Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 4/22/19: Frank Clark Rumors + AFC South Breakdown with Matt Williamson of Locked On NFL

Episode Date: April 22, 2019

Are the Colts going to pull off a draft week stunner by acquiring 25-year-old EDGE rusher Frank Clark from Seattle? According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Colts and Chiefs are the top suitors for Clark.First off, is Clark worth the No. 26 pick? Matt and I analyze that before diving into Clark's profile on and off the field. With the Colts' cap space and a connection between Clark and Assistant GM Ed Dodds, Matt believes Indianapolis could have their best pass rush since the Freeney/Mathis days pairing him with Justin Houston.Being a former scout for Pittsburgh and Cleveland, I asked Matt about traits he looks for in prospects along with how to navigate through smokescreen season.Finally, we close things out with an AFC South whip around. The Colts are the heavy favorites, but how does Houston, Jacksonville and Tennessee currently stack up? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today, as always, your host, Evan Sutter, joined by a returning special guest today, Matt Williamson, over at Locked On Network. Matt, how are you doing today? I am fantastic. How are you? It's been quite the joint effort lately here on the Locked On Network after last week's crazy mock draft that was very, very successful. And now we're going to do a little Colt talk, a little crossover episode. Yeah, definitely. And there's a lot of rumors going around. And now we're going to do a little kind of surprised me a little bit to sign Justin Houston, but when you see their roster, they only have young guys like Kamoko Ture,

you have Tyquan Lewis as well, really no depth behind Justin Houston. You also see a team like Kansas City, also the New York Jets, but according to the Minish Meta about an hour ago, he tweeted out that the Jets are not interested in Frank Clark. So really, it's down to two former Kansas State Chiefs executives, the current Chiefs GM, Brad Beach, and the former Chiefs Player Personnel Director, Chris Bowers, now the Colts GM. It's like those two guys, those two teams are down to the wire as far as Frank Clark goes. What do you think about this whole Frank Clark situation that's going on right now?

It's really interesting, and I've also heard the Bills. I would have to think that they would be a distant third. I mean, a team like the Chiefs and the Colts make a ton more sense. Let's kind of ignore the Bills for a second because I don't think that's going to happen. And you mentioned the Jets are probably out of it, despite that being a massive need for them as an edge guy. Kansas City, obviously they were in a lot of shootouts. I expect them to be in a lot of shootouts going forward. Really good offense. Defense was highly suspect last year. But at least Kansas City had a very good pass rush, particularly at home. And they have a great home field advantage for a pass rushing situation with all the noise and a difficult place to play. And as a result, their defense made a lot of big plays.

And therefore, Kansas City ended up being one of the best teams in the league. And if Dee Ford lines up on sides, it might have been Super Bowl champ. You know, I mean, they were that close. I think the Colts are trending that direction. And my initial thoughts when the Colts were linked to Clark was the Manning days. You know, there was a lot of first-round picks around Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, Anthony Gonzalez, Edge James, Wayne Harrison. I mean, there's a long list of big-time, talented, skilled guys around a stud quarterback,

and the defense was kind of a revolving door back then, with the exception of two dudes. You know, it was Freeney and Mathis playing in a dome in a lot of high-scoring games, getting off the ball with good field conditions and a loud building. I think having two edge guys is really important to this franchise. And the offense isn't built the same as it was in the Manning days. And, you know, Luck's a great player. But, I mean, it doesn't mean they're going to drop 40 on every team every week either.

But I do think having two stalwart edge defenders is a really nice luxury for this Colts team. And obviously we'll talk about it further. But the only question I have is, I mean, they obviously have the money to fit him in. He's expensive. He's a great player. But there were, and I stress were, character concerns with Clark coming out of Michigan. And that's why he was not in earlier draft pick. Are those behind him?

And I only bring this up for the Colts because I really feel like they're in it for the long game. That it's a long, slow build. They're not making hasty decisions. They're not putting together an all-star team. They want the right culture, starting with luck in an offensive line and some very valuable pieces around them. And I hope that everything, the character stuff is behind Clark and that he's not a problem. Yeah, I agree with you there. I think you see the production on the field of Frank Clark, the last three seasons, he's a four-year pro, 10 sacks,

nine sacks, and then last year, 13 sacks career high for Frank Clark. You mentioned the off-the-field stuff. You're a former scout, Matt. How does that play into it? Because you see a guy who produces so well in the field, but you have, especially a guy who's 25 years old and Frank Clark, it's going to cost, I think, probably a first-round pick.

I imagine Kansas City and the Colts probably going to have to decide between 26 and 29, whichever they want to do, because it seems like that's what Seattle's holding out for. But just from an on-field standpoint, when you see his character as well, how do you really just manage those two sides of it? Because it's a really interesting discussion. It is, and obviously it's a case-by-case basis, and obviously it's a team-by-team situation.

Some teams, the Browns come to mind right now are very very tolerant of guys that have have a major indiscretion and you look at that two ways I mean either they're not that concerned you know if you can play you can play or boy they're really forgiving and they want to give guys a second chance I mean it depends which half full way you want to look at half empty half fullfull way you want to look at it, half-empty, half-full, which way you want to look at it. But, I mean, Clark, from what I recall, and maybe correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he's had any incidents since joining the league. And that's a pretty substantial amount of time. I'm sure a lot of people know him and both these organizations that are competing for his services have really good sources or have met with them or know him personally or certainly have really good communication with his agent.

What kind of person is he now? Was he just young and made some dumb mistakes, as many of us have? Or does he have issues that we really need to worry about? So I'm not avoiding your question, but more than most acquisitions, I mean, it's enough to just look at it and say, wow, we're going to lose our first-round pick for this guy and a huge chunk of cap space and probably a long-term contract. You're not renting him for one year if it's going to cost you the first-round pick.

And we're not sure if he's a good dude or not. You know what I mean? It's just one more thing in addition to all the other costs it is to Adam, but that's the price of doing business. I mean, the Cowboys basically did the same thing with Lawrence and Ed Rusher that they extended, who's in their building, who they now know, who they trust, who's a great player. Kind of a similar deal. Yeah, I'm right there with you. And you see the numbers that Tank Lawrence put up, and especially the contract extension he got. It's around $20 million per year.

I imagine Frank Clark will be around $18 million, $20 million per year as well. But I don't know if you know this, Matt, but I was just doing some digging earlier today about the Colts and just the Frank Clark connection. And Ed Dodds, the assistant GM of the Annapolis Colts, was the one in Seattle who helped them select Frank Clark. And according to the story I found on the Washington Post, Ed Dodds back then during the 2014 draft, 2015 draft,

was with Frank Clark for four to five days, and he was the last call as far as if they can actually trust this guy or not. So do you think if Ed Dodds, who's the assistant GM now for the Colts, is pounding the tail for a guy like Frank Clark, that has to give Chris Bauer more trust in him as a person, you think? I didn't know that at all. That's great information. And, I mean, those are the types of things the people in the buildings know.

I mean, those are the relationships that are built. That's a great source. You know, the Colts GM in front office is very bright. Obviously, they're doing their due diligence, and having someone that was as close to Clark at that time when there were even more concerns about him is a really valuable tool. Just to give some people an idea, I spent that year with the Browns, and that was the year Braylon Edwards came out. He was our first pick overall, or he was our first pick, third overall, highest guy on our board. But there was maybe 50 guys that we did background checks on.

I mean, when I say background checks, I mean unbelievably extensive background checks, not like when you and I get hired for a job type of background checks. And we had guys on our staff. If you go to my Twitter feed, there's a picture of me shaking hands with President George W. Bush. And it has nothing to do with Bush, but there were people, the owner of the Browns was friends or somehow related as a donor or whatever to the Bush family. And we had people from Mr. Bush's staff on our staff to do background checks and security, like some of the best people in the world.

And every team has those type of people finding out all the dirt on these guys. That doesn't mean they're going to be wonderful people or it's going to work out, but they have unbelievable resources, my point here. Yeah, absolutely. And you see just how nowadays they go into everything as far as psychoanalysis, like really every angle possible that teams dive in on prospects nowadays. But before I let you go, as far as the Frank Clark discussion goes, Matt, we're going to dive into some draft talk here in a minute.

What's your prediction as far as what's going to happen with Frank Clark in this situation? Because it seems like it's going to really wrap up here before the draft starts on Thursday. Do you think he's going to be a Cole or a Chief or do you think somewhere else? Good question. I do think that is a two-horse race. I mean, I don't think it's as smart for the Bills.

What we didn't touch on, though, and I just want my audience to kind of glance over this too, is it's going to leave Seattle really light. I mean, Seattle was a playoff team last year, and I don't think they have playoff talent, and maybe they realize that, but they've been so dependent on great front-line play and great pass rush, going back

to Averill Bennett, all those guys when they were in their heyday, their cupboard is going to be really bare. So, I think it says a lot about what Seattle thinks of themselves, even though they just re-signed Russell Wilson to a long-term deal and got into the playoffs despite not being a really deep and talented team. Ooh, Chiefs or Colts?

I kind of lean towards the Chiefs just because I think they're a little more desperate at that position, and I think they're, for better or worse, I don't mean this as a compliment, I think they're the more aggressive of the front offices. You know, they may pay.10 on the dollar, where I don't know if the Colts will do that, if it comes down to throwing in an extra third-round pick or something like that. So if I had to put a chip down, I think I'd take the Chiefs, but not in a landslide. Let me ask you this, just one more point here on Frank Clark, since we're on the topic of it.

Do you think he's worth the 26th overall pick in this draft? Because I know maybe some prospects like Clunan, Farrell, Clemson, Montez, Sweat with his heart condition might still be 26. Do you think Frank Clark with his production already and his off-the-field stuff is worth the price for the 26th overall pick? I can't comment on the person. I mean, I'm not friends with him. I don't know anyone that knows him. But if that stuff checks out, and my hunch is it does, or the Colts wouldn't be involved. They've already done that before they start talking compensation. I say yes because I think he's 25. Is that correct? He's

25 years old. So I kind of feel like, especially with the Colts cap situation being so friendly, that I would rather have the bird in the hand and both these teams are contenders. And those guys you mentioned are fine, but I don't know that, I mean, my hunch is neither or anyone in that neighborhood is ever going to approach the perennial Pro Bowl level

of where Clark is now, let alone the help he's going to give you this year, next year while those guys are developing. So, yeah, I do think that's – yeah, I mean, I think the first-round pick is worthy. But I will admit, when I read the first blurbs from Schefter or Roto World or wherever I saw them was, you know, we want a first-round pick and then some. Or when they were talking to the Jets, they went number three. My initial thoughts were, man, that's rich. You know, just looking at what Odell and

Antonio Brown and a lot of veterans have gone for on the market, I thought that was asking quite a bit. But the more I think about it, if I'm in the Colts room right now or the Chiefs, yeah, I'll give you that pretty late first round pick for him. He's that good. Yeah, I agree there. I think if he checks out personally, like you said, Matt, we don't know the person, so really hard to judge on that, but if he does check out the boxes, but on really all angles there, I think it makes a lot of sense

for the Colts. I've seen a lot of Colts fans kind of against it for many reasons, but we'll go to our next topic here, Matt, which is the NFL draft. We're going to dive in a little bit to that. I'll also get on the division later on in the show. Let me ask you this because we already had on your point about being a former NFL scout. And I'm just curious about this just from your own personal biases or your personal standpoint. What are the traits that you looked for when you were a scout and even nowadays that really that you value more than others?

Well, it's obviously position dependent. I mean, there's no question about that. I do think things that are hard to judge, competitiveness, toughness, you know, their love for the game are really difficult to figure out. But I also think that's what makes good scouts, good talent evaluators, good front offices as opposed to not so great ones, and that's difficult to do. And I'll tell another quick story because i kind of fell victim to this i mean i was at pit for three years and our biggest rival at the time was w wvu went to akron for a short stretch and then i was at the browns so when i was at the browns and i went into wvu um i had all kinds of people that were

like hey go talk to this guy go talk to this guy, go talk to this guy, through my pitch sources. So I had in that building, much more as a new scout, people I trusted than when I went to most schools. And I talked to five, six, seven people on staff, including, you know, I mean, lunch ladies and weight room people and not just, you know, director of football ops type of guys. And everyone in that organization said, don't trust Chris Henry, you know, the wide receiver. You know, he's not somebody you want on your team. But Pac-Man Jones can marry my daughter. You know, I mean, so when I wrote Pac-Man Jones up,

it was glaring reports of this is a high-character guy. This is somebody you trust with your kids. And we know how that turned out. I mean, it's a lot different when you get a big check with a big signing bonus and a lot of people are hands out and some things come out. And so that's hard. I mean, I screwed that up on my reports. If you go back and read the Browns report from Pac-Man Jones,

you'll see Williamson declaring reports on Pac-Man Jones. So I think those things can't be ignored. report from Pac-Man Jones, you'll see Williamson declaring reports on Pac-Man Jones, you know. And so I think those things can't be ignored. And again, this goes back to the Colts. And I also urge everyone to read Michael Lombardi's book that's out. A big thing that he really talks about with a team building person, or two things, is building a team, not assembling the best players. And Belichick really, really exemplifies that. And building a culture. And I think the Colts have done a wonderful job of building a culture. And that goes back to our former conversation of,

I hope Clark doesn't rock that boat. I hope they're not getting the short-term fix and messing up the culture in the process. Yeah, it's really going to be interesting how that all lays out. It's really good stuff there as far as the Patman Jones stuff. I never even knew about that. It's crazy just how some people can lead you on a different way just to help out someone else.

And really, it's nowadays with agents and all these other guys, it seems like really it happens on an everyday process with almost every team. And you have to sort out through all the weeds and see what's actually true or not. But let's move on here. And real quick on that, and this kind of goes back to my experience at the time. You know, like I'm close to the Steelers now, and they have a handful of scouts that have been going in the same colleges for so many years, you know, that they bring these guys donuts

and know the secretary's husband's names and what their favorite lunch is. And they just – the experiences and the sources if you go into Auburn over and over and over and someone will kind of wink you and say don't take this kid or you know I mean those things are extremely valuable and that's where experience comes in yeah it really does and you just think about the experience and really the lack of experience for some scouts as well. I mean, you saw what the Raiders this week. It's a cycle business. It really goes in and out.

A lot of turnover really every year with the draft process. But really interesting general draft question. And on your map, before we go into some AFC South, some Colts draft discussion, with smokescreen season, I feel like this is really the prime smokescreen season where you're seeing so many reports out today and really over the next 24, 72 hours that might not be true, might be true. How do you sort through that just right now as a – really from not only your scouting side of things, but also just where you are now in your media perch?

How do you just sort through smoke screen season? Because for me, it's just so difficult to see what's even true right now or not. Yeah. I mean, I talk about this a lot, and I actually had a really good conversation before I did the week-long mock draft with Mike Sando. He's a good friend of mine from ESPN, big-time reporter, great dude. Every Thursday he's on my show, Locked on NFL, and we had a really great talk about this.

I'm like, Mike, how do you do your job this time of year? I mean, being a reporter, digging up dirt, and he's like, I hate this time of year. He's like, this three weeks going into the draft is basically the worst time of year for me. And I totally agree with him because I don't believe a thing. I mean, I say this year-round that there's only two times when I really believe NFL teams 100% aren't lying to us, and that's draft day and in free agency. You know, where are you using your resources, your money, your high draft picks to help your team?

And if you're smart enough and you've been doing this as long as many of us have, you can read through the tea leaves and be like, wow, they really don't trust this backup guard. You know, like you can see why teams do it and contracts that are coming up and big picture. But this time of year, I don't trust any of it. I really think that, because first of all, for those that don't realize, I wrote a really good article for Big Blue View very much on this, so check my timeline for that at Williamson NFL.

But most of the, quote, sources, they're in lockdown. They're putting together draft boards. I mean, maybe not this late, but certainly these last couple weeks. I mean, they are really building boards. They don't have free time. Maybe if they're leaking things, it's for all the wrong reasons, even if it's the most trusted source. And a lot of these buildings, I mean, New England in particular,

there's only one, two people that even know the answers anyways. So some linebacker coach could be telling you, yeah, we love this guy. And he might, but that doesn't mean Belichick has any intention to taking him. Yeah, and just from a Colts standpoint, we had Chris Ballack's press conference day before the draft, and he was definitely tiptoeing along some lines about maybe we're going to pick Thursday, maybe not, maybe we're going to trade back. It's just you have to sort through and really just get a needle in the haystack about what is really true nowadays.

But let's go into our draft. And they have to adapt on the fly, too, especially with the late picks. They don't know who's going to be there. Oh, absolutely, yeah. And even for the Colts at 26 as well, I mean, we even saw a couple years ago, I think they had Malik Hooker as a top 10 player, and he fell in at 15. So you really don't know what's going to happen until you're on the clock there. But for our lock on NFL mock draft, man, I had the Colts looking Jonathan Abram,

the strong safety out of Mississippi State. I know you're – I went for it mostly just because of culture reasons and, like, culture building in Annapolis. I know you were more as far as the front seven goes. I'm right there with you as well. I get Christian Wilkins is there, Jerry Tillery, Jeffrey Simmons. Who do you think are the best options for the Colts? Not even position overall.

You don't have to focus on the front seven if you don't want to. Who do you think are really the best options for them at 26? Yeah, I'd be honest with you. I didn't love your Abram pick, but I think I said basically what you just did was, boy, he really fits the culture. He's going to show up. I mean, he's going to make a lot of plays. I just thought it was a little early for the player,

considering he's not a great test athlete and not a tremendous speed player. But he's obviously a lot different than Hooker, who you mentioned. So that makes some sense, too. I do think, assuming they don't land Clark, I would love some sort of defensive lineman. Some edge guys you mentioned a few segments ago. The more I, again, this goes back to not believing anything, but I don't think Wilkins will be there. I think there's a lot of teams in the top 15 that will look at him as a very, very safe pick. I don't think he'll be available.

I don't know that they would want a Dexter Lawrence type. Tillery, to me, would be really exciting, though. I like that pick a lot. What do you think about Jeffrey Simmons? Because I feel like I was actually listening to Adam Schefter's podcast today, and they mentioned really out of the blue that Jeffrey Simmons is off a lot of teams' boards just because of what happened in the past. What do you think about just his on-field production?

Because I think he's a top-, top ten player in this draft. And if he's there at 26, I feel like the Colts are one of those teams that can actually afford to have the luxury pick of Simmons because they have already some depth on their defensive line. I mean, clearly he has two massive red flags. I mean, injury and character. But I also don't – I mean, I hate playing doctor on the air, but those injuries aren't what they were back when I was a kid.

You know, that's not a career-threatening injury. He'll be back, and at least 99% chance he'll be the player he was. But like you mentioned, I mean, just as a player, if he were clean, I think he's in conversation for third to the Jets, you know, fourth to the Raiders. So if you can get that type of player and you're fine with the person and you don't mind waiting a year, I don't have any problems with that. I mean, every time I talk about him, I always talk about those two Raiders picks late in the first.

I mean, if I was Mayock and Gruden, Simmons would be one of those two picks for me if I could make it happen because you're not winning the Super Bowls this year. You can redshirt him. Who cares? And it's such a need and it's such a value a year from now. I wouldn't let him get past that neighborhood. But the Colts make sense.

I mean, it's not a win-now move, obviously, but it could really pay off. He's a great player. Let's flip to the other side of the ball real quick just to hit on a couple of wide receivers that I'm really intrigued by, and that's Marquise Hollywood Brown and DK Metcalf, both guys who seem to be in the Colts' range. Not surprising. They're kind of slipping on some boards right now,

and really neither one is guaranteed to go around one. Even though they did sign Devin Fuchs to a one-year deal, they have T.Y. Hilton still, even though he is turning 30 years old this year. Do you think maybe selecting a guy like a DK Metcalf, a Marquise Brown, even an A.J. Brown makes sense, even at 26? Yeah, I have no problem with that at all. Quick notes on their receiving core. I want Colts fans to look at Funchess.

I know some people are probably scratching their head, like, what's that all about? I mean, the reality is him and Eric Ebron are almost the same guy. I mean, don't think of him as compared to T.Y. Hilton and compared to A.J. Green. Compare him to Eric Ebron or Evan Ingram. I mean, that's really what you're getting there. And Luck has used those type of guys extremely well going back to Stanford. So he's much more Eric Ebron than he is T.Y. Hilton. I still like Deion Kane. I don't know what your thoughts are on Kane, but I think he could still have a lot of value to this team. But if I were to go wide out, I would prefer an outside the numbers fast guy. I mean, the guys you mentioned there, Brown and Metcalf on that turf, good field conditions, stretch the

field, considering Hilton's age. I like that a lot. And I know they're supposedly falling. I'm not sure if I believe Metcalf's falling. I mean, he's just too freaky for his trump card. I mean, for what he does, there's few that we've seen that fit his profile. And Brown's kind of the same way, too. I mean, he has Tyreek Hill's leg speed. I mean, scare the pants off you type speed. Those guys don't fall all that much.

I know he's dinged up, but it's not like, boy, we didn't get a 40 on Marquise Brown. We're not sure if he's fast enough. Yeah, to be honest, it feels kind of like a smokescreen thing again. I feel like both of them end up going in the top 20. I feel like Marquise Brown might go before DK Metcalf, but I think both those guys are definitely off the board for 26. But either way, I think it's an interesting position for the Colts to look at as wide receiver either on day one or day two.

There's a lot of them on day two, and Marquise Brown, to me, if I'm the Titans at 19, they desperately need speed. There's a lot of landing spots for those guys. Speaking of the AFC South, glad you brought the Tennessee Titans there, because we're going to segue over to our final segment here, talking about the AFC South, just whipping around your thoughts

on that. How do you think the Colts stack up in the AFC South? Because they haven't won division titles since 2014, and it feels like this may be the first time in four or five years they're finally going to be in the driver's seat to get one. Yeah, and my question to you, first of all, I'm going to pick the Colts to win the division. I mean, whether they land Clark or not, I might pick them to win the Super Bowl. I don't know that yet.

You know, I mean, I'm very, very high in this organization. I've been smitten with Andrew Lux since day one. I like the coaching staff. I love the line. I mean, a lot of good things with the Colts. But which team do you fear the most in the division? That's a really good question. I think right now, especially with the Nick Foles sign, I think I've got to go with Jacksonville.

Really? I was going to say they were my last on my list. Just because I don't trust the offense still. You know, I don't see a lot of weaponry there. I hope they go get a Hawkinson or somebody like that for their sake, but I just think they're a little bit stuck in the 80s with Fournette and the cloud of dust, but they're the most recently removed from being the most dangerous for sure just one year ago at this time.

Yeah, just because when you see the Colts-Jaguars game last year, just still ingrained in my head was when they were on that winning streak, I think they won eight in a row at that point. Then they go in the Jacks from December. Then they get shut out 6-0. And that's like, whoa. Like, you see those games once or twice a year or so where the Jaguars' defense is very elite.

And I think if they have a quarterback like Nick Foles, like you said, get a guy like T.J. Hawkinson in there as well. I feel like they're well on their way, I think, to competing with a team like Houston as far as second place in the NFC South goes. Yeah, I mean, I could see from a Colts perspective that Jacksonville's the team most likely to push you around, you know, on both sides of the ball. I mean, or make you play their style of game, you know, which nobody wants to do. I could certainly see that.

And without question, I'm not a Foles fan, but the offense is going to be better. I mean, it's definitely going to be better. They got hit so hard with injury in Jacksonville on the line. The quarterback play was terrible. It has to go up. Yeah, I agree with you there. And it's going to be interesting to see what happens with that team because there's so much drama swirling around them already with the workouts and Jalen Ramsey, Telvin Smith. Are they going to show up or not? Tom Coughlin's news about that. Not a good look for them, though.

But let's go to our next team, the Tennessee Titans, for me. I feel like, for me, they're the last team in the AFC South right now just because their quarterback situation is such in flux right now. I mean, you have Marcus Mariota. You have Ryan Tannehill. I think Mariota is obviously the starter long-term right now, but if he doesn't have a good year, Matt, I feel like they could be in a position where if they really want to, they could take a quarterback in next year's draft. Yeah, and I mention this on my show a lot because I'm still a Mariota believer, and that limb's a lot weaker now. You know, that ship's taking some water. You know, that eventually you've got to put up or shut up in this league. And I often use this metaphor that if I was Mariota's defense attorney or if I was his prosecuting attorney, I could make very strong cases both ways.

Well, he's been injured. He's had a lot of different staffs. He's had a lot of systems he's had to learn. They haven't surrounded him with the right type of talent. And those cases are really strong. But sometimes I don't want to hear it anymore. You know, this league's not for long. You need to step up, be the man, and take control of your team

because I can't give you time and time again. And that's why they added Tannehill. So I'm still a Mariota believer, so I'm probably a little higher on the Titans than you are. But, again, that limb's getting a little shaky. Yeah, for sure. And you see, like you mentioned, I think if Mariota has to have a good year, and when you think about it,

they can win at least nine or ten games if Mariota is safe. But if they have a down year, I feel like they're really in a position where they could be a surprise team for like a two attack. I'll buy a little next year. If they're really that bad, I don't think they will be, but interesting team nonetheless to fall for that situation.

But I think the last team on our list and arguably the most interesting one from the cold standpoint, because they've won a division last year is the Houston Texans. Deshaun, what that really hit too much last year, the offensive line, I imagine is going to be the top part of the draft. How do you see Houston shaking things out? Because I think they're a top contender right now, I think, for the Colts. Yeah, I would think so. Like O'Brien

or not, he always gets that team to 8, 9, 10 wins, often with horrible quarterbacks over the years. I mean, horrible guys. Schaub and guys like that. And my listeners know that when we were at this stage of Deshaun Watson's draft process, I was not a believer. I had him as like my fourth quarterback that year, but I am now. I mean, I really, I think Colts fans should fear him. I mean, and I would imagine all your listeners imagine all your listeners agree that if anyone in the division can take a game over

and beat the Colts, it's Watson and maybe Watt. The star power on that team is frightening. Kind of like we talked about with the Jags, I have to think the offensive line isn't the worst in the league at least. It has to be a little bit better. And, you know, they have New Hopkins. They have star power. They have a coach that at least gets them the competitive land every year. And they have a big-time quarterback in the making, I think.

So, yeah, they're scary. But their deficiencies are also pretty deficient. You know, I mean, how good are they really at tight end, running back, offensive line, corner? Like, they have a lot of problem areas, too. Let me ask you this question on Houston, because I think this topic is one that hasn't really been touched on much, but it's kind of an interesting news segment that's still floating around,

and that's Jadeveon Clowney. He got signed to the franchise tag, but it seem like a really far-reaching extension. Do you see any possibility that Jadavion Clowney has traded in this offseason? Probably not, but that is a good question. He isn't the same as Lawrence or Clark or Justin Houston. He's not an edge bender. He's not a Von Miller, Sillowy athlete.

I mean, he's not a good three-cone guy, the one-from-your-edge guys. I mean, he's not a bender. He's very powerful, and he has long strides and long arms, and they use him really well. And if he went somewhere else and was just asked to come off the edge and as a speedball I think that would be a big problem but I think that that staff mostly Romeo Cornell I mean really understand how to use him they'll line them up on the inside a lot get them against guards coming downhill so I think the fit between team and player is a good one right now. And again,

it's kind of being a bind without him. Yeah, it's going to be one of the more, the class situation I think is an underrated winner now because I feel like he's kind of overrated in some aspects. I know he was number one pick out of South Carolina. He had freakish plays, but he hasn't produced that number one pick level, I think just yet, maybe next year's career, so to say, but before I let you go, Matt,

the Annapolis Colts might as well hail them with the AFC South whip around right now. What's your main takeaway right now for the Colts? I mean, this is a shortcut, but, and your audience knows this, but luck is just so good and he's so steady and so trustworthy, and I think that goes now to GM and coach and then line.

You have those things in place. I mean, maybe more so than any team in the league, including the Browns, including some of these top teams, quote, I think the Colts are set up for long-term success as well as Kansas City or Cleveland or anyone, maybe better than anyone, for the next five, ten years. Yeah, it's super exciting times here in Indianapolis. And as a Colts fan, it's definitely exciting times around here. And Matt, I appreciate the time as always. Before I let you go here, I know you had the Colts as the first in the AFC South,

but how do you have the final three teams shaken out as far as before the draft goes? I'd probably go Houston, Tennessee, but that's close. That's probably a coin flip for me, and Jacksonville would be fourth. Very fun stuff, Matt. I know our listeners probably know where to find you at, but if they don't

listen to the Locked On NFL show just here, haven't subscribed yet, please go and do so, but Matt, if you want to tell them a little bit about the Locked On NFL show before I, haven't subscribed yet, please go and do so. But, Matthew, want to tell them a little bit about the Locked On NFL show before I let you go? Yeah, please do. I mean, please start. Certainly, the Locked On NFL podcast, every day we come at you. And check me out on Twitter, at WilliamsonNFL.

I write for a variety of different spots. And I have a Steelers – I work for Steelers Nation Radio. I'll be in the Steelers facility all during the draft. So, stay in busy. And happy draft week facility all during the draft. Staying busy. Happy draft week to all. Awesome. This is really fun, Matt. I appreciate coming on on short notice. We'll see how the draft bears out. Have a happy draft season. Appreciate it.