Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 8/9/19: Recapping Colts vs. Bills

Episode Date: August 9, 2019

On today's episode, Cody Felger joins to recap the Colts' preseason opener in Buffalo. What stood out the most?Weak performances from the offensive tackles, notably Le'Raven Clark and Jackson Barton, have us thinking about whether Colts GM Chris Ballard should make a waiver claim for the 53-man roster in a few weeks.Solid outings from the likes of Chad Kelly, EJ Speed, Daurice Fountain, and Jonathan Williams showcased future position battles. Kelly seems poised to overtake Philip Walker for QB3, while Fountain is steadily climbing up the depth chart. Will Zach Pascal or Fountain take the WR6 spot, if Indianapolis even keeps that many wideouts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome into Locked On Colts, probably Locked On Podcast Network. Today's Ozmer host, Evan Sutter. I'm joined by one of our weekly guests, by the way. We're getting started a week or two early. Cody Felger of the Cody Felger Podcast. He was on a couple months ago talking about the draft. And now Cody, as we announced on last show on Wednesday, he's going to be one of our weekly spots. Cody, how are you doing? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. I'm excited for this season, man. Excited the Colts just started preseason, so it's officially football again.

Oh, I know. We were waiting forever to get football started, especially the Colts side of things. And I want to get your opinions just on last night's game. The Colts obviously lost 24-16, but hopefully a lot of fans out there don't care about the score in the preseason games. Most of us are talking about the players overall. What was your main impressions from last night's game, Cody? Because I think I'm not going to take much away from the starters. I know a lot of people are overreacting saying, oh, Quentin Nelson missed the block. Oh, missed tackles. Oh, whoa, whoa. It just seems like a lot of overreactions happening. But what was your main takeaways from maybe the guys that we saw

in the second half of action? Yeah, definitely. And that's always something I look out for. And I kind of look forward to is just the overreactions because obviously I kind of just said like yesterday I watch for individual players especially on offense but when it comes to you know that starting offense like the reality is a lot of those guys aren't going to be starting ideally so I don't take a whole lot of stock in there but I think my first impressions were those backup offensive linemen just kind of really struggled yesterday. You think of LaRaven Clark, you think of, I think, Josh Andrews, and then, you know, some of the backup guys after that. I was kind of disappointed, honestly,

in the Colts tackles yesterday. I know Costanzo was not out there, but I felt like the Colts tackles in particular really struggled yesterday, And just the offensive line, so the offensive line wasn't good, really, either way. They definitely weren't good in the running game, and they weren't good in the pass protecting as well. So I think that was a big thing that I noticed was just, so hopefully, you know, knock on wood that everybody stays healthy in 2019, but if one of those players goes down, like, the Colts could be in some trouble, particularly at the left tackle position. So that's something that I noticed. Definitely the lack of running game I noticed as well.

On a positive note, I definitely thought that on the offensive side, Devin Funchess looked pretty good. He had a couple of receptions there early. I definitely think Reese Fountain jumped out to me. I think he led the team with five receptions for 63 yards or so. He had a really good game, and that's really good to see from Reese, especially because I think a lot of people thought that Reese would be on the outside looking in for that final receiver position.

But I think the last couple weeks he's really started to come on, really started to show that potential that he has and really using his body well because he's a a, he's a pretty decent sized receiver. I think he's six foot six one. So it was good to see him go out for some balls yesterday and really start to, you know, understand himself and understand his body a little bit and start to, you know,

I think the game's kind of slowed down a little bit for him now entering his second season. So I was definitely impressed by him. I was impressed, I think, by most of the Colts receivers yesterday. So you think of Marcus Johnson, the guy who got injured last year, who's coming back from an injury. Deion Kane, also, I know he had a drop in the end zone, which he should have caught for a touchdown, but he had a really good sideline toe touch catch. I don't know if you saw that one. That was a really good play for him. And I think it was, and I've said this on my podcast before, I think it was really important for Deion Kane to,

I think it was a really important night for him, particularly since it was about a year ago, you know, the first preseason game last year when Deion Kane tore his ACL and was out for the year. So I think it was a really good for Deion Kane to play a full NFL game without getting injured. I think that goes a long way in his confidence. And something that I just – actually, I just finished recording a podcast with Derek, my co-host, and we really were talking about how it was a big game for Deion Cain and how he may still – similar to like how Malik Hooker a couple years ago when he tore his ACL in 2017, how he may have been in 2017, how he, you know, he may have been

physically ready, physically there, but he's admitted, like, it took him a few weeks into the season to fully feel like he was back to himself, to fully trust himself that when he laid out for a ball or however, whatever he did, that, you know, he wouldn't tear his ACL again, and so I think that's just going to be naturally a thing with Deion Kane as he's shaking off the rust, begins to trust his body a little bit more, that it won't break down again, and so I think that's just going to be naturally a thing with Deion Kane as he's shaking off the rust, begins to trust his body a little bit more that it won't break down again. And so I think it was a big game for Deion Kane. On the defensive side, I thought a lot of guys stood out. I think the defense definitely played a lot better than the offense and had a lot more standout guys.

So you think of guys like, we'll start with the cornerback position, because I think that's the most heavily talked about position and probably the deepest position on the Colts roster. So I think both the cornerbacks, Quincy Wilson and Rocky Essin played really well yesterday. I saw Quincy knock a pass away. I thought he did a really good job. I thought Rocky's always just been pretty solid. And then, you know, there was, I think, one thing that I noticed, if I can nitpick from the defense a little bit, was the lack of pass rush. I think that, you know,

Kamoko Ture didn't particularly play super well yesterday. And some of those guys didn't really provide a lot of pass rush. Now I know that Kamoko Ture may not necessarily be a starter in 2019, but, you know, from a former second-round pick, you would like to see a little bit more from him. And then there was just Al-Kadhi Mohammed. He had a sack. I thought he played really well.

He's the guy that's, of course, filling in for Jabal Sheard after Jabal Sheard just got surgery the other day. So I hope he most likely will be playing until Sheard comes back at that defensive end position. I thought that EJ Speed really showed something yesterday. You know, just seeing, I think you posted a video, Evan, of him. His in-line speed is just absolutely insane. And we saw, you know, when he was at Tarleton State, like,

they tried him out at wide receiver because he has that kind of speed. And, you know, while he may necessarily need to improve a little bit on his awareness and recognizing the play, he can make up for it right now with his pure athleticism and speed. So I thought he had a really good game. I thought Grover Stewart had a really good game as well. The defensive tackle, former fourth rounder from Chris Ballard's first draft in 2017. He had four tackles. He did pretty well. And then I also thought that Jalen Collins played particularly well. I know he got injured there at the end, but it looks like he walked it off. So hopefully it's nothing serious, but I know he forced a fumble yesterday. And again,

the Colts defense is based off of making those plays, creating those turnovers. And I thought Jalen Collins did really good. Jalen Collins did really good yesterday in doing that. And I think that's pretty good for him as he's kind of battling out with the back end of the roster with Nate Hairston and maybe Marvell Tell too to see who makes this final roster. So I thought it was a good night for those guys overall. I thought Kari Willis kind of had an up-and-down day.

I think it was good for him to get out there. I thought he looked lost a few times, but that's to be expected as a rookie, and it's the first preseason game, so he got his feet wet. I think he started actually yesterday with Malik Hooker, so I think it was good for Willis to get out there and get some game action. So, yeah, overall I thought that the the Colts offense was not particularly that great, especially Phillip Walker. I thought he was really underwhelming. I thought he really looked like he's timing his off. And I was a big Phillip Walker guy last year. I thought he had a pretty

good preseason last year. And so I was really surprised at how much he struggled yesterday. Of course, he had some good plays there near the end of the first half. But I thought overall for Walker, he didn't help himself for that number three quarterback position, but Chad Kelly certainly did. He is a guy who I didn't realize how fast Chad Kelly was, but he obviously led the Colts in rushing and passing, so good day for Kelly. He looked calm and collected back there, even despite the fact that the offensive line wasn't really doing him any favors. And really, the running game wasn't either. I thought all things considered, Chad Kelly played really, really well for his first preseason game and first game in a Colts uniform, Evan. Yeah, I think all those guys for sure stood out.

We're going to hit on all those in the show today because I think definitely Chad Kelly got a lot more fans last night after a really good performance. We also saw, like you mentioned, Philip Walker struggle a little bit. But I'm going to bring it back just a second to the left tackle position too and the tackles overall because I was surprised just how bad LeRaven Clark looked and how bad Jackson Barton, the seventh-round pick, looked. It looked like neither of those guys really were ready to go out there last night, and they were both really dominated through most of their reps. If Costanza or Braden Smith go down with an injury,

are you worried about those spots? Because it just seems like I wouldn't be shocked at all if these guys don't perform well the next couple weeks that Chris Bowerman makes a couple waiver claims in the offensive line once 53-man roster cuts come. Yeah, I am a little bit. I honestly am nervous if one of those guys goes down like last year, you know, Costanzo went down.

And I'm really surprised that LaRaven Clark struggled as much as he did because I thought last year he really stepped it up. And I thought, you know, he wasn't obviously as good as Costanzo or really that close to Costanzo. But I thought all things considered, he played pretty decent. I think he held his own. I thought I saw some good growth from him. But last night was really just an eye-opener to, well,

maybe LaRaven Clark isn't as good as I thought he could be. I don't really know what happened with Clark. But, yeah, certainly I think that the Colts should look into finding the backup left tackle position because I think, honestly, that's the biggest need for this team and the biggest worry for this team. Now, hopefully everybody stays healthy and plays 16 games. But, you know, you got Anthony Costanzo, who just came off an injury last year. He just turned 31, actually today, his birthday. And so, you know, if he goes down or if Braden Smith goes down, I don't really know what the plan is because I don't

really trust Jackson Barton. I don't really trust Larry Van Clark. I don't really trust Jermarcus Webb. I don't really know if I trust Antonio Garcia. I know he's suspended the first couple games, but maybe Joe Haig. I don't really know. I think he played decent last year at left tackle when filling in for Costanzo. But, yeah, I certainly think that that's something the Colts should think about and look into is getting a backup left tackle that they, you know, is at least solid that you can actually live by, you know, if that happens. But I guess it is a question of, like, is Antonio Garcia the answer there?

I don't know. And just, I guess, and I think that that's something that the Colts are going to have to really consider. I think that's one of my top needs next year for this team is finding the future at left tackle, because as good as Costanza has been, and as good as he's been, he's, he's on the other side of 30 now. And, and, you know, history has shown that that, you know, players at the other side of 30 typically sort of fall off and get injured a

little bit more. And so I, I definitely think the coach should look into making a move and in finding a way to reclaim that left tackle and maybe even right tackle as well. Yeah, I think definitely we're in agreement there as far as next year's draft. I think they should definitely go after a first-round guy there because you saw Philadelphia did it this year. They didn't have a knee on the offensive line this year, but down the line when Jason Peters retires,

they have their replacement ready to step in for him. But another guy I think we should hit on real quickly in this segment is, like you mentioned, Dory Svoun, who's really catching eyes over the last week or so. He had five receptions for 63 yards. He led the team as well. What's that WR6 ballot look like, Cody? Because it just seems like Chester Ryders is probably locked in now for that fifth spot. It just seems like the Colts coaching staff really values him. So it's down to Zach Paschal, Doris Fountain, and Marcus Johnson for those three spots,

or three guys for one spot. So how do you think that's going to go? It just seems like Doris Fountain is going to have a really long shot to make this team. If he keeps impressing, he's got to put day after day after day together, Cody. Yeah. And that's, that's, that's key for him is definitely consistency. And seeing, can he do it?

Okay. Now, you know, he can, he knows he can do it. It's like, can he do it consistently? And another thing I think, you know, and I've talked about this with different positions, especially corner and receiver. If you want to make this roster at the back end of this roster, you have to play special teams. That's just a fact of the NFL.

And so the question is, can Reese Fountain play special teams? I don't really know the answer to that, but I think that'll be a big factor as well. I think that's a big reason why Chester Rogers, honestly, is probably – is probably a lock to make this roster because he's definitely the team's most sure-handed punt returner. But I think the key is consistency for Reese. I think, you know, he's definitely shown flashes now of what the Colts thought he could be when they drafted him last year. So I think, you know, what he has to do is just put days, put games,

put weeks together and show this Colts coaching staff that he's going to be impossible to cut. Yeah, we're going to hit on a lot of these guys in the next segment too. Also, we're going to hit on Chad Swag Kelly and EJ Speed. I know, Cody, you're really driving the bandwagon, as am I, with that EJ Speed high train because he definitely looked the part last night of a future long-term piece for this team. Before we go on to our next segment, though, I want to tell our listeners really quickly,

the new Locked on NFL show, go over and subscribe to that one already. The new Locked on NFL show is on fire. Last week was one of the most listened to NFL shows. With the expert analysis of former NFL scout Matt Williamson and hosted by Brian Peacock, Locked on NFL is your daily national podcast on all things NFL with Matt's unique take on the game. Follow Locked on NFL now on your favorite podcast provider.

Alrighty, Cody, let's talk about EJ Speed because I'll give you the floor here for a couple minutes because we were at training camp together over the last, I think it was a week ago at this point or maybe a little over a week ago when you were there with me. We first noticed EJ Speed up close and that guy doesn't look like a linebacker. He looks like a stretched out safety. He's like a

6'4", 220 pound linebacker. I think his frame, we saw a picture of him just staying next to Darius Leonard. It seems like if he can fill out a little bit, Cody, he can have a very similar frame to Darius Leonard. So what do you think is the ceiling for a guy like EJ Speed? I know it's only one preseason game, so we don't want to get too hot takey here. But from first impressions, he looks like a very good piece to the stand.

Yeah, he definitely does. And I was a guy that was really intrigued by EJ Speed and I was joking on the podcast earlier as we were recording like you know anytime that Chris Ballard finds a small school guy that has those kind of measurables like a Darius Leonard and an EJ Speed I'm just not going to question it because Chris Ballard has obviously put in the work and thought that he was a good enough player where he's willing to take a flyer on him in the fifth round. But I look at EJ's speed now, like we mentioned, he's super tall, 6'4", super long. Obviously, he's very fast.

He's 225 pounds. So he's not – I mean, he's light, but he's not as light as I thought. But, yeah, I definitely think if he can put on some weight, Evan, man, I think he can definitely take the next step. And I think yesterday was a good sign to see, you know, even if he does make a mistake, like we've seen him with Darius Leonard, even though he does make mistakes, because he's so athletically gifted, because he's so fast, he's able to make up for those mistakes with just his raw talent and raw ability. And one thing that I think is really good about the Colts is that they can find these guys that other teams kind of give up on.

So you think of like the Eric Ebrons of the world or whoever you want to throw into there. And, you know, they're guys with raw talent, and the Colts just know how to use these guys and use their talents and really utilize their strengths. And I think that's what they're going to do with EJ Speed and also, you know, really teach him the fundamentals of the game because it seems like EJ Speed,

the guy who really wants to work hard, really wants to make this team. He has all the physical tools. Now it's just got about the mental game and, and him just getting more acclimated to the NFL. So I think for me, man, if EJ Speed can put it all together, he could be a really good linebacker in the league. And if he could pair with Darius Leonard, man, the Colts would have some of the most athletic linebackers, I think, in the league by far. Yeah, I'm totally there with you.

And I'm curious to hear your thoughts as well on this, Cody, because one other guy who's actually competing for that same spot with EJ Speed is Matthew Adams. He had a really good night last night. So how do you think that same linebacker spot competition is going to go? Because obviously EJ Speed's taking reps with the ones. But Matthew Adams, I think, had a really good night for himself. Yeah, and I've always liked Matthew Adams. I thought when he restarted last year in the place of Dyer Franklin, I thought he played pretty well.

And the thing with the Colts, how they handle their Sam Linebacker position is – so I remember Matt Eberflus was asked a couple days ago, maybe like last week, about that Sam Linebacker position. And the question was, you know, how many snaps ideally per game does a Sam linebacker get? And he said like 15 to 20. So that means a Sam linebacker will only be really on the field for rundowns, barely on the field. But I think Matthew Adams is a good, you know, he's a good run stop linebacker.

And I think that's really all that he's needed to do. And that, and he won't obviously be on the field a lot, but I like Matthew Adams at that spot. And if the Colts are going to continue to use their Sam linebacker, like they used them last year, where he's not really on the field a whole lot and really just there for run support. I think Matthew Adams is honestly the perfect fit for it.

Cause he's a big guy, strong guy. And I think he's a solid tackler as well, as we saw last night. So I like, I'm a fan of Matthew Adams is honestly the perfect fit for it because he's a big guy, strong guy. And I think he's a solid tackler as well as we saw last night. So I like, I'm a fan of Matthew Adams. I really like him. I thought, I think that the Colts kind of got a steal with him in the seventh round and he really won't be asked to do a whole lot in coverage, which is good because I don't think that's one of his strengths.

But so overall, yeah, I like Matthew Adams. I think he's probably the favorite to start at Sam Linebacker. What do you think that linebacker position is going to look like, Cody? Because obviously we have about three or four or five guys locked in there. But I'd be shocked if they carried seven guys. That's their whole linebacker core right now, if you include Sky Moore and Zaire Franklin. Do you think they're going to keep six,

or do you think they're just going to keep maybe the five and take out Franklin and Sky Moore there? Yeah, I'm probably leaning towards five because what do you think, you've got Walker, Leonard, Okereke, and Adam like we just talked about, and then obviously EJ Speed. So I would say probably five just because I was trying to do some roster crunching, and I feel like you have better players at other positions,

more talented players at other positions that you could cut ties with Isaiah Franklin and Sky Moore in favor of a guy like Jalen Collins or Nate Hairston or Matthias Farley or George Odom or whoever you want to throw in there. I think that the Colts just have more talented guys at other positions, so I would lean towards five. Yeah, I think five or six makes an awful lot of sense. I think Zaire Franklin or Sky Moore has got to have a really big preseason to really stay on this roster because, like you mentioned there, I think corneryra Franklin or Sky Moore has got to really have a really big preseason to really stay on this roster.

Cause like you mentioned there, I think cornerback and wide receiver too. They want to keep six of those guys. I think linebacker is going to be one of the spots I have to cut down a little bit to five, but we should get to the star of the show here today, Cody, that's Chad swag Kelly.

You had a great night for himself. 13 of 19 for 121 yards. He also ran for a rushing touchdown, 53 yards total. What do you think about the performance from Chad Kelly last night? And also as Philip Walker, like we were talking about earlier? It just seems like those guys are going in different directions just off this one game.

Yeah, it does. And I guess I'm more surprised that Phillip Walker played so poorly just because I thought he had a pretty decent preseason last year. I thought he was kind of coming on at the end of the preseason. But, you know, saying that, I think that it's just kind of showing more of Phillip Walker's flaws as a quarterback. And maybe he hasn't progressed the way the Colts thought he would or hoped he would. But no, Chad Kelly really, I think he really took a step forward yesterday. And we always knew that the talent was there. It's just, can he put it all together? Can you stay off? Can you stay clean off the field?

And I think if he can do that, I think he could potentially, you know, I don't know this year, but maybe in the future be that backup quarterback for the Colts once, you know, if, and when the Colts let Jacoby Brissett walk, because I think right now it's just tryouts to see, okay, who's going to back up Andrew Luck for the near future, because the Colts do want to let Jacoby Brissett go, I think. They want to let him try to start somewhere, and also the Colts will get a fourth-round compensatory pick if they do let Jacoby Brissett walk next year, so that'll be

good to see, but overall, no, I was impressed. I was impressed by Chad Kelly last night, and I did not realize how fast he is as a quarterback. That was really cool to me to see him. He had a couple big runs there. Obviously, he had the touchdown run, but so it's good to see he can do it in both ways, similar to how Andrew Luck can, and so I think, yeah, Chad Kelly for me, I think he really cemented himself in the conversation for that number three quarterback position for sure, and potentially, maybe, who knows, maybe even the backup for Andrew Luck in 2020. Yeah, I noticed right away when we watched Phillip Walker for most of that first half, then Chad Cook is in the first possession, throws a couple times.

This guy's arm talent is a whole different level than Phillip Walker's is. I think natural talent is way more in Chad Cook's favor than Phillip Walker. But let me ask you this about Chad Kelly. I mean, would you be surprised they carry three quarterbacks in the main roster, maybe even week one? I know Chad Cook suspended for the first couple games due to his incident off the field, but do you think there's any chance that they carry Chet Cove in the 53-man roster this year once he's out of his suspension? Because I have this feeling, if he keeps playing this well

in the preseason, if they cut him, I feel like someone's going to claim him. Yeah, that's a good point. I don't know. I just have a hard time having three quarterbacks on the roster, simply because I think the Colts have a lot of decisions to make and that would just fill another roster spot. So you got to think, are you going to keep four running backs? Are you going to keep four tight ends? How many receivers are you going to keep? How many offensive linemen are you going to keep?

It's all roster crunching. I just don't see that the Colts would do that. Again, that would kind of leave it open to Chad Kelly being potentially picked up, but no, I think overall, I think they're going to keep two quarterbacks like they did last year, simply because you just have to be very, very cautious and try to fit as many good players as you can on that roster because if a player goes down, right, you got to have that depth in there. So I'm going to stick with two, and I don't really want to, but it's just unfortunate with the 53-man roster.

It's kind of how it has to be. Yeah, I'm totally there with you because if they believe in Bursette, like Frank Reich believes he's the top 20 quarterback, there's no way that Chad Cahill is going to use her for many times soon. I think the fourth-round defense story pick strategy is probably what they've been thinking this whole time, Jacoby Bursette, and I wouldn't be shocked if they continue to follow that model. But what are your expectations now for this third quarterback spot?

Because I think all of a sudden we're seeing maybe if Chad Kelly doesn't go through waivers and he doesn't get claimed, I could easily see them put him on the practice squad for the rest of the season. And like you mentioned, maybe he is the future backup quarterback in 2020 and beyond. What does that mean for Phillip Walker, though, Cody? Because I just have this feeling that if Chad Kelly keeps playing like he is, then Phillip Walker is going to get cut for good now. Yeah.

Yeah, I think so. I think so. Obviously, we have three more games for Phillip Walker to change our minds. But if he keeps playing the way he is, I definitely don't see how he makes it out of these cuts. And I don't really think, you know, if they have Chad Kelly on the practice squad, I don't really see why you'd keep Phillip Walker around. So, yeah, I would definitely say it's really up to him to see if he can bounce

back from this, if he can handle adversity. But, you know, if he can't, I don't really see him, yeah, being in the team's future plans. Alrighty, guys. Before we go on to our next, I'm here closing out today's show over the last 15 minutes. I want to tell you really quickly about our Locked On Fantasy Football show. Fantasy Football players, make sure to listen to Vinny Iyer

in Locked On Fantasy Football. Vinny gives you the edge with over 20 years covering fantasy football. Don't listen to the same stuff as everyone else, then you are the same. Get the edge from Vinny that will put you ahead on draft day and put you ahead all season long. Locked On Fantasy Football on your favorite podcast provider. All right, Cody, let's go ahead and close out today's show talking more about some wide receivers as well.

We're going to hit on some other players as well. Who are some other maybe surprise guys that caught your eye last time we haven't talked about yet? Yeah, definitely. Well, I wasn't able to watch a lot of the game yesterday because I was driving home. But like we already mentioned Reese, I thought Marcus Johnson put together a pretty good game.

It's good to see from him, obviously, coming back from that injury last year. Yeah, I mean, I saw, oh, shoot, I forget his name right now. Number two, I thought he played pretty well. I totally forget his name. I know it starts with the V, but anyway. I forget his first name, too. I think it's VC is his last name. Yeah, VC. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I thought he played pretty well. I think Penny Hart still hurts, so we can't really talk about him. I thought Hale Hinchis played pretty well. He's my secret guy for the MVP, but he only had one catch yesterday, and I thought he should have probably scored a touchdown. But I thought he's a pretty good player.

The Colts have raved about him in camp, so it'll be interesting to watch him and how he continues to progress. But as far as the wide receivers go, those are kind of the only guys that i caught um obviously we talked about deon kane already um with this the colts have a lot of receivers that i think have a lot of potential um so it's just it's very interesting it'll be intriguing to me to watch them and also just devin funchess i thought played pretty well i think he was kind of overshadowed because they were only in there for a couple – he was only in there for a couple plays, I think 22 plays or something like that. But I thought he played pretty well starting out for the Colts.

And so, yeah, I think, you know, all things considered the wide receivers played pretty well. Yeah, I think Funchess definitely. I want to get your opinions on him. I think it's the first time I've seen him dressed in a full Colts uniform. We saw him up close to a training camp, but you see how technical of a route runner he is, Cody. Does that surprise you for a guy his size?

You know, I think it's rare for sure, but that's something that I've always heard that Devin Funches is good at is running routes. But I saw him kind of line up in the slot a little bit, which is really interesting to me. But yeah, like saw in camp evan he is a massive human being i think six four so he's ginormous um but it's interesting to see how he can he's really good at i think controlling his body um really good at doing those kind of things that you wouldn't typically think of a big receiver doing uh and also he he doesn't have bad hands i I think that's something that people think about when they think of Funches, simply because

of last year and the drops. It's not due to bad hands that he dropped a lot of those passes. I think there's a lot of other factors. But yeah, I think he has a lot of good things and a lot of things that aren't typical of a receiver of his size. And so yeah, Devin Funches is an intriguing player to me. I thought he played really well yesterday. I think he had 20 plus yards. His first catch I know went for 17 yards, so it's kind of ironic. But yeah, I think Devin Funches is definitely showing improvement. And I think a lot of the drops that he had last year were a lot of technique issues, and also the fact that Cam Newton is the most accurate quarterback in the world,

and he was hurt last year. I think there's a lot of factors that go into that. So it's exciting to see Devin Funchess, and I think he has a lot of confidence. He has a lot of potential for the Colts, and obviously, the Colts only assigned him to a one-year contract. So if he doesn't live up to that, no harm, no foul. I think one guy we haven't talked about yet on the show, Jonathan Williams, who had 13 total touches. He had six carries, five recepts for 57 yards. What do you think about Williams, you guys? That's Chris Ballard's guy. He got claimed from New Orleans this time last year.

I think he's really intriguing as a power back option. If Deontay Foreman's not going to make the team, if he's going to – I really see a hard time Deontay Foreman leapfrogging Jonathan Williams because I was actually really impressed with how aggressive Williams' running style was. Yeah, it was impressive. And you even think, what if the Colts decide to keep three running backs? What happens to Jordan Wilkins? A guy that's been injured now, so what happens to a guy like Jordan Wilkins?

Because he's kind of that power back as well. But if the Colts do decide to keep four, I think that Jonathan Williams has definitely shown a lot to definitely warrant him a spot on this roster. And if he continues to run well, man, I think that the Colts will probably try to keep four running backs. But I also, it's hard to see that as well because of the tight end and the tight ends are

really good. And, you know, you have five guys who could make this roster realistically for the tight ends. But overall, I think from what we saw last year, I think that the Colts will probably keep four running backs. And I think Jonathan Williams just continues to show why Chris Ballard loves him so much because he's not afraid to go in there and run it down people's throats. Yeah, I really like what I saw from Jonathan Williams last night.

I'm curious to see if he continues to ever pre-season because if he continues to play like this, Cody, I wouldn't be shocked saw from Jonathan Williams last night. I'm curious to see if he continues to do that with Priestley because if he continues to play like this, Cody, I wouldn't be shocked if they cut Jordan Wilkins and instead put Jonathan Williams in his place because he seems to be a good pass catcher as well. But I think a couple more players we haven't hit on yet as well. Carroll Phillips, he had a couple sacks last night. What do you think about his prospects?

He's a guy from Illinois. He looks like a rangy guy. He was on the 53-man a little bit last year. Do you think he's probably just a practice squad guy at this point? Yeah. One name that I always bring up when I think about Carroll Phillips and his performances, Ryan Delaire. I don't know if you remember Ryan Delaire. Last year in the preseason, he really stood out and he got to the quarterback a lot. A lot of people thought he should make the final roster. Well, he actually got cut and hasn't done anything since. So you always have those preseason hero guys

who do really, you know, do really well in the preseason and people think they should make the roster. But so it's interesting with Carroll Phillips because, yeah, he was on the roster last year a little bit. He was on the practice squad too, but I thought he had a really, really good game, all things considered. I think he also had a fumble recovery, so he was kind of all over the field. And my question is, you know, if he continues to perform, who does he replace? Who does he replace? The Colts defensive end group is just so, right now, so deep. Who does he replace? And has he now made a case for himself to potentially be on this 53-man roster? So I think it's – no, same thing with Darius Fountain.

Yes, they both had good games, but it's all about consistency. Can they consistently come day in and day out and do that? And so it'll be intriguing to watch both of them as the preseason goes on, as practice goes on, as the Browns come to town tomorrow and they play them next Saturday. It'll be interesting to see if he can do it back-to-back weeks. Yeah, that's consistency is the big thing for these guys at the bottom of the roster here.

And before I let you go, Cody, this has been a fun chat, but what are maybe your prospect battles to watch as far as positions go? Because that wide receiver spot's probably going to be really fun to watch the last couple weeks, probably the defensive line too. Where are some other spots? Maybe you can include those as well. What are you looking forward to most after one preseason game over the next few weeks?

Yeah. Well, I've always expressed my love for the cornerback group. So, you know, we always, I think we already have the top, the Colts already have the top four guys, probably pretty much locks to make the roster and Kenny Moore, Quincy Wilson, Pierre Desir, and then obviously Rocky As seen who they drafted this year um so i think i look at it as a battle between a couple guys um with jalen collins nate harrison

uh even chris milton who was a special teams gunner a special teams ace last year for them and marvell tell who's the guy they drafted this year in the fifth round who has converted free safety um and so that's an interesting battle to watch and just seeing how many of the Colts carry there. And also the safety position is another one that I'm really watching because Colts have a lot of guys and I'm thinking, man, they keep five safeties on their roster because you think Malik Hooker, Clayton Gethers, we've heard a lot about George Odom, Matthias Farley's coming back. And then you got Clayton Gethers, which I already mentioned, and then Kari Willis, who they drafted. So there's just a lot of guys on this roster who is just like,

especially the safety position, who, man, it's going to be an interesting battle to watch, but I'm definitely looking forward to basically just watching the defensive backs and who makes plays, who doesn't make plays, and who ends up on this final 53-man roster. So I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for that. Isn't it nice, Cody, that finally after really, we had this last year, I think even more so this year with all the depth they've added, it's nice to have like they're finally cutting good players to actually

guys who really deserve to be cut. That's going to be actually a fun competition for those final few spots. Yeah, and that's something that Chris Ballard said. He says, you know we're moving in the right direction when you're cutting good players and they're going on and playing for other teams. And it looks like the Colts are going to finally start doing that. And they're going to have to cut ties with players who have a lot of potential and are actually pretty good players. And so it's going to be intriguing to watch for sure

in the rest of this preseason, the rest of training camp, and seeing, yeah, man, who in the world is going to make the back rest of this preseason, the rest of training camp, and seeing, yeah, man, who in the world is going to make the back end of this roster? I'm really excited to watch that in these next couple weeks. Absolutely. You can follow Cody over on Twitter at CPFelger55. Cody, this is a fun conversation. As you guys know, you'll be hearing Cody once per week here on this podcast.

I appreciate the time, Cody. Yeah, thanks, man. I appreciate it.