Colts not looking at Tackle, we're looking Center/Guard....

[NewColtsFan]

 

So says Pagano today at the combine.

 

Tackle is not the focus.    Center and guard are......

 

So,  adjust your projections....   what can we find in free agency and the draft to fill our needs?

 

 

[OffensivelyPC]

What all the pundits should have already known.  "Look at all that pressure up the middle on Luck!! Uhhhh, let's give them a Tackle!"

 

 

 

[MasterCrief]

I've been saying this since the end of the regular season, nice to see confirmation from the man.

 

In FA: I like Jeff Allen or Alex Boone at guard, or Stefan Wisniewski at center. Osemele would be great, but if he even makes it to FA, he's probably going to get LT money from someone. Mack is probably going to get more money than I would be willing to give him, as well.

 

In the draft: I like Whitehair, Alexander, or Garnett at guard, and Kelly, Martin, or Jack Allen at center. I wouldn't take any of these guys in the first, so I'm not confident that Kelly or Whitehair (who I see as the top at their positions) will be available in the 2nd, but any of those other 4 guys would be great.

[krunk]

You have Reitz and Good on the right side, plus if you pick up Jeff Allen for the interior he's got quite a bit of experience playing tackle as well if needed.

[Nesjan3]

this shouldnt really be news to most, im comfortable with reitz and good battling for RT

[BProland85]

Would love OG Jeff Allen. He would be affordable also. Then next year get Luck's franchise center. He isn't out there this year in my opinion. 

[The Peytonator]

As it should be, Joe Reitz is a good lineman. 

[jim scheurich]

They need help on o-line period. left side is better, but they got beat plenty. the line was just overwhelmed most of the time, especially on known pass downs. defenses send the house and see what happens. more often than not, bad things happened for our offense.

[krunk]

I will take Allen,brooks or Boone in that age order.

[BProland85]

I think a switch to a zone blocking scheme will also help this OL. Having a more respectable run game will help out the pass blocking. 

[krunk]

Boone also has quite a bit of experience at tackle if needed. Obviously we would sign him as a guard first and foremost.

[richard pallo]

Mack's and Stefan's agents are both probably talking to Grigson tonight or first thing tomorrow.  If those two don't work out then Kelly would be my choice, even at 18.  He would be a starter right away and I think he would be gone by our 2nd. pick.  Then Boone or Brooks at Guard or Whitehair or Garnett in the draft.  

[MasterCrief]

1 hour ago, BProland85 said:

Would love OG Jeff Allen. He would be affordable also. Then next year get Luck's franchise center. He isn't out there this year in my opinion. 

Why wait? Sign Jeff Allen, then draft a center in round 2 or 3, and our OL is set for the forseeable future. Castonzo-Mewhort-draft pick-Allen-Good/Reitz sounds like a really good starting lineup to me.

[LockeDown]

We need 3 inside starters, but the odds of that happening are probably slim in one draft/offseason.  I could see 1 FA and 1 high pick  in rounds 1-3, but I can't see a 3rd starter....so who ends up starting from our current group?  Thornton?  Holmes?

[GoColts00]

Garnett in the 2nd and Matt Skura, Duke in the 5th. 

[aReggie7]

1 hour ago, BProland85 said:

I think a switch to a zone blocking scheme will also help this OL. Having a more respectable run game will help out the pass blocking. 

 

During the interview today did anyone ask Pagano if they are for sure going to more of a ZBS? I know the new coaching hires point that way but was curious if Pagano (or Grigson for that matter) confirmed it.

[Track Guy]

Interesting. If he's telling the truth than it's less likely we pick an O-lineman in day 1. Conklin would really be the only guy who has first round talent that would make any sense at guard. On day 2 I could see them liking someone like Nick Martin, Christian Westerman, day 3 maybe Matt Skura. 

[JRnINDY]

Kelly is a stud center and I feel extremely bright future (all pro); however this board would #%#%# if we pick him at 18. Otherwise he will be long gone before our 2nd.

Garnnet or Westerman are very good Gaurds but will require a 2rd pick. Which I'm fine with C in 1st and G in 2nd if they are BPA since it is a huge need.

OR

I would consider taking Max Tuerk (C) USC in 3/4 rd and Denver Kirkland (G) ARK in 3/4 rd.

OR 

UDFA 

Nila  Kasitati (G) OKC, watch some tape on him, he's a sleeper.

Jacoby Boren (C) Ohio St., dude just gets it done against top competition.

[MasterCrief]

49 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

We need 3 inside starters, but the odds of that happening are probably slim in one draft/offseason.  I could see 1 FA and 1 high pick  in rounds 1-3, but I can't see a 3rd starter....so who ends up starting from our current group?  Thornton?  Holmes?

Where are you getting 3? We've got Castonzo at LT, Mewhort at LG, and Reitz/Good at RT, leaving needs for new starters at C and RG. Either sign one and draft one, or sign two and draft defense.

[Defjamz26]

I wouldn't waste a draft pick on OG. The pass protection needs to be better now, not in 2-3 years when a guy hits his ceiling.

[NorthernBlue]

Ideally we should be getting the guard in FA and the Centre in the draft. This is an excellent draft full of potential day one starters at Centre. My dream scenario would be to get Nick Martin in round two and Sign Jeff Allen (since he won't be as expensive as a guy like Kelechi Osemele)

[rockywoj]

I've been reading that Conklin projects to both RT and Guard.  I could certainly see him being their 1st round pick.

[LockeDown]

2 hours ago, MasterCrief said:

Where are you getting 3? We've got Castonzo at LT, Mewhort at LG, and Reitz/Good at RT, leaving needs for new starters at C and RG. Either sign one and draft one, or sign two and draft defense.

Lol.  I never was good at math.  I was still thinking we would get a starting RT, but FO keeps talking Goode and Reitz up, so that may not be.

[Buddy Lee]

it's not uncommon for college tackles to project better as guards in the NFL. Mewhurt was a tackle in college. Zack Martin of the Cowboys was too. As far as free agents, they might not want to make the change because the salary structure for OTs is higher. I favor targeting an edge rusher in the 1st round if a good one falls to us and then getting OL in the 2nd or third round. Perhaps fill our CB need through free agency since we have  D'Joun coming back from injury.

[Combsey]

5 hours ago, MasterCrief said:

I've been saying this since the end of the regular season, nice to see confirmation from the man.

 

In FA: I like Jeff Allen or Alex Boone at guard, or Stefan Wisniewski at center. Osemele would be great, but if he even makes it to FA, he's probably going to get LT money from someone. Mack is probably going to get more money than I would be willing to give him, as well.

 

In the draft: I like Whitehair, Alexander, or Garnett at guard, and Kelly, Martin, or Jack Allen at center. I wouldn't take any of these guys in the first, so I'm not confident that Kelly or Whitehair (who I see as the top at their positions) will be available in the 2nd, but any of those other 4 guys would be great.

I would still go D with the first pick we need some difference makers on the D in the front 7.  Jaylon Smith if he falls if not my second choice would be Billings. At worst case pick up Martin or Garrett in the second ones going to be there out of all you named. Aggressively go after a FA guard for sure a center possibly mixed with us going to a zone blocking scheme next year and we could be possibly be looking at one of our strengths next year.

[CR91]

If we get Alex Boone and draft conklin, we got a pretty good line. I don't think Holmes is as bad as most people think. I don't get why he's always benched for harrison

[krunk]

Seeing this statement from Grigson on Good kind of gives room for drafting a tackle if they chose to.  I'm mainly speaking on the bolded portion below.

 

"I don't see how he doesn't [have a future in the NFL]," Grigson told Dakich.  "I don't see how he doesn't.  I mean, I've got players in the locker room that show me video of him in certain games.  There's guys on our team that are excited about him.  We're looking at a lot of the tackles that are in this draft and then you look at Denzelle's measurables and some of the things that he did on film.  For a guy that came from Mars Hill and didn't have an offseason in the NFL yet, you kind of take that and you put that up against some of these guys coming out in the draft, high picks even, and Denzelle Good has 35 and a half inch arms, he's 355 pounds, and he can move.  He's 6-5 and a half, too.

 

"The thing I think that really shrunk his learning curve down for a guy from a small school, was a high Wonderlic score.  Really high.  And that was something that really stuck out to us.  No other team in the league worked him out except us.  We're the only team that even worked him out for the draft.  Probably didn't even have to draft him, but we did just to make sure we had the guy.  I would say maybe awareness [is the thing that could hold him back], but you gain awareness through playing.  But I think he's got a great chance, guard or tackle."

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2016/2/26/11121794/with-so-much-talk-about-colts-offensive-line-dont-forget-about-denzelle-good

 

Seems like they also consider him in a Guard role as well. So if they chose to slide him in to guard for instance and put somebody like Conklin on the outside that's another option maybe.  I still remember that drive/pancake block he put on the Tampa Bay DE so guard isn't out of the question I think.  Don't know how well he'd be at pulling though.

[COLTS449]

BOO YAH!!!!! What have I been tell everybody over the last several weeks???? I've said over and over we'll stuck with what we have at RT and bring in a Guard and a Center to replace those bums Harrison/Holmes and Thornton. And this is the best thing for the team too. Between Good and Reitz RT will be good. I think either one of those guys can be above average starting RT's. Especially with a better player next the them at RG.

[COLTS449]

Castanzo-Osemele-Martin-Mewhort-Good is what I wanna see. Then Thornton, Holmes, Reitz and a cheap vet tackle.

 

The wild thing is. If we sign Osemele or Allen and draft Nick Martin. Then Good takes a big step forward this year, beats out Reitz and has a good season. Then it may sound crazy but LOL we could be talking about a top 5 offensive line easily.

[ponyboy]

I hope I'm wrong, but I'm just not sold on Good as RT.  I think it's a risk to go into 2016 with just AC, Reitz, and Good as tackles.  You have to be prepared for either AC/Reitz to miss time due to injury.  If you're not prepared for some significant time lost to injury, you're rolling the dice and hoping for the best.

 

If Good is an option at RG then I think that's great, but I think we still need quality depth at T.  Reitz could be the quality depth if we brought in a FA or used a #1 on Conklin or Decker.  Or, somebody like Conklin could be the quality depth (and eventual replacement for Reitz) while also being available for RG.

 

I don't think it's out of the question that a RT could be taken with #1 or #2.

[ponyboy]

Regarding Pagano's statement about interior OL.. of course he's right about the need to seriously upgrade interior OL,  but it doesn't necessarily mean they wouldn't be targeting a RT if the value was there at their pick.

 

Coaches and GMs never tip there hand as to what they're targeting pre-draft, which is why I don't think Pagano's statement says anything about #18 pick.

[BOTT]

35 minutes ago, COLTS449 said:

Castanzo-Osemele-Martin-Mewhort-Good is what I wanna see. Then Thornton, Holmes, Reitz and a cheap vet tackle.

 

The wild thing is. If we sign Osemele or Allen and draft Nick Martin. Then Good takes a big step forward this year, beats out Reitz and has a good season. Then it may sound crazy but LOL we could be talking about a top 5 offensive line easily.

 

[akcolt]

I can't take anymore Kelly or Smith at 18 crazy. 

[UKColt13]

I'm happy with Reitz and Good fighting it out for RT. Just need upgrades for RG and C.

[throwing BBZ]

On 2/26/2016 at 7:43 PM, The Peytonator said:

As it should be, Joe Reitz is a good lineman. 

 

 Reitz is a good Colt that gave up 8 sacks and who knows how many hits and hurries.
 And he has surely proven beyond a reasonable doubt he will get hurt playing inside.
 Love this good Colt all you want but upgrading his roster (Of course he is loved upstairs so it ain`t gonna happen this year) spot would be a Good thing.

 

 Defense Defense rd 1 & 2
 After watching the combine on day one, i would like to see us add C Evan Boehm in the 4th
and Guard Christian Westerman in the 3rd. These guys are FB players!!
 Yet there are some solid looking fast RB`s that we NEED that fall in this area too! Hmmm!

[Defjamz26]

I would try and fix RG in FA. The pass protection for Luck needs to be better now, not later. 

 

Center can can be fixed in the draft because a couple of the guys are talented to start. I like Kelly, Martin, and Boehm. Boehm really has the nasty to be effective early I think. Kelly is a complete football player as well.

[Zoltan]

I don't think there will be a pass rusher worthy of 1st round pick when it gets to us so I'm thinking trade down get a couple extra picks and pick Ryan Kelly Late 1st early second depending on where we think we can get him. I really want us to get a consistent center for Luck, Peyton had Saturday, Luck can have Kelly.