Defjamz26

He’s been absolutely phenomenal this year. Week 9 against the Panthers he had an 89.1 coverage grade. His first 150 snaps in coverage he had allowed less than 100 yards receiving, which at the time was tied with Marlon Humphrey. Add in how great he’s been at tackling and hitting and you have CB1. I think when Brent’s is healthy they’re like 1A and 1B. Brent’s is tad bit more athletic though. The draft class is turning into a steal for Ballard. Come FA and draft, corners should be added for depth and competition. I don’t think we need a big signing or early draft pick.

It’s hard to answer. It’s a weird draft in the sense that there aren’t a lot of consensus guys at other positions. Also most of the best players in the draft are WRs this year. Currently the guys I see routinely mocked in the top 15 picks are: -MHJ -Caleb Williams -Drake Maye -Malik Nabers -Olu F. -Joe Alt -Odunze -Keon Coleman -Kool Aid -Jerzhawn Newton -Jared Verse -Brock Bowers We may have to wait a little bit more to be able to really tell because as it stands now, I can’t see 15-20 players that teams would take over Odunze.

The issue is Cross and Thomas are the same age. Thomas is starting at FS and he hasn’t been good. Take out the Patriots interception which was just a really bad ball, and his PFF is probably in the 40s. You want to make the argument for Blackmon being better at SS fine. But I don’t see how they haven’t even tried him at FS and you have a 7th round small school player back there. Why did he join the team and Bradley immediately decide “Yeah he’s a strong safety”? I haven’t seen any safety make a good read and tackle like the one he made on Sunday.

I mean his college tape Is fillled with him making great reads back deep. Thats why I don’t get him only being a SS.

He beat him out last year though. They were both rookies and he they named him the starter at SS. But I get why you’d star McLeod over him. Veteran experience irreplaceable. But fast forward to this season and you start Thomas at FS (who couldn’t beat Blackmon out) and then you convert Blackmon to SS and start him over Cross. None of it makes sense IMO. Especially how they have never even given him a shot at FS and he has the best speed and range combination out of anyone on the team.

It definitely smells like one of those Bradley things where he just likes certain guys. I’m okay with the release because of the contract, but he was doing the same with Shaq. It’s weird to me to think he just can’t play because last offseason he went through a full TC and pre-season and was named a starter at SS. Then after a game or two the announcers said the SS has a lot of responsibility in Gus’ scheme, and he wasn’t ready just yet. But I never remember him making any really horrible plays. It’s the strangest thing ever. I mean he’s the backup SS and is only getting 2 snaps on defense.

Well Blackmon has been all the rage lately but he really isn’t great against the run. Not really an enforcer who stops people. Moreso great in pass coverage. Would bring him in on 1st and 2nd down. Also, Thomas hasn’t been great at all. And crowded TE room? Jelani is on IR and done for the season. Ogletree has been banged up too. Aside from Cox, he’s been the most consistent in terms of being available. So it really hasn’t been as crowded as it seems.

One thing that jumped out to me from the Bucs win is that in the little we saw from them, both Will Mallory and Nick Cross looked good. Mallory always seems to catch the ball for a good gain when he’s in, and then he don’t see him on the field. Cross is even stranger though. The team has struggled as a whole with tackling, but he comes in and makes a really great tackle and then is gone. He played 2 total defensive snaps. I really don’t understand why these two players haven’t gotten more time. What is everyone’s thoughts? The situation with Cross is reminding me of Rodgers last year. Let the guy play free. His speed in the clip isn’t something any DB on the roster has except for Flowers.

Exactly why he needs to go long term. He can not call anything decent in key moments.

The receiver class is deep this year though. We’ll see. You never know how the board will shape out.

He has Brents and Jones, he needs to run man on 3rd and long and get a real FS with range and IQ in the draft. Ideally you rush 4 and put your FS over top of the best receiver just in case someone gets beat.

Good: - The D-line got home a lot today. Sacks in bunches as usual -JT looked good -The return of Will Mallory was nice to see -100 yards from Pitt -Steichen called an excellent game Bad: -Tackling is atrocious. Too many runs that should have gone for 3-4 yards went for 9+. -He gets praise for what he’s done in coverage, but to the above point, Blackmon was not good against the run. He missed or got taken for a ride -Still no vertical passing game. We will not be able to keep winning with just crossing routes, screens, and drags. -Minshew looks like he’s auditioning for other teams for 2024. He is not playing writhin himself and sticking to the plan like he was early in the season. He’s doing entirely too much and is a liability. -Nick Cross barely played on D, but his lone tackle was the best of any DB in the day. He flew to the ball and hit the RB immediately for little to no gain. Not sure why he doesn’t get more looks -Tony Baker needs to be cut. This is one of the worst games he’s played and that’s saying something. He got absolutely mossed by their TE today In The Middle: -Pass 😧 While they were able to limit Evans to 70 and Godwin to 45, there were some really bad breakdowns. Evans was wide open for both TDs. Weak prevent D almost cost us the game as well. It’s a combination of lack of talent and Bradley being awful. Defensive line bails them out a lot.

If he runs that I would pass. I’d take Odunze or Nabers. Later in the round maybe even AD Mitchell or Legette. We need a combination of speed and route running.

Starting to lower my view on Coleman. Finished the season with 615 passing yards. He had 11 TDs but you’d like to see him get at least 800+ yards.

With winnable games in Tampa, Cincy, Oakland, and Atlanta, this mock may look different towards the end of the season. The titans are also horrible, so that could be a win as well. When it’s all said and done, there’s a scenario in which we’re picking on the late teens or early twenties.

I was one of those people. I said trade him at last season’s trade deadline too. Very happy that I was wrong. I hope he gets a nice extension here.

I am also in the belief that Cooper is a Safety. I’d draft him and let him start at FS, but I’d be moving him around all the time. The only thing that worries me is we’ve seen those “do it all” defensive players get a lot of hype and not pan out. Jabril Peppers and Isaiah Simmons come to mind.

Thank you for that correction. I forgot he was a later round pick so had to be extended early.

-Jalen Ramsey-Traded to the Rams for 2 1st -Stephon Diggs- Traded to Bills at end of rookie deal -Deforest Buckner- Self explanatory -AJ Brown-Traded for a 1st at end of rookie deal -Chandler Jones- Traded at end of rookie deal -Khalil Mack- traded in season before end of rookie deal All of those names are guys who play premium positions (well maybe not Buckner because he’s a DT but he’s a great rusher) and are All-pro/ Pro-Bowl players that didn’t see second contracts with their original teams. Obviously you can say some of those moves were terrible decisions, but that’s not the point I’m making. Elite players are either traded or allowed to hit FA every year.

I thought he came back for a game already. I could be mistaken though.

Yikes. That TE room has been dinged up a lot this year. Maybe drafting Brock Bowers in the 1st isn’t a crazy idea. Like NCF said, he’s likely done for the season. He comes back next year he’ll be another guy that hasn’t played a bunch of football in 2 years, will need a few weeks to “get back to form”, will be behind in the playbook, and probably buried on the depth chart as they ease him back in. All that and he’ll be 3 years into his NFL career having only have played sparingly in his rookie season. The chances of him reaching his potential and becoming a feature TE for this offense are looking slim.

I don’t think it’s that weird. The Seahawks moved on from Wilson who is the best QB in the history of their franchise. Jags moved on from Ramsey. Leonard is fortunate to have even gotten a 2nd contract here because there are countless examples of far better players at more premium positions not getting a 2nd contract. LB isn’t one of those positions. Plus I don’t think the scheme really needed Shaq. Franklin and Speed have been fine. It’s the NFL and this is super normal, but new to Colts fans. The Patriots made a living off of this, granted it’s biting them in the behind now. But, this is an encouraging sign. All 4 of our notable FAs (Moore, Bkackmon, Pitt, and Stewart) were just put on notice. Its nothing personal against Leonard, but this is an A+ move from Ballard that shows me his growth as a GM.

This is earlier than expected. I had recently said that I didn’t see him on this team in 2024, but I thought they’d wait till after the season. There must be something related to cap savings that made them move on in the middle of the season. I honestly think this was best for both parties. This is part of the game. Most teams have to make tough choices and let popular players go. KC traded Tyreek Hill over like a $4 million dollar difference in numbers IIRC. Minnesota traded Diggs, etc… this is a regular part of business in the NFL. I wonder if this is a change in philosophy long term as well. I wonder if they’re going to be more selective on who they bring back and extend. That’s why I’m not looking at this and saying that this guarantees that Pitt, Moore, Blackmon, and Stewart are all back now. This is actually a sign of growth as a GM for Ballard by being able to move on from his “guys”.

I agree with the ranking except for where BB is listed. I especially agree with the quoted part. Every year the position he downplays the most is the one that ends up holding us back. It’s usually been WR, corner, and Edge. The issue though is that he sticks to much to his Build-A-Ballard type of guys and ends up drafting the same type of disappointing players at those positions. Too many raw, traitsy senior edge rushers, too many tall and stiff WRs who can’t separate consistently. It looks like he may have hit on corner finally though which is a relief. I also think he needs to lean on FA more as PFF stated. The Colts have been a young team for years now, never seeming to get older. Youth=inexperience. The top tier teams in the NFL aren’t heavily relying on guys on rookie deals. The Eagles are a veteran team with only Carter and Smith really playing significant roles as young players. The Chiefs are a veteran team. The Lions are a veteran team. The Cowboys are a veteran team. Etc…Always betting on draft picks to hit is a risky gamble. Because when they don’t pan out, and you haven’t supplemented those positions with veterans, you end up drafting young players (who need time to develop) to start for you and you’re back at square

Cross has been listed as the backup SS all year. I honestly think it’s a Bradley issue. Much like Rodgers, for whatever reason Bradley doesn’t seem to want to get him on the field. I also think based on his tape that he should be given an opportunity to play FS first. Also I’m not sure the Colts have the space to bring all 4 back. Remember that they will also have to sign the draft class. According to Over The Cap we’ve got roughly $8 million in cap space. Maybe one of the board members who are good at the cap space can tell me if that’s even possible.