possible draft strategy

[husker61]

with so much being made of this year's draft being so deep. i would trade as many picks this year for much better and or more picks next year, taking advantage of this years hype. with 40 million to spend on free agents, the colts can address problems with free agents. they could probably have their pick of undrafted free agents since there will be less competition for them in training camp. the extra picks will come in handy in future years when luck and other young players contracts expire and the colts won't have cap space to fill needs.

[backshoulderfade]

Just to clarify, we don't have 40 million for free agents. We have 40 million in cap space, but some of that needs to go on draft picks and some to give us a cushion for emergencies.

[NewColtsFan]

And a good chunk of that money is being saved for the 2nd contracts of the 2012 class.

 

Luck, Fleener, Allen, TYHilton,  Chapman,  Ballard and Brazil.

 

Grigson has already come out to caution fans that the Colts will NOT be as active on the FA market this year as they were last year.

[jameszeigler834]

And a good chunk of that money is being saved for the 2nd contracts of the 2012 class.

 

Luck, Fleener, Allen, TYHilton,  Chapman,  Ballard and Brazil.

 

Grigson has already come out to caution fans that the Colts will NOT be as active on the FA market this year as they were last year.

As long as they get a few good players that can actually play then that's fine but then they also need to cut some of these dead beats that cant play like Samson and some of the guys that were on IR early last season.

[Valpo2004]

And a good chunk of that money is being saved for the 2nd contracts of the 2012 class.

 

Luck, Fleener, Allen, TYHilton,  Chapman,  Ballard and Brazil.

 

Grigson has already come out to caution fans that the Colts will NOT be as active on the FA market this year as they were last year.

 

I don't think he said that, I think he said they where going to proceed carefully.  

 

Which likely means very few, if any big name signings.  

 

And quite frankly from the 2012 draft class the only guys I see as must re-signs are Luck, Hilton and Allen (presuming he comes back from injury in good form)  Fleener, Ballard, and Chapman are good roleplayers but they arn't special and can be replaced.  Brazil isn't even that good.  

 

That having been said we need to stop trading away our high draft picks and get good draft classes so we can replace these roleplayers.  

 

In order to put together a championship squad we'll need to consistently draft well for several years.

[George Costanza III]

 This is the NFL and players get hurt and players have their careers ruined by injuries so my point NO ONE knows if those players will even be playing in two years NFL careers are short as a rule not the exception. jameszeigler834 lists seven players from the

2012 class of those Allen,Ballard have had major injuries already, Chapman came to the Colts recovering from a knee injury.

I don't think Brazil is going to break the bank. As for Luck if we have pretend Olinemen like Satele and Mcglynn then Luck might

not survive until then. so that leaves Fleener and he's not really making me forget John Mackey how about you.

But instead of fixing the Oline correctly meaning with TALENT not sixth round junk or a fourth round center that couldn't unseat the

WORST Center in Colts history and maybe NFL history. At least there's hope for Thornton. NO Colts fans to sign

Erik dropsy Decker or Hakeem washed up Nicks after all as you all are quick to say we went 11-5 and we are getting R.Wayne

and Dwayne the Beast Allen back so WR is not as important as other positions. And if Andrew Luck gets crunched just like

Aaron Rodgers did then the greatest WR'S in the world won't be able to do poop, do you really think that any other QB on the

Colts roster can avoid the rush like Luck? I Don't.

[schwamm]

And a good chunk of that money is being saved for the 2nd contracts of the 2012 class.

Luck, Fleener, Allen, TYHilton, Chapman, Ballard and Brazil.

Grigson has already come out to caution fans that the Colts will NOT be as active on the FA market this year as they were last year.

NCF, are you referring to the "approach FA wisely" quote, or something else since then? Because I don't necessarily interpret approaching FA wisely as meaning not as active.

[BrentMc11]

Let's put it simply.  If we go after say Eric Decker, we will still go after two OL....Center and Guard. Maybeanother 2ndtier/mid tier defensive back.  The door is closing on a big-time LB signing with Orakpo gone and Dansby likely to stay with AZ.

 

I am seeing Van Noy or Borland as our 2nd round choice (If we sign a FA WR....)

 

It truly is useless at this point to say who we will draft...it is all 'Ifs...ands....or buts.  But damn is it fun        !!!

[Jason_]

I don't think he said that, I think he said they where going to proceed carefully.  

 

Which likely means very few, if any big name signings.  

 

And quite frankly from the 2012 draft class the only guys I see as must re-signs are Luck, Hilton and Allen (presuming he comes back from injury in good form)  Fleener, Ballard, and Chapman are good roleplayers but they arn't special and can be replaced.  Brazil isn't even that good.  

 

That having been said we need to stop trading away our high draft picks and get good draft classes so we can replace these roleplayers.  

 

In order to put together a championship squad we'll need to consistently draft well for several years.

 

I disagree with the bolded.  Fleener took a big step from year one to year two and could very well do the same thing in year 3.  Chapman has only had one full year so far.  I just think it's way too soon to label them as special or not and I think at least Fleener and Chapman definitely have the potential to be special.

[husker61]

Just to clarify, we don't have 40 million for free agents. We have 40 million in cap space, but some of that needs to go on draft picks and some to give us a cushion for emergencies.

 

i know all this. if the draft picks are traded for next years picks (like i said), almost no money is needed for draft picks.without a 1st and a low 2nd, it's minimal anyway.  2 million for emergencies, it's still a lot of cap room, you are net picking.

[husker61]

And a good chunk of that money is being saved for the 2nd contracts of the 2012 class.

 

Luck, Fleener, Allen, TYHilton,  Chapman,  Ballard and Brazil.

 

Grigson has already come out to caution fans that the Colts will NOT be as active on the FA market this year as they were last year.

 

this doesn't make any sense. their contracts are up in two years. they have nothing to do with this years cap. that's why you use fa money now and stockpile draft picks in future years when the colts will need cheap players from the draft.

[BrentMc11]

this doesn't make any sense. their contracts are up in two years. they have nothing to do with this years cap. that's why you use fa money now and stockpile draft picks in future years when the colts will need cheap players from the draft.

Luck's will be HUGE....Hilton large and probably Allen and Fleener.  You have to watch today's contracts or tomorrows will haunt you husker.  See Ravens with Flacco's big pay day as the latest example.

[Valpo2004]

I disagree with the bolded.  Fleener took a big step from year one to year two and could very well do the same thing in year 3.  Chapman has only had one full year so far.  I just think it's way too soon to label them as special or not and I think at least Fleener and Chapman definitely have the potential to be special.

 

He still has a big step to take to be special.

 

But still I have a problem with it though.  Why should we pony up that much money for two TE's?  If Allen has further injury problems or backslides then maybe you move to keep Fleener instead.  But I don't think signing both TE's after their rookie deal is done is a good idea.  

 

If Chapman proves to be special then you keep him.  

[husker61]

Luck's will be HUGE....Hilton large and probably Allen and Fleener.  You have to watch today's contracts or tomorrows will haunt you husker.  See Ravens with Flacco's big pay day as the latest example.

 

that's why you pay them now with slightly higher 1st and 2nd year money, and i am not talking about big name free agents that are going to break the bank and get big signing bonuses. i have never suggested signing big money free agents. i was one of the few posters happy the colts didn't sign any of the big name free agents last year. guard, center, inside lb shouldn't be that expensive. davis is the one spot that is going to cost some money.

[Valpo2004]

Luck's will be HUGE....Hilton large and probably Allen and Fleener.  You have to watch today's contracts or tomorrows will haunt you husker.  See Ravens with Flacco's big pay day as the latest example.

 

Depending on demand we may be wiser to let Hilton go.  Hilton sort of plays in the model of Mike Wallace and Wallace got a huge amount of money to play in Miami.  12 million a year average.

 

If Hilton starts asking for that kind of money then we let him walk.  

[NewColtsFan]

NCF, are you referring to the "approach FA wisely" quote, or something else since then? Because I don't necessarily interpret approaching FA wisely as meaning not as active.

 

Grigson has said,  and the PR department is now repeating in some of their stories,  that the Colts will not be as active in the 2014 FA window as we were last year.

 

Wisely is something he's going to try and be every year no matter how active we're going to be.    But he did say less active.

[NewColtsFan]

this doesn't make any sense. their contracts are up in two years. they have nothing to do with this years cap. that's why you use fa money now and stockpile draft picks in future years when the colts will need cheap players from the draft.

 

Grigson is trying not to buy too many guys that will want 3-5 year contracts....  and those contracts will cut into the window of the 2012 class of players he wants to re-sign.

 

He does not want the team stuck in a bad salary cap situation.

[BrentMc11]

Depending on demand we may be wiser to let Hilton go.  Hilton sort of plays in the model of Mike Wallace and Wallace got a huge amount of money to play in Miami.  12 million a year average.

 

If Hilton starts asking for that kind of money then we let him walk.  

You may have something there...it may come down to that.  But....Reggie will more than likely be gone at that point (who knows) and Hilton may be All World...(Who knows?)  Interesting concept Valpo.

[BrentMc11]

that's why you pay them now with slightly higher 1st and 2nd year money, and i am not talking about big name free agents that are going to break the bank and get big signing bonuses. i have never suggested signing big money free agents. i was one of the few posters happy the colts didn't sign any of the big name free agents last year. guard, center, inside lb shouldn't be that expensive. davis is the one spot that is going to cost some money.

 

Grigson is trying not to buy too many guys that will want 3-5 year contracts....  and those contracts will cut into the window of the 2012 class of players he wants to re-sign.

 

He does not want the team stuck in a bad salary cap situation.

NCF said it better than I did Husker.  

 

Grigson inherited a mess of a cap and it was tough to deal with.  That IMO was why he got GM of the year his first year...11-5 with the mish mash that we had and rookies.  He does not want that situation re-visited in any way shape or form...the future is now!

[esmort]

with so much being made of this year's draft being so deep. i would trade as many picks this year for much better and or more picks next year, taking advantage of this years hype. with 40 million to spend on free agents, the colts can address problems with free agents. they could probably have their pick of undrafted free agents since there will be less competition for them in training camp. the extra picks will come in handy in future years when luck and other young players contracts expire and the colts won't have cap space to fill needs.

 

I don't think it will ever happen, but I think one could definitely make a legitimate argument for it.  I know that I am tired of him trading off future draft picks.  I think with a good mix of a big name or two, some good older stop gap players on 1-2 yr contracts, some cheap young guys who haven't really gotten a chance yet (but maybe flashed), and really working the UDFA's it could work out.  If Grigson could pull it off correctly it would not hurt us in resigning the 2012 class, and set us up great for the 2015 draft.

[Gavin]

Folks we have to spend 89 percent of that 40 mill so there wont be alot of savings and roll over, we will have to spend alot of what cap we have next year on our own Free Agents, We will probably be spending roughly 35 mill this year without the release of Satele....39 mill with the release of Satele

[husker61]

I don't think it will ever happen, but I think one could definitely make a legitimate argument for it.  I know that I am tired of him trading off future draft picks.  I think with a good mix of a big name or two, some good older stop gap players on 1-2 yr contracts, some cheap young guys who haven't really gotten a chance yet (but maybe flashed), and really working the UDFA's it could work out.  If Grigson could pull it off correctly it would not hurt us in resigning the 2012 class, and set us up great for the 2015 draft.

 

having extra 2015 picks, i would even trade some 2015 picks and leverage them for more or better 2016 picks.

[Jason_]

He still has a big step to take to be special.

 

But still I have a problem with it though.  Why should we pony up that much money for two TE's?  If Allen has further injury problems or backslides then maybe you move to keep Fleener instead.  But I don't think signing both TE's after their rookie deal is done is a good idea.  

 

If Chapman proves to be special then you keep him.  

 

Ok, and I agree with most of this.  I was just disagreeing with your earlier assertion that they're not special and can be replaced.  At this point, they're still developing so it's too early to say one way or another.

[esmort]

having extra 2015 picks, i would even trade some 2015 picks and leverage them for more or better 2016 picks.

 

I don't know if I would want to trade off picks from 2 drafts in a row, but I would definitely be open to the idea of trading down with the 2015 picks we had accumulated to pick up more picks in the 2016 draft.

[husker61]

I don't know if I would want to trade off picks from 2 drafts in a row, but I would definitely be open to the idea of trading down with the 2015 picks we had accumulated to pick up more picks in the 2016 draft.

 

that's what i was saying.

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

I don't think he said that, I think he said they where going to proceed carefully.  

 

Which likely means very few, if any big name signings.  

 

And quite frankly from the 2012 draft class the only guys I see as must re-signs are Luck, Hilton and Allen (presuming he comes back from injury in good form)  Fleener, Ballard, and Chapman are good roleplayers but they arn't special and can be replaced.  Brazil isn't even that good.  

 

That having been said we need to stop trading away our high draft picks and get good draft classes so we can replace these roleplayers.  

 

In order to put together a championship squad we'll need to consistently draft well for several years.

Agree with this only I think Brazil does have some skill. Would he need to be resigned no. Only if you couldn't keep Hilton.

[Valpo2004]

You may have something there...it may come down to that.  But....Reggie will more than likely be gone at that point (who knows) and Hilton may be All World...(Who knows?)  Interesting concept Valpo.

 

Hilton's a decent 2 I think, but he's limited by his size.  Not a #1 guy at all if you ask me.  And you don't give a #2 12 million dollars.  

 

The Dolphins found out the hard way that Wallace is not a #1 and way overpaid for him.

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Free agents typically cost more than draft picks. Not interested in trading picks for next year! Maybe trade down pick up more picks and some for next year OK! If you can get this year 1st Rd talent in the 2nd rd & 2nd talent in the 3rd might just be better to pick ! If you hit on them you control them for 4 years & they are cost effective!

[Valpo2004]

Agree with this only I think Brazil does have some skill. Would he need to be resigned no. Only if you couldn't keep Hilton.

 

Meh he (Brazil) is good for 1 or 2 good plays per year.   He's got a lot of speed but that's about it.  

 

I guess you could say he's the poor man's Hilton.  

 

His route running seems pretty limited.  On the season Griff Whalen who's extremely limited athletically did better then in him in both receptions and yards and equaled his TD total.

 

Brazil I will admit did better in the playoffs.  

 

Honestly though I don't understand why Brazil hasn't been spending more time with special teams as a returner.  Hilton shouldn't be doing this job anymore because he's too important as a receiver.  Whalen doesn't have the breakaway speed to be a good return man.  

[BrentMc11]

Hilton's a decent 2 I think, but he's limited by his size.  Not a #1 guy at all if you ask me.  And you don't give a #2 12 million dollars.  

 

The Dolphins found out the hard way that Wallace is not a #1 and way overpaid for him.

I have one of my gut feelings Hilton is going to get hurt...just so little...

[Valpo2004]

I have one of my gut feelings Hilton is going to get hurt...just so little...

 

Seemed like he came close at times this year.  That's also something to worry about, I was surprised he lasted this long.

 

At the end of 2012 there where reports that they asked Hilton to gain weight and put on some muscle.  But at the beginning of 2013 he weighed in as lighter then he was before.  

 

He's a flashy receiver and a deep threat.  Sometimes teams over pay for that kind of stuff.  

 

Dolphins only got 930 yards out of Wallace.  

 

In fact you could make the argument that TY Hilton is already better then him.

[BrentMc11]

Seemed like he came close at times this year.  That's also something to worry about, I was surprised he lasted this long.

 

At the end of 2012 there where reports that they asked Hilton to gain weight and put on some muscle.  But at the beginning of 2013 he weighed in as lighter then he was before.  

 

He's a flashy receiver and a deep threat.  Sometimes teams over pay for that kind of stuff.  

 

Dolphins only got 930 yards out of Wallace.  

Wallace is the prime example.  Although he was strong against us, the reward did NOT equal the riches!

[BOTT]

I have one of my gut feelings Hilton is going to get hurt...just so little...

You shouldn't say that out loud. But really, his frame isn't any smaller than Marvin's.

[BOTT]

Meh he (Brazil) is good for 1 or 2 good plays per year. He's got a lot of speed but that's about it.

I guess you could say he's the poor man's Hilton.

His route running seems pretty limited. On the season Griff Whalen who's extremely limited athletically did better then in him in both receptions and yards and equaled his TD total.

Brazil I will admit did better in the playoffs.

Honestly though I don't understand why Brazil hasn't been spending more time with special teams as a returner. Hilton shouldn't be doing this job anymore because he's too important as a receiver. Whalen doesn't have the breakaway speed to be a good return man.

Give Brazill some time. The guy came out of the U of Ohio....he probably got by on just his athletic ability. Not saying he is going to be all pro, but I think he can be a solid WR.

[Track Guy]

It's more important than ever to hit on draft picks with the rookie contracts. When the 2015 and 2016 seasons roll around, we're going to need to find replacements for guys like Wayne and Mathis via the draft because we'll be using all of our cap space on re-signing Costanzo, Luck, Hilton, Allen, Fleener etc.

[Valpo2004]

Give Brazill some time. The guy came out of the U of Ohio....he probably got by on just his athletic ability. Not saying he is going to be all pro, but I think he can be a solid WR.

 

True but Hilton played at Florida International.  I think they are similar level of competition.  

[BrentMc11]

You shouldn't say that out loud. But really, his frame isn't any smaller than Marvin's.

You are absolutely right, and he avoided being hit how many times on that quick slant?  You made me feel better there Blood!  Thanks.

[BrentMc11]

Give Brazill some time. The guy came out of the U of Ohio....he probably got by on just his athletic ability. Not saying he is going to be all pro, but I think he can be a solid WR.

I knew Brazill was a tough kid, but he really showed me something breaking tackles.  He needs to build on those successes.

[BOTT]

True but Hilton played at Florida International.  I think they are similar level of competition.

You are right, I didn't realize U of O played in that good of conference. Although TY is kinda unique, in that he was recruited by some bigger name schools and turned them down.

[ztboiler]

Folks we have to spend 89 percent of that 40 mill so there wont be alot of savings and roll over, we will have to spend alot of what cap we have next year on our own Free Agents, We will probably be spending roughly 35 mill this year without the release of Satele....39 mill with the release of Satele

It does not work that way.

 

"Teams are required to spend an average of 89 percent of the salary cap in cash from 2013 to 2016. NFL teams league-wide are required to spend an average of 95 percent of the salary cap during that span.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-nfl-salarycap-limit-rises-to-133-million-20140228,0,2199602.story#ixzz2v1uyYpZF"