Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Post-Draft Twitter Mailbag with George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin

Episode Date: May 12, 2021

On today's episode, Evan is joined by George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin for an Indianapolis Colts Twitter listener mailbag. With the Colts offseason pretty much wrapped up, Evan and George answer all of your Colts questions.Before diving into the mailbag, though, what were George's overall takeaways from the draft? Honestly, landing Kwity Paye couldn't have worked out any better for Indy. Also, what about the Colts' offseason as a whole? If Carson Wentz regains his old form reunited with Frank Reich, special ingredients are in place for the Colts to make a deep playoff run in 2021.Closing out the show, we answer all of our mailbag questions. A special shoutout is in order for the Locked On Colts Twitter account surpassing 10k followers! Make sure to follow if you haven't already, plus subscribe on your preferred podcast platform!All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed Colts podcast! 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 your latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Sattery, here on a Tuesday night, joined by George Bremmer, the Colts beat writer for the Herald Bulletin. George, how are you doing tonight? Good, how are you doing?

Doing great. Hey, really appreciate you coming on tonight. As always, and our listeners always enjoy having you on here, George. And we're going to talk tonight about just your overall thoughts in the offices, and then dive into some Twitter Tuesday questions from our listeners. They always enjoy asking you questions there on Twitter, George, but let me get your thoughts because I had you on here in a little bit about how the draft went because I think it was pretty a really best case scenario for the Colts for how number 21 overall went for them. I don't think, I never expected Quiddy Pay to be there

at 21, George. I mean, what about you? Were you shocked when you saw Quidipay on the board there? It seemed like with the next pick series, the Colts were pretty shocked themselves. Yeah, there's no doubt about that. They were almost celebrating. It seemed like even as the picks were ticking down there, just the fact that he had made it to like 17 and 18 even. Yeah, I was surprised. I didn't have him on any of my pre-draft stuff because I just frankly

assumed he wouldn't be there. And I think the Colts were overjoyed, obviously, that it happened. A dang boat was a surprise too, just because I don't think many of us thought that they would double up in the second round. But I think that's another chance where they're looking at a possibility of getting two first round picks this year. And I think given the fact that if all goes the way they hope it does, they're, they'll be giving up their first round pick next year to Philadelphia. You know, I think in some ways O'Dangbo is a chance to make that up,

you know, get to this year and then it evens out. In a draft as a whole. I mean, it was surprising that they didn't address left tackle um but that that is keeping in with the way that chris ballard has has operated his entire time that he's been here you know he's not going to reach he's not going to force a need and the board just didn't fall in a way where they felt like there was value at that position when they were on the clock

uh and so you know it fell the way it did. Yeah, I think it really was a best-case scenario for them, especially in round one to get Quiddie Paye to replace Justin Houston. He's going to add a lot more explosiveness and juice off the edge for that Colts team. Him and DeForest Buckner, this is going to be very fun on the left side of the defensive line. But as a whole, George, what was your opinion of the draft getting,

like you mentioned, Paye and O'Dangbo, hopefully the Colts as their new edge rushers. Odengbo more so like a Danico Autry type. Pei really maybe their first true edge rusher. He's their highest drafted edge rusher since Dwight Freeney, so that really says a lot about Pei. But you also see Kylan Granson around for the highest drafted tight end in the Frank Reich era.

Sean Davis in the fifth round, who could battle for a third safety spot in the secondary. And some other depth pieces in the fifth round, who could battle for a third safety spot in the secondary, and some other depth pieces in the sixth and seventh round. Sam Ellinger was kind of a surprise pick at quarterback in the late sixth round. Overall, what was your thoughts on how the draft went for them? Yeah, I'm really intrigued with Granson just because it's obvious, again, from that next pick series just how excited Frank Reich is about that pick and the fit for him in the offense.

So, to me, body-wise and what you see on tape, he's faster. But the first thing that comes to mind for me is Trey Burton. And I know they use him in a lot of different ways. You hear that Granson played in the backfield. You know, he might line up a fullback from time to time. It sounds like he's going to have a similar role to what Trey Burton had a year ago and probably a more athletic version of Trey Burton. So, you know, I think that's an intriguing pick for those reasons.

I'm very interested in the seventh-round receiver, Michael Strawn, simply because you don't find very many 6'5", 226 guys who run as fast as he does or as strong as he is. You know, there's a lot of potential there. It's obviously not a situation where you're expecting a lot immediately. There's a reason that he lasted until the seventh round. But the mix there of size and athleticism I think is very intriguing. It would be fun to see how that plays out.

And even with Ellinger, surprised that they went quarterback, but at the same time I think to a certain extent, Ballard is going to subscribe to the draft a quarterback every year theory. And I think, you know, obviously there the intrigue is, does he eventually become a Taysom Hill type of guy? I don't think that's a year one possibility. The first thing he's got to do is learn the NFL game and make the roster. But, you know, with his running ability,

is he a guy that they could bring into a specific set of plays and use him in short yardage and maybe goal line situations? We saw that's something that Frank Reich is interested in doing last year with Jacoby Brissett. I think that's a role that Ellinger could have down the road. With Sean Davis, as you mentioned, a really hard hitter. They were looking for that guy in free agency. They brought in With Sean Davis, as you mentioned, a really hard hitter. They were looking for that guy in free agency. They brought in another Sean Davis, but I think he might be more a free safety

type. This Sean Davis, he's played both free and strong, but I think he's going to be that sub package, extra linebacker type of guy, hard hitter, has a nose for the ball. I think he had five interceptions at Florida. So I think they see a lot in him as well. Now, as always, there's obvious reasons that they took these guys. They see good fits. Now they've got to go out and improve it on the field. Moving over to Eric Fisher now, George, a big signing happened on Monday for the Colts,

getting former Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher. Obviously he tore his Achilles in the AFC title game, so they're not going to rush him back. He might be a player who starts on the Pup List this year, and Sam Tevey could be the cold starting left tackle for the first month or so. But the upside there with Eric Fisher, obviously, George is immense. He's a top-ten left tackle in the NFL when he's healthy. On a similar tier to Anthony Costanza, they're pretty similarly graded, too,

over the last three or so years according to Pro Football Focus. What's your opinion of going the direction of Eric Fisher? Obviously the connection with Chris Bauer from the Kansas City days, but it seemed like to me the upside there, even on a one-year $9.4 million deal, if he does play well this year, George, this could be the Colts' short-term fix that left Havoc for the next two or three years. Yeah, absolutely. I thought the fact that they signed him to a one-year deal to me was telling that

they think he's going to be able to play at least a significant amount of this season. If you thought he was going to miss the majority of the year and not be available until December or something like that, I think you'd sign him to a two-year deal and try to make sure that you get that value on the back end of it. So, you know, we'll see how that goes. The interesting thing about that to me, you know, obviously he's got the connection with Chris Ballard, who was there when the Chiefs took him number one overall in 2013 but it sounds like this was really a move uh pushed by frank reich you know that he really wanted to get this done uh and i think that's a very interesting sign too just because uh it's telling about what reich sees in him and in his fitness

offense obviously they had to do something at left tackle. As we talked about earlier, it just didn't fall that way in the draft. And it honestly sounds like there weren't a whole bunch of guys that Chris Ballard saw as true left tackles in this class. So, you know, part of it was the way the board fell. And part of it was, it was a limited number, a more limited number than I think we expected going in to begin with. So I think with Fisher, they were able to get a guy who's obviously proven

that he can play at a high level, two-time Pro Bowler, over 100 starts in this league. The faster he can come back, the better. And I think with Tevey, you've got a guy that can hold down the fort for a month or so, and I think that's why he was brought in. You know, he was going to compete for that job, but had they drafted a rookie, he would have been a guy who could hold that job for a month and let that rookie get up to speed. When you bring in a veteran like this, he's,

he's going to be able to, to, you know, at least allow them to sleep at night until Eric Fisher's ready to go. But I think it was, to me, it was a really smart move and a really good move given, you know, the way the free agent market fell, they end up with one of the better guys on the market. They get him at a bargain-bracelet price, really, and now the only question is when is he going to get on the field.

Looking at the offense as a whole, George, I mean we can go even all the way back to the Carson Wentz trade, the Colts trading away. More likely not a future first-round pick in next year's draft, plus a third-round pick this year. Get him as your new quarterback to replace Phillip Rivers. You have Anthony Costanza retire. Eric Fisher comes in after the draft to replace him eventually.

And you have Trey Burton out the door. In comes Kylan Grant in the fourth round of the draft. You keep T.Y. Houghton, Xavier Rhodes, Marlon Mack, and more others around for continuity and also just to keep some explosive pieces on offense. And you also just look around this roster and see just a lot of improvements. Like Quidipe is a home run hit, I think, at 21 overall in the draft.

Dayo Odengbo, even with the Achilles injury, if he does come back around, it sounds like the Colts are just infatuated with his potential, George. He could be a huge hit for them as well. As a whole, George, looking back on this whole offseason, how would you grade it for them? Obviously, to see what happens on the field here in September. But based on what I've seen just off the roster balance, and especially at offense and defensive line, a lot of depth there.

I think it's fair to say, George, that maybe offensive line depth cost them a game or two last year with Andy Costando's nagging injuries. I think just looking across the board here with the depth pieces they've added and also just the key moves they've made across the board the last few months, this has been a pretty solid offseason for Chris Ballard. Yeah, and they had a lot of work to do. I mean, I think that's one of the things we talked about it back as far as January. Arguably, the three most important positions on the field, they had to fill them all in one offseason, quarterback, left tackle, and edge rusher. And there's still some questions. I mean,

nobody's sure what exactly Carson wentz is going to look like uh and and how that's going to play out there's obviously optimism that when he gets back with frank reich that that's going to be something that's good for both the player and the team but there's there's no guarantees there's very few guarantees in in life anyway uh but you know there's there's still some questions there there's some questions about you know when eric fisher will play and in what level he'll be at when he gets here. And certainly having the two rookies on the edge, you know, when will Odango be able to get on the field and when will, you know, how quickly will Quidipe be able to get

to a point where he's a major contributor? Those are all legit questions. They're all things that we'll watch play out. But to get the talent level and the potential that they got at those three positions and do it all in one off season, that's pretty rare. And I think it's a really good job by this team. I probably give them a B plus, A minus right now because there are still some questions with each of those guys, but they did it without, you know, sacrificing a lot of future picks. They did it without really handcuffing themselves in the salary cap.

They did it in a pretty natural way. You know, really the only thing they gave up in the future is the pick for Wentz. And if you can get a quarterback, a left tackle, and two defensive ends, and that's all that really you mortgage moving forward, it's a pretty darn good offseason. Last one here for you, George, before we dive into our mailbag for Twitter Tuesday. Looking at the infrastructure now around Carson Wentz, you obviously signed Eric Fisher.

You have the weapons. I think the Colts are very high on what Michael Pittman Jr. can do in year two. Paris Campbell fee stays healthy. T.Y. Hilton obviously is a mainstay there. You have the running game with Jonathan Taylor, Naeem Hines and Marlon Mack returning. I think everything around them too. I mean, you can even toss in the defense now with the improvements

they made over there, adding in Quidipe and keeping around Xavier Rhodes, for example. It seems like the infrastructure is in place, really, in Georgia. Carson Wentz can bounce back. This Colts team could be really fun to watch here in 2021. Yeah, and I think that was the frustrating thing when Andrew Luck retired. You could see things coming together. And Chris Ballard has only added to that group, you know, since then.

He's focused on those lines, both the offensive line and the defensive line are probably in the best shape. They've been in years around here. The depth across the roster is really good. There are questions. I mean, as you mentioned, some guys need to step up and fill roles and guys need to reach the potential of the Colts seeing them. But, you know, there's a lot of reason to be excited about a guy like Michael Pittman,

for instance. He hasn't done it yet consistently in the league, but you watch that Buffalo game and it's easy to see why the Colts are excited. Paris Campbell stays healthy. He's going to be a big piece of this offense. You know, I think T.Y. Hilton is going to look like a different receiver this year. I honestly do, just because I think Carson Wentz is going to be much more willing and

able to throw that deep ball than has been the case the last couple of years. And really, the feeling was this was a roster that was a quarterback away from serious contention. So it all really comes down to Carson Wentz. A lot of really good things are in place for this team. And if he can go out there and play like an upper division quarterback, there's any reason not to be excited about the prospects for 2021. Bet online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action. Baseball scenes and full swinging track all the action over at BetOnline. Get all the latest news, odds, and info for all your sporting needs,

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L-O-C-K-A-D-O-N. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. Let's dive in now, George, to our mailbag. A lot of great questions here from the listeners, so I appreciate it. Let's dive into the first one here, George. A couple of questions here on some very intriguing players here. One entering, I think, a prove-it year with a world star with Rakia Sen. We have one here from Bam and also one as well from Steven

asking about Rakia Sen. Do you feel like he's locked into that CB2 spot, or do you expect a training camp battle between him, Marvell Tell, and TJ Carey? Because I think it's fair to say, George, in the latter parts of last season that TJ Carey did outplay Rakia Sen. It's a huge year for Rakia. I mean, that's probably the big question on defense right now is that CB2 spot.

How do you see it playing out for Rocky Asin in 2021? Yeah, I think he's in a very similar situation coming into this season that Taequann Lewis was in going into last year, where there were questions about, you know, why did you not make that leap in year two that you would expect to see from a player? And I think it's going to be a very similar role for him. You know, if he can come out,

Taequann Lewis responded the way the team wants him to respond. He came out and probably had his best season as a Colt. There's still room for him to grow, obviously, but he played well enough that he'll probably be the starting defensive end opposite Quidipe to at least start the season. You know, Rocky Sin's going to have to prove the same thing. He's going to have to have a good training camp, I think. I absolutely agree with you that T.J. Carey was out playing him down the stretch. And in my mind, T.J. Carey might be the

front runner for that role going into the season because of that. I mean, yeah, you know, Roxasen, they have the investment in him. And I know he's going to be given every opportunity. But if you're just looking at the way they finished last year, I would think T.J. Carey is ahead of him on the depth chart. We'll see how that goes. Marvell Tell to me is one of the most interesting guys on the roster. I think I've mentioned that a couple times, a couple different places this offseason. Him opting out last year, you know, we don't know where he's at,

but there were flashes in that rookie year. He's big. He's long. He's athletic. He has a lot of things that they want to see from cornerbacks in this system. And I think it's going to be really interesting to see how quickly he can kind of get into the flow of things again, get back into football shape and make an impact. But I definitely think that's a three-way competition.

And I don't think it's, I don't think it's close to a lock for Rocky. I think if you put Chris Ballard, if you connected him to a lie detecting machine, he would, you know, he would say he wants Rockyetson to win that competition. I think the defensive coaches, everybody involved wants to see Rock get to that place they think he can be and win that job. But it's absolutely not going to be handed to him.

And I think they've got options there. And I think it will be an open and fair competition. Next question here is about Kylan Granson, George. A couple here from Kent, as well as bryce asking about kyle and granson for 2021 and beyond sounds like you actually turned some heads this week at rookie minicamp i think you sound like you performed pretty well there what's your expectations for kyle and granson in 2021 and long term because obviously it sounds like from the with the next pictures i can mention earlier on the show george this is a frank reich pick and

the last couple frank reich picks we've heard about, Michael Pittman and Paris Campbell, expect to play a big role in the offense here in 2021. Granson probably takes that Trey Burton role, playing around 30% of the snaps each game. But he's a very smooth route runner. He's a willing blocker. Hits the Colts character to a tee as well, George. What's your expectations for Kylan Granson entering into 2021?

Because this rookie class, honestly, outside of Quiddie Paye, Kylan Grant's going to be the last one there that could be a heavy contributor. Yeah, I think he's the last guy that will be a big year one contributor for this team. When you look at Grant, he was a receiver his first two years in college. So he's got all those receiver skills that you like to see. They can line him up all over the field. We talked about that earlier.

I think one of the underrated things with They can line him up all over the field. We talked about that earlier. I think one of the underrated things with him is his football intelligence is off the charts. He's a very, very smart guy. I think that's something that they're going to use. But I also think that he's at the right position in the sense that that's a really good tight end room still. You know, it's easy to forget about Noah Tungii. He's a guy who we're really,

really high on when they brought him in for Philadelphia last year. He's another kind of blocking specialist kind of guy. And so I think they each have their roles. You know, Jack Doyle is going to be Jack Doyle. He's going to go out there and be that third down guy and be the security blanket for Carson Wentz and blow people out of their shoes in the run game

and just, you know, be Jack Doyle. But I think Mo'Ally Cox was showing that he can be a deep threat, and I think you're going to see more of that. Just as the same as I said about T.Y. Hilton, I think Mo'Ali Cox is going to benefit from Carson Wentz being back there, taking more chances, giving him more shots down the field. I think those guys give Kylan Granson the chance to kind of grow at his own pace.

He can come in, have a very specific role, even have a very specific set of plays that they want him in on, learn those things, get really good at those things, and then in year two build on other things. I think it's a perfect situation for a rookie to come in on. Like you said, maybe about 30% of the snaps, play him a little bit in the backfield, line him up in line, spread him out a little bit. I would expect him to be a red zone target. We've seen that with all the

tight ends since Frank Reich's come here. And I think he's just a good fit for the offense. But I also think he's coming into a really good situation because he doesn't have to go out there and be a Pro Bowl starter in year one. Jack Doyle is going to do his thing. Malali Cox is going to do his thing. And Kylan Granson can just kind of fit in where he fits and learn as he goes. Next question here is on another tight end, like you mentioned there, George. Jack Doyle, and this one's from Beezy, asking about Jack Doyle's future with the team. He played a more limited role last year, more so a blocker than he was a pass catcher with Phillip Rivers. Obviously, Malali Cox broke out a little bit last year.

They drafted Kylan Granson. Do you expect Doyle to kind of be just more in that blocking role like he's always been, maybe less targets here in 2021 with all the weapons they now have on offense? And I've heard whispers, it sounds like from Stephen Holder, about a month or so ago, this could be Jack Doyle's last year before he retires. He does have two years left on his deal.

The last year is non-guaranteed. Do you think we could be seeing the swan song here for Jack Doyle, George? It wouldn't surprise me. I mean, he's been beat up. You know, there's no doubt about that. He's had multiple injuries. Just about every part of his body has been affected at one time or another. He's a super tough guy.

But at some point, you know, how much do you want to keep going out there and doing that, especially when you look at a guy like Andrew Luck and all of his teammates talking about how happy he is and, you know, T.Y. Hilton kind of joking that he can't even talk to him that much anymore because it's going to make him want to retire. Now you see Anthony Costanzo make that decision. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if Jack Doyle makes that call. But I definitely do think he's going to be more of a blocker.

I think that's where his best strengths are right now. I think he's going to still be that intermediate, short yardage guy. I mean, he's a guy that you feel really comfortable with getting the ball to him on third and five, third and six, and I don't think that's going to change. He's not suddenly going to become a slot threat or anything like that. But I think Jack Doyle is going to continue to be who Jack Doyle is, that reliant, dependable, tough tight end that every team needs. Next question here, George, looking over the mailbag,

is from Blue Bleed Inn, and he's asking about the defensive line room. They obviously made a sign today with Antoine Woods, the former nose tackle for the Cowboys, has a lot of starting experience. It looks like they have around 12 to 14 guys in the roster right now who could be battling for spots. I think with how much depth they have, George, it could be about nine or ten guys make the roster here. And he's asking, do you see any surprise cuts happening?

Like maybe one of Taylor Stallworth or Antoine Woods is let go, or maybe Ben Banigou's cut hasn't come up to his production in year three, or maybe one of Isaac Rocha or Aquelle aquadine muhammad maybe doesn't make it through camp are there any names on that list george for the loaded defensive lineman right now that could be a surprise cut come training camp yeah i think there's definitely going to be at least one guy and probably more than that who fans know who they've seen play good football uh who or at least the the team has invested in something fairly significant in who's not going to make this team just because of how deep that group is.

It's been that way the last couple of years, really where you feel like the defensive line group is the one that's going to be the toughest to make the roster at. And I definitely think that there that's where, if there's a surprise cut and there seems to be one every year, that's probably where it's going to come. I don't know at this point how big of a surprise Ben Banigou will be, but I think that he's the guy that I would be most concerned with looking at it. A lot of it depends on how quickly

Isaac Rochelle can step in and be the guy that they think he can be. You know, some of that's going to depend on how quickly Odengbo can come back and what feeling they have on that as they get to the beginning of the season. You know, some other guys in that mix, like Al-Quddin Mohamed, you know, can he continue to play at the level that he's played the last couple years and force the issue? But Banigou had a really rough training camp last year. A lot of people didn't see it, obviously. It was a weird training camp.

It was only at the complex. We only were out there for about two weeks. It was, you know, really, really, really small window compared to years past. And so you don't want to make too much of that small sample size. But he struggled a lot during camp. He lost a lot of one-on-one battles. He just didn't make a lot of impact. I'm assuming that continued during the season based on the playing time

that we saw him get. And Chris Ballard has been pretty open with the fact that it's a make or break year for him. You know, he's got to do, again, similar to Grover Stewart and Tyquan Lewis the last couple years, guys who really made that big jump in year three. I think Ben Banigou's got to be one of those guys. And I think they're in a position right now

where if he doesn't make that kind of improvement, it wouldn't be surprising if he's, you know, left out of the mix. George, 22 straight years now, the Colts have had an undrafted free out of the mix. George, 22 straight years now, the Colts have had an undrafted free agent make the roster, and Elliott's asking about which undrafted rookie is the best shot to make the roster. We know it happens every year. They actually cut one of them today.

Anthony Feller, the linebacker at Liberty, was cut today. I think they make room for Antoine Woods. There's only four left. I think it's the shortest ever in Colts history for undrafted rookies they're bringing on board here. What name or two off that short list do you like the most to possibly make the roster yeah I mean first and foremost it's going to be really hard this year I'm not sure that the streak's going to continue we just talked about the defensive line room and how tough that is

almost every position on this team it's going to be tough to make that team I think there's going to be guys cut who go on and play significant roles with other teams you know I think it's going to be tough to make that team. I think there's going to be guys cut who go on and play significant roles with other teams. You know, I think it's going to be hard. And especially for the undrafted guys, it's going to be hard. The two who stick out the most, probably Deion Jackson the running back because it just gave him a big signing bonus, which always tells you, you know, a lot about what they think of him. He chose the Colts out of 25 teams that he had the opportunity to join after the draft.

I think that also is telling that at least he believes that there's opportunity here. Whether or not that's a situation where he makes the practice squad this year and kind of hangs around that way, and then there's an opening next year, because you don't know what's going to happen at that roster. It's a deep group right now, but I think we'd all be surprised if marlon max back another year you know he's likely to get he stays healthy he's likely to get a long-term deal somewhere else uh there's a chance to move on from naeem hines or from jordan wilkins or both of them depending on you know how the season plays out how the salary cap breaks down i know that there's talk about giving hines a long-term deal and they

like him a lot so he could be back but the fact the matter is probably at least two of the four guys on that roster will not be there in 2022 so the question with with Deion Jackson is do you like him enough that you cut one of those guys you know does he beat out Jordan Wilkins does he make the roster right away do you carry five running backs but I think he's got a shot just because they obviously see something in him and he obviously felt comfortable coming here. The other guy is Tyler Vaughns, who's just been ridiculously productive at USC, but there's questions about his effort. That's one thing here that's just not tolerated.

You know that with this coaching staff. He'll be gone in a minute if that continues to be an issue. But at the same time, this is another receiver group that's a lot deeper than I think people think. It's not top-heavy in the terms where there's two, three, four guys who have a lot of production who you feel 100% are going to be big-time players this year. But there's a lot of potential.

We talked earlier about Pittman and Campbell. Zach Paschal's done nothing but get better every year, do everything this team's asked of him. And then you look at the bottom part of that roster, I think Des Patman's going to be an interesting guy this year, coming back from a redshirt season more or less. Last year as a rookie. It'll be interesting to see how he figures into the mix.

We talked about Strawn earlier and his potential. It's going to be a tough position group to break into, but Vons has the kind of college production that at least catches your eye and should give him a chance. Colts fans, rockauto.com is the place you want to go if you want to save money on your next car. I've used it so many times already for my car. It's had a couple issues here and there,

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Next question here, George, is from Christian, asking about Marlon Mack and his potential role in 2021. Obviously, he was re-signed on a one-year $2 million deal. How things have changed in a year, George, after that Achilles injury. Jonathan Taylor breaks out in the last part of 2020. Naheem Hines is obviously a big focal point in the passing game. We know Jonathan Taylor really needs – he's like a high-volume running back. The more carries he gets, the more better he gets later in games.

Do you think Marlon Mack has a real chance to split those carries, George? Or do you think it's more so just he might just be a change of pace guy that gets a couple touches per game? I think it'll be interesting to see how that plays out there's no doubt that the taylor showed his year went on that he's that workhorse guy he definitely does better with the more carries he gets uh but that being said that's not really been reich style and the league really has it's kind of shown that you need two running backs you're not going to very often get through a year with just one featured back anymore. So I think that Mac's going to be given his opportunities,

and I don't know whether that will be specific series here and there. It might even be a matchup thing. There may just be some opponents where they feel like his skill set just is a better fit that day, that Sunday for him. I think it's a good problem for the Colts to have. If you're sitting there and you feel like you've got two guys who could rush for 100 yards every week, and you're just trying to figure out how to work them into the game plan it's probably a headache that a coach would would very much welcome yeah

it's gonna be so interesting what happens with that running back room it's obviously loaded like you mentioned maybe Deion Jackson beats out Jordan Wilkins maybe Marlon Mack plays more bigger role than we expect here in 2021 it's gonna be so intriguing to see what happens there but next question here is from Silent Spirit, and he's asking here, George, about he feels the one missing piece on defense is adding in another veteran cornerback. He feels like this is the cerebral window now, adding in all these pieces, getting cursed and went so he bounces back.

What's your thoughts, he's asking here, George, on Richard Sherman? He's kind of been floating on the market for a little bit. Do you like the potential of adding in another veteran like Richard Sherman in the room with Xavier Rhodes? Or do you feel like more so it's probably more realistic to say that probably we're going to be having that cornerback two battle between Rock, TJ Carey, and Marvell Tell in training camp? Yeah, I think it's probably more realistic that you're going to see those

three guys going for that spot. I think Sherman is a fit in the terms that they like the same kind of style of corner that Seattle's used, big physical guys. That's obviously Richard Sherman. But I'm not sure how much he's got left in the tank at this point. I think he's 33, I want to say. You know, there are even other teams that are talking about bringing him in or talking about bringing him in as kind of a depth piece.

And, you know, I'm not sure that that's what the Colts are looking for right now. They've got depth at that position. They've got good competition. You never say never. I think it could be one of those situations where you see how training camp plays out if there's an injury, you know, something unexpected occurs. You never know. We've seen that in Indianapolis probably as well as anybody around the league,

that understanding of, you know, things happen and unexpected changes. But the way the roster is constituted right now and the way that competition is set up, I think they're going to go with what they got. I think they feel really good about the situation as it stands right now. Last few questions here for you, George. Appreciate the time as always. One question here is from at JustCallMeZach.

Asked about Quiddie Payne's potential to be defensive rookie of the year in 2021. I think it's fair to say he's a favorite. I think last time I checked, he was like number three or number four overall in the defensive rookie of the year odds in Vegas. He's going to be playing a lot of snaps. He's going to be a day one starter in this defense replacing Justin Houston. Playing next to Forrest Buckner, George, do you think there's a real chance he could be a big beneficiary of that, maybe get some big numbers in year one

and be a rookie of the year favorite? He feels like a really good fit for this scheme. And I think that's where it all starts. When you look at his athleticism and his ability to, to play multiple positions, which it sounds like Colts aren't going to ask him to do. And that'll be interesting to see too, because the Michigan, he played all over the line.

The Colts have pretty much at this point said, look, we're going to put you right in. We're going to tell you to go get the quarterback and you focus on that and nothing more. I think that's going to be interesting to see how that results with him. It's all there on paper. When you look at his testing numbers and you look at his size and his speed and all the pieces are in place for him to be a really productive player.

It hasn't happened yet at the college level for any number of reasons. I know that Chad Henry, the area scout, was saying, look, Michigan's scheme, defensive linemen just don't put up big numbers. You know, he's been going there since 2016, and there's really one guy, Chase Winovich, who had, like, eye-popping numbers, and he said that was just because he was a psycho. He was chasing down every play. Quitty's got a little bit of that in him too,

but it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I think when you put him next to DeForest Buckner, as you mentioned earlier, when you have a guy like Darius Leonard playing behind him, it's a really good situation for a young defensive end to be. And I think the Colts are going to really simplify things for him, give him a really specific role. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if he has a really, really good season and gets his name into

that conversation question here from mac about carson wentz george asking about what his potential ceiling could be in 2021 obviously a really really bad year in 2020 why he left philadelphia in the first place but from 2017 to 2019 had a four to one touchdown ratio and mac is asking here george what do you think is the potential for carson went? If he does fit in Indy and that connection with Frank Reich rekindles, then they can recreate some magic. What's the potential sitting for Wentz and the Colts in 2021? I mean, we've seen before his ceiling is MVP level. You know, if he can get to that 2017 level,

then you're really talking about this as a Super Bowl roster and anything's possible for this team. I think it's more realistic that he'd be in that 2018-2019 range where he was. He played really well down the stretch in 2019 to kind of pull that injured roster over the finish line and into the postseason for the Eagles. I think that's the Carson Wentz that the Colts believe they can get. I think that's the one that they're hoping for, and that'll be one that puts them right in the contention in the AFC.

But we have seen in the past, it's not a projection. We've seen him go out there and play at an MVP level. He did it with Frank Reich as his offense coordinator. That's his ceiling. We'll see how far, how much that he's able to get back to in a single season. Last one here for you, George. Appreciate the time. And it's a question from Bobby Covington asking about,

he's going to be visiting Indianapolis this year for the first time to go to a Colts game this year. And he's asking for a couple of restaurant recommendations from you, George. Obviously, from Anderson, I mean, I went to training camp a couple years ago, and the Lemon Drop I think is very underrated, George. That's really kind of a hole-in-the-wall place. It's really well-known there, but really good food from what I remember. Any other recommendations, George, around the Indianapolis area or suburbs

that you think could be a really good place to hit up for the first time? You definitely got to hit the Lemon Drop if you're in Anderson and Gene's Root Beer. Those are our two institutions up here. So, you know, if he wants to come about an hour north, there's no doubt. You know, you can't go wrong with those choices. You know, everybody talks about it. I honestly have never been there yet, and it's on my list.

But, you know, everybody's got to go to St. Elmo's, right? Everybody who comes in, everybody who visits, it's high end. That's why I haven't been there yet. But I think anybody visiting Indianapolis, it's kind of a must-see, must-eat event there. I would say aside from that, you can't go wrong really in downtown Indy. I know that it's kind of a silly thing to say, but I think it depends on what your personal tastes are.

But I feel like that's one of the things that makes Indianapolis a great downtown these days. There are literally dozens of good places to stop and eat. For me, I would say Brew Burger. I mean, just off the top of my head, that's one of my favorite places to go up by Mass Ave. And also the Eagle, which is a fried chicken place, but it's the best fried chicken that you're ever going to eat. So I think those two up around Mass Ave would probably be my two favorite places.

But I honestly think you cannot go wrong with that. The great thing about downtown Indianapolis is you can walk all over the city and just about anywhere you stop in and eat, you're going to be really happy you did. George, hey, this was so much fun. Really appreciate coming on tonight to go through our mailbag and talk about the offseason so far. If you're not already, go and follow George on Twitter, if you're not already, at GMBremmer. And go read his work, as always, over on the Herald Bulletin. George, appreciate your time tonight. No problem.

Thanks a lot, Evan.