Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - TARGET: Should Indianapolis Colts Pursue Deebo Samuel? | Why Team Skeptics Should Be Optimistic
Episode Date: May 19, 2026Indianapolis Colts fans asked if the team should pursue free-agent WR Deebo Samuel. Would he fit with the Colts? Skeptical listeners also asked why they should be optimistic about this year's team. ... EVERYDAYER CLUB If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub TEXT WITH JAKE AND ZACH Join the Locked On Colts insider program to text with Jake and Zach, ask any questions you have, and get updates on news and rumors from the Colts' facility, locker rooms, stadium, and practice field! https://joinsubtext.com/c/lockedoncolts Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms: 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/ 📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Square If you’re starting a business or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just five dollars and get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if their first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Should the Indianapolis Colts pursue Devo Samuel and Free Agency?
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.
That's Jake Arthur, and today's episode is brought to you by GameTime.
Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Locked-on for $20 off of your first purchase.
Hello, everyone.
We are back with more.
Q and A for today's episode.
Yesterday, we targeted the Everyday Air Club, let the Everdayer Club get their first shot,
asking questions for us.
But Jake also reached out to everyone else on other socials, from Facebook to Blue Sky, to X, to YouTube.
And we got even more questions flowing in.
You guys have a lot on your mind as we get ready for the 2026 season.
So without further ado, let's dive into some more of these questions here.
And the big topic here, and this was actually actually asking.
by multiple people, Jake.
I want to know your thoughts from Matt Bowen on ESPN put out that the Colt should sign wide receiver Debo Samuel.
So this asker wants us to see like what are our thoughts on Matt Bowen's ESPN article and should Debo Samuel be in consideration for the Colts this off season?
Yeah, I know Bowen put this one out recently, but also Gilberto Manzano from SI.com did last week or last month as well because I remember reading that at the time.
So it does seem to be a pretty common theme of looking at matches for Debo Samuel and the Colts being among them.
I think it just kind of depends what you think the Colts will not accomplish with their passing game.
Do you think you want to get more explosive in replacing Michael Pittman Jr.
And get someone who's more of a vertical threat.
Well, Debo is maybe not so much your guy.
But if you want someone who is more of an extension of the run game through the short passing game,
then I think you could get by with that with Debo.
He still has yards after catch juice.
I know I kind of crunched the numbers recently.
His numbers versus Michael Pittman Jr.'s numbers in terms of just like how they produced
after the catch, it was kind of night and day.
So if you're looking for an upgrade over Pittman,
I think Debo can still provide a little bit of that.
They're not totally the same player, but I do think if you're just looking for a veteran
upgrade, I think that fits.
but overall it just depends.
I kind of think the Colts want to get more explosive,
someone who's going to maybe stretch the field a little bit more.
That's why, you know,
Ashton Doolin, that's always kind of been what he's done.
He does some gadgety stuff when he comes in.
But, you know, as far as a past catcher goes,
he gets down the field a little more often.
Same thing with Nick Westbrook-Akekeke.
He's always kind of been a vertical guy as well.
And then Dionne Burks, who we've discussed,
If you're going to have someone who could do some shorter yards after catch stuff, that's maybe who the Colts are going to go to.
So do the Colts have the money?
Absolutely they do.
I would even be kind of interested.
I think it's a little intriguing.
I just don't, I don't see it happening.
I think they're kind of willing to let it roll with what they've got.
Now, if they needed to build a role of like a second receiver, maybe, maybe that would be more urgent.
But this is the third receiver you're looking at.
I don't know that they're going to want to pull the trigger on that.
Yeah, I'll open it up by saying I don't mind this edition for the Colts,
the potential edition for the Colts, especially if it's a one-year deal.
Honestly, you'll, you'll rarely, rarely see me complain about a one-year contract for the Colts
because if it doesn't work out, you can just get out of it.
It doesn't really matter at the end of the day.
So I'm always down for a one-year contract, regardless of the player, essentially,
when you have the cap space to spend.
And I actually like the fit of Debo Samuel more so than, like, earlier
in the off season, people were talking about Joanne Jennings as a potential fit for the Colts.
Yeah, for sure.
I like Debo Samuel much more as a fit because he fits more of that Z wide receiver that they're looking for rather than an X wide receiver, which is Alec Pierce.
And it's going to be Alec Pierce for the next half decade with the Colts.
So, yeah, I don't mind it.
I'd be fine with it on a one-year contract.
I'm with you, Jake.
Like, I don't feel the super pressing need because I think they're going to give Josh Downs every chance to have a bigger role this next season.
but if they felt like they needed some more run after catch stuff, maybe a Dionne Burks is just not ready for that type of role, then yeah, I'd be fine with it.
I don't think it's like the craziest move ever.
And it kind of leaks into this next question here, Jake, where Hassan Reddick and Debo Samuel seem like potential home run additions, don't you think?
I don't think Debo Samuel would be like a home run edition.
For me, I think it would be perfectly fine.
And same with Hassan Reddick.
Like I wouldn't hate it on a one-year contract, but to call them home runs at this stage in the office.
season, I wouldn't go that far with either of those potential signings.
I think they could help, but more so you're taking a shot on guys who, you know,
it's kind of like a low risk, like middling reward.
I don't think you're going to get this crazy high reward out of them.
But if they don't work out, you could just cut them.
So like, I'd be fine bringing them in here.
It's just I don't think that they like solve any issues.
They would just be maybe potential like duct tape on the hole in the side of a boat,
essentially.
Like maybe that could be a little bit of help there for you.
Yeah, Redick is the guy who Colts fans clamored for him three, four, five years ago even, it seemed like.
And at the time, I was on board with that.
I just feel like the guy has such little really good football on tape over the last few years now to this point.
Basically, ever since he switched from, I think it was Philadelphia to New York,
it's just been kind of flatlined since then.
We've hardly heard from him.
He hasn't really been a highly coveted target anymore across the league because he's
started to be that kind of mercenary guy, the one-year deal, or, you know, he's hopping to a new
team to kind of bring them deeper into the playoffs each year. I don't think that's his reality
anymore. So I also think he would be budding up too much in the rotation with Latu and
Arden Key, because he's not really a power edge. So you'd be having to find ways to use him that I just
don't know that the fit is necessarily there. Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, if they signed him,
cool we'll see what he has left in the tank but it's not like the end of the world i wouldn't
hate it but he's not a guy would target necessarily yeah right exactly like i would target adjutavian clown
you could play a little bit more on those rundowns early on if i were to target a veteran
on the free agent market at defensive end uh let's see some other ones here are quentin nelson
jonathan taylor de force buckner and josh downs getting contract extensions i'm assuming
either prior to the season or maybe early on in the season uh i'll give my quick thoughts here
Jake. Quentin Nelson, I would expect an extension to come at some point in the next couple
months. He's going to be a Colts lifer. Whether there's a regime change at the end of the season
or not, like, Quentin Nelson is going to be a part of the Colts organization. He's just too
valuable to this team, this franchise, and it's hard to find offensive linemen of his caliber.
Jonathan Taylor, super interesting because he is getting close to that age with running backs,
but he's just coming off a great season. I'm really intrigued to see if there's another
potential holdout with him this offseason because it might be his last chance to get a big
payday, especially because he was healthy last year and had a great year. So I'm really curious to
see if we get a potential holdout situation again there or him wanting a new contract.
DeForest Munkner, I don't expect an extension, especially with a neck injury. And the Colts
would be wise to get a Josh Downs extension done. But what would be the incentive for Downs to do that
right now where he has the potential to balloon his price up so much more with a great season,
playing a little bit more on the outside. So of all those guys, I think Nelson does get one done
by like the end of September at the latest. The other guys, I'm skeptical that the Colts extend,
but Taylor and Downs are very interesting situations. And for the right price, I'd be fine with
extending both, but I could see that one going either way. Yeah, this one, so for me,
Quentin, no question. Like, you go ahead and do that one now. They do seem to do like one big
extension each off season like before the the season and training camp really gets going i think
nelson makes all the sense in the world taylor's very interesting because if i'm jonathan taylor i
probably want like a three year deal you know because let's give you 27 after this year he's hitting
such a weird point in his career timeline where if he just signs for one more year and then he's
28 no team might want to sign him beyond like a year or so so if you're going to get one more
deal than like right now is probably the time to do it.
But I don't know that the Colts want to do it yet, you know, because they've,
they've invested in a couple of their running backs in the draft recently, not that those
guys touch Taylor whatsoever, but you've made investment in a couple other young guys.
Are you really going to, are you eager to throw out a big extension for a running back now?
So that one's a little up in the air for me.
Buckner, I think they're going to let that one ride out.
I think you absolutely wait to see what he looks like coming back from the neck.
And then downs, you could say because his price tag is probably going to go much higher after this year, that you go ahead and do it now.
But as a receiver, do you do it early?
He's not like an elite receiver, you know?
So that one's interesting.
Buckner, I would not do.
Downs, I don't see why not.
And then Taylor, I think that one's a little tricky.
Yeah, downs I would certainly call his representation and say, hey, we're interested in getting a deal done.
Yeah, start discussions and let them know you're willing to talk.
Don't be like Pierce last year where you're like, you know what, let's let your price tag double.
And over the course of the season, essentially.
Right, but like it would be really interesting because like if you're downs, say you got like a three by 45 on the table right now, right, from the Colts.
That's a lot of money, right?
That's a good contract for his role.
But if he takes a step up, he could be looking at like,
25 per year. But there's another scenario where he doesn't take that step up and he gets less than
that, right? Less than 15. So it is a really interesting thing with him. I think if I'm the Colts,
I would throw like a three by 45 in front of him and just see if he'd be interested in that,
see if that's, uh, see if that's, you know, egregiously high. I don't know, like,
whatever that would be. I'd be comfortable with that. It's just, I'm curious to see where
the Colts and Downs would come on that situation. Very interesting situation there, uh, that could
transpire with the Colts and Josh Downs.
And we'll follow it the rest of this offseason.
Coming up, though, we're going to talk a little bit about the nihilism of this team.
All hope is lost.
Pessimism is building.
It's a typical Colts off season.
So we're going to have some questions based on that in just a second.
We can stream anything, order food in 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.
Checkout can be confusing.
The prices jump at the last second.
it just really doesn't need to be that complicated.
But that's why there's game time.
It gives fans the advantage and makes getting tickets fast and simple.
I was just looking at tickets for an upcoming game recently,
and it took me just minutes to find pretty good options.
I could see the full price up front, no surprise fees, no surprise fees at checkout,
which is always huge because that's why everyone just kind of gets disenchanted
with the whole process of going to concerts and things like that.
You can see the seats beforehand, which that's huge.
That means you can check out the exact view before you buy.
And they got the zone deals.
It's where you pick the section and you save even more.
Two taps and you have great seats locked in.
It's quick, easy, and actually makes you want to go to more events.
So take the guesswork out of buying tickets to every type of event with GameTime.
Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off of your first purchase.
Terms apply.
Again, create an accountant redeem code, L-O-C-K-E-D,
for $20 off. Download the game time app today. All right, welcome back everybody. Before we move on,
don't forget to check out the everydayer club or ad-free audio episodes and access to a group
chat with other listeners of the show, Zach and myself. Just tap the link in the show notes
or go to lock on colts.com to join the party today. All right. So there was a chunk of questions
we received that the vibes weren't high. I'll put it that way. So we,
We got some from Boiler Up, Hammerdown on YouTube,
dawn of a new apocalypse on Twitter.
I mean, read between the lines.
And then sporting fandom on Blue Sky,
basically just to summarize,
boiler up, hammerdowns was a little more innocent,
have the Colts made legitimate moves to contend for the AFC South.
But otherwise, I think everyone is kind of skeptical
and expecting either a collapse or just a totally flat season.
So, Zach, let's go ahead and first and acknowledge the fact that, like, yes, like, there's reason for skepticism and why, but also why there's reason for optimism and why the things that we're concerned about might not be so bad or could be fixed or turned around, however.
Yeah, I mean, to talk about the pessimism, I think I have to tackle the pessimism first.
And I'll throw you the optimism, Jake, because that's just the brand that we have built here with Lock Dog Colts.
I understand where people are coming from with the pessimism.
As someone who's been pessimistic about the Colts last couple of seasons,
I completely get it.
I mean, your quarterback is coming off of the worst injury in sports,
which is the Achilles tear.
I hate the Achilles tear.
You guys have heard me talk about it on this show multiple years in a row
on how detrimental an Achilles tear is to players.
Now, we don't have a ton of data on quarterbacks responding to it,
but if we look at other positions, if we look at other sports,
It's a rough injury to come back from, you know, across all major sports leagues, guys rarely return to their previous form, especially within like a calendar year.
So that right there is the biggest reason for pessimism is that quarterback coming off of that major injury.
But speaking of injuries, I mean, the Colts best players are all kind of dealing with injuries, right?
Or coming off of injuries.
Mooney Ward was not healthy last season, had multiple concussions and considered retirement this offseason.
Sauce Gardner, the big addition in season, missed most of the year, most of the post acquisition
with a calf injury.
And then DeForest Buckner, a major neck injury that required him to miss most of the last part of last year.
Yeah, I understand the pessimism with all that.
And then you see just guys who have been here for a long time going out the door,
Zaire Franklin, Kenny Moore, Michael Pittman Jr., with the replacements being a bunch of kind of unknowns, right?
We have Ashton Doolin at wide receiver kind of replacing him.
We have Justin Wally in the slot, a corner that we haven't seen in the NFL yet.
And also when it comes to linebacker, C.J. Allen, who we're all excited about, but he's a 21-year-old rookie.
So I completely understand the pessimism.
But I'll throw it to you, Jake, real quick, for optimism.
And then I'll piggyback off of what you say to close out the segment.
Yes, I think just kind of the reverse of what you said with the injuries.
You could look at it that way of like you have so many important.
important players who were injured coming back, but at the same time, you have so many important
players coming back from injury. Like, surely not every one of them will continue to be an issue.
Okay. Okay. Don't, don't put that to the universe. No, there's, there's too many of them for that
to be the case. Like, even the Colts can't be that snake button. Jake, but Jake. No, don't put that
out there. I'm just saying. Um, but no, I mean, and some of these guys are coming back to positions that
don't greatly need them, if that makes sense, other than Daniel Jones, of course, they need him.
But, like, defensive tackle, like, you're not putting DeForest Buckner in a position where he
has to carry the load. You went out and traded for Colby Wooden. Tommy, there's a lot of optimism
around him. He has looked better and better each year. He's going into a contract year now.
So you've got something there, a little depth with him. Hunter Whaler is, you know, last year he was
is maybe going to compete with Nick Cross.
You got Halsey now this year, but they really like Halsey,
and that allows Willer to fit into whatever his most natural role that they want him to beat is.
Let's see, you know, the corners, sauce and Mooney.
I'm pretty skeptical about Mooney because like the brain is the brain.
Like, you know, I don't, I hope everything works out fine and I don't have to be skeptical about it.
Jake, you're the optimism here.
Build up the optimism.
Come on.
Sauce Gardner.
There you go.
So let's look at sauce and what he had to go through before his injury.
So he had already played in London when he was with the Jets.
Then he comes to the Colts and within a few days of becoming a Colt,
flies in, uproots his life, practices a time or two,
then flies to freaking Europe again, plays an overtime game.
The Colts have their buy, but then they go out on the road again.
he plays another overtime game again on the road and then his calf gives way for the rest of the
year essentially now he's fully healthy the calf is not an issue anymore he has told us that
everything's good it's not even a problem so the guy that you traded two first round picks for
is entering the year in a pretty good place like that's that's good to see uh your offensive line
has i would i would call it continuity because jalen Travis was the start
for the last quarter of the year.
Jonathan Taylor exists.
That's good.
Tyler Warren, probably going to take another step up.
Laotu Latu, probably going to take another step up.
And your linebacker core is probably not going to be the roller coaster that it was last year.
Now, will there be bumps, of course, but I don't think this group is going to be victimized
time after time after time.
You know?
So I'm pretty optimistic about a couple of things.
And then I've said on here, I think, defense.
defensively, they'll be up there near the leaders and takeaways as well.
Because if you have Ward and Sauce healthy, that's going to force a lot of stuff inside
where Cam Bynum and AJ Halsey are waiting.
And that's two ballhawks right there.
Hunter-Waller as well in dime defense.
So it's going to be pretty challenging for teams to pass on the Colts, even if their
pass rush is questionable.
Yeah.
My real quick assessment of why we should be positive is I know that the Colts,
lost a lot of names this offseason, but I would argue they were closer to just being names
than they were the guys that they once were with the Colts, Kenny Moore is coming off his
worst season with the Colts, Zaire Franklin off his worst season with the Colts. Michael
Pittman Jr., I mean, I don't know if it's just him or if it's his fit with Shane Stuyken,
but Shane Stuyken's essentially only used him as a slants and Diggs type of player.
Like very, very limited role with the Colts, and he performed fine in that role. But clearly,
it wasn't like the big time producer that like the target said that he was right and then you're
replacing them with guys who more so fit the system that the Colts want to run who are younger who
are faster alongside getting a sauce gardener back healthy hopefully getting Mooney Ward back out there and
healthy getting another safety next to Cam Bynum that can make plays on the football so I do think
that there is reason to be optimistic about the season because more so everything fits what the
Colts want to do now. They're younger. They're a team that, you know, they tasted success early
last season. I mean, we got to remember they were a playoff team the first half of the season until they
were down to their fourth string quarterback. They were the number one seat in the entire NFL for a lot of
that first half of the year. Right. And they played a couple good teams in there. I know everyone says,
like, oh, they play the Raiders. Oh, they play these teams. But they beat the Broncos. They took the
Rams to the wire. They beat the Chargers. Those are playoff teams right there. Like, they played
fairly well to start the season.
And it only really started to just tumble downhill when their quarterback injuries piled up.
So yes, the quarterback injury is still a question mark, but the quarterback can say healthy.
And these young players can hit the ground running.
I do think there is a reason to be optimistic this season.
So I understand the pessimism 100%, but I wouldn't say my pessimism level for this upcoming
season is as low as it was going into 2023 or even going into last season.
Remember, I was a big Daniel Jones hater going into last season.
I was not optimistic at all.
And I was proven wrong in a lot of ways.
So I'm more optimistic going into this season than I was in those two particular seasons.
And I think I think you guys should be too.
But I'll let you guys make your own decisions there.
Coming up, though, we're going to just talk about some miscellaneous questions to close out today's Q&A episode.
Workplace chaos, deadline stacking up.
The inbox is overflowing in that one position that you still have to fill is wide open.
When the pressure is on and you need the right higher.
this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps you reach the people who actually
fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, and location, so that you're not just hoping that
the right candidate falls in your lap. And here's a stat that says it all. In the minute that I've
been talking to you, companies like years made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide.
So it's been less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all of your
boxes with less stress, less time, and more results. When you need the right person to cut through the
chaos. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of the show are going to get a $75
sponsored job credit that help get your job the premium status that it deserves at Indeed.com
slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by seeing you
heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire.
This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. All right. Welcome back, everybody. We are putting
a bow on today's Q&A session.
We got a lot of questions about the quarterback and Anthony Richardson still,
just like we did for yesterday's show.
Real quick, though, Zach, I'm going to kind of frame this as a more of a Daniel Jones question,
but who will start at quarterback at week one?
And when was the last time we knew who the starter would be in week one before training
camp, really?
Yeah, I mean, to answer that second part of that question, last time we knew about a
starter. It was actually going into 2024. So not too long ago.
But even then there was skepticism about Anthony's health level. Now, it was pretty much
stamped that he was going to be fine, but he was coming off that shoulder. Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of, I think it's kind of in the same level of where we're at with
Daniel Jones right now where it's like, we all kind of know he's going to be ready.
Like, I think he should be ready for week one. All signs are pointing to him being ready for
week one. The Colts have spoken highly about his recovery. He's well ahead of schedule. He's already
throwing on the field. He should be cleared by mid-August and should be the starter in week one for
the Colts this season. We'll see if there's any kind of setback, but I anticipate Daniel Jones
starting at week one, similar to Anthony Richardson, yes, we had some questions back in going into
2024 after the shoulder surgery in the offseason, but we kind of figured he'd be the week one
starter. I'm in that same boat with Daniel Jones this year where everything I've heard,
everyone I've talked to, I mean, heck, the people I've talked to even like immediately after
after the injury was like, oh, yeah, the way that he's going about the rehab process,
like he's already ahead of schedule.
And that's just continued throughout the whole process.
So unless there's a major setback, which again, could always happen.
We're talking about the Colts here.
You never know when your quarterback's going to just suffer a random other injury.
But it does appear that, yeah, Daniel Jones should be the week one starter this year.
Have you heard anything different there, Jake?
No, I just don't think the Colts want to commit to it because they don't want.
want egg on their face if something were to happen and he's not ready for week one.
But I think everyone's very confident.
Like he's already there doing what he can do during OTAs.
I think he's getting some field work.
He's dropping back and passing.
He's working with his own quarterback coach, like in the free time.
So I have zero idea why he wouldn't be ready week one.
Because, I mean, if he's already mobile and there's no big three,
threat of re-injuring, which there isn't because he's cleared the three-month mark,
then just roll with it.
You know what I mean?
Unless he just does, cannot hit his markers on the field physically, like when he's,
you know, running out and everything.
But I don't, I don't think that's going to be the case.
I think he'll be fine.
Again, for me, no mystery that he'll be available for week one.
Let's come back to the quarterback stuff if we have time after this stuff because we want
to get some new topics in here.
So this one is from one of our guys there in the Everydayer Club.
These 24-year-olds coming in all over the NFL, are their learning curves gone?
So basically, you know, with NIL being the case, you're getting a lot older rookies coming into the NFL.
Are the learning curves gone?
Are they expected to be instant oatmeal considering most players are almost past their prime by 30?
This would be the age of a second contract.
Is it cold to expect anything considering the NIL in college?
So, Zach, this is a good one for you because I know you're very picky with older prospects
and not waiting on them to be, you know, developmental guys.
Like they need to have some level of readiness if they're an older prospect, right?
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, look, the average lifespan of a player in the NFL is not very long, right?
So when you're looking at a player that you're taking at 24, 25 years old,
by the end of that rookie contract, they're towards the end of their NFL career, right?
Once you hit 30 in the NFL, unless you're a quarterback or a kicker,
which kicker again it could be any age that you forget how to play the sport but yeah quarterback you can usually play to like 40 but every other position like right around the time you hit 30 is kind of when you're on the outs of the NFL so yeah if you're taking a 24 year old rookie a 25 year old rookie there's kind of this expectation that it's ready to go and and look this is the case with the NFL in general right where like you don't get much time to wait like you could be a 20 year old rookie to a 24 year old rookie the NFL is going to want production immediately
That's just how it is.
There's no developmental league.
You are either on the 53-man roster or you're not.
And if you're on that roster,
you're expected to contribute in some way to winning football.
So to a degree, I do think that there is more of an expectation on some of these older players
where it's like a Bryce Becher, for instance, right?
The Colts aren't taking Bryce Becher to sit him for a couple of years
and see what he can be down the line because in a couple of years,
he's going to be 27, 28.
Like, he's going to be towards like the end of his prime
in the NFL. So you're drafting a player for what he can be right now. You're also doing that for
Galaxy DJ Allen is 21, but there is a little bit more growth expected with that player. So I would
be really curious to see if there's a study done into this because I know we're, we don't have
too long after the COVID years right now to where like we can firmly look at all the data and
say like, oh, rookies contributed more in the NFL. But I'm curious to see like in five to 10 years from now
when we look back on the COVID years and the NIL years, post that big boom and burst that we had,
where we had all these older rookies coming in, was there a notable difference in production from rookies at that age?
Or was it kind of just the same scattershot that we see from NFL rookies?
I'm very curious to what that data looks like in a couple years.
But as of right now, I do think that the clock is ticking.
If, again, if you're a Bryce Betcher type player, right, who's going to be, what, 24, 25 this year, I think for the Colts,
there is certainly more of
like urgency for him to be a productive player in year one
where with the CJ Allen,
sure there's urgency,
he's a second round pick,
but he is 21.
There's going to be a little bit more grace with that kind of player.
So yeah,
absolutely.
I do think that when you're 24,
25,
they don't expect this big learning curve
because you've been playing football for the last six or seven years.
Like it's time to go in the NFL.
So yeah,
totally get that question.
And really excited to see what the
it looks like, again, like five to ten years from now.
Yeah.
And just the example I keep coming back to is Akeem Mesidor in the first round,
25-year-old rookie.
First round means, you know, if all goes well,
you have them for five years because of the fifth-year option.
Dude's 30 at the end of his rookie contract.
That's nuts.
You know what I mean?
And like if there was a 30-year-old edge rusher who maybe wasn't elite out on the open market,
like they'd still be on their own.
open market right now. Yeah. Like look at the guys who are on the open market, right? Look at your,
yeah. Right. Your clownies, your Hassan Reddicks, your, you know, all those types of players,
Joey Bosa, they're like early 30s type players, right? And he has injury concerns. Yeah. So it's like,
you have to be, you have to be spotless. Like luckily for like La Chulatu, for example, he was an older
prospect, but he's productive and his team likes him and believes in him still. But if he never got above
the level he's at now by the end of his rookie contract there's going to be skepticism about him
you know yeah uh so that's that's basically the reason for it and i really like that question
uh this next one this one's neat so how did zach feel about having his voice being a part of
the colts draft recap video you guys didn't catch it the colts put out that long form video
and their lead into the draft was kind of talking about stuff they did in the off season
and they uh they clipped something from this show of zack
talking about Zaire Franklin's exit.
And then very funny question here,
did he receive any royalties or at least credentialing for a game?
So let's hear that.
That was pretty cool.
I mean, as soon as I heard it, I text you, I was like, what?
Yeah, there were a lot of people who had that response
or it was like the Leonardo DiCaprio thing in that one movie
where you're looking at the screen and pointing or whatever.
But yeah, it was really cool.
It's the second time something like that has happened with our show.
The Josh Downs hype video for his podcast also had a voice in it.
So I'm hearing my voice more often.
I'm curious to know the decision making process behind that, though.
Like with the video team, were they just listening to like all, because all the other voices were national voices, right?
And then it's just me.
Like, it's just me in there.
So was it because someone on the video team listens to the show or are they just on socials and they caught that?
Because honestly, big shout out to you handling a lot of our social shorts and stuff, Jay, because that's probably where they got it from was one of our social.
shorts that you put out there. But yeah, really cool experience. In terms of did I get anything
for it? I mean, I'm sure I could get credentialed for a game if they wanted me to, if I wanted to
go to a game. I'm just not a big like live football type person. I like seeing like the
bird's eye view of everything from my couch. In terms of royalties, no, that's fair. That's fair
use once we put it out there. But if they want to pay me for it, like that'd be awesome.
You know, if they want to just throw me a little bit of the cash, that'd be great. But
But all in all, very fun, very fun time.
Funny, always hearing my voice on stuff after a couple hundred episodes that we've done
on here, Jake, it's still weird to hear my voice on stuff like that.
But if anyone from the Colts media team is listening to this.
And the reason why you picked it is because you listen to the show, please reach out
because I think that would be hilarious.
Like, I just want to know the answer.
Because I'm just curious how we made the cut.
That's the only thing I want to know.
It's possible.
I know the guy who put the video together.
And I did thank him for using the clip of you on there.
I'll ask him specifically how he landed on that.
But I also don't want to jinx, you know, keep pushing us into these videos.
Yeah, we're not complaining.
I just want to know how we made the cut is all.
But yeah, I'm like, if you want to keep, if you want to just use my voice to intro all your videos, that's awesome.
Like, you know, like use it a couple more times.
You might ask for a couple royalties from there.
But outside of that, like, we're having fun.
Exactly.
Now, just when you're here for training camp, you get access to whatever you want.
That's all.
Yeah, that's fine. I'll take it exactly.
Thank you all for tune again to today's Q&A episode of Locked on Colts.
We'll be back yet again tomorrow, so make sure you subscribe and follow Lockdown Colts,
wherever you get your latest episodes.
If you don't already, make sure you're following out Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur
and it fell and at Zach Hicks to all on socials.
If you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you.
Get us ad-free plus members-only Discord access and much more.
Head to LockdownColts.com to join the club.
Thank you all for tuning in.
And we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow after.
noon.
