, what you have at corner is not a great group as you said he'd probably be number two number three corner on the open market and this is a guy that I thought was just steady for you and reliable and I think you can bring him back you know he probably wants more of like a three-year deal you know maybe you can you know front load sort front load sort of a two-year contract in that and still try and develop guys like Quincy Wilson, Nate Hurston, Jalen Collins. And then there's a passing of the torch down the road

when those younger guys have their rookie contract, Kenny Moore thrown into there as well, although Kenny Moore's already proven himself. I think that would be something that would make sense to me. With Clayton Gethers, I go back to what I said earlier. I think that's just more of an injury insurance sort of avenue that you have to go down. I would bring him back because I think when healthy this year, he played good football for you. He's the type of leader and professional that Chris Ballard wants, and the defensive side of the ball doesn't have a whole lot of that.

But I don't think you can be naive to think that just signing Clayton Gethers is going to be enough answers at safety. I saw they tendered Matthias Farley yesterday, and that's a step in the right direction. But I still think that safety group, when Malik Hooker was injured in that Kansas City playoff game, you got exposed. And so I think that is key to still keep an eye on that safety market, see how things When Malik Hooker was injured in that Kansas City playoff game, you got exposed. And so I think that is key to still keep an eye on that safety market, see how things play out, because it was one of the deeper position groups entering free agency.

And I'm curious, I guess, as well, just to see what the market is for Clayton Gethers outside Indianapolis. I would assume Pierre Desir commands much better of a market than Clayton Gethers. People will probably be worried about his injury history and paying, you know, top dollar plus, you know, annual years onto that for his services. back makes sense to me. Having said that, clearly if Chris Bauer has waited this long and not re-signed them, he's at least wanted to let those guys test the market. At the same time, he's wanted to take a look at what is out there in the corner and the safety groups. Now also, I'd be remiss not to ask, thinking more about the possible guys that Colts could

bring back, do you think the Funches signing marks the end for Dontrell Inman as well in Indianapolis? I think it's looking like that. You know, part of me is a bit torn on it, Evan, because you look at when you signed Inman last October, you brought him in because of what the Devin Funches syndrome was happening to your own team. You know, there were a bunch of drops, and that's why you brought in Inman. And, again, I know that there are other factors that played into Funches' drops to your own team. There were a bunch of drops, and that's why you brought in Inman. Again, I know that there are other factors that played into Funches' drops in that Cam Newton was hurt,

really struggled late in the year. Funches has battled some injuries. He's going to have many more chances at catchable balls from Andrew Luck than he did with Cam Newton, but are you going to get to a point this season where, you know, there are some drops that flare up because Eric Ebron, you know, isn't the most consistent catcher of the football. Devin Funches has battled that in his career, you know, that's what Dontrell Lindman was able to shore up, and he was able to just stable things and get that ship back on steady waters for you, which was so, so critical. Having said that, I would think the money you committed to Devin Funchess and free agency plus what you have coming back to staff, I think still believes they can develop guys like Chester Rogers

and Zach Paschal, maybe Marcus Johnson, you know, Reese Fountain, Deion Kane. I've mentioned, you know, drafting a wideout as well. All of those factors, when you start playing into it, I just don't know how much you want to hand out for a 30-year-old wideout or whatever Dontrell Inman is. So right now I think before the Funchess News, I would have grouped the Sear, Gethers, Inman together as kind of that three-person group that I could see brought back.

Now I would separate the Sear and Gethers from Inman just a bit. It's certainly going to be interesting to see how the free agent market plays out, not only for the Colts own guys, but to see how they spend the rest of their cast base. But before we go, Kevin, I wanted to ask you really quickly about the draft as well. The Colts have four picks in the top 90. They have two in the top 35. It seems like this could be the final year really where Chris Ballard and Keller are really going to hone in on the draft and try to pick some all pros out of that again out of the haystack because it seems like with the really conservative route they're doing again in free

NC, it feels like they're really honing in on the draft once more to get a lot of their talent. Yeah, I look at this draft for Chris Ballard, and I still think he views it as last year's draft and that you have to foundationally build your roster. You know, last year was such an unbelievable draft class that Chris Ballard was able to pull off. And I think that the risk and the allure of maybe trying to trade up with some of that draft capital and get one of the top pass rushers, that's tantalizing. And that's a little bit of dangling of the carrot.

But I think he still looks at things and certainly how he's approached the early portion of free agency and that he's not going to waver from his belief. You know, a signing of Landon Collins for a five-year deal, that would have solidified your safety position, you know, for several, several years. Well, now you didn't do that. So you have to make sure that your roster building, your overall depth is there. That's why I think that they're going to make the most out of these nine picks. And I mean that from a quantity standpoint and less from a trying to package deals and move up. So I still think the overall depth has to be just improved on this team. I think we saw that, you know, show up a little bit late in the season when injuries, you know,

did arise, as I mentioned, the Malik Hooker injury from that Kansas City game. So you have great draft capital for a team that went 10-6 last year, and I think Ballard really needs to have another very good draft. I'm not going to act like two all-pros are going to grow on trees year in and year out. That's just an amazing accomplishment by him, but you need to find some Pro Bowl-quality talent with, you know, I would say at least one or two of these picks, not necessarily as rookies, but at some point in their careers for you to really, I think, feel good about that young core. You've built through the draft. You have six, seven, eight guys that are your own, quote-unquote.

And now that might entice Chris Bauer to take a chance or two in free agency. All right, Kevin, just to wrap up here on the draft, what's your thoughts on some possible prospects? I know you've talked about on your personal podcast but thinking more about just how uh preservative this uh the colts have been so far in free agency how do you think they're going to attack maybe 26 34 59 and so on well i think a couple things have popped into my head in the last 48 hours one is um i probably should do a little bit more research on just the top end of that safety class and see exactly, you know, where Taylor rapped from Washington and just where some of those safeties could go.

And, you know, did the Colts use one of those first couple picks, 26 or 34 especially, on a safety? Wide out wise, you know, I still view it as a need, like I was mentioning earlier, Chris Bowers past history doesn't indicate, you know, taking wide outs too, too early in draft. Um, and this draft class, I think is more of a bunch of number two wide outs and maybe not, you know, several number one potential wide outs. Um, and something, I guess, just in general, more draft related, you know, I posted a mock draft, looked at 1070fan.com on Monday, and I think the popular consensus right now is there's not a lot of edge guys in that 25 to 35 mix.

It's a very deep defensive line class, but it seems like, you know, five, maybe even six edge guys could go in the first, you know, 15, 20 picks. So if that's the case you know are the Colts on a bit of a holding pattern for that edge group and maybe you take something else there maybe you're taking a Christian Wilkins from Clemson or a Jerry Tillery from Notre Dame or something along those lines and you hold off on that edge rusher which I don't love that but if the value isn't there then then I could see the Colts having to go a different route. Those are some of the early free agency storylines I have that could impact the draft here in about six weeks, which is crazy to think about.

It's flying by, which is crazy to say. The more I think about it, Kevin, the more I think last year when the Saints trade up for Marcus Davenport do you think with just them being so conservative in the pass rush market unless they do get like a Justin Houston on a one-year deal do you think maybe it's a possibility I know Bauer loves those picks but if the the price is right and one of those good pass rushers maybe slips down the border a little bit do you think maybe there's a possibility they move up in the draft no Evan I Evan, I totally get the question. And I would say most GMs would probably entertain that thought a little bit more than Chris Ballard. But I go back to what I said earlier.

I just think he views the 2019 draft very similar to how 2018 was, in that this is such a foundational building process for the ultimate long-term view of this roster and you have to hit on another draft 2018 was was again one of the best drafts in NFL history in terms of one year you know success but I think how Ballard approaches free agency the main roster building has to come during the draft and so I think with those with those picks, he looks at it maybe a little bit more like quantity, knowing that there's still several needs to address and not necessarily that one need. Having said that, you know, Ballard has admitted before, pass rush is the one position that you really, really have to draft and develop to ultimately find that, you know, double-digit sack guy that you can groom and have on your team for, you know,

five, ten years. So maybe that makes them, you know, a little bit more willing to at least entertain the thought. But I still would be somewhat surprised if he moved up from number 26 come April 25th. Yeah, I agree with you. I think that the possibility is very low, but with how Ballard values those draft picks. So speaking of Chris Ballard, before agree with you. I think that the possibility is very low, but with how Ballard

values those draft picks. So speaking of Chris Ballard, before I let you go, Kevin, it seems like Ryan Grigson was the complete opposite of what Chris Ballard is so far. And the confidence and the trust from the fan base, really, I've never seen it from an NFL franchise before that the fan base just puts their complete trust in Chris Ballard already and that any move he makes, their confidence is going to hit a home run at this point. I mean, you can't blame him because he's already directed to all pros already. Yeah, the old hashtag in Ballard we trust seems to be out in full force.

Yeah, exactly. And having said that, I have seen the other side of it a bit this week and people not totally agreeing with his approach to free agency. Like I was saying earlier, I don't maybe totally, totally agree with how just reluctant he is to go after guys in free agency. I understand it, though. And when you hit on the draft like you did last year, it's hard to argue with. And at the same time, when he hit on the draft like you did last year it's hard to argue with it and at the same time when he hit on free agency like he did last year you know Eric Ebron and Danico Autry

being you know two just huge huge hits for you both guys played at Pro Bowl levels for you last last season but I think Chris Ballard has earned the right so far to kind of earn the trust of his fan base and believe that he is so steadfast in his scouting department to be able to, you know, build an entire team throughout a 12 month a year process and ultimately do the large bulk of it through the draft. So, you know, we, we are going to be able to critique him one way or the other here very, very soon because he has stayed very committed to his approach of not being tempted by the top dollar in free agency and instead believing that they can win with maybe second tier or second

week free agents and then finding that core through the draft. So he's putting all his chips in the middle again on the draft, and we'll see what happens here in free agency and if that lessens maybe some of the stress that currently is there on next month's draft. Currently I'm not in the city, so I'll leave you with this final question, Kevin. What do you think just from the vibe around Indianapolis right now, after just one of the most exciting scenes, I think,

in recent history for the Colts, just the unexpected turnaround so suddenly. Is this cerebral or bust around town now? I wouldn't go that far. I would say it's definitely take the next step forward, which is, you know, maybe winning the division or getting home field in the playoffs, winning, getting to the AFC championship game, something along those lines. I do think the quick rebuild and the exceeding of expectations last year going from four wins to ten

has moved the bar up a little bit in this three-year rebuild that Chris Bauer and Jim Irsay have alluded to before. The schedule gets a lot tougher next year, and Andrew Luck is entering his prime years, and I think when you look at the AFC as a whole, I still think in general it's a conference that has some parity. You know, I think when we got into the playoffs last year, you could have made cases for really any of those six teams or, you know, four or five of those six teams to make a run to the Super Bowl. And ultimately, it was a very competitive AFC championship game. But we saw in the AFC

divisional round, the Colts still have a big step that needs to be taken against the elite teams with elite quarterbacks. And I think that is the next question for this team is, can they do that? So I wouldn't call it Super Bowl or bust, but I might call it, you know, AFC championship win 11 games, win the division sort of bust. Kevin, this was a fun conversation. I appreciate you coming on for episode one of the new Locked on Colts. And I'll be back for training camp, so I'll get to meet you in person. And before then, maybe get you on the podcast later this summer.

Definitely. Anytime, Evan. Enjoyed coming on, and I will definitely see you at training camp if