Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Mega Mailbag Extravaganza

Episode Date: February 27, 2021

On today's episode, Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed joins Evan to answer all of your Twitter mailbag questions on the Indianapolis Colts.Here's an hour of content heading straight into your stream going every feasible angle of the Colts' 2021 offseason. Thank you so much to all of the listeners out there who sent in questions via Twitter!You won't want to miss this one, Colts fans. From Carson Wentz to offseason scenarios, and so much more, tune in for what you need to hear about the Colts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back to the latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Setter, joined by Steven Reed of Stampede Blue. Another mailbag, quite possibly, I think, Steven, maybe the last one we have until free agency starts here in a couple weeks, because we're at the end of the month of February.

This is the last podcast of February, and right around the corner, two weeks from now, is free agency, Steven. Who would have thought, even without the NFL Combine, usually this fills the void between now and then, but it's crazy to say free agency is only two two weeks from now is free agency, Stephen. Who would have thought, even without the NFL combine, usually this fills the void between now and then, but it's crazy to say free agency is only two weeks away from now. Yeah, it's exciting, especially the pieces that are falling in place for the Colts. Like you said, we're normally talking about 40 times

and three-cone drills right now, And, you know, without, with, with everything that's going on, we, we obviously can't. So, uh, it's good to, to have something going on that we can all talk about. Um, but yeah, it's a, we'll have next couple of weeks, hopefully it will be relatively quiet, uh, and, uh, we'll hit, hit free agency and, and the Colts will go run. It actually makes some money this year. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see what happens here. The Colts, I believe, have around $50 million in cap space.

The fourth most in the NFL right now, even after absorbing the big Carson Wentz contract. Something to watch out for, especially, is the extensions, Looney for Darius Leonard, Braden Smith, possibly Naheem Hines as well. So that money could go pretty quickly. So this might be the last offseason here for a little bit that the Colts can go out and make a big move or two if they want to. But let's start off with today's episode, which is our mailbag.

We've had a couple mailbags here and there since the end of the offseason, Stephen. But this one, I think, by far is the most biggest one yet. I mean, we have 18 questions here, so I really appreciate all of our listeners really filling up our mailbag here. This is going to be really a marathon here to get through all these, Steve, because it's going to be a lot of interesting questions here from all of our listeners. So let's dive in to our first question of our offices and mailbag.

Like I said, more than likely our last one here until free, so I appreciate all the questions here. One here is from Luis Chavez, and it reads – these are all from Twitter, by the way. Hi, everyone, from Lock Locked On Colts. What do you think is more probable, left tackle in draft or edge rusher in free agency or edge rusher in a draft and left tackle in free agency? Greetings from Mexico.

I appreciate the international listeners that listen in the Locked On Colts. And, Luis, thank you for the question there. I'll start it off here, Steven, as far as the preference of what we think is going to happen here for the Colts, this offseason at left tackle and edge rusher, if I had to place a bet down if I was in Vegas, I'd probably go with them getting an edge rusher in free agency and then drafting their left tackle in the first or second round, or if they trade back.

I think the first pick is going to be left tackle, unless a real blue-chip edge pass rush is on the board there for them that Chris Bauer and Ed Dodds fall head over heels for. I think the more realistic scenario here is going edge rusher, drafting your left tackle the future in the first round. It wouldn't shock me either way, but I really feel like with how good this edge rushing class is in free agency, Stephen, I think they're going to probably address that there. I'm with you. I feel like left tackle makes the most sense for a couple reasons. One is the amount of money that you're about to have

tied up in the offensive line. And then the edge rush market, Chris Ballard, I've mentioned this before on the podcast, some of the things that he said with regards to edge rushers is usually it takes about two to three years for those guys to develop, even those guys that are taken early into the draft. The comments about Jerry Hughes,

I keep bringing that up. And so I think right now the Colts are basically in kind of a win-now mode. And so I think that makes the most sense for them to go ahead and get an edge rusher because those guys in year 4-5 are already established. They're already going to know the ropes. You don't have to sit there and wait for them to develop. The left tackle position, getting a young one in the draft, I think is the best opportunity for the Colts' long-term success

because, one, it keeps that cost down a little bit on the left tackle. If you get them early, you know they're going to be talented. Plus, you have Quentin Nelson there. What we all heard from when Jared Valdir came in, Quentin Nelson was helping him with the play calls throughout the process. And so you have guys there on the offensive line that if the left tackle struggles a little bit, you've got really quality talent, quality players on the offensive line. They're able to help him. They're able to guide him.

You're able to put him in the right position and the best position to succeed. The next one here, Stephen, is from Jason Sanders on Twitter, and it really ties into what you were just mentioning about the offensive line and how big the contracts are. You have Ryan Kelly already the most expensive center in the NFL. Quinn Nelska getting a mega contract, probably the highest paid offensive line in NFL history within the next year. Braden Smith, this offseason, I imagine, will get an extension on making the highest paid right tackle in the NFL

with the way he's played the last two years. So Jason's question to ask here, Stephen, assuming big contracts for Nelson and Smith, are the Colts investing too much in their salary cap on the offensive line? It's a valid question just because they're drafting so well there with Smith and Nelson, obviously, Ryan Kelly has been developed into one of the best centers in NFL, we're gonna have three

the highest paid guys in the NFL along your offensive line. But I feel like honestly, Steven, that's a okay place to put I know it's really not analytically the smartest way. And maybe it's some people out there will say, you should just go cheap at that and just see what happens. We saw if you go cheap with offensive line with the Andrew Luck era and we saw Mike McGlynn we saw Goddard shareless we saw Samson Satelli for the super cheap contracts and really not investing really heavily into that and then we saw what happened with Andrew Luck's career there so I think with the way the Colts have seen the career of Andrew Luck go I think they're more than okay paying like 30 percent of their cap toward the offensive line with especially you have Kelly up front, Nelson, and Smith.

Probably, like I mentioned, three of the highest paid offensive line at the position of the NFL here very soon. But for a guy like Carson Wentz, who has a similar play style to Andrew Luck, who holds onto the ball a long time, I think it's ideal to have an offensive line that is at the level the Colts are at and pay them the money they deserve. Yeah, I don't mind the amount of money they're paying there at the offensive line. This is, like you mentioned, it kind of ties into my thoughts with the draft is you're able to get somebody that's relatively cheaper.

Chris Ballard talked from day one about building in the trenches and re-signing his own. It just makes sense for them to spend that money there. And also take into account right now the salary cap this year is down. So the amount of money that they are spending in the offensive line position when they give these extensions to Braden Smith and Quentin Nelson is going to not look as bad when you see, I think there was a deal announced today or within the past couple of days

that the NFL and Disney have reached an agreement for like $2.3 billion to keep Monday Night Football on ESPN and then have ABC get into the Super Bowl rotation. And so the NFL's salary cap is going to skyrocket once they get these new TV deals done in 2022. So these deals, if Chris Ballard can get them done now, yeah, it's going to be a large percentage of the cap, but it's not going to be as cost prohibitive to spend your money there. You mentioned the analytics. Analytics probably say don't spend your money on the offensive line. Analytics also probably said

don't take a guard at six overall. And so I tend to trust what Chris Ballard is doing there with the offensive line and trying to build from the trenches, like he said, from literally day one. Another offensive line question here. We got a lot of these today. There's a lot of people intrigued about how they're going to address offensive line, especially left tackle this offseason. This one's from Elijah King, and he asks,

I know it's a long shot, but any chance we try to bring in Trent Williams to play left tackle this offseason. This one's from Elijah King, and he asks, I know it's a long shot, but any chance we try to bring in Trent Williams to play left tackle? I would say it's doubtful with how much they've spent, especially adding the Carson Wentz contract. Trent Williams is going to be plus $20 million on the cap, I imagine. He'll be the highest paid left tackle in the NFL, whether he stays in San Fran or goes elsewhere. If they do sign Trent Williams to a big deal,

that gives the Colts around $20 million in cap space. So it's really not a lot. I know the Colts like rolling over their money into the next offseason to save some more money. So I would say if you asked me a month ago, I would have been all aboard the idea. But after the way the Colts have been maneuvering and after acquiring Carson Wentz in that contract,

I think it's very, very doubtful the Colts even try to pursue Trent Williams. I tend to agree with you. Trent Williams is going to cost a lot of money. When you can get a very good quality left tackle in the draft. And again, we focus back to the draft. This is a very deep left tackle draft. So you can get guys like a Christian Derrissaw at 21 that normally you're not able to get.

Sam Cosme, Liam Eikenberg, Jalen Mayfield, Dylan Madunes, all those guys are going to be there at 21 if you want it, or probably even if you trade back, you're going to have some great opportunities there. Walker Little is a guy out of Stanford that could pop in at left tackle and play, and you can get him in the second round, or if you trade back and pick up an extra third rounder, you can potentially get him there too. So I think that there's a lot better options for the Colts

in terms of cost effectiveness and can't discount what you had said before about the salary cap situation. You just add Carson Wentz, you take your cap number from 70 something down to like 40, 53 million you add on another guy and it's not going to be 20 million in the cap this year um because they'll probably do they if they did sign trent williams it would be a two three year deal something like that

um and this year's cap hit would be mitigated by a pretty low base salary but a big signing bonus um but overall i i think chris ballard's going to reach out because that's just what he does he does his due diligence but i think the likelihood of them signing trent williams is pretty small totally agree with you there we've been lockstep on this and like names you just mentioned there dylan dylan radunes liam eikenberg um a couple other options there even alex leatherwood in round two sam cosme as well there's going to be a really good run of left tackles christian derisal's a dream scenario as well if he can follow 21 i know he's been mocked lately in the mid first draft he can slip a little bit that's almost like an anthony costanza scenario

back when he was drafted where he was like a mid first round pick slipped down in the cold spot 22 derisal is one of my favorite guys so far left tackle. And he would be a really dream pick next to Quentin Nelson. He would be amazing next to Quentin Nelson to see those guys. Cause Daris is so athletic that you can get him out in space and pull him to it. Cornerbacks would just have nightmares the day before coming up against Colts.

Yeah. Chris Bauer loves his traits, and I have to imagine that Darryl Saul is pretty high on their board. He's a guy we're going to cover later on getting closer to the draft. He's really – I imagine he's high on both Steve and I's boards as far as patterns go for the Colts. A left tackle to Virginia Tech. But another draft question here from Elijah King.

Same question here from Elijah. Appreciate the questions here. Thoughts on J.C. Horn, the cornerback out of South Carolina at 21 overall. He's a very intriguing prospect. He fits the measurables. He fits the traits that Chris Bauer likes. Very physical, pressed corner like Rakia Sin was, but instead of Rock, he's 6'1", he's 225. He's super fast. He's super aggressive. He's a great tackler as well. I think J.C. Horn makes a lot of sense to him, but only if they don't bring back Xavier Rhodes. But I just feel like it'd be a very, very risky thing to go out there

and bet on Rakisen and a rookie to be your two starting outside boundary corners in year one. But I do like Horn. I really like Horn. He fits everything that Chris Ballard looks for in terms of a corner. I'll say this. I tend to think that Chris Ballard devalues the cornerback position in this defense. You don't see him go out and spend super high picks in the corner.

He's never taken a corner in the first round. The highest I think he took one was Rock. And he struggled at times, but there are times you see greatness from Rock. So it's really, you know, he's had a really up and down season the past couple years. But you can get guys like Xavier Rhodes in free agency that can come in that are physical zone corners that tackle well. And that's all you really need in the cover too,

is corners that don't make major mental mistakes and they tackle well. I think the stat was the Colts give up the highest completion percentage in the NFL, but they also are the best at tackle percentage. So you might catch the ball, but you don't go anywhere. And so I just don't see the Colts valuing that position super high in the draft, just because they haven't in the past in terms of the draft or free agency. So I really like JC Horn. I think he'd be a perfect fit in the system. He's very versatile. I just don't see the Colts going in that direction. Yeah, I think it's doubtful to Horns there

at 21. His stocks really started to skyrocket over the last few months. I've seen him mock to Arizona at 15 a lot. There's a lot of places in the mid-18s where I think Horns probably could go off the board by then. Chicago also makes sense at 20. I just don't think he gets there. I don't think he gets to 21

to be honest. I'm totally there with you. I think he's pretty clearly now the third best corner in this class behind Sertain and Farley. So I appreciate a lot of the draft content. I know people are getting excited about the draft, even though Frianty's right around the corner as well. But last one here from Elijah, talking about Frianty, it seems like, and the draft. It's kind of both here. What skill position players do you think the Colts will go after without the offense? So just to recap for people, they have Taylor and Heinz at running back. They have, currently right now, they have Michael Pittman Jr., Zach Paschal, Paris Campbell as their top

three wide receivers. T.Y. Hilton, we don't know just yet what's going to happen there. Tight end, they have Jack Doyle, Mahdi Cox is a restricted free agent. He's going to come back, I imagine. And you have, of course, the offensive line, the question of left tackle. So for skill position players on offense, you're looking at tight end, you're looking at wide receiver. What do you think their free agency or the draft, Stephen, any names stand out to you? Tight end.

If we're going to each tight end, obviously Hunter Henry has got, you know, experience in a similar system out from San Diego, Los Angeles Chargers. He's the crown jewel of the tight end free agent class. I think he would be a perfect fit here in Indianapolis. If you're looking at the draft, you kind of look at guys that are more that athletic tight end, the F tight end that Chris Ballard talked about, like a Brevin Jordan. Obviously, if somebody like Kyle Pitts falls, goodness gracious,

I'd have a hard time seeing Chris Ballard pass him up. And then, yeah, look at the wide receiver position. I think that one's going to be the most intriguing position in this offseason for the Colts in terms of skilled position players because you're going to have a lot of guys. We talk about this every year going into free agency. You get really excited about unrestricted free agents, and then a lot of guys like we talk about this every year going into free agency you get really excited about unrestricted free agents and then a lot of them get tagged so i'm not sure alan robinson will hit the market i'm not sure kenny galladay will hit the market the most likely

candidates to become free agents and actually hit unrestricted free agency or juju smith-huster and probably ch Godwin. In terms of those high level guys, I wouldn't be surprised to see them re-sign T.Y. Hilton at this point, if all those guys get tagged and then go with somebody like a Corey Davis, like a Tyrell Williams was just cut. One thing that we know Chris Ballard values is compensatory picks. If he signs a guy like Tyrell Williams, who was cut by the Raiders,

then that doesn't count against him for his compensatory picks. So then if, say, Danico Autry signs a big contract, which there's rumors that he's going to get a lot of interest, then Chris Ballard could potentially get a third-round pick in 2022 back for Danico Autry signing somewhere else. Same thing with Xavier Rhodes. Chris Ballard has kind of set up this offseason to be the one where he doesn't spend huge and he lets his free agents walk. And so he can recoup those 2022 compensatory picks. So when it comes to the draft and wide receivers, this is a massively deep draft in the wide receiver department as well. You've got guys all over the place. The one position style that I think the Colts would look at in the draft is guys specifically that can get deep, get vertical,

and be able to win those 50-50 balls because they really don't have that right now. Yeah, Michael Pittman Jr. is solid at that, but you really need that secondary guy. And so I think they could take a wide receiver at 21 if somebody unexpectedly falls, like Devonta Smith falls because of his stature and teams just way oversell that or they devalue him for that or like if a Jalen Waddle falls because of an injury history, maybe you take a look at those guys at 21.

You probably do. But I think there's a lot of great guys. Terrace Marshall Jr. from LSU is a wide receiver that I would love for the Colts to get. I think he's really, really underrated, similar to Justin Jefferson. Last year, he's just an underrated wide receiver who runs good routes and does good things. It's another LSU wide receiver coming to the NFL

that should produce pretty early on. But yeah, there's a lot of options. I think the most intriguing one with free agency is going to be the wide receiver. And if they're able to, I definitely see Frank Reich pushing to get another tight end, specifically an athletic pass catcher that's a mismatched nightmare for them. BetOnline is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. Football might be over, but NBA, college, basketball, and the NHL are in full swing.

BetOnline covers awards, TV shows, and reality TV. Real-time data, odds, and props, and almost anything you can imagine. BetOnline has you covered for all the news, scores, and odds, and it's the best way to place, odds, and props, and almost anything you can imagine. BetOnline has you careful of news, scores, and odds, and it's the best way to place your bets, and it's free to sign up. Head to the website, use your mobile device, sign up today, and receive a 50% off welcome bonus for your first deposit. The promo code is LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts.

Is the relationship between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks broken? That's what happened today on the Locked On Today podcast. Get more of the sports news you need in less time at the locked on today podcast. Describe a locked on today, wherever your podcast. Two names to watch. I think at both positions,

I'll throw one in her free and see one in the draft. I think at tight end, he's technically not a free agent yet, but I have to imagine what the way his trade markets really stalled out. Zach Ertz is someone that really watch out for. I know it's been confirmed that the Colts were talking about Zach Ertz in the trade with Carson Wentz to bring him back to be up their pick a little bit. We heard that from both sides of Philadelphia and Indy.

So there's definitely some interest to reunite Frank Reich and Carson Wentz with Zach Ertz. That's a name to watch there if he gets cut. Like you mentioned, the compensatory picks. Sending Ertz to a one- or two-year deal will not impact the compensatory picks at all. He kind of fits that mold. He's 30 years old, but he's definitely more athletic than a Jack Doyle.

I'd say he's more athletic than a Moalik Cox. So I think he'd definitely be an intriguing fit to watch. If he gets cut, I think they're going to be all over that as far as the Colts go. I think Zach Ertz, his preferred destination is India as well. So keep an eye on Zach Ertz there as far as a cheaper option, a tight end. In the draft, something that really caught my eye a couple days ago from the draft network, Justin, who does all the interviews for the draft network over there and interviews all the prospects,

he had an interview with Rondell Moore, and Rondell Moore mentioned that he's spoken to the Colts, which really threw me for a loop because that's an intriguing name. I mean, in round two at 54, if you trade back a little bit from 21 and you get like a late first-round pick, early second-round pick, I mean, if you're looking for a T.Y. clone, a more athletic T.Y., I know he's a little smaller than him, like an inch smaller, but like I mentioned, Chris Bauer loves those trades.

He jumps through the roof. He makes up for his lack of size with like a 42-inch vertical at his size. He's a 4'2", 4'3", 40 type of guy. I mean, I'm selling myself on Rondo more. I know he has the injury history there but man if he is healthy with Rondell Moore Paris Campbell if he's healthy as well Jonathan Taylor Naheem Hines on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf man that that would be nightmares for defenses yeah that's a great point Ronnie Elmore really is a mismatch nightmare for defenses and if he stays healthy

he's a guy that can really really cause some trouble and yeah it's a Zach Ertz thing yeah absolutely if he becomes available then that's I mean,

you, you see the chemistry that, that Winston hurts had in the past and having him being under Frank, right. I think that makes the most sense. One, one artist here I want to throw out in the draft that's kind of a late sleeper is Josh. He made her a baby out of Illinois. He's a 47 inch. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and he's uh he's a 47 inch yeah yeah oh and he's fast he he's crazy fast like he's he's really athletic um got good hands he's he's a guy that i i won't be surprised if he goes a little higher than people think um and he's allegedly talked to the colts twice according to zach hicks um

and so that's a guy that i would i would keep an eye on as a mid-round super for the colts at wide receiver because he's a vertical guy so just throwing that out there um zach put that out on on stampede blue and one of his most recent articles so yep no yeah i think amir bb really makes a lot of sense like i mentioned he's a traits guy as well so if you're talking about chris bauer looking for the guys to have like the off the church traits and i imagine the colts Amit or B.B. really makes a lot of sense. Like I mentioned, he's a trades guy as well. So if you're talking about Chris Bauer, looking for the guys to have off-the-church trades, and I imagine the Colts would be very interested in them. Amit or B.B. is someone to watch at pick 127.

I think he's more of a fourth, fifth-round guy. If they had the combine this year, might sneak into the third round. The Colts don't have their third-round pick this year due to the Carson Wentz trade, but we'll have to see if they trade back and recoup that. But next question here is from Fabio Lorenzo, Stephen. And he asks, would you rather get T.Y. Hilton back on three years $30 million

or Kenny Galladay slash Allen Robinson for four years $72 million? So it's either you pay T.Y. $10 million per year or Galladay or Robinson $18 million per year. What would you choose? I mean, personally, I would probably go the route of Allen Robinson for $18 million a year. I also think Allen Robinson is going to make more than that. I think he's going to be one of the higher paid receivers in the NFL if he actually hits the open market. It's going to be a bidding war for Allen Robinson for $18 million a year. I also think Allen Robinson is going to make more than that. I think he's going to be one of the higher paid receivers in the NFL.

If he actually hits the open market, it's going to be a bidding war for Allen Robinson. I don't know if the Colts are going to be comfortable doing that. I think it's going to be closer to $19-20 million per year. But I would definitely go Robinson for $472 million. Him and PJ on the outside with Paris and the slot would be a lot of fun to watch. But realistically, we're talking about what Chris Bauer would do. I think T.Y. at $10 million per year probably their their limit anyways for a guy like ty yeah my preference is alan robinson i i've been an alan robinson fan since he was drafted by jacksonville i was

screaming at the television as ryan grigson passed over him um that just frustrated me in the second round it's yeah that anyway that we won't relive that. That's a little, little bit of trauma there. Yeah. Allen Robinson's would be my guy. I think you're right. I think there's going to be a bidding war for him. I don't see Chris Ballard getting into any of that. And that's if he even hits free agency. I still don't think that he will. I think Chicago is going to find a way to franchise tag him. Then if you're looking at Kenny Galladay at that number or T.Y. at 10,

I think that's more than what they'll be willing to pay T.Y. To be honest with you, I don't see them giving him a $10 million deal based on his play the last two years. I think I would prefer him at that versus Galladay at 18 and go and draft a wide receiver, maybe use that extra money on a pass rusher. But I don't think Galladay gets out of Detroit either based on what they've said. I think the most likely scenario, again, if you're looking at wide receivers,

is you use Smith-Schuster or Chris Godwin as those top tier that are going to be available in free agency. But if somehow Robinson and or Galladay get free, then I would go Robinson, absolutely. Next question here, a couple internal questions about some guys in the Colts roster right now. The first one's from Rusty Lloyd, and he asks, I know we need more pass rush, but how do you think Chris Fowler evaluates Kamoka Ture moving forward?

How much does that affect who he drafts last time on the edge? Looking at Ture's stats, he's had a total of six and a half sacks in 25 games in his career. He's had 21 QB hits in 25 games. He had that breakout first month of the year in 2019, Stephen. He was one of the higher graded edge rushers in the NFL in 2019 before he snapped his leg in 25 games. He had that breakout first month of the year in 2019, Steven. He was one of the higher-graded edge rushers in the NFL in 2019 before he snapped his leg in Kansas City. He wreaked havoc in that game, too, but

when he came back for the final seven games last year, it was a limited role. He really flashed for one game, but outside of that, he was very, very inconsistent. I know he's come off the injury, but he's entering the final year of his contract next year off his rookie deal. A big year for Kamoko Ture. If I was the Colts I know Ture is splashed a lot especially in 2019 he did but not really much in 2020 I would not let Ture impact anything as far as pass rush goes you

have to replace Justin Houston Ben Banigou's been a zero so far Ture has been very hit and miss if I was Chris Bauer and you see a blue chip guy in the draft or you think one of those edge rusher guys you really want to target I would not let Kamoko Ture stop me if Ture really breaks out next year it's just a bonus to me yeah I don't think Ture in his development plays any role in and where Chris Ballard drafts just he's one of those guys like we've talked about before he builds through the trenches. He recognizes the importance of edge rushers, especially for the Colts in the past year, past two years where they haven't had that edge rusher that could really get home and how that's been kind of a focus.

So he's going to continue drafting him and he's right to do so. You can never have too many high quality edge rushers. I hope that Kamoku Ture comes back and he's able to regain that form from 2019 after having a full offseason, semi-healthy, and able to really get back into it. Because remember, that was a pretty nasty break for Ture in that Kansas City game. It's a long recovery. It's hard. And so hopefully he's able to take this offseason, really get healthy, and he's able to come out in 2021

and really solidify himself as that right defense. I think he'll probably play right defense, but as a defensive starter there. And so that's my hopes for Trey. And I just don't think that Trey's development in any way impacts Chris Ballard's decisions in the draft in terms of drafting an edge rusher yeah I totally agree there were lockstep on that one Trey if he does break out next year it's just a big bonus for the Colts moving forward but we have two of the same questions here one from Josh and the other one is from at not Brent Burns and they're asking about

Jacob Eason and they're asking about Eason they're saying do you think he's going to be the primary backup next year carson wentz or do you think they're going to go out and get in competition and free agency and maybe sign a veteran for the room to help out wentz to help out jacob eason a little bit and have carry three corex again in 2020 or 2021 excuse me i was on a board the idea before of before they got Carson Wentz, Stephen, of having Jacob Eason be their primary backup. But the more I've thought about it, the more I think the Colts are going to go out there and forget to sign a really cheap backup.

And one thing that stands out to me, I know he did not play well last year. He's barely played much in the NFL in his career. He's been a primary backup where he's been. But there's the Frank Wright connection. There's the Indiana connection. There's the Carson Wentz connection. And it's Nate Sutfeld. I think he's a very intriguing there's a Frank Wright connection. There's the Indiana connection. There's the Carson Wentz connection and it's Nate Sutfeld. I think he's a very intriguing guy to watch for.

This is a really cheap one-year deal. You can push Jacob Eason in training camp. If Eason wins that battle, you can either cut Sutfeld, just keep him in the quarterback room to help out as be another sort of mentor for Eason in the locker room. I think Sutfeld makes the most sense off the quarterback list. Guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick are going to come here and be the backup to Wentz. No one's going to come here and expect to win a job when Kirsten Wentz really already has a quarterback job in Indianapolis moving forward for the next year or two.

So I think the most realistic option for them, whether it just be for training camp or even for next year because they haven't seen anything from Jacob Beeson yet due to COVID-19, I think a guy like Nate Sudfeld makes a lot of sense on a one, two-year deal that's non-guaranteed and see what happens at camp. Yeah, I think I'm, I'm kind of leaning towards Jacob Beeson being the primary backup at this point. I do, I do think that they're going to bring in a veteran, probably maybe somebody that's a cap casualty.

Cause I don't see Chris Ballard risking his comp picks to bring in a a guy that is ends up being just like a camp battle now one of the there's different quirks with comp pick compensatory picks and and how they're divvied up so like if the guy doesn't make it to the final roster then he doesn't normally count against your comp pick formula anyway um I see them bringing in somebody to compete with Eason, but I think it's more just trying to try to teach him more than anything else through preseason. And then I think Jacob Eason is going to be the primary backup

throughout the regular season. Yeah, something to watch out for. I think a name like Sudfeld does make a little bit of sense, and we'll obviously hit on that when free agency starts and see if the Colts maybe kick around a few tires with some veteran quarterback options. But I think Jacob Eastman, more likely than not, is going to be your primary backup next year

with maybe a guy in the locker room to help him out and develop more, as Carson Wentz is the guy now in Indy. But the next question here is another developmental one. It's from Miguel Angel Duran, and he asks, any thoughts on Desmond Patton getting more reps next year? What do you think about Desmond Patton? He was a sixth-round pick last year, really inactive like Jacob Eason most

of the year, outside of one game where he really didn't get any snaps at all anyways. I mean, he's intriguing to me, but with the way the Colt Y receiver room is already, you have Paschal, you have Campbell, you have MPJ, you add in T.Y. or another veteran free, or if you draft another one. I just don't know at this point, unless he really truly breaks out,

if Patman's just more than a special teams guy on this team. Patman's got some skills. I mean, he's a big receiver. I think he ran like 4.45, 4.48, something like that. So he's fast. He can get vertical. He, the, the issue with Patman was that he didn't use his size effectively in terms of shielding off defenders. So, and you kind of saw him double catch at times.

So that would be my, my concern with Patman in terms of his development. If he's able to get that fixed, he could become a valuable guy. And like you mentioned, he can play special teams and is willing to do so. So that's something that also adds value. As a fourth or fifth wide receiver, that guy's got to play special teams. And so I could see him getting some run, depending on what the Colts do in free agency and the draft. But I wouldn't expect him to have a significant role going forward.

I think that he's one of those guys that would have to, kind of like Zach Paschal, honestly, to work his way on the roster by doing all the right things, keeping his head down and just working, working, working, finally getting this opportunity and making the most of it. And, you know, obviously Zach Paschal is in line for hopefully an extension for him. And that's kind of the similar path that I would see Desmond Patman if he were to make the roster and if he were to stick around on the roster. Next one here is from Michael and he asked asked he asked about molly cox it's at cash money

fork yeah it's about molly cox like i mentioned he asked is it time to move on from molly cox he's a restricted free agent but he did flash last year i mean i'd be shocked if the colts don't bring it back on a one-year deal or maybe a two-year deal but he's a restricted free agent he had good stats last year he had 31 catches for 394 yards he He did flash for a couple games, like the Jets game, the Vikings, the Bears game last year. But really in the second half of the season kind of disappeared a little bit in the offense. I don't know why the Colts went away from that, but he has shown to this point he could be a weapon in the pass game a little bit. But I think it is a big year for Malik Cox, Steven, because

he's still kind of the backup to Jack Doyle. He's a great blocker, but I think it is a big year for Malik Cox, too, because he's still kind of the backup to Jack Doyle. He's a great blocker. But I think moving forward this next year, I kind of want to see Malik Cox more involved in the offense. I really want to see, like, if he's a featured target like Jack Doyle is, what he would do with those types of numbers and those types of catches and targets thrown his way. I mean, how big do you think 2021 is for Malik Cox?

It's pretty big for him. He's a restricted free agent, so he's going to get a one-year contract or depending on if somebody else tries to sign him, I guess. I don't see the Colts moving on from him. They're really high on Malachi Cox from everything I've heard. His versatility is huge. I mean, shoot, he's huge. He can catch the ball.

Like you mentioned, he's a good blocker. I would argue a better blocker than Jack Doyle. And in the Colts' running game, that's what they want in their tight ends, a guy that can really hammer down on that defensive end and then still be able to run a pattern if he needs to so I see Mo Ali Cox getting an opportunity but this is a huge year for him if he doesn't show up this year and play well then they might look to move on from him I the tough part is you know he's still relatively young as especially compared to Jack Doyle. And so Doyle, I think, is on his way out. And quite honestly, if there were some random surprise cut, then I kind of would put it on

Doyle, depending on what they do in free agency. So that's kind of where I'm at with it. I feel like Mo'Wally Cox is going to stick around. I don't think it's time to give up on him or move on from him yet. I want to see him in more of a future role to see if he can come in and be kind of like that Antonio Gates-style receiver, but as a better blocker. Next one here is from At Bam Ademayo, and he has two-parter here. The first one is very easy. This will be a quick one.

Do you think Bobby Okereke could take over at the middle linebacker spy if we let Anthony Walker go I think that's where the Colts are going Stephen I mean from all indications he played that already did yeah it's already happened he's gonna be the linebacker of the future yeah he already did uh check the snap percentage he well-snapped Anthony Walker last year, especially in the last half of the season. It was almost a two-to-one ratio, if not more than that, in terms of the snaps Bobby Okereke had over Anthony Walker. And I just don't see Anthony Walker coming back.

They're then re-signing him next year, unless it's for a Batman home. Yeah, I'm totally there. That's a quick one because we know the ceiling Okariki has, you know, high internally, the colds are on Okariki. Okariki and Linder for the next 10 years is going to be a very fun linebacker duo to watch in Indy. But the second part here is a more intriguing one. Would you rather sign J.J. Watt or go younger at edge rusher

for a true pass rusher like Carl Lawson or Bud Dupree? What would you pick? I'd rather sign Romeo Okwara. I'd rather sign a younger pass rusher than necessarily go after J.J. Watt. J.J. Watt, he's probably the most difficult free agent opportunity I would have for the Colts because he still can play elite. He still is an elite player, even at 31, even with his injury history.

I think he played 16 games last season for the first time in a couple years. But he's a great player and would end up pulling guys away from DeForest Buckner. But he's just just in terms of age and I just feel like Chris Ballard is more likely to go in another direction um and I still think that Chris Ballard is going to look to sign two edge rushers in this free agent class and I I you know last week I I put my hat down for Carl Lawson and Romeo Aquara. It looks like Carl Lawson may not get out of Cincinnati. So I would love for it if they signed both JJ Watt and Romeo Aquara,

because I think that that would be a really good tandem to bring in. You know, you bring in that leadership, the defensive end position with JJ Watt and you're able to just kind of let him eat because they can't just keep double-teaming him because DeForest Buckner will just destroy their quarterback with the interior pressure. And if you know anything about pressure, the interior pressure is the one that messes with quarterbacks

more than anything else. So it's more likely than not that they will double-team over here with DeForest Buckner with the extra linemen. And then they keep the tight end or the back end to chip JJ Watt. And he will eat all day going up against somebody like that. So ideally both. Did I cheat? I think I cheated and answered that question.

And in both, I I'd like him to sign a JJ Watt for, you know, 15 million, million you know 12 million ideally but i think he's going to get more than that and then a an elite pass rushing prospect like a trey hendrickson or a romeo aguara yeah i'm right there with you i think jj watt would be a luxury signing at this point he would fill out denico autry role my opinion so make autry kind of expendable justin houstonic's already going to be gone next year. They're going to go younger at that position at Drescher,

whether it be draft or free. It would definitely be fun to get Watt on board alongside DeForest Buckner, but I just see Watt going to Green Bay or Pittsburgh or Buffalo more so than Indy because we talk about throughout the show today that Chris Bauer does not like getting in bidding wars. He sets a number for a guy, and he goes over that number, he moves on. And that's the same thing with the Carson Wentz trade. We're going to have a lot of Carson Wentz questions here in a minute,

but he had his offer on the tail for Carson Wentz as a third and a conditional second. That could turn into a first. He had that offer on the tail for two weeks, and the Eagles circled back to it once they realized they were the only team out there for Carson Wentz, and they eventually accepted it. So if Watt's over their limit, they're not going to go after him. A younger guy like Romeo Akwari, like you mentioned,

makes a lot of sense, Steve, and I think he really fits for what they're looking for. Trey Hendrickson, too, from New Orleans does make a lot of sense to go after him. A younger guy like Romeo Alcora, like you mentioned, makes a lot of sense. I think he really fits for what they're looking for. Trey Hendrickson, too, from New Orleans does make a lot of sense to me, too. So I would definitely say the younger option is more realistic, going out and getting a young pass rusher to maybe take a place in Justin Houston for the next couple years in Indy. The next question here is from Mario at SuperMario317, and he says, Should we just go all-in this year with Carson Wentz and get J.J. Watt, Allen Robinson, re-sign Xavier Rhodes,

franchise T.Y. Hilton, and overpay for Trent Williams on a one-to-two-year deal to guarantee or give us a ring in the next two seasons? That's a lot to take in there, Stephen. So you're saying you get J.J. Watt, Allen Robinson, bring back Rhodes and T.Y., and you get Trent Williams on top of that. There's no way that Chris Bauer ever does this. I mean, it's fun to dream about, isn't it? Yeah, this one's a tough sell.

I would love it if that could happen. First off, they're not going to franchise T.Y. because that franchise tag for a wide receiver, I think, is $17 million. It's at least $15 million. And he's not going to get franchise taxed for that much. And the other guys, you know, maybe he signs all those guys. I find it hard to believe, though, because that's spinning up all their cap space.

And you can do some gymnastics with the cap, but I just don't see the – Chris Ballard might make one or two big signings but he still has to preserve that cap space for when when he has to resign his own with Darius Leonard and Braden Smith and and Quentin Nelson who's going to get paid like a an elite left tackle because he's already on his way to a hall of fame career. You got to keep him here, keep him happy. I just don't see him, Chris Ballard, doing that. And the other thing to consider is you sign those super teams and there's no guarantee you're even going to make the Super Bowl. Like, that's what the Eagles did with Harry Roseman

the first time that they got all together. You know, there's that line from Vince Young talking about how they have this super team now, and they're going to win it all, Nnamdi Asamoah and all that. And what they felt, they didn't do it. So there's no guarantee. Even if you sign all these guys, you're going to win a Super Bowl. You have to have a pretty decent amount of luck, and the ball has to bounce your way a couple times.

So I don't see Chris Ballard making that. It'd be interesting. It'd be great for us to talk about. Give us a lot to talk about over the course of however long we want to go on it. But I just don't see that one. Colts fans, rockauto.com is a place to go if you want to save money on your next car purchase, whether it be saving over a hundred plus dollars on a fuel pump assembly or getting things like motor oil, tail lamps, brake parts, new carpet, and control modules. Rockauto.com is the place to go. You can save so much money.

I've used it and so have our listeners as well. I've gotten some rave reviews from around the Lockdown Podcast and heard about rockauto.com, a family-owned business that's been offering customers online for the last 20 years. And they do so many great things. They put the money back into your pocket, which is the main goal if you're having to spend some money on a car purchase. Go to rockauto.com right now and see the parts available for your car or truck.

Write Locked On in the How'd You Bounce box, send it and we'll send you over there. Again, write Locked On, L-O-C-K-A-D-O-N, in the How'd You Bounce box, send that Locked On Colts thing over to rockauto.com. Betting on the Colts doesn't have to be a guessing game. If you listen to the new LockedOnBets podcast, it's by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. Get daily picks, blowout specials, wrong team favorite picks, and Lee Sterling's lock of the day.

Subscribe to the LockedOnBets podcast brought to you by BetOnline.ag, wherever you get your podcasts. No, yeah, I agree with you. I think maybe two of those guys off that list, we can cross off Trent Williams because I think going to go for in the draft. But I could see maybe a J.J. Watney bring on Allen Robinson or T.Y. And you bring back Xavier Rhodes. Like I could realistically see a J.J. Watt, Allen Robinson, Xavier Rhodes. Those three could be like a trio there.

And I wouldn't shock me at all if the Colts did that because this could be a year where they decide our windows now let's gamble a little bit of course and wins. But all those things on there are just unrealistic there. But it's definitely fun to dream about for sure. But the last one here as far as the general questions go, before we dive into a few about Carson Wentz to close the show, Stephen, and it's from CodySmack2 here on Twitter.

He says, what difference do you think we'll see in a Marcus Brady-led offense? I wasn't a big fan of Nick Serian. I just could see that our offense is always inconsistent and I knew what to expect. So that's the first part of his question. It's a two-parter here. I know Cody, I know what he's alluding to there, just losing Sirianni and replacing him with Marcus Brady,

but this is Frank Reich's offense. I know Marcus Brady is going to add a little bit here and there, but Nick Sirianni was a part of the game planning. Same goes for Marcus Brady. This is Frank Reich's offense. I really don't think we're going to see much of a difference. I think we're just going to see more of an expanded playbook with Carson Wentz on board now.

Like Robert Mays mentioned to us yesterday on the podcast, I think we're going to be seeing a very close version, the 2018 version of this Colts offense with Andrew Luck when Ray Katteman is first year in India. A lot of rollouts, a lot of deep shots, a lot of play-action passing with a mobile quarterback, someone who's going to be a gambler

a little bit. So I think we're going to be seeing just more of the 2018 version of the Colts offense again, which is very much missed because that was a fun offense that year. But I don't think Brady is going to really make any changes here and there because it's just Reich's offense. Yeah, I think you're spot on with that. It's Frank Reich's offense.

You're not going to see a whole lot of change. If anything, between 2020 and now, you're going to see more like what you saw in 2018 with Andrew Luck. I think that's the only difference you're going to see is you're going to see that offense more so than what you saw RPOs, a lot more quarterback movement and designed rollouts from the quarterback to kind of expand the field lengthwise, widthwise, to try to get some more spacing to open up those windows a little bit bigger. But you're not going to see any kind of wholesale change here between Marcus

Brady and Nick Sirianni, because it's just not their offense. Second part of the question here is I feel like it's honestly gonna be both of these. He's asking us another question about if, or about what they could do here in the draft. Do you see us trading out of the first round or using it on a pass rusher? I could honestly see both just because the way that this edge rush class is, Stephen. I mean, it's a very, very deep edge rush class.

Like guys like Gregory Rousseau could slip into the 20s. Jalen Phillips could slip into the 20s. Aziz Ojulari is really, I think, a crisp-eyed prospect. He's very athletic, a two-time captain at Georgia. He really fits all the character boxes, too. He's a name to watch out for at 21 or if they trade back into the late first round. I think OJ Laurie is someone to watch. What's the other name there?

Joseph Osai of Texas as well. A very intriguing list of edge rush guys there in that mid to late first round, early second round range. So I can honestly see both there. But if one of those guys is there, I wouldn't be shocked about it, but what do you think about the trading out of the first round option or using it on one of those guys is there, I wouldn't be shocked about Steven. What do you think about the trading out of the first round option or using it on one of those guys? I just mentioned. When you first raised that question,

my initial thing that I said was both of those things are probably going to happen. He's probably going to trade out and he's probably going to take an edge rusher in the first, you know, in this first two rounds, I feel like it's almost a certainty to me that Chris Ballard is going to trade out of 21 to recoup some of these picks that he lost in the Carson Wentz trade.

I don't know where he falls with that. If he drops back to the late first round, then maybe he picks up a late second rounder. If he drops into that up a late second rounder um if he drops into the that early to mid-second round then maybe he picks up a future second rounder um something like that i think that the colts ultimately are probably going to go left tackle early and then look to edge rusher and this is something that i think they there's a stat where it talks about like the top 15 of the top 20 edge rushers were taken in the first round something along the lines of that and

i forget where it was um and where i saw it but it basically is saying you need to take your pass rushers early um because those are the guys with the elite traits, the elite athleticism, things like that. Now there are guys in the middle later on in the draft that I think you're going to see the Colts look at Peyton Turner. Then you've got Ellerson Smith is in there. There's another one that I'm totally space. Jordan Smith, Jordan Smith was the other one out of UAB that I had mentioned before. I thought would be a guy that Chris Ballard looks at as well.

So I think you're probably going to see both. I feel like it's almost certain that he's going to trade back from 21. And he's at some point in the draft, he's going to take an edge rusher just because this is a deep class and they're going to be able to kind of load up on that position. And you're also going to have to look at what they do in free agency, because if they go in, go all in, in free agency, then you're probably not going to see him take an edge rusher super early in the draft in that first two days. And you're probably going to see probably a developmental guy like the Jordan Smith,

like the Ellerson Smith in that early day three kind of pick. So that's kind of where my thought is on it. I'm almost certainly going to trade out at 21 to pick up some extra picks. And then depending on what they do in free agency, they might take one high. Like I said, the two guys out of Miami make a lot of sense. Quidipe out of Michigan makes a lot of sense if he slips as well. So there's a lot of options, and with the quarterback situation pretty much under control right now for at least the next two years, or you hope that it's under control for the next two years, it gives Chris Pollard

a lot of options in what he wants to do with his draft picks and what he wants to do with free agency, especially with a cost-controlled contract for the quarterback at $25 million. We have three Carson Wentz questions here, Stephen, in this mailbag. The first one here is from John at Custis Family. Does Carson Wentz have the tallest room at QB in the whole NFL, meaning the lowest floor slash highest ceiling? I think yes. I mean, just from what we've seen in his career so far, we've seen an awful 2020. We've seen an incredible 2017. He might be somewhere in the middle of that.

So if you're going by lowest floor, highest ceiling, I think we've already seen that, of course, in Wentz from 2017 and 2020. So I think it's fair to say just all variants alone that Wentz probably is the guy at the lowest floor, highest ceiling as far as volatility goes for quarterbacks in the NFL. Yeah, I tend to agree with him. That's, yeah, Evan, I think you really kind of hit it on the head. You saw the low last year.

You've seen the high before. I think ultimately his ceiling is top five in the league. He's got just elite arm talent when it comes to the quarterback position. So if Frank Craig can get that out of him, then yeah, he's got a super, super high ceiling. But he's certainly that, that bottom can fall out and fall out on him quick. And if it does, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Colts yank him. Yeah. This is a question actually about that,

about the possibility of that happening. Because, of course, Carson Wentz, he plays 70% of the snaps, or he plays 75%, and the Colts make the playoffs. Those are the contingencies for that 2022 second round pick if it turns to a first. Moroka, no, it's going to. But in this scenario, it doesn't work out well next year. Bo Callahan asks here,

what happens if Wentz is playing poorly come week 12, but we are making a playoff push at the same time? That's a really, really interesting one. And I feel like, honestly, Chris Bauer probably weighing to himself, you know what, I might as well bench Wentz, but I'm not going to piss off a locker room. So I'm not going to do it because we're in the playoff push. Let's just keep them in there. Let's surrender the first round pick. Hopefully he gets it back under Frank in 2021 and gets a little bit better but in a scenario where they're in late november early december wentz is kind of mediocre or bad but the colts are kind of like in 2019 when jacobo set and the hunt for the playoffs are really in the playoffs at that time and still holding up a good position

there i think bauer would bite the bullet there not risk pissing off the locker room and keeping Wentz in and out scenario. Yeah, there's a, my question on this would be if he's been playing bad up to that point, I think week 10 is the, that the hook, hook point for them is you, if they're in the playoff race, but Wentz is playing terrible or Wentz is not good then I think they might yank him then at week 10 just to not give it a shot like not even put him close to those numbers and give Jacob Beeson a shot or if they bring in you know a veteran quarterback like we talked about earlier in the podcast, then maybe that's an option. You know, I sneakily would want them to, and this is just totally hypothetical, probably never going to happen,

but I'd love it if they just kind of put him on the pup list to start the season. They sat the first six games guaranteed. They just go ahead and activate him right up, and then he plays the last 10 weeks of the season. That's obviously never going to happen, and you don't really want that to happen but it's just a way to get around that um so you don't even have to worry about it coming on late in the year but yeah it's a it's an interesting dilemma um if if Carson Wentz is average and the Colt at week 12 and the Colts are in the playoff race and fighting out with Tennessee, I could see them going ahead and,

and playing it, playing him out. I'm just hoping that he catches that rhythm. If you remember in 2019, the Philadelphia Eagles won all four games in their last four games of the season to make the playoffs. And if not for Jadavia and Clowney taking a really dirty hit to Carson Wentz and knocking him out of the game with a concussion, Philly has an opportunity.

And there was only nine plays into that game. The Eagles kept that game close against Seattle. And so if they get the opportunity to make that playoff, then I think that they probably go ahead and keep playing Wentz if they think that he gives them the best opportunity to win. So I say Chris Ballard probably bites that bullet and rolls with it. Last one here on Carson Wentz before we dive into the last question about Chris Ballard here.

And it's from Marvin Harry. And they say, Marvin Harry here. Our question is, what is the ceiling for Carson Wentz this season, running stats included? I was intrigued about this question because I'm like, Carson Wentz is really known as a runner. But last year I went and looked at his stats. He had five TDs last year running the ball.

He's carried it over 50 times, three of his five years in the NFL, probably due to scrambling for his life sometimes at the Philadelphia offensive line. But he had 52 carries, 276 yards, and five touchdowns last year in 12 games. So he's a red zone threat as far as being able to – those RPOs, he can keep that around the goal line. He's a great quarterback sneak guy as well. But they're asking what the ceiling is for Carson Wentz next season

and what do you think his rushing stats could be next season? Well, his ceiling, I kind of already hinted at that. I think his ceiling is top five quarterback in the league and i don't think that that's crazy either um just if if they can get him right he's got that talent there's throws that that carson wentz makes that only patrick mahomes can make on a consistent basis and i don't feel like i'm overselling it because I'm a Colts fan. I just, some of those throws are, you just go, wow, that's a, that's a heck of a throw there. I don't know very many other guys that can make that.

So I would say his ceiling is top five, top seven quarterback in the NFL. And if that's the case, then Chris Ballard just hit a home run. When it comes to his rushing stats, that's interesting. Cause like you said, the heat ran for his life in Philly because they had terrible offensive line I do think that you're going to see a lot more designed runs for the Colts this year than obviously last year with Phillip Rivers or even with Jacoby Brissett just because Carson Wentz is more mobile and it makes

them makes the defense what we call match up 11 on 11. So you have to account for the quarterback. You can't just have a safety be kind of a spire or robber and come in and crash the line of scrimmage and not have to worry about the quarterback. So it makes defenses be a little bit more honest. I could see Carson Wentz, you know, what was the number that you said that he picked up last year in rushing? It was five TDs in 12 games. He ran for a total yardage of – let me see it real quick. Ran for a total yardage of 276. So he's running for about 20 yards a game, 20, 30 yards a game,

something like that. Yeah. All right. Yeah, I mean, I could see that happening just because you're going to see defenses overcommit. You're going to get him with rollouts, and he's athletic enough to make guys miss. My hope is that he doesn't take the hits like he has done throughout his career or like Andrew Luck did early in his career.

I hope that he's wiser when he gets out of bounds, when he goes down, than what they've been in the past. That's my big concern with Carson Wentz, given his injury history, is I don't want him to run, honestly. I just want him to stand back there, move around the pocket. Maybe he gets 200 yards on the season, and I'd be okay with that because it means he every game he runs for like one or two first downs um the fact that he can do the quarterback sneak pretty much negates Jacoby Brissett which is nice because I really don't want Jacoby Brissett back on the roster um

because I just hate his play call packages but and yeah I feel like Carson Wentz gives the Colts a lot of different opportunities to run if they want to. Um, so, or at least run those, those core back quarterback, uh, designed runs. Um, so yeah, I could see him getting like over the course of the season, getting, you know, 250, 300 yards, um, running for, you know, 15, 20 yards a game, somewhere along those lines. Just a couple first downs here or there, a couple boots, a couple rollouts, something like that, and just picks up some yardage and goes down.

So that's my answer. Top five in the NFL for his ceiling based on pure arm talent and then possibly rushing for like 250, 300 yards over the course of the 16-game season. Yeah, we've seen the ceiling like you mentioned, Stephen. If 2017 Wentz returns, he's an MVP candidate, so that's like a top-five quarterback in the NFL. But for those out there who haven't watched Carson Wentz play

or they've only seen 2020 Wentz, I have four throws I want to tell you guys about. Obviously, the Seahawks one where he's falling down and makes like a 40-yard bomb to Nelson Aguilar in that game. I think it was 2017 or 2018. Go back and watch that play. The Redskins one where he's stuck around the pocket. He avoids like three or four times a sack, and he throws a bomb down the field to Aguilar for a touchdown.

There's another one from the Jaguars game in 2018 where he steps in the pocket. He avoids his sack. He gets hit while he's throwing. He throws like a 40-mile-an-hour bullet to Zach Ertz. I think it was Jordan Matthews actually down the field right in the middle of the scene through three defenders while he's not even looking as he's falling down. Just an insane throw to go back and watch. And the Falcons one in 2019 where he's literally getting dragged to the ground.

He still throws a 30-yard pass to Zach Ertz, or I think it was maybe someone else as well, for a first down, third and 12. So the arm talent is there. Like, if you go back and watch those throws, you'll have your jaw drop at points where you're like, man, this guy has all the arm talent. He has an elite, elite quarterback talent. You said they refined the skills around him, get him back well mentally. But go back and watch those throws if you haven't already, Colts fans.

Those are the ones that really caught my eye. Went back and watched Carson Wentz. But the ceiling for me, like I mentioned, top five quarterback, probably around 4,000 to 4,500 yards, like 30 touchdowns, less than 10 picks. Something along those lines. And like you mentioned, Stephen, as far as running goes, around 250 yards and a couple touchdowns makes a lot of sense. He's not going to be running for his life in the Colts offense with the offensive line I have in place and of course

you have the running game Jonathan Taylor so I don't think his rushing stats gonna be really that all that great Andy I think it's gonna be more say pure pocket passer like we saw with Andrew Luck when he needs to run he's gonna do it but outside of that I think it's gonna be a lot less running for his life of course than we saw in Philly with Wentz now in Indy. But the last question here in our mailbag, I really appreciate all these. It's kind of a mailbag extravaganza we did today, Stephen. But last one here from Ty Ninh.

How much more can I like Chris Ballard? A simple question there, but what else can Chris Ballard do to keep winning over Colts fans, Stephen? I mean, he just keeps doing what he's doing. The only way I guess you can like Chris Ballard more is if you name your child after him. I don't know.

He's been great. Especially the past three years. That first year when he was drafting for Chuck Lugano's defense and trying to make that work, obviously a lot of those guys didn't make it, at least with the Colts.

They're still, oddly enough, in the league, but they just didn't make it here. In the past three drafts that he's had, he's just been, every single one, you've got at least one or two picks that knock it out of the park, which is absolutely unheard of for a general manager. Normally, you have one guy that's a pretty regular starter, but Chris Ballard is getting guys that are defensive rookie of the year candidates.

Darius Leonard, obviously, and Julian Blackman was a defensive rookie of the year candidate for a lot of the season until like the last four games he trailed off. He's hitting with a second and third round picks. He's not even doing it with like the Chase Young first first overall pick. You know, Chris Ballard has just been such a breath of fresh air as a general manager. I don't know what he could do to make, make him like, like make me like him more. Um, yeah, I just, I just don't know. I, I, the guy's great and he tells you what he's thinking. He tells you what it, what he tells you what he's going to do. And then he does you can't as a Colts fan you got to love the transparency that they have and the really the culture that they're building there over at West

56th Street it's phenomenal from top to bottom Colts fans are are lucky to have Jim Irsay as their owner Chris Ballard as the general manager and Frank Reich as the head coach that trifecta there it just puts the the franchise in a great place for the foreseeable future, which as a Colts fan is awesome. Yeah, I saw a PFF article. They had a whole database from 2017 and on where the Colts have been the best directed team in the NFL since 2017, which is no surprise to those who have followed the Colts

and see all the picks they made, Nelson and Leonard in 2018. It's crazy to think, looking back on it now three years later that the Colts first three picks in 2018 were Quentin Nelson Darius Leonard and Braden Smith like that's I don't think any teams ever pulled that off like just to have three consecutive picks in a draft with those types of guys like that that's incredible I mean that's gonna be something looking back on in like 10 years where you think they drafted three perennial all pros I think Braden Smith's eventually be an all pro in the NFL right tackle those three guys for three consecutive pickstaff in NFL draft that's a son you're never really gonna see ever again like that's how good of a scouting talent that

Chris Bauer is as a GM of the Colts but this is a lot of fun Steven I really appreciate you coming on here I don't know if I'm gonna split this up into one episode for a full extravaganza or do a full two-parter here for the weekend, but a lot of questions here. We went in-depth on all of them. So, Steven, I really appreciate the time, man. If you want to go follow him on Twitter, if you're not already, go ahead and do so at NiceReadSteve and go read and listen to his work, as always, over on Stampede Blue. Appreciate the time, Steven. Thanks, Evan. Have a great one.