Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - REVIEW: Looking Back on the 2023-2025 Indianapolis Colts' Draft Classes and Grading the Results

Starting point is 00:00:01 The Indianapolis Colts recent draft history leaves a lot to be desired. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked on Colts. I'm Zach Hicks, and on today's show, we're going to be looking at the Colts draft classes from 2023 through 2025 in reevaluating them with hindsight bias in mind. Now we're not going to go back and say who the Colts should have taken at a lot of these picks.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Most of what the analysis is going to be is just what the Colts return on investment has been for each of their selections over the past three years, not the past three years, but those three years that we're talking about from 2023 to 2025. And just discuss exactly where the Colts are at with this draft class, especially with 2023, for instance. These guys are going into the final year of their rookie contracts. So could we see a possible extensions coming for some of those players? are they likely one contract and done players? And then when it comes more for 2024 and 2025, just talking about the status of those players on their rookie contracts so far. And also to close out today's show,

Starting point is 00:01:17 we're going to talk about if the Colts have any blue players or blue chit players that they have acquired in the last three draft classes, not counting 2026, of course. So without further ado, let's start with 2023, arguably the worst draft class of the Chris Ballard era. I honestly, I don't even know if it's arguable at this point. This was a rough draft class for the team, almost from top to bottom. Like there's two guys that I think could be extended.

Starting point is 00:01:42 But outside of that, it has been a rough draft class. Starting at the top, the fourth overall selection, quarterback Anthony Richardson. The Colts swung high on traits from the quarterback out of Florida. And it just hasn't really worked out thus far. Injuries have played a factor. There has been a benching in 2024 as well. And I think with this latest extension for Daniel Jones, it's all but almost officially. over for Anthony Richardson as a starter with the Indianapolis Colts.

Starting point is 00:02:09 So we'll see if he is able to make it work on the next location that he ends up. I mean, we've seen that this is kind of the era of reclamation projects at quarterback. So it certainly isn't the end of Anthony Richardson's career by any means, but the Colts have kind of made their decision at the quarterback position by committing to Daniel Jones. So Richardson, I respect the Colts swinging big. I would have done the same thing.

Starting point is 00:02:32 Even now as I've become more of the guy who's like, anti- Anthony Richardson in the Colts fan base, I still would have made that selection. I still think swinging for the traits was worth it. It just ultimately hasn't worked out thus far. And the Colts have kind of made their decision with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback. So you start off at the top there with, I mean, I don't want to say the B word yet, but it's certainly a bust in terms of like for the Colts because the Colts are not going to get that return on investment that they're looking for.

Starting point is 00:03:00 But their next selection at 44th overall, Juju Brent's, I mean, it's looking rough for him just in general in the NFL, a player who also his career has just been marred by injuries, been banged up since day one that he entered the league. And it kind of culminated him being cut from the team, not even into what, his third training camp with the team, third training camp, Luana Rumo gets a little bit of a look at him. And they decide to move on in favor of younger players like Jonathan Edwards. And heck, you could even say Xavier Howard was kind of picked over a player like Juju

Starting point is 00:03:31 Brent. So I believe Brent is still with the Miami Dolphins as we speak. speak. He's going into the final year of his rookie contract, but he's coming off another year where he barely played because he was injured. I don't really know what it looks like long term for him in the NFL. So the Colts first two picks, both top 50 selections, it's kind of a tough look with those first two picks for the Colts. Like they don't even have like rosterable players there. Those are two guys who are one of them is no longer on the team. Another one appears to be one foot out the door. He has a trade request in right now. Not a great look for how you start off.

Starting point is 00:04:04 the top of your draft class. The Colts did rebound a little bit, though, in third round with the 79th overall selection with North Carolina wide receiver, Josh Downs. He's been a really solid player for the Colts over three years, a little bit of a step back last year, but we're expecting a much bigger role this next season, playing a little bit of outside receiver. He looks like he's bulked up a little bit as well, and he could be in line for a pretty big extension if he's able to put together a productive year for the Indianapolis Colts. So Josh Downs looks to be one of the first impact players, the goals that's selected in this 2023 draft. And then we come back down to Earth in the fourth round with offensive tackle Blake Freeland,

Starting point is 00:04:41 who was not trending in the right direction last training camp, had a really, really devastating injury to his ankle that caused him to miss all of last season. He does appear to be fighting for that swing tackle position and he's getting the first run at it in training camp this year or in OTAs this year. So we'll see if he's able to rebound some of that stock, but it hasn't been on an upward trajectory for Blake Freeland after playing a ton of snaps his rookie season. He barely played it all his second season. And then obviously didn't play it all last season because of the injury. So it's been a very up and down career for Blake Freeland to say the least. And he could be in his last

Starting point is 00:05:15 offseason with the Colts this year. We kind of come back up a little bit, though, with the next pick. Fourth round selection from Northwestern defensive tackle at Tomiwa, Atabwara, a player that has just been a steady incline for three years with the Colts. And he's going to into what I think could be another breakout season for him. You know, his first two years, he kind of got on the field a little bit, but you didn't see a ton from him. And then he really broke through last year under Luana Rumo, hitting career highs and defensive snaps, sacks, pressures, hurries, basically every number across the board while

Starting point is 00:05:47 still providing a little bit of that special teams impact. I think he's a very good rotational player. And he's one big season away from cashing in on a big contract. So Atatamiwa, Atabore, one of the gems of this draft class. and I still think we haven't seen his full potential realized yet with the Colts. So I would say so far we have two guys that might get extended from this draft class, and that might be it because we're going to go a little bit more rapid fire with these bottom guys because news flash, some of these guys are no longer in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:06:17 Fifth round selection, Darius Rush out of South Carolina. He's a cornerback, big, long athletic, and didn't make it out of training camp, was claimed by the Can City Chiefs. He's kind of bounced around the league since then, and Darius Rush has struggled to really be a rosterable player. He's appeared in a couple games, I believe in his career as more of a safety than a corner. But he is a guy who just hasn't stuck in this league and appears to be on his last legs of being an NFL player. Another fifth round selection, Daniel Scott at safety. He's been injured in pretty much every offseason he's played for the Colts, but the Colts have

Starting point is 00:06:49 kept him around because he's been on that rookie contract. He did go into last season fairly healthy and had some special teams run before suffering yet another major injury that caused him to miss a good chunk of the season. So Daniel Scott, the oft-injured safety that is still currently on the Colts, but we'll see how much longer that lasts because he hasn't really solidified his position. We go to another fifth round selection. Miami tight end, Will Mallory, who I think has shown some skills in this time with the Colts, probably the third or fourth best pick in this draft class for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:07:21 But he is more of an insurance policy for Tyler Warren at this point. He is your fourth tight end. He's a pass catcher only type guy. and he hasn't been able to move up the depth chart because of the lack of blocking prowess. So yeah, Will Mallory hasn't really fought his way to earn a spot on this roster. And his spot is very much in jeopardy this offseason, much like it has been the last two or three off seasons as well. Next selection, we have another fifth round pick, Northwestern running back Evan Hull, who showed a little bit of flashes in his first training camp as a rookie,

Starting point is 00:07:50 but ultimately had some injuries, was waived from the team. And he's another player like Darius Rush where he's kind of hanging on by a threat. in the NFL. I think he gets some training camp invites, but we don't really see him be an active player on Sundays. And that goes for the same with the next guy here. Titus Leo, defensive end out of Wagner in the sixth round, another fringe NFL player that'll probably be out of the league here pretty soon.

Starting point is 00:08:14 Another seventh round pick, though, this one was a little bit better. Jalen Jones, cornerback out of Texas A&M, was a starter for the Colts, his first two years on his rookie contract, before last year suffering and hamstring injury at the end of training camp, which led to him being more of a reserve player. He never really fought his way back into the starting lineup with the Colts down the stretch when he became healthy again. So big off season for Jalen Jones.

Starting point is 00:08:36 It's kind of for him to see if he can make this team and win over Luana Rumo. But I would say he's more so on the outside looking in in favor of some of the other younger players. And then one more guy to round out this extremely long draft class of 12 players, seventh round selection, offensive tackle Jake Witt from Northern Michigan. in I believe he went through two training camps with the Colts, and he ultimately retired from the league and is no longer a part of the NFL. So when you look at this 12-man draft class, and look, guys, when I evaluate draft classes,

Starting point is 00:09:07 I don't hold it to the standard of like every player needs to be a rosterable player. Every player needs to be great because that's just not feasible, right? You just need to have a couple impact players and just show that you're drafting guys who are capable of being on NFL rosters. And I think the problem with this 12-man draft class is you whip with your two, top 50 picks. You found some value in the middle rounds with Josh Downs and Atatomua Atabore. But outside of that, I mean, Blake Freeland, Darius Rush, Daniel Scott, Evan Hull, Titus Leo, Jake Witt. I mean, I don't think these guys are going to be in the NFL within the next year or two.

Starting point is 00:09:41 So you are looking at like half the draft class of not being like NFL talent, whether it's due to injuries or due to other factors. But I mean, yeah, outside, I mean, Atatomio Adabore and Josh are really your only guys that you acquired in this draft class that are going to help the Colts for the present and for the future. And that's just rough when you had 12 selects. You had 12 shots to make this team better and you hit on like two of them at best, right? Like we're so, I mean, at Tommy Wah, it's not even set in stone. I think he's been more of like a rotational guy. So that's more of my optimism with him. It's kind of tough. That's a rough draft class and one that sets back organization. So 23 draft class, not the best. I think if we're

Starting point is 00:10:23 looking at it in hindsight, this is like a D-minus draft class. I mean, that might be being generous because I like Josh Downs and Atomitoua a lot. So rough draft class in 2023, but the Colts bounce back a little bit in 2024. So we're going to talk about the 2024 draft class in review here in just a moment. But first, we can stream anything. Order food and minutes, do everything from our phones. And somehow buying tickets to live events still feels way harder than it should be. There's long lines, confusing checkout prices, jumping at the last second.

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Starting point is 00:12:27 the lockdowncultz.supercast.com to join. So we talked about 2023 being a bit of a dud of a draft class for the Colts. And I think there's no just skirting around that. Even in your most optimistic viewpoint, it's like a D plus draft class on review, like even using hindsight bias here. It's a tough one. The Colts missed on a lot of those picks. And it certainly hurt their depth for the future.

Starting point is 00:12:49 So how did they respond in 2024? I think it, I mean, it's definitely a better draft class, right? So starting with the first round pick that took lay out, to lot to the defensive end out of UCLA, the best pass rusher in the draft, according to Chris Ballard. And while he has kind of lag behind like Jared Verse and a couple other pass rushers from that draft class, I think he's been a perfectly fine pick, right? You want to see a little bit more, yes, you want to see that breakout here in year three. But through two years, I think it's hard to really complain too much about what they've gotten. The first year was a bit of up and down from

Starting point is 00:13:22 him, still learning, still getting stronger, still getting better as the year went along. And then last year we saw a little bit more of the playmaking. Three interceptions, got up to eight and a half sacks last year. You still want to see the pass rush win rate get a little bit better. You still want to see a little bit more of an impact on down to down. But overall, he took a big step from year one to year two. And if you can project one more big step from him, then he can be that pass rusher that the Colts drafted him to be. So I'm not, I mean, kind of a spoiler for the end of the show here. I'm not ready to say that he's a blue chip player for the Colts, but I'm not completely out on Layatou Latu. I want to see how he looks going into this next season.

Starting point is 00:13:59 He's also kind of entering a make or break season, but I think for a different, in a different way than some of these other guys, where his maker break is more so, are you going to be just a solid player or are you going to be that guy that we drafted you be? We're going to learn a lot about layout too lot to here in his next season. Going to second round selection though, number 52 overall, Adonay, Adana, I had an eye Mitchell, wide receiver from Texas. And this pick was just so up and down from the first day of it. Like it was great flashes in training camp, getting open.

Starting point is 00:14:34 I mean, 6-2 or 200 pounds, explosive, fast, making himself available for his quarterback. We thought we were getting a steal and a superstar receiver. And then in the regular season, it is just so volatile and so up and down. There are flashes of brilliance, but just tracking the football, playing physical, being consistent and where he got to his spots, it was rough. It was really rough. And it all kind of culminated in that Rams game last year where he dropped the ball on the goal line, leading to a big time fumble instead of a long touchdown.

Starting point is 00:15:05 And the Colts ended up losing that game pretty close. That's not even to mention the holding he had on Jonathan Taylor's long touchdown run later in that game as well. He was ultimately traded for Sauce Gardner later in the season along with two first round picks. And we'll see how he does for the Jets. But certainly something you wanted to have a little bit more. that second round pick at wide receiver. It didn't really work out for the Colts. And you would ultimately say they missed on that selection,

Starting point is 00:15:31 even if he becomes like a star for the Jets or even if like he was the piece that pushed it over to get Sauce Gardner, like you still want more out of that second round selection at wide receiver. Like honestly, the best thing that came out of that pick was it led to Alec Pierce ascending and becoming your number one wide receiver. So, you know, it worked out kind of, I guess, but not in the way that you expected it to. Going to the third round though, the Colts traded up to number 70. to select pit offensive tackle Matt Gonzalez.

Starting point is 00:15:57 Gonzalez spent his rookie season as a rotational offensive tackle getting in there. A couple times when Brain Smith was dealing with his mental health issues along with some other injuries. In this past year, Gonzalez moved inside to right guard and he was the starter for majority of the season. And I think we're seeing the arrow pointing up for Gonzalez. He's kind of been following the same trend that Will Fry's followed with the Colts and Bernhardt Ryman followed with the Colts as well, where you see that first year

Starting point is 00:16:23 as a full-time starter, be more of like a rock solid player, like some high, some lows, but not perfect. And I think we're about to see a very good season from Consolva as the right guard. So I'm very optimistic on him. Certainly not a blue chip player, but I think that the sky, like the ceiling is pointing. He has a big ceiling that he can still hit. The arrow is pointing up and I think he can still get to that ceiling. That's what I meant to say with that one there. Going to the fourth round, though, 117th overall, the Colts selected Wisconsin Center, Tanner Bordellini. And I think he's even ahead of schedule right now, right?

Starting point is 00:16:56 First season, more of, again, like a rotational guy getting in there a little bit for some injuries to Ryan Kelly. We saw some good flashes, but it wasn't perfect. Then the first half of this last season, he was like a Pro Bowl level center for the Colts. I mean, I would say he was one of the better centers in football when the Colts were winning all those games came back down to Earth a little bit in the second half of the year.

Starting point is 00:17:17 But I think that this guy can be one of the top 10, top five centers in football if he keeps growing if he keeps getting stronger. There is so much good in his game. I think that he's only going to get better. Still very, very young as well. This might be the best pick that the Colts have made in the last three years, getting a potential star center in Tanner Bordolini. So as long as he keeps growing, I thought he had a great season last year. If he keeps getting a little bit better, I think he can be our Pro Bowl center for the Colts in the next couple of seasons. Going through the rest of day three, though, rounds five through seven, a bit rough for the Colts. It took Anthony Gould in round five, special teams ace that just hasn't been good enough on special teams.

Starting point is 00:17:57 I think that's the best way to describe his career thus far. Jalen Carlyse, safety turned linebacker out of Missouri, also in the fifth round. Carlyse showed a lot of promise in 2024, but has just been very banged up in the NFL, has only, I think, appeared in 12 games through two seasons. So 12 out of, what, 34 possible games with the Colts. And last year, he only saw two defensive snaps. now with new linebackers coming in. He's probably on the outside looking in at that linebacker position.

Starting point is 00:18:27 Jalen Simpson, the cornerback from Auburn, also taking the fifth round, didn't make it out of training camp with the Colts, has bounced around a little bit, and he's more of a bottom of the roster, fringe NFL guy. This next guy is not even a fringe NFL guy. Micah Abraham, cornerback from Marshall, one of the least athletic players the Colts have ever drafted. The Colts were really sold on his ball skills,

Starting point is 00:18:47 didn't make it out of training camp, and I don't think he's in the NFL, more. I think he is down playing in some lower leagues currently. And wow, like it was quick exit from from the NFL from Ica Abraham and just not an NFL player at this point. And then arguably like what, the fourth or fifth best overall player that the Colts took in this draft class in round seven, Oklahoma defensive tackle Jonah Luwalu did not make the Colts team out of training camp. Colts elected to keep veterans like Taven Brian and Eric Johnson on the team. Jonah Luwalu ends up going to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Starting point is 00:19:21 and he has a rock solid player for them, a player that I wish the Colts still had on their team. Luwalu has been really good over there in Vegas. So, yeah, when you look at this draft class, I think getting those two offensive linemen certainly helps everything. Gonzalvis and Bordalini, the arrows are pointing up for both of those guys, especially Bordalini, who I think has legit star potential.

Starting point is 00:19:40 And Laiatu Latu has given them some impact early in the draft. But overall, when you look at rounds five through seven, I mean, we have a really real scenario where every single player they took in round five through seven in this draft class is no longer on the team come September. And I think that's a little bit concerning. Like you don't need your round five through seven to be like star players. But we're at, again, a really real scenario. We're all five or what six of those players are not going to be on the Colts team

Starting point is 00:20:07 come September of this year. So kind of whiffing a little bit late in the draft, but salvaged it a bit with Bordolini, Gonzávez, and Laotu, Latu. But coming up, we're going to go to the 2025 draft class. And I know it's still very early to talk 2025. They've only had one season under their belt. But I still think we have some early returns on it that say, this might be the best of the three drafts for the Colts,

Starting point is 00:20:29 which it's not saying anything. But I do think there is some optimism when it comes to this draft class, maybe more so than some of these other ones. So we're going to talk about the 2025 draft class here in just a second. Already, locked on Colts everydayers. We are back talking about the Colts 2025 draft class. We talked about 2023, which was kind of bad.

Starting point is 00:20:58 I think that's the best way we can say it. Really rough draft class, really only two impact players in that one. Cool, it's bounced back a little bit in 2024 by getting three impact players and a couple guys who have given them some snaps at the bottom of the roster. And now we're getting 2025. Now we're going to go a lot quicker through this one because we just don't know a ton about this draft class. We don't know how these guys are going to factor in because some of these players

Starting point is 00:21:21 have only played one season or, I mean, we're going to see in this case, a lot of these guys have been injured. in their first season, so it's still a bit of a question mark on it. But we can talk at least about, like, their projection for this upcoming season, how the Colts view them internally and what we think the role is going to be for them going forward. And if they can grow within that role. So starting here in the first round with Tyler Warren, the Colts, young tight end who just took the league by storm last season,

Starting point is 00:21:47 led all rookie tight ends and receptions and receiving yards, or at least receiving yards. I think receptions, him and fan and were neck and neck for most of the year. just an outstanding season. Broke a lot of rookie tight-in records for the Colts, played some great football. And even when he hit that rookie wall towards like the middle part of the year, I thought he climbed over it and played some really good games down the stretch as well. Expecting huge things out of Tyler Warren, maybe a 1,000-yard season this next year,

Starting point is 00:22:11 of all things break correctly. He is a big piece to what the Colts do. And, you know, kind of a spoiler here for the very final part of it. But if we're talking any blue chip player that the Colts have gotten out of the last three years, Tyler Warren is probably the closest that they had had. Going to round two, though, 45th overall, Jalen, Tuma Loa, the defensive end out of Ohio State. And yeah, this has been, it's been, it was a rough season last year for Tumaloow. He was lost in the shuffle with some older players who the Colts wanted to get on the field.

Starting point is 00:22:41 And Tumaloa didn't really push the issue at all. Like he didn't really come into training camp and look the way they wanted or play the way they wanted. But he has a great opportunity going into year two. He's going to get the chance to start most likely as long as he has a good offseason, as long as he has a good training camp. So I think that's at least better than what we could say out of, like, Juju Brinson and Adonai Mitchell going into their second year. So it might not be much, but he's probably further ahead than the last two second round picks

Starting point is 00:23:06 for what it's worth. So that's already kind of looking better than those last two second round picks. But he has a lot to make up this next season. Hopefully he can get over the hump. But it's still too early to really call it on him in his career. I'm going to the third round, the Colt Surprise, with Minutes. Minnesota cornerback, Justin Wally, and he was a star of training camp last year. Look like he was going to be the next big thing starting on the outside.

Starting point is 00:23:32 I was there at the Baltimore Ravens Joint Practice, and I thought he was one of the best players on the field for the Colts, made one of the most impressive sideline, like past breakups I had seen in a while. But unfortunately, on that pass breakup, he tore his ACL and missed his entire rookie season. But now going to year two, he projects to be the Colts starting Nickel Corner. And I still think that there are some good things in store for this. young player. So he's going to get his shot to show that he can be a starter for this team. And he is in line to be that starting nickel this year for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:24:02 Speaking of starters, Jalen Travis, offensive tackle out of Iowa State was the Colts next pick in the fourth round. And he is likely to be the Colts starter at right tackle this season alongside Matt Consolvis at right guard. Travis, I thought, played some great football in the final month of last year, filling in for Braden Smith. And I really get the Colts taking the shot on him and I'm really excited about what he can be. I mean, he's big, he's explosive, he's physical. He's almost too explosive to fail, in my opinion, too explosive and too big to fail. So I think he's going to be a good player for the Colts this upcoming season. And I'm excited to see what he can bring to the team. Going a little bit more pessimistic here, though, Kansas

Starting point is 00:24:42 State running back DJ Giddens was the next pick in round five. And yeah, he was a healthy scratch for most of the season like Jalen to him a low out. But unlike Jalen to him a low out, there wasn't really much competition at the running back room. Giddens was scratched in favor of Amir Abdullah, Tyler Goodson. I think Ulysses Bentley got in a cup like one time over him as well. Like, you know, it really came down to the past blocking and the special teams where Giddens just wasn't really ready for that NFL role. But he's still very young.

Starting point is 00:25:10 There's still some reason to believe in him. So he's not off the roster yet, but it is a big offseason for him. Kind of like a make or break off season for him as well. going to round six though. Riley Leonard, the quarterback out of Notre Dame, was the Colts selection. And I was not a fan of this selection when the Colts made it. I just didn't want to throw another quarterback into the mix. But, you know, his growth from the preseason to the end of last season was really inspiring in a lot of ways. And I was excited to see kind of where he got in that final Houston game. You know, there's still a very small sample size. He's still far from being like a proven commodity in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:25:49 but in the game and a half that we saw, I saw more in those showings than I thought I would ever see out of Riley Leonard in the NFL. I was expecting more of a Sam Ellinger level backup. And what I saw in those two games, I kind of came away thinking like, okay, he could be maybe a higher end backup in the NFL, in the NFL. So Riley Leonard, I'm cautiously optimistic about him. I want to see a little bit more of his growth this year. But I was impressed with how he went from in OTAs,

Starting point is 00:26:19 OTAs last year not looking like he could be a rosterable quarterback to the preseason having some good flashes but still looking far away to the end of last season looking like a promising young quarterback that could be maybe a backup for the future. So I'm intrigued by Riley Leonard for sure. Sixth round pick, the Colts took Tim Smith, defensive tackle out of Alabama. And he was cut in training camp. We'll see if he can really make the team this year and make an impact. But it doesn't appear that he's going to be that guy. I mean, I think they really like Cam Ball. I think Derek Nottie's here to be that veteran presence. So the door is still open for Tim Smith to make an impact.

Starting point is 00:26:54 But if he didn't make the roster last year, I think it's going to be hard for him to make it this year unless he just drastically changed his body. And then the final selection, pick 232 overall, Wisconsin safety, Hunter, Woller. And the Colts absolutely love this guy. He was having a great training camp. Like I mentioned at the Ravens Joint Practice last year, Woler had two interceptions in the final like team drills. against Lamar Jackson as well. That was just an outstanding play over the middle of the field. He was in line to get a lot of snaps on defense,

Starting point is 00:27:24 potentially even split time with Nick Cross on defense before he suffered a Liss Frank injury that cost him his entire rookie season. The Colts are going to give him a lot of opportunities to play this year. So we'll see if he can ultimately live up to it. But I do like Hunter Woller. I hope he's able to stay healthy this year. And I think there is a role for him going forward. So the 2025 class, as we see, like there's a lot of roles.

Starting point is 00:27:48 for these guys up for the taking. We'll just see if they're able to sustain themselves, stay healthy, and step up to the plate in a lot of those roles. But I did promise you guys. So before we get out of here, I do want to talk about, are there any blue chip players across these three draft classes? You know, I've said a lot of names here. A good chunk of the names I mentioned are no longer in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:28:08 So there are a handful of players who are out of the league at this point. And do the Colts have any blue chip players? I mean, outside of Tyler Warren and this is, purely my optimism speaking when it comes to Tanner Bordalini. I think Tanner Bordellini is going to get there this season. But outside of Warren and Bordalini, I think the answer is no as of right now. I mean, you go all the way back to 2023. They have two rosterable players out of 12 picks in that one, let alone blue chip players.

Starting point is 00:28:35 I hope Josh Downs can become a blue chip player this year for the Colson. And it would be great, but I don't think he's quite there yet. Atatomi, Wada, Bore probably is not going to be a blue chip player in this league. You go to 2024, and yeah, Leotu Latu, I think, has a chance to break into blue chip status this year. Gensalvis, if he has a great season, could certainly, like, get up to, like, where Will Fries was to start that 2024 season. But, yeah, I mean, outside of those guys, like, you're really not looking at many blue chip guys here. 2025, it's still early, so you never know. Tyler Warren, I feel really good about.

Starting point is 00:29:10 But, yeah, outside of Warren and Bordalini, the Colts have not really hit any home runs. Like even if it's, I know Chris Bowd has this like this stigma around him where he drafts really well at non-important positions, but I would take any of those right now, right? Like if you told me he would have drafted like a superstar guard or linebacker in the last three years, I would have taken it. But as of right now, we're looking at a potential like star and Tyler Warren and then Tanner Bordellini, who I think can be a star player. Outside of that, out of the 20-something picks they've made in the last three years, a lot of guys no longer in the NFL, a lot of question marks, a lot of injury prone guys. it is a little bit concerning with where the Colts draft history has been. Not the worst thing ever, like 2023 is pretty awful, but 2024 and 2025 are perfectly adequate draft classes.

Starting point is 00:29:55 But they haven't had that home run draft class the last three years. And I think that's what's kind of led to the Colts being in this like mediocre stage that they're currently in. So let me know what you guys think in the in the comment section below. If you disagree or agree with any of my analysis on some of these draft classes, if I had to put a letter grade on all three of these classes looking back and kind of hindsight. You know, like I said, 2023, I'd say like a D minus as of right now.

Starting point is 00:30:20 2024, like a C plus, I'd say. Like you still have that big miss with Mitchell early. But the other three, I think, were pretty good. It's just you didn't get anything out of round 5 through 7, which is rough. And then 2025, it's kind of an N.A. As of right now, but maybe C plus, B minus with a potential to maybe get up to like a B or B plus with so many of these guys in line to be starters next season. so we'll see where the 2025 class can go,

Starting point is 00:30:47 but the Colts are still reeling a little bit from 2023 and 2024 and 2025 are hoping to make up the difference. That is all I have for today, though, guys. Thank you all for tuning in to Locked-on Colts. We'll be back yet again next week. So make sure you subscribe and follow Locked-on Colts so you get all of the latest episodes. And if you don't already,

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - REVIEW: Looking Back on the 2023-2025 Indianapolis Colts' Draft Classes and Grading the Results

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