Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 5/28/19: Mailbag 2.0

Episode Date: May 29, 2019

Thanks to all of the listeners for a great turnout with our second installment of the LOC mailbag! Ranging from Twitter to r/Colts, all of your questions are answered.Many were wondering about the pursuit of Gerald McCoy. Would you be willing to go above $11 million per year for a rotational piece? McCoy would be more so a luxury, but would make the Colts' defense even more formidable.How about the skill positions on both sides of the ball? We dive deep on the WR and DB groups, and how many Indianapolis may keep on the roster. Will the Colts only keep five WRs?Chris Ballard really hasn't made much missteps yet, but which ones stand out? The 2017 draft class featuring Zach Banner and Tarrell Basham takes the cake, but he replaced them with Braden Smith and Ben Banogu so he's doing alright.All of this, plus much more, are featured in Mailbag 2.0. Tune in to hear your questions answered! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back in to Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today, as always, your host, Evan Sidery, and we're going to talk about a lot of stuff for you today. We're going to first hit on Gerald McCoy. There's a lot of interesting news going around around the Bucks defensive tackle who was released last week. It seems like a feeding frenzy of sorts around the market right now. The Colts are involved in that, according to Mike Chappell of Fox 59. They're one of the teams that are interested in Gerald McCoy, along with about five or six other teams. According to reports, McCoy is actually visiting the Baltimore Ravens today. He visited the

Cleveland Browns over the weekend, so it's going to be a little bit, I believe, until we hear more about Jerry McCoy, but we'll talk more about him in just a minute. We're also going to go into Mailbag 2.0. We did a Mailbag, I believe, last month before the draft. It was a lot of fun with you guys. We're going to actually do a lot different this time. We're going to add in with Twitter over on at LockedOnColts. If you guys haven't followed over on Twitter, please do so. Helps us a lot over there. Also gives us a five-star review on iTunes you enjoy or are listening to.

Also, we're going to add in rColts, which is the subreddit over on reddit.com of the Colts community. I love what they do over on rColts. I post my podcasts over there. So we're going to merge both of our questions here from our Twitter followers and our Reddit followers. So we're going to do a big mailbag to close things out. But I want to talk first about Gerald McCoy because obviously I think he's one of the bigger names on the market now since free age. He's been gone for the past few months. The Bucks didn't want to pay him $13

million for the final year of his contract. They instead signed a Dominican suit for about $3 or $4 million less, which I found a little bit peculiar and interesting, but neither here nor there. But I think Jarrell McCoy, if we're talking about Colts fits, I tweeted this in the Lockdown Colts account last week. I mean, just think about the possibilities with him alongside Danico Autry, alongside Justin Houston and Jabal Sheard. That's a very fearsome foursome right there.

And I feel like that'd be a really great quartet on the front line, but the more I've actually thought about the last three or four days, I think the Colts are actually fine if they don't get Jerome McCoy, because if you look at the depth they have behind those guys, we mentioned Autry, we mentioned Justin Houston, we mentioned Jabal Sheard, but we also have guys like Tyquan Lewis, we have guys like Marcus Hunt on the back end, we have also some more guys, really Jahad Ward as well, Grover Stewart, even Al-Qadi Mohammed. The defensive line, the defense has been a long time. They can go about seven to eight deep on that front, especially in the interior, they go about four to five deep. McCoy would really just be a luxury signing, in my opinion, because the more I think about it, why pay $11 million for a rotation guy?

That's what it's going to be, between $11 million to $13 million for Jerome McCoy. That's what the Browns reported they were offering him, and he said no. He's going to keep testing the market with Baltimore today. We'll see where he lands after that. But would you be willing to pay $11 million to $13 million for a guy who's going to be a rotational piece? I know they did kind of the same with Justin Houston. It was at $12 million. I think that's probably the Colts' limit would be $12 million.

But is Chris Ballard willing to spend that? I know he's very smart with Justin Houston. It was at $12 million. I think that's probably the Colts' limit would be $12 million. But it's Chris Ballard wanting to spend that. I know he's very smart with his money. He has the Colts set with almost $100 million to cast this again for next year with only three picks on top 65. But Gerald McCoy, I mean, he talked about to multiple reports in ESPN that he wants to go to a contender. He doesn't care about anything else except winning at this point. And if he cares only about winning, I mean, why not consider the Colts at that point?

Because if you look at their roster, if you look at their team, it's the D.B.S. has been in the Andrew Luck era. I think Jerome McCoy would be a big step in helping there. A guy, the more I think about it, guys, just imagine a pass rushing one tech, three tech in there with McCoy and Autry. You have Sheard as the run setter on the edge.

You have Houston pinning his ears back and just focusing on rushing the passer. You have Ben Banigou subbing in, Kamoko Ture subbing in. It would be a lot of fun if you had Jerome McCoy into that mix, to be honest. But I want to hear your guys' thoughts because we're going to cover, I believe, in the mailbag. But let me know in the comments or wherever you're listening at. Let me know on iTunes in the reviews if you want to chime in over there. Do you guys want to sign Jerome McCoy?

Because if it's above $11 million to $12 million, I'm not really for it. But if it's in the range of $11 million, I really don't mind it because the Colts still have the most cap space in the NFL of any team by far. Chris Ballard's done a great job this offseason really conserving that money for next year or an extension. The guys are going to be up like Ante Costanzo, Kenny Moore, Eric Ebron, Jack Doyle, Ryan Kelly. There's a lot of guys that are going to need extension in the next 365 days. And I think McCoy wouldn't really affect that at all.

It's a one-year deal. But we'll see about that. He's 31 years old. Like I say, he'd be a rotational piece in here. He would not be a full-time starter. I mean, he'd be a starter, but he wouldn't be a guy who plays every single snap, so to say. So let me know your thoughts on Jarrell McCoy. We're going to dive into the mailbag, though, because I find a lot of awesome questions

from you guys. We have around 15 to 20 questions we're going to hit on really quickly throughout this podcast. And we're going to start off with a Twitter account, at LockedOnColts. And over, our first question is from Robbie Gibbons, at Robbie Gibbons. How are you doing today, Robbie? And he asks, which unit improved the most this offseason and why? And also, give us three Colts trying to break out and make the leap in 2019. For me, I think the unit that improved the most is honestly wide receiver.

Because if you think about it, midway point of last season, you had Dontrell Inman coming off the street and he pretty much saved the season for them. You had so many guys dropping balls. You had unreliable hands. You had injuries going on outside of T.Y. Hilton. It was a really kind of a nightmare scenario at that point. They really needed a guy like Dontrell Inman to come in there and steer the ship in the right direction, so to say. But now, even though Don Trevilleman's in New England, just look at the firepower they have on offense now at the receiver position outside of T.Y. Hilton.

You have T.Y. as your one. You have Devin Bunches as your two on a one-year $10 million deal. You have Paris Campbell, 6'2", 200-pound slot guy who's at 4'3", 1 speed. And also, you have a fourth receiver if he's fully healthy in Deion Kane. You have Chester Rars as your fourth and fifth receiver. Zach Paschal is your fourth and fifth receiver. You also have Doris Fowl in there fighting for his job as well. By far, it's the most depth I've seen at the receiver position.

And kudos to Chris Ballard once more for that because I think the receiver position is one of their more loaded positions now on the roster, which is really surprising to say after the last year or so. But if I had to pick Robbie, I'd definitely go with the wide receivers because if you think about T.Y., if Funches hits, that's going to be a really fun trio between T.Y., Devin Funches, and Paris Campbell. That's really pick your poison at that point. So I'm definitely going to go wide receivers there, even though I think the secondary, even though they drafted a couple of guys there, I really like what they did there so far and also the linebacking core, but I'm definitely going to go with

wide receivers here. I think the trio of Hilton, Funchess, and Campbell adding the tight ends with Doyle and Ebron, that has to make it to be a lot of fun. Really potent offense in there. That really has me super excited for the season with the wide receivers especially, but Robbie's second part of the question there. Give us three Colts to break out and make the leap in 2019. I'll give you three real quickly for you. The first one is Kamoko Ture. He had five sacks last year.

I think he's going to be a guy who learns a lot from Justin Houston. I know he spent a lot of the offseason with Robert Mathis. I think he's a guy who's going to be very much in the mix as far as maybe six to seven sacks this year. A guy who's going to be really improving the more we see him this year because I think Ture has all the ingredients to be at least an above-average pass rusher in this league if he has the right technique coach. I think obviously Indianapolis has all the makers of having great coaches in there.

So I'll go Kamoko Ture. I'll also go with Malik Hooker as well. I think Malik Hooker is going to be a guy who goes from the leap, not even to pro ball. I think he's going to be a bowl prediction here, guys. Malik Hooker is going to be an all-pro this year at safety. I truly believe that's going to happen. bowl prediction here, guys, Malik Hooker's going to be an all pro this year at safety. I truly believe that's going to happen. He's a ball walking safety.

He's now 18 months after his torn ACL, even more than that. So I think he's finally got his first fully healthy season as a Napa's Cole, and he's going to really benefit from that. He's a guy who, as you look at the PFF numbers on Pro Football Focus, he's a guy when he's on the field, the Colts never test deep when he's on the field.

So I would go with Malik Cooker there for my second option. He's going to make the leap, if not to Pro Bowl, to All-Pro. I think he's a guy who you really can't come out in this league. He's a guy who I was still stunned back in 2017. He made it as far as he did to the Colts on draft night. But that's a coup for Chris Bauer because Malik Cooker is going to be a star in this to get safety, in my opinion. So I'll go with Kamoko Ture, Malik Cooker. And my final guy on this list is actually going to be a player on the offensive line, and that's going to

be Ryan Kelly. I think he's going to have a fully healthy season. He's going to make the Pro Bowl as well because he's one of the top five centers in the NFL in my opinion. He's a guy who's vastly underrated, but really injuries have hurt him a lot the past couple of years. So if we had to pick three, Robbie, I'm going to go with Kamoko Ture going around six or seven sacks, Malik Hooker having a Pro Bowl or All-Pro season, and Ryan Kelly having his first full healthy season this year and making the Pro Bowl as well. I think those three guys are the ones you should watch for this year. I've had to pick three of them out there, but let's go over to our Reddit mailbag,

which is on the other side of things. Our first question is from user camhan47. What is the percentage odds of Matt Eberflues leaving after another solid year? If Colts fans hope for something close to a dynasty, I think we have to consider him as our most important piece. I'm right there with you, Cam. I think Matt Iberflues, you saw what he was working with last year. He was really making poop out of a ham sandwich, so to say, because he had a lot of young talent, and they added even more this year. They added so much speed in there.

I mean, Darius Leonard, Anthony Walker thrived under him. I think his system is great to watch. You saw Kenny Moore thrive in there as well. I think Eberflus, if he can stay on for the next two or three years, that would be huge for this team. But the more I think about it, if the Colts do have a breakout year again this year, Eberflus got an interview with the Browns job. They ended up settling on Freddie Kitchens.

I truly believe if they have another great year on defense, Iberflues isn't going to be here long because you can't just hide out, I sort of say, in this league as a big prospect, a coordinator, and really end up staying in one spot because I think Iberflues is going to have that itch in him to be a head coach someday, and it's going to be really soon if he keeps up on defense. So if I had to pick percentage odds here, Cam, I would go around 45%. I think that's a realistic goal there. Overall, I would

probably go maybe even higher if the Colts actually make the playoffs and make a deep run this year. This is a good thing, though. If you guys want to think about this, when Tony Dungy was the head coach, they had all these coordinators really get poached a lot. When the Colts were at their best, coaches really didn't stay around much, even though there was a couple here and there, like Ron Meeks, so to say, who was here for a long time, Tom Moore. But hopefully they have that same camaraderie where Meeks and Moore, Benuso, or Eber, Fluss, and Sirianni.

Because if Frank Redd keeps those two around as long as he can, that would be huge for this team, I really believe. If I had to pick a percent of jobs, though, 45% I would land on there. But let's go back over to the Twitter side of things for our next question here, which is from at ADB65. And he asked, could the Chad Kelly signing be a possible sign of a possible Jacoby Brissett trade? I doubt Ballard will pay him to keep him. And right now it seems like he's playing hard to get with other teams hoping to land a first round pick. Personally, I do not see Chad Kelly as any sort of threat to Jacoby Brissett. The theory I've been bouncing around, though,

I was talking to some people about this earlier today, was what if the Colts, if Chad Kelly stays out of trouble the next year or so, what if they let Jacoby Brissett walk in a third or fourth-round comp pick in 2021? If Chad Kelly stays on the practice squad throughout this year, no one poaches him off the practice squad. If Kelly stays on his good behavior, are you guys ab one poaches him off the practice squad. If Kelly stays on his good behavior, are you guys abhorred with him being the long-term backup quarterback? Because I could definitely see that happening.

He was the backup quarterback for the Broncos last year. The thing with him is just keeping his nose clean. He had a really ugly incident in Denver where he went to Von Miller's birthday party, walked out really inebriated, went into someone else's house, and really kind of trespassed in there. Got the cops calling him. He got arrested. Go back to Clemson.

He had a bar fight. So I think you really have to keep him out of trouble. So this is one of the more interesting signs that Colton made in really a year or two, in my opinion, because Kelly kind of goes against what they were saying about the locker room. But if he is on his good behavior, which I think he will be, then I kind of like it. He has a lot of high upside. If you watch him sling the ball, he has a very high velocity rocket for an arm, in my opinion. I think it really pops off the ball, so to say,

than Phillip Walker does. I'm looking forward to watching him preseason as well because Chad Kelly, he's going to be a guy who probably plays the third and fourth quarter of games in preseason with Phillip Walker. It's going to be interesting to see when's that third quarter at competition because Phillip Walker is going to get a run for his money.

As we saw last year, though, he kind of was cut and released and re-signed every other week for the pride squad of the main roster. So it might be the same situation for Chad Kelly. I'm kind of curious where everyone lands on that, though. Are you guys more in the camp of Chad Kelly staying and being the backup long term on this team? Or do you think it's just a guy for a camp arm who's going to be a fourth quarterback

and just cut afterwards? So I think mostly it's going to be about character with Chad Kelly. If he's on his best behavior for a year, I think there's a very high possibility he's the backup quarterback long term to Andrew Locke, but we'll have to see about that. There could be some guys in the draft next year that they like. I was really intrigued by Gardner Minshew out of Washington State as the guy they were going to draft.

He went to Jacksonville, I believe, in the fifth or sixth round. He's a guy I think really fit the locker room. He would have been a nice backup quarterback, so to say, in the Indianapolis system. But Chad Kelly has a bigger rocket arm than Gardner Minshew did, and he's a bigger guy. He's more built. So I think Kelly, it's really interesting with him. I really believe there's not going to be a trade with Bursette.

I'll say that right now. Bursette's going to be a guy who walks out the door next year. He's not going to be back. He's going to want to be a starter, obviously. So they're going to let him go who walks out the door next year. He's not going to be back. He's going to want to be a starter, obviously. So we're going to let him go for a third or fourth round comp pick. And at that point, maybe see if Chad Kelly's your back quarterback. Because really, between now and then, it's Bursette's job.

Unless knock on wood, Luck gets hurt or Bursette gets hurt, then maybe we might see Chad Kelly in there at some point. But I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. So Chad Kelly, I think, is a guy who's a camp arm at this point. Third quarterback on this team. I think he personally does beat out Phillip Walker. He stays out of trouble. But at that point,

once 2020 rolls around, what do you guys think about him staying on as a quarterback? Because I think for me, it's a smart idea. It's a savvy move by Dallard and Frank Reich if it pays off, because Kelly has the talent. I mean, if you look at his tape,

he has the talent, but the main thing with him is staying out of trouble. So Chad Kelly, no, he's not threatening Jacoby Brissett at all. But he's a guy, if you look a year down the line, it's really intriguing to think about the possibilities there. Next question here is from Movie Crypt Life. What would you consider to be Bauer's best and worst move as a GM so far? I really, this is a tough question. Because I really don't think Chris Bauer has made

like much bad moves so far. He's really reloaded this roster from scratch when Ryan Grixen had them in cap hell, so to say. Now, in less than two or three years, Chris Bauer has them as the most cap savvy team in the NFL. So if I had to say his best move would be really clearing the cap like that, that's really incredible what he's done. You guys cannot overlook that because going from where they were at to now

where they are, it really is incredible. You can't take that away from Chris Bauer, how savvy he is, how smart he is, and how patient he is with his money because as we know, he didn't want to go to a bidding war with Landon Collins. He didn't want to go to a bidding war with CJ Mosley. He let them go to the Redskins and Jets for way too much money. Who knows? Maybe he drew up those prices on purpose, but I think that was a great, great move by Chris Ballard to keep that cast base open.

Instead, go for Devin Funchess and Justin Houston on one- to two-year contracts. You've got to preserve that cast base long-term. He's playing the long game. He's trying to build a sustainable winner, which is the smart way to do it. This isn't the Cleveland Browns. This isn't the Dream Team Philadelphia Eagles

where you're trying to build a team all in free agency. You need to really use all avenues you can via draft, via trade, via free agency. Use them properly. And I think Chris Bauer knows how to do that. He's already proven he's one of the top five, top three, maybe even top one GMs in this league, to be honest, because I haven't been, as a Colts fan, I personally have never been as confident as I am right now as I am with the Colts team. Because Chris Ballard has put this team in a position where they can make noise throughout Andrew Luck's 30s. If Andrew Luck plays until he's 40, this team could be good for the next 5 to 10 years. This is a window where all of a sudden it was closed before Chris Ballard got here, really, because they were kind of stuck in neutral.

But with the way Ballard's reworked this roster, this window is now open for the next five to ten years, which is pretty incredible. But the second part of your question there, what was the worst move Chris Bowers made? I don't really know. I mean, if I had to pick one, I'd probably go to the 2017 draft, even though Pagano was still the coach then. Maybe Zach Banner and Terrell Basham, those two picks in the third and fourth round, he really whiffed on those, to be honest. Those guys, I think Banner was cut in camp if I'm not mistaken,

and Terrell Basham only lasted a year before he was cut. So, those are easily the two worst picks Bauer's had in his career so far with the Colts, and I think if you had to pick one negative there, it's drafting those two guys in the third and fourth round, but luckily, Braden Smith replaced Zach Banner, and we also got Ben Banigy replacing

Terrell Basham. So, I think Chris Bauer did well for himself to replace himself and really make up for that mistake there. But if I had to make one worst move so far for Bauer, that would definitely be it. So I'll go with Banner and Basham picks. But for the positive, look at that cap space. You really cannot ignore three straight years, two straight years of $90,000,000 plus million in money. That is incredible. You cannot overstate that.

So we're going to go to our next question here, which is from AJReese1313. He asks, What would you change with the Colts uniforms if you had to? Personally, AJ, I wouldn't change anything about that. It's one of the more classic uniforms in the NFL. You don't really need to change much at all. But if I had to say one thing I'd love to see, please wear those color rush uniforms more often.

I love those color rush uniforms of the Colts against the Dolphins last year. I was at that game. The blue pants, the blue helmet. Oh man, I just love, or excuse me, it wasn't even a blue helmet. Maybe even do a blue helmet. I kind of liked that. Maybe do a blue helmet with a white horseshoe. Maybe, maybe do all color rush like that. Maybe kind of more modern like that. But what would you guys change? Because AJ's asking here, what would you change with the Colts uniforms? I wouldn't change anything. I think it's one of the more classic uniforms in the NFL.

If I had to change one thing, though, wear those color rush uniforms more often. Maybe sprinkle in that retro Colts helmet that was blue in 2013 or 2012 when they played Eagles, I think, was on the road. That was a really cool uniform that worked for that one game. Maybe bring those back for a game or two. But AJ, I wouldn't change anything but Colts uniforms, to be honest. I think that's a classic uniform you really shouldn't change. And I think Jim Ursh has been on record saying he's not going to change

anything about the uniforms on Twitter. So, I'm going to stay with the Bossmans. We're on that and say that nothing's going to change there. But if I had to change something, please wear Colorado uniforms more than once next year. I am begging you guys. So, next question here from DZ3Timeover on Reddit. Where do you see Naheem Hines fitting into the offense with the addition of Paris Campbell,

seeing as how he may take touches away from Naheem Hines? I think he's a guy, if you look at the Patriots, because I dug up some numbers here, I believe it was last week or two weeks ago. Only three teams in the NFL had a guy catch 60 passes last year in the other run for 900 plus yards. The Patriots have Sonny Michel and James White, Tarek Cohen and Jordan Howard at the Bears, and now the Colts with Marlon Mack and Naeem Hines last year. I think really it's going to be the James White role in Naeem Hines' plays

because you look at them physically and speed-wise, Naeem Hines is a lot faster, but I think he's going to play that James White role where he's a dump-off guy, where you can really use him as a screen guy. He's going to be a Darren Sproles, James White type of player, in my opinion. He's going to be a guy who really averages around 40 to 50 catches per year on average. If he can contribute more in the return game, that'd be great.

But he's a guy who's going to be a great catch radius guy. I mean, we saw it against the Texans, that acrobat catch he made. But 40 to 50 catches, I think it's going to go down slightly because, like you mentioned, Paris Campbell is on board now. I think Paris is going to be a guy who gets a lot of catches very early. I think he's going to earn the trust of Andrew Luck pretty quickly. We'll be seeing him have OTAs so far. But Naeem Hines, if he can add more to his rushing repertoire, that'd be nice.

I could see easily around 1,000, maybe not 1,000, probably 800 to 900 total scrimmage yards next year. I think more so than that. That makes a lot of sense to me because Naheem Hines is a guy you really shouldn't sleep on because I was kind of surprised, if you think more about it, why he didn't play in the Chiefs game. I think he would have been a great player to have on the field at that point. I think Frank Reich went away from him a little too early in the playoffs. Naheem Hines would have been a nice little valve for Andrew Luck to rely on there in the passing game.

But I think not, just think about the possibilities of Naheem Hines and Paris Kendall both on the field though, and T.Y. Holden and Eric Ebron. Those four guys are all very fast for their position and they could take the top off the defense. So I think Naheem Hines fitting in the offense is going to be a scat back. The James White, Darren Sproles type of role long term. I know that's how they viewed him when they drafted him.

So I wouldn't really worry too much about Naheem Hines I think he's gonna be a third down guy he's gonna play probably 30 to 40 percent of the snaps maybe probably more so 30 percent but if he can treat more in the return game I know he struggled really bad last year in the return game but if he can work on his hands in the punt return kick return game with Paris Campbell that'd be a dynamic duo in the return game as well so I'll say his role is a little bit reduced but it's going to be opening up a little bit more, maybe a year or two down the line once they get rid of some pieces. Maybe if Devin Funches is really a one-year deal,

maybe Naeem Hines takes more of those receptions to white next year. But I really wouldn't worry too much about Naeem Hines moving forward. I think he's a guy who Colts fans should really value in this offense. He's very underrated. I think he's going to be a great piece of this team moving forward. Next question here from M101001. Should the Colts pursue Jarrell McCoy? If so, what's the ideal contract? Like I mentioned at the top of the show, I think Jarrell McCoy makes a lot of sense here. If I had to quickly tell you guys, I don't want to repeat, but if I wanted to give an ideal contract, I wouldn't go two years. I would just go one year, and I would go around $12 million.

I'd do one year, $12 million. I think that makes a lot of sense for this team. And our next Twitter question is from at mook, at WL Landers. My question is, what's the holdup on McCoy coming to the Colts? I think more so why McCoy hasn't chosen the Colts. I know the Colts are interested, but I think they don't want to get in a bidding war. They're not going to bid against themselves. They're not going to bid against themselves. They're not going to bid against the Browns or the Ravens if it goes above,

I think, $11 to $12 million is their limit. I think at that point, the Colts are smart to say thanks, but no thanks and really move on at that point. I'm curious to hear what you guys think. What is the contract range you're looking for with Joe McCoy? Is it more along the lines of $8 to $9 million, $10 to $11 million, or even more than that? Because I think McCoy's looking for his money.

He's looking for a contender. Keep an eye on the Patriots, the Browns, the Ravens, and even the Colts and Saints. I think those are five teams you should watch out for with Jerome McCoy. Bouncing over back to our Colts here for our next question. Who is your favorite Colt that played with neither Manning or Luck? That is a tough one. Honestly, if you guys did not know, I'm a college student, so I'm lucky enough to have grown up only in the Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck era. So I've been

very, very spoiled from that aspect. But if I had to pick one Colt, I'd never play with neither Manning or Luck. Oh, man. I'll go with maybe going way back here. I mean, I've watched his highlights. I obviously didn't watch him growing up, but got to go with Johnny U. I mean, if we're going to go to the Baltimore days, Johnny Unitas, that's a fun little name to bring up there. But Jeff George, maybe? He's a local guy. But I go Johnny U.

I think you got to give some respect on Johnny Unitas' name. I think there's really, outside of Manning or Luck, I don't really know personally who else I could really pick outside of playing with those guys. So I'll go with very much a throwback here in Johnny Unitas. And our next R-Colts question. Where is the team lacking the most? Interesting question there from Silent underscore Snake48. I think for me, I mean, with the way Chris Bowers built this roster, it's really set all the way around. I mean, if I had to pick one place, though, if Clayton Gathers gets hurt once, which has been, unfortunately, a regular occurrence over the past year or so, really more than that,

the Colts are down to Curry Willis starting there, which is not a bad thing, but it's a thing where they really need to add more depth and safety. They have Derek Kendrick there to sign for the Browns, so they're probably already backing up on insurance in case Clayton Gathers gets injured. But that's a piece that I would look for as far as if the worst case scenario happened and Clayton Gathers gets hurt there once more. I think safety would get really thin at that point. So that's the one area I'd watch for.

If Malik Hooker goes down, if Clayton Gathers goes down, which they both have before, then I'd really start worrying about that safety position. Because I think they have young, unproven guys there that really need to show their worth. But our next question here is from Glovebox Collins at Collins underscore box. Who do you think will be the cold starting secondary midseason? That is a great question, Glovebox. And I think for me, this might surprise people,

but I'm going to go with Malik Hooker at free safety. I'm going to go with Rakik Hooker at free safety. I'm going to go with Rakia Sen as the number two corner. Kenny Moore as the nickel. Pierre Desir as the number one corner. And surprise, surprise, Curry Willis is going to be the starting strong safety I think between week six to week eight. I think he's going to outperform

Clayton Gathers in camp. I think he's a guy who's really going to prove his worth very quickly. If you guys listen to the Curry Willis 360 I did with his brothers Bobby and Terrence, you can just tell how great of a kid he is and how much of a diligent worker he is. I think Corey Willis is the guy who's a perfect bread and butter to Malik Hooker's ranginess, so to say. And I think he's a guy who's going to be a Patrick Chung on this team.

Very instinctual, can play in the box, really great tackler. He has great hands as well if he ever gets interceptions. I'll go with Corey Willis. So to recap there, I'm going to go safeties with Malik Hooker and Corey Willis. Cornerback starters are going to be Pierre Desir, Rakia Sin, and Kenny Moore. And I'll have also Quincy Wilson subbing in a lot because I think they're going to be playing a lot of four corners this year. So I'll go with those six guys as their main rotation for the safeties this year

or secondary this year. All right, our next question here from Reddit is from at John Marks 8. If we didn't sign Gerald McCoy, where do you think Bowers should spend the rest of this year's salary cap? I believe if I'm not mistaken, John, they're already up against that. I think that really they can roll it over to next year with no problem, and I think that's what they're going to do. I think Gerald McCoy is a player who is a luxury, like I mentioned at the top of the podcast

and throughout here. And I think if they don't get Jerome McCoy, they're going to roll it over for an extension. Maybe even use that money for an extension this summer. Whether it's Kenny Moore or Anthony Costanzo, I think those are the two guys you should watch for, for early extension. Maybe even Rigoberto Sanchez, the punter there.

I think he makes a lot of sense for an early extension too. But I think if they don't get Jerome McCoy, they're not going to use much of the money. Maybe it's just camp bodies. Maybe it's just guys who get cut in training camp that are on minimum deals. But I can't see Bauer really going out of his way and spending a lot of money, so to say,

on a guy outside of Jerome McCoy at this point. So to answer your question, John, I think he's just going to roll over most of the money into next year to save all that money for extensions. And our next Reddit question is from DG Zawitski. Do you see the defense running more exotic looks this year? There's been lots of talk of using a Leo position similar to the one in Seattle. Absolutely.

I really do believe we're going to see a lot of Seattle based concepts in here. I know Chris Bauer mentioned that in his pre-draft. There's post-draft press conference about how Ben Banigou is going to be a position they really haven't used before. He's going to be guys moved around the field like Bruce Irvin was in Seattle at linebacker at off ball. He's going to be a guy who's moved around the field like Bruce Irvin was in Seattle at linebacker, at off-ball. He's going to be maybe rotating inside at some points. So I really am going to love seeing more exotic looks. I think the Colts seem to mix it up more as well. They played the most zone coverage last year. I expect to see a lot

more man, too, with the drafting of Rakia Sen, who's a great man cornerback. Definitely I'm going to expect to see a lot more Seattle stuff. And the Marvell Tells pick, by the way, in the fifth round. Don't sleep on Marvell Tell because they're going to expect to see a lot more Seattle stuff. And the Marvell Tells pick, by the way, in the fifth round, don't sleep on Marvell Tell because they're going to transition from safety to corner. He's 6'3", has the size, has the length to be at a lockdown corner in the league. Probably going to take about one or two or three years to develop there. But if he hits, he's going to be a very special player in my opinion. So, yeah, expect a lot of Seattle looks because I know Chris Bowers mentioned that on multiple occasions.

I know many multiple beat writers that cover the Colts have mentioned that throughout the season. So definitely expect a lot of Seattle stuff moving forward. But our next question here is going back to Twitter. David Whiteley at DWCP2. Colts still have the cast space and they're looking at locking up key players and long-term deals. The question I'm asking is who do you lock up, how long, and how much? That's a great question, David. I think for me,

like I mentioned in the last question, I think the three guys you should watch for for early extensions are Anthony Costanzo and I think Kenny Moore and Rigoberto Sanchez. I don't know the exact figures for those guys, but I think Costanzo's earned his money. He's a top 10 left tackle in the league. I'd give him around $11 to $12 million per year

on a three or four year deal. For an example, Andrew Whitworth of the Rams he's almost 40 and he's still playing very top quality left tackle play. I think Costanzo, he mentioned earlier in the preseason, in OTS, excuse me that this is the best his body has felt in years. Thanks to the weight and training staff that Chris Bauer put into place when he was hired Rusty Jones, who's the strength and conditioning coach, helped out with his knees there. And I think Costanzo, if he does have a founding youth season, so to say, he's a guy who's going to be locked in on a long-term contract around $11-12 million.

Kenny Moore will probably get around $8-9 million, if I had to guess, on an extension. Maybe more than that if he plays well. And also Rigoberto, probably a top 10 punter in the punter in the league. If he proved himself one more year, I think those are the three guys you should watch for, for early extensions, Dave, and the rest of the locked on listeners. Appreciate everyone listening. And again, as always, that is all of our Twitter questions though. There's a lot more Reddit ones that we're going to keep hammering away on the

Reddit ones to close out today's show. Our next one is from victory 33. How big of a role do you see Jack Doyle playing in the offense next year? What effect will his presence bring to the team after not having for most of last year? I think it's going to be huge. Jack Doyle is a very big part of the Colts offense. I know Eric Ebron got a lot of touches when he went down last year, but I think Doyle is going to be a guy who Colts are quickly going to think to themselves, wow, we completely missed out on Jack Doyle last year and what he brought to the team

because not only can he catch 50 to 70 balls per year, but he's a guy who's going to be a valuable cog in the running game. If you watched the Oakland game last year, I went and watched that actually a couple days ago, he was destroying linebackers in that game, just blocking guys left and right, setting up huge holes for Marlon Mack. He ran for over 100 yards in that game. Without Jack Doyle, this offense, this running attack, the Colts want to be a top five rushing attack next year. You guys better rely on Jack Doyle to do that because he's a key

piece to that running game alongside Anthony Costanzo, Quentin Nelson, the rest of the boys in the front line. I think Jack Doyle is going to be, if I had to make a prediction, victory 33 in the rest of the listeners, I'm going to go with around 55 catches for Jack Doyle, around 500 yards. I'm going to also go with around six or seven key blocks that spring him back to maybe 20 or 30-yard gains this year because I think more so than even his reliability as Andrew Luck's security blanket, so to say, I think he's a guy who's very slept on in the running game as a blocker. I think he's one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL,

and he's going to prove that again this year. Jack Doyle is a player the Colts desperately need to keep around, I think, to really stay in, not contention, so to say, but he's a guy I believe that's very underrated in the Colts offense moving forward. So I'm going to think Jack Doyle is going to have a breakout, not breakout year. He's going to have a year where we're like, OK, we missed Jack Doyle. He's back. I'm glad to have him. So I think Doyle is going to be right back where he was last year into that position before he got hurt. He was very key

to that offense. He's going to be right back where he was last year. AtColtsFan210 has a question. How many wide receivers do the Colts keep? That is a good question. I've been really waffling back and forth here between five or six because if Paris Campbell can return kicks, is there a need for Chester Rogers on the roster?

I'm seriously asking that question because if Paris Campbell can return kicks, is there a need for Chester Rodgers on the roster? I'm seriously asking that question because if Paris Campbell can return kicks and punts, there's really no use for Paschal or Rodgers on this team unless someone gets hurt. So I really think they might be five. The more I've been thinking about it, the more I think it might be five because they can utilize their assets more elsewhere if Paris Campbell can return both punts and kicks. So they could go really five deep there. It's going to be a competition between, you have Hilton as the first receiver, Funches as second, Campbell third, Kane fourth.

Those four are locked in. But the fifth spot, there's four or five guys that are going to be fighting for that one spot. They really do only keep five players. And if I had to pick right now, I'd go Zach Paschal. I really think the more I've really pondered it over, he's more reliable than Chester Rogers. He has better hands than Chester Rogers.

And I think he's a better route runner than Chester Rogers. I think if Paris Campbell, like I mentioned, can really prove his worth as a returner right away, even though Naeem Hines didn't do that last year, I think Campbell is going to, and he's going to be a great returner for the Annapolis Colts. And I'm going to lean five here. I've been thinking six for the last couple of weeks, but really in the lean five here. I've been thinking six for the last couple weeks, but

really in the last few days I've been thinking, what if the Colts actually use four tight ends? What if the Colts keep four of them on the roster? What if the Colts instead go and use an extra secondary spot instead? Because if they want to protect themselves from injuries with Clayton Gathers and Lee Cooker, I could easily see that. It's a very tough

decision to say right now, but if I had to pick, I'm going to go with five because I really believe that Paris Campbell is going to let them allocate their resources in a more respectable manner. And our final question here on our Colts, appreciate the listeners over on our Colts and also on Twitter. This has been a lot of fun today, guys. Appreciate it. DeucemaN121, how will the addition of Howard Mudd influence our run game and pass protection

schemes? I think it's going to be huge. I think it's going to be absolutely huge because Howard Mudd was so key to the team in the mid-2000s with the guys like Jeff Saturday, Ryan Lozier, Ryan Dean, Tariq Glenn. He was key in developing those guys, and I think he focused more on fundamentals. Dave Deguglielmo, who was fired by Frank Reich, even though he did have a top offensive line, it sounded like he was more along the nasty side of just focusing on aggressiveness and not really fundamentals.

And from hearing Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Anthony Costanza talk at OTAs, it truly seems like Howard Mudd and Chris Strasser are focusing on the fundamentals, which is very key to this team moving forward. And I think Howard Mudd, even though you won't really hear much from him this year, as a senior advisor to Chris Strasser, who's the main offensive line coach, and Kobe Adams, who's the assistant offensive line coach, I think those guys are going to be doing a great job with Howard Mudd as their influencer. And I think Mudd is going to be a guy.

It's going to be great seeing Howard Mudd on the side because that's just a flashback for me from my childhood where I remember watching Howard Mudd at practice at a training camp. I grew up an offensive lineman, by the way. I played a lot of offensive lines. So it's awesome seeing Howard Mudd back in the Colts blue and white, and really great to see him out of retirement there. So if Howard Mudd can be the good luck charm for the Colts this year, I'm totally down for it.

And our last question here is from DK's Ready2, and he says, where is everybody going to party for our 2020 Super Bowl win? Everyone, if you guys want to at the Colts win the Super Bowl, party at my place in the Alps, Indiana. We'll see you guys there. So appreciate everyone on this fun podcast. This is really fun. We did both our Colts.

We did Locked on Colts Twitter account. We answered your J.L. McCoy question. Then we got a couple in there. But this is a lot of fun. Appreciate everyone coming on, answering your questions on today's podcast. We'll be back with you guys tomorrow with a special guest to talk more about your Indianapolis Colts.