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Colts' Draft Priorities? (Assuming Manning Comes Back Healthy)


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In asking the question, I am assuming that Peyton Manning will return healthy. Also, I am assuming the Colts will NOT have the number one over-all pick. Ergo, no talk of Luck or trading picks to somebody wanting Luck.

(Note - if Manning has 2 or less years left, then Luck should be the priority, especially if the Colts end up with the number one pick. If Manning has more than 3 years left as a starter, then Luck should not be entertained.)

Given these assumptions, what do you think the Colts' draft priorities should be?

Here's my take on how they should priorize ...

CB - The need is obvious. I don't know that there will be one available worthy of being a top 5 over-all pick, though

OT - If Matt Kalil can be had, I think the Colts have to grab him. Kalil and Castonzo as bookend OTs, Ijilana at OG ... the Colts OL could become utterly dominant for years to come!, which bodes well for Manning (and his eventual replacement), the running game, and the passing game. The war is won in the trenches and adding a guy like Kalil should effectively settle things for the next decade.

WR - Wayne should be / hopefully will be re-signed. He's still a very good receiver and it would be nice for him to wind up his career as a career Colt. Gonzo looks to be finished, certainly not an answer beyond just depth. Garcon is a game breaker, but he will likely always be inconsistent. Collie is a slot man, potentially a great one. It's time to try and bring in a new stud WR.

LB - Can you name me a great defense that does not have two great linebackers? I think Angerer will be the MAN in the middle, Conner could still develop to be solid, but it looks to me that a real game changer at OLB is still needed.

DT - Moala and Nevis should be good frontline studs, hopefully for years to come. At this point, unless there is a real stud prospect to be had, though, I am not too worried about DT. Beyond Moala and Nevis, I think veterans can be used to solidify things further.

DE - With Freeney, a re-sgned Mathis, and Huges for depth (Huges is only in his 2nd year, sitting behind two pro Bowlers - I have not written him off like so many seem to have), along with the other vets, DE is not the highest priority.

S - The team still needs to find a stud SS, but I am holding out hope they already have him in Lafeged. Stll, until Lafeged or somebody else can show they are the Man, safety, in particular SS, is a need. Bethea is still good at FS and let's hope it stays that way for a few more years.

QB - Assuming Manning comes back healthy, I think a replacement QB can be deferred 1 or 2 more years. (If Manning has two or less years left, then obviously getting a prospect like Luck becomes the top priority.)

C - Jeff Saturday might be done after this year, or he might have one more year left, but I think the future C for the Colts may already be on the roster. (Mike Pollak?).

OG - If Ijilana can become the answer at OG, that will go a long way. Reitz and Diem should be okay for a bit still.

TE - Dallas Clark should still have a few good years left and the Colts have decent depth in Jacob Tamme and blocking TE depth in Brody Eldridge (if he could get healthy), but if a big body TE proto-type all-around sort can be had at some point, I would go for drafting such a prospect.

RB - It would be nice if Addai could stay healthy. Regardless though, this is low priorty imho. With Addai, Delone Carter, and Donald Brown, I see no problem. I mean, no real game breaking stars there, but potentially solid enough. A word about Donald Brown, being that he seems to be everybody's whipping boy. I think he can be effective and I don't imagine it will cost all that much to keep him because no other team is going to give him big bucks. I think he will be an inexpensive re-sign that knows the system and has potential, as he occasionally flashes. I think the biggest problem about Donald Brown is I don't think the Colts scheme to utilize him properly.

Anyway, that's my current take. Matt Kalil is my most preferred first round pick at this point. With him added. the OL kind of becomes an after thought for the next 10 years, assuming Castonzo and Ijilana also develop as hoped. Thereafter, concentrate on the secondary and have an eye on trying to get a legit number 1 receiver prospect.

Thoughts?

Edited by rockywoj
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On the surface, I might agree, but if Kalil can be drafted, then I think Ijilana fills that OG spot you speak of. The potential of such a line could be greatness!

It absolutely baffles me why people keep insisting Ijalana play guard when Polian has stated on more than one occasion that he will not play guard and was drafted to play RT. Not only that but you also insinuate that he'll be great at guard, a posistion in which he has never played. We are not going to draft Kalil.

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It absolutely baffles me why people keep insisting Ijalana play guard when Polian has stated on more than one occasion that he will not play guard and was drafted to play RT. Not only that but you also insinuate that he'll be great at guard, a posistion in which he has never played. We are not going to draft Kalil.

Right there with you on this one :) We've already drafted our bookend OT's...we're not going to bolster the OL anymore by taking a guy who played collegiately at LT, we've been grooming so far at RT and then move him yet again to OG, a position that to my knowledge he has never played. We can bolster our OL by drafting a natural OG and top quality talent at OG can still be had in the 2nd and even 3rd rounds.

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On the surface, I might agree, but if Kalil can be drafted, then I think Ijilana fills that OG spot you speak of. The potential of such a line could be greatness!

One thing is absolutely for sure.....you can never have enough quality O-linemen.

Ask Pittsburgh.

I don't think we'd take Kalil...but you make an excellent case for him and Castonzo at OT, and Ijalana at OG. Pollak, presumably, is headed for C based on what Polian has said in the past.

If the Polian's determine Kalil's value is such that he warrants the selection...then we probably have a dynamite O-line in the making. Kalil...after all...was the reason that Tyron Smith of the Cowboys played RT at USC and not LT.

With that scenario aside....I like Coples and Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick however, should be the product of a slight trade-down.

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It absolutely baffles me why people keep insisting Ijalana play guard when Polian has stated on more than one occasion that he will not play guard and was drafted to play RT. Not only that but you also insinuate that he'll be great at guard, a posistion in which he has never played. We are not going to draft Kalil.

I mention about him being OG because in watching him play, he looks like he'd be an excellent fit at OG ... PLUS MANY talent / draft experts were projecting Ijilana's ultimate pro position as being OG. Many such voices are very respected talent evaluators that have been involved in the NFL.

Based on those talent projections, it sounds like and certainly looks to me like he would be a guy that could very successfully make the transition to OG and indeed excel there. If a guy like Kalis (who I project to be a much better OT than both Castonzo and Ijilana) can be had, then I think you grab him and you train Ijilana to be an OG. I don't think that suggesting such is anywhere near the reach that you make it out to be.

Also, I did not say he would be great at guard, I said that an OL with Kalil and Castonzo at OT, with Ijilana at OG could be a great offensive line. Read, as a unit. Ijilana has a lot of talent and I agree with the so called experts that projected him to OG in the pros. Diem can play both, why would Ijilana not be able to do so?

Edited by rockywoj
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Ok here's the biggest problem, imo. If we were able to play around and try him at OG for the rest of the season to see how he does then that would be one thing. We can't though because of his injury and him being on IR. Therefore you're taking the chance that he'd be able to make the switch which is nothing more than speculation. The experts said that based on his skill set he may be able to play guard but unless I'm wrong he's never taken a snap at the position. I believe he was a multi-year starter at LT during college. So all that means is he has the skill set that might allow him to make the switch but without the opportunity to find out we'll never know. That means you're taking a top 5 draft pick on another OT with the assumption that Ijalana can make the switch and be an effective OG which is something we don't know. If he can't, then the 2nd round pick we spent on him becomes a waste. Well, maybe "waste" is a bit strong but we don't get near the value we should because Ijalana would then become a backup.

Instead, we can keep him at OT, a position we know he can play and then take one of the best OG's later in the draft and this way we're taking a player who has multiple years at the position so there is no guesswork involved. We also can then spend the top 5 pick to either trade down and get additional picks or draft a top-level talent at another position that we need. I am all for continuing to strengthen the OL but using a top 5 pick on a player one year removed from spending first and second round picks on players at the same position based on the assumption that one of those players can make the transition to a brand new position is what is makes the idea a huge reach, and mistake, imo.

Edited by Jason
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draft luck. we have seen this year that this whole team runs around a good qb and it will be that way until there is a change in coaching or front office. The front office has done a great job , but sometimes it is a good thing to start over and get new ideas in the front office.

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Assuming we get a top pick, I'd say we need to go guard or defensive with our pick. Andrew Luck could play out his senior year in College for all we know. We need to be looking at SR prospects for right now. Cordy Glenn is my choice for OG. If we're going to continue to play the our style of play then we need to match what teams do to us. We need an achor on the offensive line as well as the defensive line. Brandon Thompson is my choice on defense. We could also use a cornerback. I have no clue who to choose, but Alfonzo Dennard fits our defense.

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Assuming we get a top pick, I'd say we need to go guard or defensive with our pick. Andrew Luck could play out his senior year in College for all we know. We need to be looking at SR prospects for right now. Cordy Glenn is my choice for OG. If we're going to continue to play the our style of play then we need to match what teams do to us. We need an achor on the offensive line as well as the defensive line. Brandon Thompson is my choice on defense. We could also use a cornerback. I have no clue who to choose, but Alfonzo Dennard fits our defense.

what cant cover or tackle?
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It absolutely baffles me why people keep insisting Ijalana play guard when Polian has stated on more than one occasion that he will not play guard and was drafted to play RT. Not only that but you also insinuate that he'll be great at guard, a posistion in which he has never played. We are not going to draft Kalil.

You draft the best player available, period. Kalil is the best LT to come out of the draft since probably Jake Long. If he is available and Luck is gone, you dont pass on Kalil unless you can get a good trade down offer.

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One thing is absolutely for sure.....you can never have enough quality O-linemen.

Ask Pittsburgh.

I don't think we'd take Kalil...but you make an excellent case for him and Castonzo at OT, and Ijalana at OG. Pollak, presumably, is headed for C based on what Polian has said in the past.

If the Polian's determine Kalil's value is such that he warrants the selection...then we probably have a dynamite O-line in the making. Kalil...after all...was the reason that Tyron Smith of the Cowboys played RT at USC and not LT.

With that scenario aside....I like Coples and Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick however, should be the product of a slight trade-down.

Please God I hope we dont draft Coples. He has Jamaal Anderson written all over him. Plus we dont need another DE right now unless we lose Mathis and Hughes ends up being a bust which we dont know just yet.

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You draft the best player available, period. Kalil is the best LT to come out of the draft since probably Jake Long. If he is available and Luck is gone, you dont pass on Kalil unless you can get a good trade down offer.

somebody better get Bill Bellicheck on the phone and let him know about this. To think, the past few years he's wasted so many picks trading down. It's a shame really when you think about it. No wonder they never win any games.

:facepalm:

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Please God I hope we dont draft Coples. He has Jamaal Anderson written all over him. Plus we dont need another DE right now unless we lose Mathis and Hughes ends up being a bust which we dont know just yet.

He does have Jamaal Anderson written all over him in run blocking, which isn't a bad thing. The thing that seperates Coples from Anderson is he can get to the QB!! He is constantly in the backfield making an impact on the game even though he is being double teamed .

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There is no way that the Colts will be worse than the Dolphins. I think that Kalil might be our best bet. We can't have Peyton getting hit. Peyton could play beyond 40 if we protect him.

Scouts are saying that Saturday is still playing at a high level. Granted, when players age, there is a quick drop, but we can go with Saturday for 2 more years with Pollack in the wings.

For me, we want to re-sign everybody except Brackett, cut Bullitt, Draft Kalil, Take the best non-running back in the second round; then draft DBs.

Edited by GoGoColts
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A few of the comments in this thread are assuming we have the 1st overall pick. This assumption is contrary to the opening assumptions / premise of the thread. Just saying. :-)

I agree with the comment about Kalil being the best OT prospect since Long, although I might go further and say since Boselli or Pace.

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A few of the comments in this thread are assuming we have the 1st overall pick. This assumption is contrary to the opening assumptions / premise of the thread. Just saying. :-)

I agree with the comment about Kalil being the best OT prospect since Long, although I might go further and say since Boselli or Pace.

There is no way we get the number 1 pick the Dolphins are horrible beyond belief. Sporano has been completely undermined. The owner doesn't know football and is trying to run the team, and Ireland is being bullied into stupid decisions.

As far as a QB, other than Luck, all the QB prospects are just typical top prospects. I see no reason to take a QB first if it isn't Luck.

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somebody better get Bill Bellicheck on the phone and let him know about this. To think, the past few years he's wasted so many picks trading down. It's a shame really when you think about it. No wonder they never win any games.

:facepalm:

Ok, did you see the last part of my post? Guess not :/

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