The Colts Draft/fa (My Best Predictions To Date)

[BProland85]

Free Agency...

-Indy signs SS Tom Zbikowski and OG Ben Grubbs from Ravens(NTs Antonio Garay and Paul Soliai are other possibilites if they dont cost too much.)

2012 NFL Draft

1st- QB Andrew Luck(No explanation needed)

2nd- NT Alameda Ta'amu(I think he will have a good combine which will bring his stock back up when it was down during the Bowl game against Baylor. I hope NT Dontari Poe is available here, but if not Ta'amu is a strong possibility since teams picking right after us in round 2 could target him as well.)

Indy trades DE Dwight Freeney to Buffalo for their 2012 2nd and 3rd round picks(This makes sense for both teams since Buffalo switched to a 4-3 defense recently, and need another pass rusher who has familiarity with terrorizing Tom Brady in the division. Plus he doesnt fit the 3-4 defense well as a standing pass rusher and we would still have Mathis, Hughes, and Wheeler so we are not hurting there.)

2nd(via trade)- TE Coby Fleener(Gives Luck a familiar target and is a big target we need at 6-6 255 pounds. Could have a Gronkowski type of impact for us.

3rd- DT/E Jared Crick(Grigson loves Big Ten guys being that he is from Indiana, and Crick fits our new 3-4 system perfectly as a DE. With Crick, Moala, and Nevis, we have a very good rotation at DE and Nevis can play DT with AJ when we run our 4-3 formations.)

3rd(via trade)- CB/KR Jayron Hosley(Gives us a talented corner who can develop into a great player under Pagano's guidance.)

Indy trades TE Dallas Clark for NY Giants 3rd round pick(Giants need a talented and dependable TE like Clark, and it makes sense to trade for a proven veteran TE for the Giants since they are already in contention.)

3rd(via trade)- C Philip Blake(He's the 3rd best center behind Konz and Ben Jones and could be a valuable pick for us in case Pollak doesnt work at C.)

4th- WR/KR Joe Adams(Gives us a talented speedy WR who is very versatile and can be used to run the ball at times as well. A Percy Harvin type of player. We now have plenty of talent to return kicks with Adams and Hosley.)

4th(comp for Session)- CB Josh Robinson(More added depth at CB and we need all the talent we can get there.)

5th- SS Tavon Wilson(Underrated safety who has ties to Mike Gillhamer who is our new secondary coach.)

Rest of draft - BPA

[DenverFan]

If you could get Joe Adams in the 4th it would be the steal of the draft. Especially if Arians decides to run a Pittsburgh like offense. Coby Fleener could be Heath Miller like also. The only problem I have, is that you probably didn't adress OL enough. By my count you need at least 2 new starters now you have some flexibility because Ijalana can play either guard spot or tackle and Pollak can play guard or center, but I just think you need either another tackle or a guard depending on where Ijalana is slotted.

[coltsblue1844]

Free Agency...

-Indy signs SS Tom Zbikowski and OG Ben Grubbs from Ravens(NTs Antonio Garay and Paul Soliai are other possibilites if they dont cost too much.)

2012 NFL Draft

1st- QB Andrew Luck(No explanation needed)

2nd- NT Alameda Ta'amu(I think he will have a good combine which will bring his stock back up when it was down during the Bowl game against Baylor. I hope NT Dontari Poe is available here, but if not Ta'amu is a strong possibility since teams picking right after us in round 2 could target him as well.)

Indy trades DE Dwight Freeney to Buffalo for their 2012 2nd and 3rd round picks(This makes sense for both teams since Buffalo switched to a 4-3 defense recently, and need another pass rusher who has familiarity with terrorizing Tom Brady in the division. Plus he doesnt fit the 3-4 defense well as a standing pass rusher and we would still have Mathis, Hughes, and Wheeler so we are not hurting there.)

2nd(via trade)- TE Coby Fleener(Gives Luck a familiar target and is a big target we need at 6-6 255 pounds. Could have a Gronkowski type of impact for us.

3rd- DT/E Jared Crick(Grigson loves Big Ten guys being that he is from Indiana, and Crick fits our new 3-4 system perfectly as a DE. With Crick, Moala, and Nevis, we have a very good rotation at DE and Nevis can play DT with AJ when we run our 4-3 formations.)

3rd(via trade)- CB/KR Jayron Hosley(Gives us a talented corner who can develop into a great player under Pagano's guidance.)

Indy trades TE Dallas Clark for NY Giants 3rd round pick(Giants need a talented and dependable TE like Clark, and it makes sense to trade for a proven veteran TE for the Giants since they are already in contention.)

3rd(via trade)- C Philip Blake(He's the 3rd best center behind Konz and Ben Jones and could be a valuable pick for us in case Pollak doesnt work at C.)

4th- WR/KR Joe Adams(Gives us a talented speedy WR who is very versatile and can be used to run the ball at times as well. A Percy Harvin type of player. We now have plenty of talent to return kicks with Adams and Hosley.)

4th(comp for Session)- CB Josh Robinson(More added depth at CB and we need all the talent we can get there.)

5th- SS Tavon Wilson(Underrated safety who has ties to Mike Gillhamer who is our new secondary coach.)

Rest of draft - BPA

If this is your best to date, but you have us trading Freeney and Clark, i have faith in you that you can do better.

We should and probably will restructure both (extend in Freeney's case), but trading them will cause us a serious dead cap hit. On a defense with few good players, you dont get rid of your best one.

[BProland85]

If you could get Joe Adams in the 4th it would be the steal of the draft. Especially if Arians decides to run a Pittsburgh like offense. Coby Fleener could be Heath Miller like also. The only problem I have, is that you probably didn't adress OL enough. By my count you need at least 2 new starters now you have some flexibility because Ijalana can play either guard spot or tackle and Pollak can play guard or center, but I just think you need either another tackle or a guard depending on where Ijalana is slotted.

I did add two new potential starters. OG Ben Grubbs will start, and C Philip Blake could potentially start with some grooming while Pollak mans C for a little while. And the WR class is so good this year that talented guys will fall a little so I could see Adams going late 3rd or early 4th.

[BProland85]

If this is your best to date, but you have us trading Freeney and Clark, i have faith in you that you can do better.

We should and probably will restructure both (extend in Freeney's case), but trading them will cause us a serious dead cap hit. On a defense with few good players, you dont get rid of your best one.

Freeney and Clark are getting up there and I already explained Freeney doesnt fit our new 3-4 defense very well. And both are easily tradeable without effecting our cap. In fact getting rid of them will create more cap room since Freeney was due 18 mil against the cap and Clark's number was around 5 mil. Since we are rebuilding we may as well get something back for these guys who are getting older, and what better than getting draft picks getting some young talent brought in.

[DenverFan]

I did add two new potential starters. OG Ben Grubbs will start, and C Philip Blake could potentially start with some grooming while Pollak mans C for a little while. And the WR class is so good this year that talented guys will fall a little so I could see Adams going late 3rd or early 4th.

I meant that you need another guard If Ijalana is going to play tackle. Not a potential guy, an immediate starter. I do like Blake's potential though, he would be a good pick for you.

[coltsblue1844]

Freeney and Clark are getting up there and I already explained Freeney doesnt fit our new 3-4 defense very well. And both are easily tradeable without effecting our cap. In fact getting rid of them will create more cap room since Freeney was due 18 mil against the cap and Clark's number was around 5 mil. Since we are rebuilding we may as well get something back for these guys who are getting older, and what better than getting draft picks getting some young talent brought in.

actually, if we trade Freeney our dead cap hit would be $5million and if we trade Clark the hit will be another $5.58 million.

Also, everyone is getting a little ahead of themselves saying we will be switching to a 3-4 next year. Pagano clearly said (multiple times) that he would do what best fits the players we have...that he wouldnt "try to force a square peg into a round hole"... so to me, that means that we would likely still be a base 4-3 team next year who may throw in the occasional 3-4 plays here and there.

As for Clark, Tamme is a free agent and Eldridge is an often injured blocking TE....so if we lose Tamme and trade Clark, then we wouldnt have anyone at TE besides maybe a rookie and Eldridge

[coltsblue1844]

I meant that you need another guard If Ijalana is going to play tackle. Not a potential guy, an immediate starter. I do like Blake's potential though, he would be a good pick for you.

Joe Reitz played pretty well at LG last year, i have faith in him to improve, also...last year was his first season starting in the NFL

[DenverFan]

Joe Reitz played pretty well at LG last year, i have faith in him to improve, also...last year was his first season starting in the NFL

Good to know. That changes my opinion then.

[Boiler_Colt]

Fill me in here, is Zbikowski really starting SS material? He was good at Notre Dame but I've mostly just seen him on special teams in the NFL. Would he really be that much of an upgrade over Bullitt who at least has extensive starting experience? I think there are better safety options in the draft.

[DenverFan]

Fill me in here, is Zbikowski really starting SS material? He was good at Notre Dame but I've mostly just seen him on special teams in the NFL. Would he really be that much of an upgrade over Bullitt who at least has extensive starting experience? I think there are better safety options in the draft.

He's pretty good, he gets a lot of nickle and dime safety looks and is pretty good in coverage. He would probably be nothing more than an average starter, but he's more likely to play all 16 games than Bullitt is.