What do you guys think?

[The Peytonator]

Re-sign:

 

Vontae Davis - 7 mil per year

 

Ahmad Bradshaw, Sergio Brown, Fili Moala, Josh Gordy, Lawrence Sidbury, Joe Reitz, and Justin Hickman should all be able to be had on minimal deals.

 

Every one else can walk as far as I'm concerned. I like McAfee and Vinatieri, but I just can't justify spending 6 mil on your kicking department. We can bring in some undrafted FAs to fill their void, their production wouldn't be too far off, and they'd be about 5 mil cheaper collectively.

 

Cut Samson Satele and free up 4 mil.

 

This would put us around 33 mil to play with.

 

 

Free Agency:

 

Now for the fun part.

 

Center - Brian De La Puente/4 mil per year - Getting Alex Mack is a pipe dream. Cleveland has 50 mil in cap space and they aren't going to let a top 3 Center walk. New Orleans on the other hand is currently 9 mil over the cap and they need to re-sign Jimmy Graham. De La Puente is probably the best bet to hit free agency out of the names that get thrown around here. Lesser known/cheaper names I wouldn't mind being signed would be Joe Hawley, JD Walton, or Fernando Velasco.

 

Guard - Geoff Schwartz/4 mil per year - PFF gushes over this guy. I wanted him last year, but KC got him on a steal of a deal. He was good enough that they started him over Jon Asamoah for much of the year. He is the kind of talent that can be plugged in at pretty much every spot on the line. I'd like to see him start at RG, so Thornton can sit and learn how to play the game better and be depth for the inevitable injury.

 

Wide Receiver - Jerricho Cotchery/1.5 mil - I know most of you guys feel like we don't need any more WRs. You all seem to be sold on Da'Rick Rogers being the next Calvin Johnson, but I am not so confident. We have an aging and freshly injured Reggie Wayne, a tiny speedster that is solid but not spectacular, and three guys who have a combined 800 yards in their collective careers. Cotchery would give us a solid veteran presence, much like Reggie. Injuries happen so you can never have too much depth. He wouldn't be expensive, but he could pay big dividends. He had 10 TDs last year.

 

DE/DT - Arthur Jones/5.5 mil per year - His name has gotten a lot of buzz here. I kinda doubt he leaves Baltimore, but they don't exactly have a ton of cap space (12 mil), and they pretty much have to re-sign Eugene Monroe as well as a couple other guys. I would like to get him here and have him play in a tandem with Redding, RJF, and possibly Montori Hughes if he gets it together. He'd definitely be the best interior pass rusher on the roster; something we are entirely devoid of. Other candidates; Jason Hatcher, Tony McDaniel, Randy Starks, or Linval Joseph.

 

OLB - Jason Worilds/4 mil per year - Edge rushers didn't get paid the way they had in previous years last offseason. Michael Bennett only got 4.8M and he's a tremendous talent. I didn't like the Walden signing, but he made me eat a little bit of crow. He was solid stopping the run, but he can not get to the QB. We need a guy opposite Mathis who can do that. Werner might be that guy, but I don't want to risk that he fails to get it together this year. If he figures it out, we'll have four quality players there, and the future of the position is locked up. Other candidates; Willie Young or O'Brien Schofield, 

 

MLB - Karlos Dansby/2.5 mil - There is a lot to love about this guy. 122 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 4 picks, 2 pick sixes, and 19 passes defended. That is in one year. He made 2.5 mil last year, so I don't see why we couldn't get him on a similar deal. Arizona doesn't have many free agents, but they also don't have too much cap space. Dansby will be 32 next year, which may mean he starts to decline, but he'd be a great, Redding-like old guy to come in and teach the other guys how to play the game. If we can't get him I'd like to take a vet minimum deal on Desmond Bishop to see if he can return to form.

 

CB - Walter Thurmond/3 mil - Thurmond is an interesting case. His stats don't look impressive, and his suspension isn't exactly a ringing endorsement, but he does come from a team that knows how to raise its cornerbacks. Seattle probably won't need him with the emergence of some of their younger guys in the defensive backfield, so we could very well see him walk. You can never have too many corners, and with Toler's injury history I would really like to see the position addressed further. Imagine; Vontae Davis, Walter Thurmond, Greg Toler, and Darius Butler....we might have the best CB group in the league.

 

FS - Stevie Brown/1.5 mil - Byrd is not going to happen. If Buffalo doesn't want to pay him, they'll franchise tag him again and trade him. We wouldn't have the ammo to make another trade. Stevie Brown, former special team player for us, had a breakout year in 2012 for the Giants; 8 picks and 11 passes defended. He tore his ACL in the preseason, so his price tag can't be too high. I like solid, under the radar signings and he fits that description. If we wanted to spend about 4 mil more, we could possibly go after Chris Clemons from Miami if they let him walk. I'd prefer the cheaper option here.

 

After these signings we're sitting at 7 mil to spend on draft picks.

 

 

Draft:

 

Let me preface this part by saying that I am not a big college football guy. I don't religiously watch football on Saturdays except for Notre Dame games. All I base my picks on are personal preference, what I read from other sources (including certain people on here), and the couple scouting videos on Youtube that I have access to. I also may be way off on these guys projected draft round...I have very limited sources.

 

2nd round - Yawin Smallwood/MLB/UConn - I love everything I've read and seen about this guy. He would be an excellent guy to bring in and learn under Karlos Dansby. The kind of Mike LB that can cover TEs down the seam, shoot gaps in the run game, and get after the QB. These kind of LBs are a rare breed and whenever you can get one, you do it.

 

3rd round - Ed Reynolds/FS/Stanford - I'd like NewColtsFan to give his opinion on this guy, but from what I can tell he is exactly what you want in a deep safety; long, rangy, and solid instincts in coverage. He took a couple bad angles in the run game, but he did show a willingness to throw his body around and put some hits on people. Decent enough tackling technique as well.

 

5th round - Josh Mauro/DE/Stanford - Drafting this guy will complete our transformation into the Indianapolis Cardinal. NCF plugged him as an under the radar guy, and I went to watch what I could find of him. He really looks like a potential steal. Great burst, strong run defender, backfield penetrator...everything you'd possibly want in a 3-4 DE. 

 

6th round - Justin Ellis/NT/LaTech - Dustin plugged this guy in his mock thread, so I watched his tape. The guy is an absolute monster in the middle of a DLine. I honestly think he could come in and start over Chapman right now. He reminds me of Damon Harrison from the Jets. A guy that played for a small school, didn't get drafted, and comes in to the league to be a dominant force in the middle of their line. He wouldn't be a pass rush threat, but as a two down run stopper, he could be a gem.

 

Well that's what I got...apparently no life.

[PrincetonTiger]

No to letting Pat and AV walk

[bap1331]

Loll!!! You gotta be kidding me on letting Pat and Vinatieri go. They are guaranteed clutch players. Vinatieri saved our butts so many times. Most kickers will never be that clutch. And McAfee is amazing. Not only at punting but tackling too!

[The Peytonator]

Sorry guys but I can't justify using 6 million dollars of cap space on kickers. Who knows, Adam might retire anyway...he's in his 40's. As for Pat, I like the guy and he's probably the coolest guy in the league, but I'll sacrifice a couple extra yards of punt average to save a couple mil.

[The Peytonator]

BTW don't get hung up on that guys....if you really want to keep AV and Pat we can. ;)

[Superman]

Re-sign:

 

Vontae Davis - 7 mil per year

 

Ahmad Bradshaw, Sergio Brown, Fili Moala, Josh Gordy, Lawrence Sidbury, Joe Reitz, and Justin Hickman should all be able to be had on minimal deals.

 

Every one else can walk as far as I'm concerned. I like McAfee and Vinatieri, but I just can't justify spending 6 mil on your kicking department. We can bring in some undrafted FAs to fill their void, their production wouldn't be too far off, and they'd be about 5 mil cheaper collectively.

 

Cut Samson Satele and free up 4 mil.

 

This would put us around 33 mil to play with.

 

 

Free Agency:

 

Now for the fun part.

 

Center - Brian De La Puente/4 mil per year - Getting Alex Mack is a pipe dream. Cleveland has 50 mil in cap space and they aren't going to let a top 3 Center walk. New Orleans on the other hand is currently 9 mil over the cap and they need to re-sign Jimmy Graham. De La Puente is probably the best bet to hit free agency out of the names that get thrown around here. Lesser known/cheaper names I wouldn't mind being signed would be Joe Hawley, JD Walton, or Fernando Velasco.

 

Guard - Geoff Schwartz/4 mil per year - PFF gushes over this guy. I wanted him last year, but KC got him on a steal of a deal. He was good enough that they started him over Jon Asamoah for much of the year. He is the kind of talent that can be plugged in at pretty much every spot on the line. I'd like to see him start at RG, so Thornton can sit and learn how to play the game better and be depth for the inevitable injury.

 

Wide Receiver - Jerricho Cotchery/1.5 mil - I know most of you guys feel like we don't need any more WRs. You all seem to be sold on Da'Rick Rogers being the next Calvin Johnson, but I am not so confident. We have an aging and freshly injured Reggie Wayne, a tiny speedster that is solid but not spectacular, and three guys who have a combined 800 yards in their collective careers. Cotchery would give us a solid veteran presence, much like Reggie. Injuries happen so you can never have too much depth. He wouldn't be expensive, but he could pay big dividends. He had 10 TDs last year.

 

DE/DT - Arthur Jones/5.5 mil per year - His name has gotten a lot of buzz here. I kinda doubt he leaves Baltimore, but they don't exactly have a ton of cap space (12 mil), and they pretty much have to re-sign Eugene Monroe as well as a couple other guys. I would like to get him here and have him play in a tandem with Redding, RJF, and possibly Montori Hughes if he gets it together. He'd definitely be the best interior pass rusher on the roster; something we are entirely devoid of. Other candidates; Jason Hatcher, Tony McDaniel, Randy Starks, or Linval Joseph.

 

OLB - Jason Worilds/4 mil per year - Edge rushers didn't get paid the way they had in previous years last offseason. Michael Bennett only got 4.8M and he's a tremendous talent. I didn't like the Walden signing, but he made me eat a little bit of crow. He was solid stopping the run, but he can not get to the QB. We need a guy opposite Mathis who can do that. Werner might be that guy, but I don't want to risk that he fails to get it together this year. If he figures it out, we'll have four quality players there, and the future of the position is locked up. Other candidates; Willie Young or O'Brien Schofield, 

 

MLB - Karlos Dansby/2.5 mil - There is a lot to love about this guy. 122 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 4 picks, 2 pick sixes, and 19 passes defended. That is in one year. He made 2.5 mil last year, so I don't see why we couldn't get him on a similar deal. Arizona doesn't have many free agents, but they also don't have too much cap space. Dansby will be 32 next year, which may mean he starts to decline, but he'd be a great, Redding-like old guy to come in and teach the other guys how to play the game. If we can't get him I'd like to take a vet minimum deal on Desmond Bishop to see if he can return to form.

 

CB - Walter Thurmond/3 mil - Thurmond is an interesting case. His stats don't look impressive, and his suspension isn't exactly a ringing endorsement, but he does come from a team that knows how to raise its cornerbacks. Seattle probably won't need him with the emergence of some of their younger guys in the defensive backfield, so we could very well see him walk. You can never have too many corners, and with Toler's injury history I would really like to see the position addressed further. Imagine; Vontae Davis, Walter Thurmond, Greg Toler, and Darius Butler....we might have the best CB group in the league.

 

FS - Stevie Brown/1.5 mil - Byrd is not going to happen. If Buffalo doesn't want to pay him, they'll franchise tag him again and trade him. We wouldn't have the ammo to make another trade. Stevie Brown, former special team player for us, had a breakout year in 2012 for the Giants; 8 picks and 11 passes defended. He tore his ACL in the preseason, so his price tag can't be too high. I like solid, under the radar signings and he fits that description. If we wanted to spend about 4 mil more, we could possibly go after Chris Clemons from Miami if they let him walk. I'd prefer the cheaper option here.

 

After these signings we're sitting at 7 mil to spend on draft picks.

 

 

Draft:

 

Let me preface this part by saying that I am not a big college football guy. I don't religiously watch football on Saturdays except for Notre Dame games. All I base my picks on are personal preference, what I read from other sources (including certain people on here), and the couple scouting videos on Youtube that I have access to. I also may be way off on these guys projected draft round...I have very limited sources.

 

2nd round - Yawin Smallwood/MLB/UConn - I love everything I've read and seen about this guy. He would be an excellent guy to bring in and learn under Karlos Dansby. The kind of Mike LB that can cover TEs down the seam, shoot gaps in the run game, and get after the QB. These kind of LBs are a rare breed and whenever you can get one, you do it.

 

3rd round - Ed Reynolds/FS/Stanford - I'd like NewColtsFan to give his opinion on this guy, but from what I can tell he is exactly what you want in a deep safety; long, rangy, and solid instincts in coverage. He took a couple bad angles in the run game, but he did show a willingness to throw his body around and put some hits on people. Decent enough tackling technique as well.

 

5th round - Josh Mauro/DE/Stanford - Drafting this guy will complete our transformation into the Indianapolis Cardinal. NCF plugged him as an under the radar guy, and I went to watch what I could find of him. He really looks like a potential steal. Great burst, strong run defender, backfield penetrator...everything you'd possibly want in a 3-4 DE. 

 

6th round - Justin Ellis/NT/LaTech - Dustin plugged this guy in his mock thread, so I watched his tape. The guy is an absolute monster in the middle of a DLine. I honestly think he could come in and start over Chapman right now. He reminds me of Damon Harrison from the Jets. A guy that played for a small school, didn't get drafted, and comes in to the league to be a dominant force in the middle of their line. He wouldn't be a pass rush threat, but as a two down run stopper, he could be a gem.

 

Well that's what I got...apparently no life.

 

I like your mock, but I think you're underpaying some guys, like de la Puente, Schwartz and Cotchery. And I don't think Mauro lasts until the fifth round. It's too early to say, but I think he's going to shoot up the board in the coming months. In your mock, I'd pass on Worilds and draft a pass rusher, like Kyle Van Noy or Carl Bradford.

 

More importantly, I think you're fixing the offensive line, pretty definitively. I like that. And you're adding needed depth on the defensive line. Good work, but this would cost you more than you're thinking, IMO.

[Dr. T]

AV wants to stay, but I get a feeling that Pat wants to leave. I don't know if you watch his weekly show (which is very entertaining by the way), but the one episode that the OWNER was on, Jim joked "Let's do your contract right now!" and Pat just laughed nervously. He didn't say, "Yes let's do it!" or "I want to stay!" nothing like that.  His non-response really ticked me off and made me believe that he is looking to go elsewhere.

[Track Guy]

If we did get De La Puente and Schwartz, I'd be really happy with that. What are the odds that KC is really gonna let Schwartz hit the market though? But yeah I'd love to bring the 2 of them in.

[esmort]

AV wants to stay, but I get a feeling that Pat wants to leave. I don't know if you watch his weekly show (which is very entertaining by the way), but the one episode that the OWNER was on, Jim joked "Let's do your contract right now!" and Pat just laughed nervously. He didn't say, "Yes let's do it!" or "I want to stay!" nothing like that.  His non-response really ticked me off and made me believe that he is looking to go elsewhere.

I think Pat might have just been nervous about how to react with Jim saying that.  Every interview I have seen and read he has been adamant about wanting to stay in Indy, which I think is more than posturing because he has so many other things going on here as far as media career and gf still being at IU.

[Balzer40]

AV wants to stay, but I get a feeling that Pat wants to leave. I don't know if you watch his weekly show (which is very entertaining by the way), but the one episode that the OWNER was on, Jim joked "Let's do your contract right now!" and Pat just laughed nervously. He didn't say, "Yes let's do it!" or "I want to stay!" nothing like that.  His non-response really ticked me off and made me believe that he is looking to go elsewhere.

 

 

Pat just said on the radio the other day that he wants to live in Indy the rest of his life.

[DarkHorseColts]

AV wants to stay, but I get a feeling that Pat wants to leave. I don't know if you watch his weekly show (which is very entertaining by the way), but the one episode that the OWNER was on, Jim joked "Let's do your contract right now!" and Pat just laughed nervously. He didn't say, "Yes let's do it!" or "I want to stay!" nothing like that.  His non-response really ticked me off and made me believe that he is looking to go elsewhere.

 

A few quotes from PMac for reference:

http://espn.go.com/blog/indianapolis-colts/post/_/id/3566/free-agent-watch-pat-mcafee?ex_cid=espnapi_public

 

"Last year, I didn't hit the market obviously,” McAfee said. “Who knows what's going to happen this year? I've seen a lot of guys sign a lot of very big contracts that are punters that don't do as much as I do. They don't kick off. They don't do anything else really. I've never wanted to be the highest-paid guy. I come from very humble beginnings. It's not that I need a lot of money. But respect is always the biggest thing. I think that's kind of a big deal. As long as it's all done in the right manner, I've never looked to be the highest-paid man ever."

 

“I don't know what other city has really taken in their punter more than Indianapolis,” he said. “I'm forever indebted to this city and to the people that have taken me in. That's just kind of the way it is. I love being here. In my rookie offseason, I would travel everywhere. Now, I'm just kind of excited to stick around here and hang out with the people here. The city of Indianapolis has so much to offer. I don't really see the need to go anywhere else. But we'll see what happens obviously as business commences.”

[Gibbons180]

I seriously think we are going to go after a young good receiver this off-season wether it be draft or FA

[coltsfanatic24]

I agree with the signings of De La Puente, Jones, but i wouldn't sign any of the other guys. Walter Thurmond is a slot CB much like Toler we need a #1 CB opposite Davis. 

 

I like Smallwood in the 2nd but in the 3rd i would go with E.J Gaines CB instead of Reynolds. Then in the 5th draft a safety.

[COLTS449]

After the O Line, Karlos Dansby should be our main target. I agree with the OP in part on Patty Mac and Adam V. We shouldn't tie up too much in the kicking department. I would bring Vinatieri back and let MacAfee walk, then bring in an UDFA or a 7th rounder to replace him. We all Love MacAfee but his production can be matched at a lower price.