Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -4/11- Listener Questions & Great Team Draft Fits W/@Alexander1Great

Episode Date: April 11, 2017

Shane Alexander (Inside The Pylon) stops back in to drop more draft knowledge, where the #Colts could get the best value and why trading back may not be so easy. Also, Matt answers a couple listener questions in preparation for the draft guide drawing. You gotta call in to be eligible! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's for my crazy day. My packed commute. All those unread emails in my inbox. But I'm getting stronger, faster, and pushing myself further every day. I don't care if I'm not like everyone else. Punching bag is the best way to end my day. Fearless is knowing yoga isn't your style. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program.

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'm your host, Matt Dainley, and we've got a great show for you guys tonight. Thank you for joining me here on this Tuesday, April 11th. Guys, I've been pushing this phone line for you guys to get in here and call in for mailbag shows or just anything.

You got questions? I don't even care what day it is. I'm going to put you on the show. So I'm hoping you guys will get this phone call, leave a message, ask me whatever you want to ask me. I'm going to answer you on the show. So I'm hoping you guys will get this phone call, leave a message, ask me whatever you want to ask me. I'm going to answer it on the show. And now we're going to have some exciting news later on. We've got a guest for the show. It's Shane Alexander from Inside the Pylon. Exciting news going to drop with him on the show tonight.

Also going to answer the very first two calls that we got. I've got some waiting. I'm going to answer the very first two calls that we got. I've got some waiting. I'm going to wait for those. I wanted to answer a couple of those, but we've got a nice little long show with Shane. He's going to stick around with us for about 35 minutes or so. So thank you guys for joining me again today. We've got a great show. Like I said, we're going to get to these listener call-ins right now.

Hey, guys. Love the show. Living out here in Vancouver, it's great to get some insight on what's going on in Indianapolis and the Colts in the offseason. Just a quick question. How do you think Chuck Panago is going to kind of cope with this new rebuild? It's an 8-8 season last year. Do you think this buys him a little bit more time with kind of Chris Ballard now at the GM job? Or do you think he's still got to kind of like pull that into a positive winning season? Keep up the good work, guys.

Love the show. And, yeah, I hope to hear a response. Hey, yeah, thank you for the call. And you're right. You know, this does present an interesting situation with Pagano staying put, Ballard being brought in as the new GM, not bringing in his own coach. That's a question that we've been asking ourselves, you know,

it seems like kind of ever since the decision was made. Do I think that it gives Pagano like a bit of a reprieve here and gives him maybe a little more, you know, arm's length, so to speak, under Ballard? I really don't know. I do think, you know, if you guys listened the other day, George Bremer and I kind of spoke about this a little bit. I think that Pagano is going to get a fair shake one way or another, whether he, you

know, fails or whether he succeeds, this is going to be an interesting year because it really is going to be GM with coach working on a real relationship and trying to build this team to where it could be. I'm not a fan of Pagano in general as far as his coaching situations in the past. Whether he can turn that around, whether the lack of talent as far as roster-wide was really the issue, or whether it was his coaching style, should be well out in the forefront by the end of the first quarter of the season this coming year. So I think that Pagano's going to get a fair shake, most definitely. I don't think that there's going to be really any preconceived notions, though, on Ballard's part. I think Ballard's going to give him the opportunity to turn this team into something. I think that the expectations are going to be obviously reasonable. You know, when we get this,

this new draft class in, Ballard's going to have his expectations pretty much set. I would think, you know, what he thinks a successful year would be, whether that, that could be eight and eight, you know,

but that is going to be, I think where we're at now uh also we spoke about this uh just recently too so if pagano goes oh and three or oh and two the colts have started slow each of the past several seasons i think at least the past three uh with oh and two or i think that's it and you know if they were to go 0-3 or, you know, possibly 1-3 or something like that to start the season, Pagano's on the ropes, I mean, immediately, I think. The one thing that gets to be an issue is that we didn't see Ballard bring in any coaching help, at least that I can think of, aside from the new wide receivers coach that used to be in Buffalo. He's not a head coach candidate. So Chudzinski really is and Philbin are the only two head coach candidates

on the team. Neither one of them do I want coaching the Indianapolis Colts. So if Pagano was to get the boot after the first four or five games with a very, you know, underwhelming beginning to the season, I would be just as worried with one of those two being the head coach. I don't think that that's a good situation for the Colts to be in. I would hope that that's not what they end up being in, but I don't necessarily want there to be an interim coach with the Colts this coming year either, just because it just doesn't seem like it's going to be beneficial for the development of anybody.

I really don't think it would be beneficial to the development of Andrew Luck. I don't think that it would be beneficial to the development of either one of those two guys leaving their primary post as either offensive coordinator or offensive line coach to go into the head coach role because whatever they were coaching will start to lack. So thank you for the question. Hey, when you guys call in, make sure that you leave your name at the beginning of your messages, especially, and also leave your email. I'll cut it off and won't put it on the show, but leave your email at the beginning of the show because we've got an interesting and exciting thing getting ready to come up so make sure you leave your name at the beginning of your message that way I can

kind of call you by name on the show but thank you for for the call fantastic question very something we've talked about for a while hey Matt this is Colin Lanz calling from Virginia I guess my question would be over the years as a Colts fan it's been really frustrating how the Colts sort of refuse to build their defensive line with elite starters every year it seems that they refuse to get a high draft pick for the nose tackle or some real actual talent on the defensive line they just kind of get guys who can hopefully hold the opposing offense to a long third down and then try to rush the quarterback. Do you think this approach is going to change under Chris Ballard, or do you think it may remain the same, at least for this

following year? Thanks. Thanks, Colin, for the call. You know, as far as the defensive line goes, you're absolutely right. The Colts have kind of failed to really do a ton along the defensive line. The run defense has always been bad. Now we're seeing the chips from that kind of fall into a poor pass rush where we've got, you know, T.Y. McGill and Henry Anderson, if he's healthy, should be two really good pieces to that defensive line. When we look at Kendall Lankford, I think Kendall Lankford was underrated in the run defense last year. Obviously, he didn't play the entire season.

But I think he is somebody who can definitely contribute unless he never really gets started this coming year. But I think that they are going to do something about it. I think that under Ballard, this is going to be a completely different mindset. I think that it's going to they have a plan. And that's like, again, back when George and I were doing this months ago talking, that was one of the things that we liked the most. And when Ballard first got hired, he had a plan and has a plan and will continue to have a plan whereas we didn't see that from grigson nobody really knew what was going to happen free agency draft we i mean it

just seemed very uh fly by the hip you know type deal and i i think that that defensive line is going to get reworked and reshuffled we may see some significant turnover over the next few seasons. Even some of these young guys who were just recently drafted. But I do like T.Y. McGill a lot. I like Henry Anderson a lot when he's healthy. I think Kendall Langford is good for this next year. But after that, we do have Sheard now who can kind of fall down into that five-tech position if needed to be an edge rusher in that regard when we're dropping one of our outside linebackers into coverage. So that's going to help a little.

That's not something they're going to do a lot. That's going to be 30% of the sub-package time that he's going to possibly do that, if at all. That's more of a creation of my brain, to be quite honest with you, than anything. But just in general, this defensive line, I would love to see some serious work get done in this draft and next draft. And I think there's a couple guys that can really do that. Chris Wormley is a guy that I've talked about a couple times. I've written a couple articles with him involved in them.

And I really like his ability to be able to get inside. He definitely can pull his own weight against interior offensive linemen. He has really good technique to where he can also just keep these offensive linemen at arm's length. He uses every inch of his arm to really keep his space and to be able to keep an arm free. He's good against the run. He can double as an edge rusher as well if needed. I think that Chris Wormley brings a ton to the table. He's just one of the guys that could. I mean, this defensive line, this front seven is going to look totally different in a few years. And I, my thought process on it is we're going to first, we have to start with a true zero technique. We talked about that with Charles McDonald the other night,

the Colts absolutely need one, whether it's a second, third round guy, fourth round guy, doesn't matter as long as they are a true zero tech and they can do a little bit of both. We want versatile interior, exterior defensive linemen as well. Some guys in there in that three and five technique. We're going to have to get a couple of those guys that can play both, can rush the passer, and can also play well against the run. I think that the Colts are in a very good starting point as they move forward into this draft to get a lot of this done. Yes, I see it changing, I guess is the short answer. Sorry for a little bit long-winded on that, but yes, absolutely, I see that changing.

Ballard knows what the weaknesses of this team are. He plans to address them. And I think that at this point, when we look forward to what we're going to see from Chris Ballard, I think that we have to be excited about it. He's a guy who uses his brain. He's a guy who has a plan. He treats people with dignity. He goes in with expectations that aren't out of this world. He's going to have realistic expectations for each guy on this team,

each coach on this team, and himself. And that's one of the most beautiful things about this entire setup is that he has expectations for himself, and he knows that he has to bring it every day too, as opposed to walking in the building and feeling like he's the king and that everybody else has to perform, and he simply has to make sure that they do or at least watch them and just kind of expect them to either fail or succeed and do what he will with them. I see Ballard as a very much a working man inside of that office.

He's going to keep close contact with players and coaches constantly to try to make this team as good as he can and I don't think that you could really ask for more out of that guy. So, yes, I do see it changing, and, yes, I'm very excited about Chris Ballard. Thank you, Colin, for the call. Really appreciate it. Thank you, guys. I'm kind of limited to the first two calls that I got when I opened up these phone lines. Make sure you guys are calling.

It's 574-516-2881. Make sure you guys are calling. Get them in here. We'll2881 make sure you guys are calling get them in here we'll get you on the show like we did for these two and we're going to bring in shane alexander from inside the pylon some exciting news i just bought their draft guide uh it's fantastic and i've also got some drawing news i've talked to you guys a little bit on Twitter about it. I'm going to pass that along when I'm talking to Shane and let you guys know what's going on there. So basically, if you haven't called in yet, you're going to have to start calling in. These two are going to be eligible for the drawing, and so will anybody who calls in afterwards. So make sure you guys are getting on that number,

574-516-2881. And let's welcome Shane to the show. So we've got a good friend of the show, Shane Alexander, back with us tonight. Shane, thank you for joining me, my guy. How's everything going? Man, it's going well. I appreciate you hitting me up and bringing me back on tonight. It's been a month and a half, a couple months, maybe since I came on the last time,

and a lot has changed since then. For me, we've been working on the Inside the Pylon draft guide. We got that released April 1st. And then on a personal level, just doing all of the positional board work. I was telling you off air. I've just been grinding through that. So all of that is releasing this week. Quarterbacks and running backs came out today.

Wide receiver tied in tomorrow, so on and so on. So just getting the last push of draft work out this week. Quarterbacks and running backs came out today. Wider City were tied in tomorrow, so on and so on. Just getting the last push of draft workout and then just sitting back and enjoying it before draft week. It's a busy time, but it's a good time. That's awesome. Literally, just what I mentioned to you off air, we've got some great news for our listeners. Shane, as we have said before, is a part of InsideThePylon.com. Fantastic website. They put out an amazing, amazing draft guide. I think it's, what, four and a half million pages?

Over, under. Over, under, yeah. Yeah, slightly. It's within the margin of error of 4.2, yeah. Yeah, and it's awesome. I mean, like I said, I had just gotten into it, but as with everything with you guys, it's very thorough, very well written, very well displayed.

I mean, fantastic stuff. And like I said, great news for listeners, both you guys at Inside the Pylon and Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino, the guys of NDT Scouting, we've kind of all gotten together. And, uh, well, like I said, I've got my copies. So you listeners, what you guys need to do, if you want to get yourself a free copy of the inside the pylon draft guide or the NDT scouting, uh, draft guide, Joe and Kyle's it's a premium membership there for the NDTScouting.com. If you guys want to be in the drawing for one of those, you have to call in and leave me a message asking questions

just for the mailbag show. That's literally it. And you guys are going to get some of the most intense draft coverage from one of these two fantastic sites for free. I mean, you're getting it for free. I am giving it away. And of course, Inside the Pylon and NDT Scouting are part of this as well. So hit me up on the phone number 574-516-2881. Literally, all you've got to do is that. Now, at the beginning of the voicemail make sure you leave me your email address so that i know how to get a hold of you if you should win okay that's all you guys have to do

and you're going to be in the drawing for this i'm literally going to shuffle your names around in a hat and i'm going to pull out four names those four names are going to get one or the other and that i mean talk about an immense value for simply calling and leaving a message. I mean, Shane, you know how much work you guys have put into all this for these people to be getting one of these for free. It's like I said, an immense value for that. I just don't know that it could be any better. Yeah. So, I mean, and I'll even talk about Joe and Kyle, who are two real life friends for me. Uh, I know the work they put into it, and it is toiling. It's thorough, and their product, even if you don't agree with everybody

that they have ranked in a certain position, you can appreciate the work that they put into the guide and the knowledge that they have. So their product is awesome. Their subscription is worth it. And I stand behind the inside of the pipeline guide. I saw every bit of the inner workings of that thing being put together, and I trust our guys as much as anybody.

So those are all some values. I would love to have one if I were on the outside looking in. And so, yeah, to call in and to be in the running for that, that's a good thing you've got going. I'm excited for it. I'm hoping we'll get more of these call-in shows because this is the part i mean fans want to be part of the show not just listening but they want to have their questions answered and literally and you just call in and leave your message at the end

and that's it i mean like i said make sure you guys are leaving your uh email addresses so that i have a way to get a to contact you otherwise other than your phone number but it I'm hoping this takes off because I would love to have 50 60 70 people to uh toss in the uh toss in the hat here but you know what if you call you're gonna be in that's it it's just that simple there's nothing else you gotta do so well let's get into you Shane and let's talk so see once uh maybe like you said about a month and a half ago who's been kind of the biggest mover for you Iane and let's talk so see once uh maybe like you said about a month and a half ago who's been kind of the biggest mover for you i mean miles garrett's the number one across the board so that's not sure change who's been your biggest mover up or down do you think uh just to the best

of your knowledge yeah so combine matters a lot especially for defensive linemen and edge rushers, especially edge rushers. Going into the process, just based off tape, I really liked Jonathan Allen and Tim Williams, the two players from Alabama. But I put a lot of precedent on physical and athletic traits and how those translate. Jonathan Allen showed up to the combine, and there's some talk that he's got onset arthritis in his shoulders. I mean, that in itself is, is worrisome.

Um, and then he tested like, um, average defensive tackle and measured like a little bit of a tweener. Um, you know, six, three,

two 86. That's an undersized three tech. If you're going to be an undersized three tech, I think you should have the Aaron Donald-type explosiveness or the Grady Jarrett-type of explosiveness. So I was disappointed in how Allen tested and showed up, and so I'm worried. He's going to fail some advanced metrical systems that guys run,

and he's going to slide down a lot of people's boards. You know when you slide down NFL teams'' boards because the NFL is a little bit slower in using advanced analytics across the board? I don't know. But personally, I look at him and I think he needs to add a little bit of weight and he needs to play on the defensive line. I don't think he's an edge player. And I worry about him going high.

I think he's going to have a high floor, lower ceiling career. I think he's going to be a heck of a player, a nice player. I don't know if he's going to be an elite player. So where do you take an elite tweener defensive lineman? For me, I value that a little bit less. So he's moved down the board. Tim Williams also moved down the board, especially considering he's 6'3", 245, 246.

He needed to test similarly to Vic Beasley to be in that upper level, and he didn't. Derek Rivers from Youngstown State actually tested like we thought or hoped Tim Williams might. And so I have real worries about a guy who is a limited snap producing player at college. Now, high efficiency, but limited snaps. He's a rotational guy. I think at the next level, he's a rotational, long yardage, kind of a sack specialist. I think he's going to win because with technique,

he's got such good ability to get to the quarterback. I don't think it's a high-end type guy like a Vic Beasley or a Daniel Hunter or what have you. So where does he go? He didn't earn money at the combine. And I know everybody doesn't buy into athletic testing to the degree that I do, so I get it. But those two guys lost money.

And I would say that the two guys that earned the most money over the course of this process was Derek Rivers, who I just mentioned, and Hassan Reddick from Temple. Those two guys should definitely be in the first round. Hassan Reddick should be talked about as a top 12 to 15 lock, I think. So there's four guys going in opposite directions. Now, the Tim Williams issues, as far as all that goes, I mean, I heard a couple people say recently that they don't necessarily believe.

I'm a big believer in a three down player stays on the field, gets more money, gets drafted higher. Yeah. I know that a lot of people tend to believe that. I think, and then I've heard that recently, you know, people say that's not as important because of the sub package thing. And that's, that's, what's going to keep you on the field because of the high rate of sub package rate. I don't necessarily, I mean, I get the thought. I get the immediate thought process of that. But I don't necessarily think that's true because first and foremost,

a guy who is sub package reliant is not going to be on the field for 70% of the snaps regardless. It does not matter. The sub packages are also going to be interchangeable between other players too. Even your base guys are going to be in sub packages as well. So I don't necessarily believe that, but I mean, I guess just in general, let's, and let's assume that it's a 50-50 split between subs and base. Do you still believe that three down players will go in the first round at a higher rate than guys who are specialty players like you. And I, as far as I'm concerned, agree that Tim Williams is a specialty player.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And especially more of a specialty player that is more limited athletically. You look at Dee Ford from Kansas City. He was taken out of Auburn in 2014. They already had Justin Houston, Tom Bali. And up until this past season, he was more of a rotational type guy. I know he had a breakout season last year, but he's still the third edge on that team. They took him in a bit of a luxury position,

and he didn't have the off-field issues that Tim seems to have. I think a third a three-down player in the first round especially if you're just talking about the colts where they're picking the middle of the first round the colts don't have a luck they don't have the luxury of taking a luxury player yet i think chris ballard has them going in the right direction but the kansas east were a more of a playoff team perennially have been the last four or five years in the colts have so you need to get a guy that's going to be a three-down player that can play base, but that can play sub-package. You need to have a guy at 15 that's going to be there on the field

if he's a defensive player most of the snaps. And if you're looking at an edge player at that position, I know it seems a little high for Derek Rivers rivers i really like him i really like tj watt from wisconsin um i really like hassan reddick i think he's more of an off ball style player but i think he'd get a lot of sacks as an off ball or an inside linebacker i think he can attack downfield violently and win that way so yeah i would three down players are who you should be drafting especially if you're a team that is piecing your roster together to the extent that the Colts are right now, especially on defense. Right. My guy Jake Arthur, I saw him mention it on Twitter.

I don't think that I actually responded to. He was having a conversation with somebody else. I don't know that I actually responded to it. But we are together typically on draft day or at least one of the three draft days and last year maybe it was last two years ago i can't remember when billings i think it was billings was the guy who was slipping that kept slipping and slipping and we were like yeah why why is he going down the line but that's the reason is because he was not a three down player right and it just it's happened a lot more than i think people realize. And it's for good reason because you have that a,

you got that fifth year option with a first round player. Sure. And B you get, I mean, you know, and I actually saw on a comment today, somebody said, I hate the word draft capital.

Just call it the first round, but it's not the first round draft. Capital is value. Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, there's a reason that people call it draft capital. Right.

And I just can't see, like you said, Derek Rivers. Really, really like him. In fact, I've seen a mock or two recently where he has been started to creep into that top 15, top 20 area. And I think that's a great spot for him. I think he's a fantastic pick and i would be i would be absolutely ecstatic if the colts uh nabbed him up i think he's a fantastic uh addition but there's another guy that and and my listeners will attest to this i've been kind of in a love affair with this guy over the past week or so and it's jared davis out of uh, the inside linebacker, I'm just really getting in on him.

And I mean, there's just something about this guy that is really turning me on. I mean, I don't think that Foster's going to get down to the Colts. I think that Foster is probably the better, obviously, I think he definitely is the better prospect at this moment. But when I look at a three-year projection or something at him and Davis, I tend to believe that Davis might have a little more staying power or be able to find his niche a little bit better. I think that Foster offers a little bit in the passing game as well, but I think Davis does just the same.

And I think that if you were to compare the two, it's impossible to say one's you were to compare the two, it's impossible to say one's a better leader than the other. One's a better, you know, like I said, just a better leader than the other guy or somebody's a smarter position player than that. But you just see, it seems seamless for Jared Davis. You know what I mean? It almost seems like Foster's not quite there yet mentally in the game, but I think that there's a lot of people that would disagree with that. I'm just kind of going off of my own thoughts here. What are your thoughts on those two?

And do you think it's a pretty significant difference between those two as far as a three-year projection as well? Yeah. So just quickly, and this will tie into the point I'm going to make, draft capital is a very real thing. Return on investment, return on your draft pick is a thing that teams look at, and there's a reason there's a Jerry Johnson trade chart, whether it be antiquated or not. And I think that's worth a discussion, especially when you talk about Foster and Davis. So right now you're talking about their evaluation.

You're evaluating davis and evaluating foster and you don't see that big of a difference but the valuation of the two foster gets talked about as a top 15 pick and davis for the most part gets talked about as a second round guy and so your evaluation they're close they're they're they're your evaluation of course their valuation there may be a little bit far apart in reality. And so it's one of those things where, yeah, if you could know that Davis would be there in the middle of the second round, which I think is as likely as him going in the mid-first to the high first. I think he's one of those players that could go as early as like 24 to Oakland, and he may slide to 50. If you knew you could get him in the second round and use the first round pick on another

position, well then that's proper valuation because you know you're getting a player similar to Foster in three years, but you get him at a greater value. At that point, you have a better chance of getting a higher return on him. I like what you're thinking. You may be thinking about go ahead and take him at 15.

Some guy may say, some scout or some fan may say, that's idiotic, Davis is not worth the 15th pick. Well, that's not really relevant. It's really how you value him and how you eval him. If you're the Colts and you take Jared Davis, you're sort of precedent. I mean, Bruce Irving wasn't supposed to go as high as he went. Keanu Neal a year ago, Carl Joseph a year ago, Orton Burns a year ago.

So often when teams peg their guy, they go get him, and they kind of don't really care about what the proper evaluation of the guy is. But personally, I have a second-round grade on Davis, and I do like a lot of the things that you like about him. And if he was there for me in the second round, absolutely I would grab him. If I was at 15 and he was the guy that I was targeting, I really think there's a chance you could trade back maybe for a discounted price compared to other years

because of how this draft is. Every draft is their own. Trade back a little bit and get Davis maybe in the early 20s and then you add a mid-round pick. So maybe that is a better deal than Foster. And that's my initial thought is not necessarily at 15. I mean, I don't, and I kind of made a comment about this on a couple shows ago that,

you know, it sounds ignorant. Uh, the more I say it, the more ignorant it sounds that I say, I'm not going to, I won't, wouldn't take him at 15, but I take him at 19, you know, or something like that. Cause that's like literally, I mean, that is four picks away. What's the difference. But when, if you talk about trading back, like you said, you get something in return as well, like another late mid-round pick or something like that. And I think that that's the proper way to do it. That would be the ideal situation as far as I'm concerned. Trade back five to six, seven picks, grab Davis there, and earn yourself another draft spot within this draft because their last pick is in the fifth round even if they were to get like say another like you said the return is not going to be quite

as high because this draft has so much talent so I mean maybe fourth round fifth round uh third round possibly maybe uh or something like that but you're still going to get a a fantastic player with whatever pick you get out of this I mean mean, at least you have the opportunity to. Sure, and then if you believe in the add a year, add around, add around, add a year type of thing, maybe the pick that you get from going back only five or six spots is a third next year as opposed to a fourth this year, what have you. It would still be, I think, worth it in this class where,

personally, on my board, after like the 12th guy i think everybody from like 15 to 45 is marginally separated i think the quality of this draft is the back end of the first and the early part of the second round um if you don't get what i mean like san francisco just personal opinion is like in a real rock and a hard play situation at two bears at three um miles geared is clearly number one but then you could make a case that the second best player is also the 15th best player in this class so if the colts can trade back and and feel good about the guy they're getting in the late teens early 20s and then add a mid-round pick yeah i think that's the way to go i think

a lot of teams should be looking to do that but it takes two to trade and i just wonder in this class in this draft the only players the only teams I can see trading up would be that for a quarterback or maybe in the free chance that someone that shouldn't fall does and they want to go make sure they get him I think it's gonna be harder to trade in this draft but if you can find a guy yeah that's probably the way to go at 15 yeah I agree that's gonna be crazy to see because you could, I mean, realistically, it's a draft and drafts have, you know, tend to have trades. But when you get into this first round and there's a ton of talent, like it's, I mean, there is literally going to be 32 picks in the first round and everybody who takes a selection in this first round should go away happy.

I mean, they really should. If they don't, it just seems like there's going to either be just a random bust that nobody sees coming or they're just not drafting right, you know, or something like that. Yeah, no, I agree. It's so crazy because there's just a ton of talent here. There's a ton of talent at multiple positions too. And one of the things that the Colts really need is defensive line help.

Is there a guy, now I have a couple of my own favorites, but who's the guy that you think, maybe not in the first round, maybe second round, at this moment right now that stands, that kind of has the all-encompassing thing? He's got the brains, He's got the work ethic. He's got the skill and the athletic traits and everything else that could possibly be a second-round pick along this defensive line that just could really show out in the NFL. Now, when you say defensive line, do you mean on the far interior,

or are you looking for somebody like a three- or five-tech that play on more of the exterior of the Colts system? Because I can give you one of each. Well, I think that they definitely need a nose tackle, but they also need a three or five technique, somebody who can be a little versatile along that defensive line as well. Yeah, so I love Chris Wormley, and I was late to the Chris Wormley party, I will admit it. Me too. Some guys you just get too late because there's so many guys you have to watch, and off of

live viewing, I watch a lot of Michigan. I didn't recognize the impact he had. So coming into the process, he wasn't as high up my watch list. But later in the process, when I finally got around to him, I was very much blown away by him. And I think he mirrors Henry Anderson in a lot of ways as far as his versatility. And I use Henry Anderson just because he's a cult. He can play three tech. When he's 6'5 right he can play three tech he's six five he can play five tech um just burn motor burns hot always working 34 and a half inch arms i mean he's got a an outstanding

frame to be scheme versatile and we talked about at the beginning of the pod sub package and base when you have a guy that doesn't have to come off the field because he can play sub package and base and that's just added value so i really like chris wormley a lot um i like larry ogan jobe from unc charlotte a lot he's more of a truer interior guy if you're looking for a nose tackle elijah qualls from from washington's probably my top rated truer nose tackle type and i think he's going to go probably in the third round um i don't like i I don't love, I should say, I don't love this interior defensive line class. I would get the guy early, whether it be Malik McDowell, John Allen in round two for me, probably round one for most people,

Chris Wormley, Elijah Qualls, but I'm not in love with this interior defensive line class. So if it is a priority for a team, they need to hit on that early because I don't love the depth in round two and three. I think there's a couple of round one guys, and then you can really wait until round four and get a similar player that's going to go in round two and three. So Elijah Qualls, Ogun Jobe, Chris Wormley,

those are three players that I think would do good for the Colts. If you're a GM right now, do you take the – and you need some interior defensive line help as well. Yeah. 3-5, you know, like you said, you talked about Malik McDowell. Do you take him in the first round? 1-32, take your pick. Yeah.

Do you take him in the first round? Yeah, so if I – just knowing what I know, and I've heard he's tough to deal with, and I can't speak to that. I've never met the guy, interviewed him, or what have you. But just based off what I know, and he is an interior player, he doesn't test like a great edge, but he reminds me, similar to Forrest Buckner last year, but I think he's better. And I think in terms of ceiling, there's few players in the draft

that are as dynamic as him because he played interior at Michigan State, but when he was asked to play edge rusher, he can bend like few guys that are 6'6", 295. And I think he's a special talent. I think he can play three-tech or five-tech. Again, you change packages, he stays on the field. And so if I could check off the character just enough to justify a first round pick i would absolutely take him he's in my top 10 overall is he yeah that's interesting i he just seems to be somebody that i have to i want to ask as many people about because you know and and

surprisingly enough i haven't gotten a whole lot of differing uh opinions it all seems to be the same thing they'd take him for sure yeah no and it's easy it's easy for guys like me to say it because i'm not getting paid and potentially fired so i can lean on i can lean on athletic ability and not you know really care about characters so much but i think more nfl teams will be hesitant than guys like myself who's an independent evaluator because when your job's on the line it matters a lot more so yeah yeah they. He's a guy that they're going to have to dig on, that's for sure. For sure. Let's talk about some guys that would be on the edge here.

Now, one of the guys that I really liked, and specifically for what the Colts need at the position, they need a guy coming off the edge who can get to the passer. They need a guy on the edge who can drop into coverage and be effective. My guy that I cannot get out of my head is Ty Spouser. Where would you take him if you're an edge? Let me put it this way. Where do you project him to go?

I think he's going to go anywhere between 25 and 35. I think he's going to be either a late first or an early second round pick. Really? Yeah. Is that too high or too low? No, I mean, it's just, it's higher than I've heard. I agree with you, but it's higher than I've heard from just about anybody else. I was just surprised that you said it. So I know he's, this is the thing I talked about it on the pod I was on a night or two ago. He's a total projection because he's a stacked backer, I think, but that can edge rush. Some teams may love him as a potential edge rusher.

A lot of teams may like him as a stacked backer. I'm evaluating him as somebody that can play stacked backer, Sam, and also edge rush. Similarly to what Clay Matthews has done a little bit for Green Bay the last couple of years where they've moved him around, but he's still been effective as a pass rusher. Yeah, if you like a guy that is – if you believe in athletic testing, if that matters to you, and if college production at that position doesn't matter to you, and while it's always good,

it's not a be-all and end-all for me at the edge position, then he's a guy you absolutely should look at. He's one of the more freak athletes in this class. I think the prevailing opinion on him is that he's become a riser. I've seen some of the bigger names start to talk about him in the late first. And so I don't know if he's – I don't know if 15, if the Colts would be on it that much. But going back to what we talked about, a a trade down and you want to take a guy like that, him and Redick are very, you know, they're shaped differently,

but they're both guys that have played multiple positions along the edge and linebacking spots in college. Um, and they're very invoked names at the moment. So yeah, I think Bowser's going to be a riser just because there's so few guys built like him. It's intriguing to think about what he could potentially be what what are your top five corners okay that's a great question my top five corners are uh marshall latimore um there's an asterisk besides sydney jones because he's hurt but i'm not drafting so i'm just going to go off what i know he would be my number two um garyon conley, number three.

Marshawn Lattimore, no, not Marshawn Lattimore, Marlon Humphrey, number four. And then number five, I've had a lot of back and forth, but I'm going to put Quincy Wilson in at number five. I think he's a guy that if you're playing a cover three style, I really like him. And so, yeah, there's the guys right under him like Kevin King, Tredavious White from LSU, Jadobia Woozie. There's guys after those top four,

but I'm going to put Quincy in as that fifth guy. But I think the top four are the most elite. I think there's a clear drop-off, at least for me, after those four. And Conley and Humphrey, I think think are going to go a lot earlier than people think just because of how well they test and because of how necessary the cornerback position is.

I think Lattimore is going to go very early. And once he's off the board and now that Sidney Jones is hurt, teams are going to have to recalibrate. And I think those two are going to be very enticing in the teams. I'm excited for this cornerback class. I am too. the teams. I'm excited for this cornerback class. I did a piece where I basically compared Cordrea Tankersley and another corner, I think it was out of Houston, it was Wilson out of Houston, and basically, you know, do you take this guy, you know, first, second round, or do you take him,

take Wilson in the third, or just whatever in my value i i said wilson but i really i really like tankersley as well uh the one thing that i don't like about him is his lack of willingness to tackle it just seems over i mean it's just right there big uh big red thumb almost yeah no it just yeah I just can't stand it. But other than that, as far as coverage, he's really good. And I don't want to – the one thing with Deion Sanders back in the day was always a good coverage guy, and I'm not comparing Tankers Lita to Sanders. That's not anything close to what I'm doing.

But I'm saying it's similar. He has a similar game that game that Sanders would not tackle. I always remember watching Deion Sanders going, is he going to hit anybody or not? Back then, I didn't really maybe value how good he was in coverage. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. I just was not a Deion Sanders fan,

but I just could never understand why he never tackled anybody. And I get the same thing from Tangersley. I like his technique and coverage. I like his ability to stay with the guy and stay sticky throughout the route stem at the top of the route. But what drives me nuts is that the guy just refuses to be physical tackle-wise unless the ball carrier has their back to him ultimately. He will not hit a guy straight up.

He just won't do it. But there's a lot of guys in this cornerback class that I really do like because of their physicality. Who's the guy that you think is the most physical as far as in-run support out of this whole group? And probably I'm sure that one of them is at least in your top five. Yeah, I think it's Marlon Humphrey. I love how physical he is. His biggest red flag, and it is an important one, is his downfield ability.

He gets beat. His burn rate was higher than you would like it to be. The plays he gives up are usually big plays, and that's obviously a major deficiency. But in short area, in the run game coming downhill his physicality and willingness to be physical i mean some guys can be the issue is not to be every chance he gets to lay some wood he he does it and and then i don't know what team wouldn't love that so yeah humphrey is definitely physical a mid-round guy that's super physical is Corn Elder from Miami. He's an undersized guy, but that dude doesn't pass

up a chance to dump somebody. If you like a little dog in your cornerback, Humphrey in round one or Elder in the mid-rounds are two guys to look at. Who's a guy that you think would probably be one of your best nickel corners? I really like Chidobio Woozie

a lot. I like him a whole lot. I think Gary Conley can play week one in the nickel. I know a lot of times in Green Bay they like to move one of the inside guys into nickel and then move the third corner back to the boundary or to the outside. And I think Conley can step right in and play either. Him and Owuzi are two guys that definitely the Packers are targeting at 29. And so Conley is getting a lot of hype now.

He's a little bit under the radar. So I'll give Chidobe the hype for that because I think he's an excellent guy. And in the mid-rounds, again, DeMonte Kazee from San Diego State is a guy that I think can play the nickel a little bit. So those are two guys. So who's your – I mean, time's passed since the last time we talked. So who's your underrated guy right now? Who's the guy that you're in love with that nobody else is talking about? At any position?

Yep. I really think, I really think that Chris Godwin has a chance to be a special receiver. I don't know if he is, is, is a high ceiling is Alan Robinson, his Penn State teammate from 2014, but I think Godwin has an innate ability to find the ball downfield. He tracks it really well.

It's not really winning at the catch point as much as he's just really good at tracking the football. Play after play the last couple of seasons, whether it was with Hackenberg, he actually had a better season under Hackenberg, we're living enough, or Trace McSorley, he's bailing both of those guys out, and I like him a still on your hands. Something that submitted that, it's easy for you to think something, but when your peer backs you up, Matt Harmon, who does reception perception from NFL.com, he's a huge fan of Chris Godwin. I think he has him at wide receiver three.

Matt does tremendous work. I've known him for a long time. The fact that he's on the Godwin bandwagon lets me know, hey, I'm not missing the force for the trees on this. Don't sleep on Chris Godwin. He's just getting too much talk for me to go

for him to not go into the third round, I think. I think you guys are all on to it with him. I mean, he looks like he could be, you know, and I try not to use the word special often, but I think that he definitely has the possibility to be special. And it's going to be interesting to watch a lot of these guys go.

So give me one on defense as well. Give me a guy on defense that you think is being missed. You know what? I'll give him some credit. Vince Beagle from Wisconsin is somebody that in the third round, I think, is severely overlooked. He didn't even make inside the pylons top 100, and that was the thing that I probably regret most about the guide,

is that we didn't fight for him more to get him in the top 100 because he tested extremely well. I think with his size, I mean, he can play a 34 outside linebacker, but Justice Mosqueda, who's also a Packers fan, I've talked with him a lot. He thinks that he can play that Clay Matthews role again where he plays inside some, he plays outside some. He's 24

years old. He's a technician. Extremely hard working edge player. He's not just a guy that wins with hashtag grit. He's actually extremely athletic. He's a guy that will go a lot lower than he's actually extremely athletic and he's a guy that will go a lot lower than he should go because of all the edge players in this class but somebody's going to get a real um a real nice find in in the mid rounds whether that be round three or round

four i think he's gonna be a star of the league so vince beagle is is somebody that's it's probably underappreciated very interesting uh i liked him as well. But like you said, I think he fits in that mid-round area as well. And finally, I've got to ask, what are your thoughts on TJ Watt? I'm a huge, huge fan of him. I'm such a big fan that he's my number four rated edge player in this class behind Myles Garrett, Solomon Thomas, and Derek Rivers. I think you could play him at 43 Sam. I think he could be a 43 outside linebacker.

But post-combine, seeing how athletic he actually is and it's special, I think he's a 34 outside linebacker and could even play 43 defensive end. I know the Cowboys have done extensive work on him, it seems. So it seems like some of these 43 teams are starting to look at him maybe as a defensive end. I'm a huge fan. And on my personal board, I would be okay with taking him in the teens.

So New Orleans at 11. Let's see. Arizona at 13. They could use a couple of guys. And even the Colts at 15. I mean, if they get pigeonholed there, I think T.J. Watt could make all the difference in the world for that edge group. So I'm a huge fan of him. I think he's in the 240s right now,

and I heard Greg Cosell say that he thought that he could, because of his body type, that he could go up to as high as 260, 265. Do you believe that too? He could probably put on some weight. I mean, his combine weight is 252, but he's got 33 and a half inch arms 11 inch hands he's got a you know a true six four and a half frame so he's got the frame to probably put on a little bit more weight um without losing that explosiveness and so yeah absolutely i mean these guys are going to gain weight regardless just because of being on the nfl program and their body developing into their mid-20s but yeah I think he can athletically hold you know six seven

more pounds so I agree man that's cool I I watching him I I thought that he was thin it seemed like he just wasn't um just didn't have the mass I guess to really uh be effective when I first started watching him as I started watching him you see him and you see, well, if he could put some of that weight on, just a little bit even, like you said, he's going to gain five to eight pounds in the first two to three months after he's drafted just from, like you said, the diet and everything else that they have these guys on. But, man, I don't think I'm as high on him.

In fact, I know I'm not as high on him in fact i know i'm not as high on him as others are yeah i don't think that the colts would miss uh by taking him at 15 either so uh he's he's a very interesting guy i'd like to see obviously you'd like to see his his path through the league and hope that it just comes somewhere close to uh to what everybody else is talking about as far as their projections for him. Sure, sure. Man, Shane, thank you again, dude, for stopping by. Fantastic stuff.

You guys did an awesome job on this Inside the Pylon draft guide. It was fantastic. Yeah. Some lucky listener is going to be very happy to get that from you guys or, well, get that from the show. Sure. I mean, you guys have done fantastic work. You always do.

Thank you for stopping by, man. It was great to talk to you again. Absolutely, man. You can find me on Twitter at Alexander1Great. There's the plug. And anytime you want me to come on, just let me know. It's always fun. Absolutely.

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