What are your thoughts on Grigsons latest draft class?

[jvan1973]

Just now, BOTT said:

Not so sure about that last sentence.

Haynesworth, Chad Johnson

[BOTT]

21 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

Haynesworth, Chad Johnson

Adalius Thomas, Joey Galloway

[oldunclemark]

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 1:26 PM, RockThatBlue said:

Do you think Grigson did a good job with this draft, as far as you can tell? 

 

I know you can't really evaluate a draft fully for a couple years, but I just want to see what everyone thinks so far.

 

I think this will turn out to be one of Grigsons best drafts based off of what we have seen. 

 

The o linemen Grigson drafted look to be solid, with potential stars in Kelly and Haeg. Clark, while still not fully there, has potential. I think Ridgeway can end up a nice player, he made a few nice plays almost every game. Green and Morrison are up and down, but both have potential IMO.

 

What do you all think?

very good..we got six players who started at one time or another

...not 6 who will start going forward necessarily..

..but 6 who did start this year

[oldunclemark]

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 2:48 PM, GoColts8818 said:

I think it's a really good one.

 

Kelly was a good center this year let a lone a good rookie center.

 

Haeg played like a rookie ups and downs but I think showed if he develops he will be a starter for a long time.

 

Clark got action late in the season and you didn't hear his name much which is a good sign for a rookie lineman.  If they came out of this draft with three starters on the oline that's a huge step forward.

 

Ridgeway showed promise for a rookie on the line and seemed to have a nose for the QB.  If he's not a starter I think he will be a solid contributor going forward.  

 

Morrison can lay the wood but looked slow and lost when he wasn't going after someone straight on a line.  He needs some solid coaching but there is talent there,

 

Green was a bit disappointing.  He got flagged for dumb things way too often and looked very lost in the secondary, he needs a lot of coaching,

 

Blythe is what he what he is a backup linemen who can play in a pinch but won't give you much beyond that but that's okay for a 7th round pick.

 

they let their other 7th rounder walk but he's a 7th rounder that's not unexpected.  

WE went into last year's start needing to bulk up the O-line

Did we do that?

Probably.

 

You have to give rookies more than a year.....Green and Morrison were almost exactly what I remember the scouting reports said they'd be.  I want both to start next season. Safety is a very difficult position to play as a rookie..to me...Vet QBs and OCs mess with you and you look tentative.  I'd ask patience with Green

Admitting that he is slow, I like everything about Morrrison...If we get better up front, Morrison will LOOK better and he isn't tentative. He's a leader.

I cant honestly judge offensive line play but our protection and rushing got better as the season went on.

possibly 4 starters maybe, eventually 6?

With a small sample size to analyze, this seems to be a very good draft///

 

[NewColtsFan]

 

Now that the season is over,  I think the 2016 draft was exceptionally good.

 

The first thing they did was to note that the 2017 class was not a very good one for the O-line so they focused on the 2016 class. 

 

The second thing they did was get great input from Philbin.   

 

The third thing they did was to focus on lineman that run more NFL level offenses in college.    Kelly from Alabama,   Haeg from the Dakota school that gave us Carson Wentz,  and Blythe from Iowa where he was coached by Kirk Ferentz.       Hit, hit and hit.     Clark is a textbook example of what you want in a tackle.   Incredibly long arms,  huge hands,  the right height and weight and athleticism.    He scored high on IQ and wonderlic tests.      And while the system he played in was very un-profeesional,   he played all 52 games.   In fact,  I think he started all 52 games he played in.     So, he has great experience.     We tried to give him a red-shirt year.      I think he showed very well in the 4 games he started.

 

On defense is where this class will ultimately earn it's grade.

 

What will we get from Green, Ridgeway, Morrison?     Bates is already gone.

 

The team made a commitment to get younger.    That's why I think Irsay is keeping Grigson and Pagano.  We took Green in the 2nd and Clark in the 3rd knowing full-well that we weren't going to get much from them in their rookie year.      Hard to turn around and fire the same guys when Irsay was in on the agreement.

 

If Green, Ridgeway and Morrison are contributing more next year,  then the class may earn a very high grade.

 

The O-line clearly got better (the last game being the exception)   but they're trending in the right direction.

 

I just hope we focus on the definse in this draft (and the next two)  and finally get around to building a defense that can help us make a deep run in the playoffs.     You can't do it with offense alone.

 

[Lawrence Owen]

On 1/4/2017 at 2:58 PM, akcolt said:

Who besides Grig's thought Dorsett was the BPA?

 

This class if you are going on need like we did in the 1st we should have went OLB in the 2nd. Clark isn't as bad too me.

 

Morrison was another wasted pick with 2 CB's and 3 RB's sitting there. Morrison is in the same mold as Herrera and Jackson very slow box backers without much future 

I don't think Morrison is in the same class as Herrera.  Herrera was stiff, AND slow,..with no instincts.

Morrison is slow..and that is his only real flaw that i have noticed.  He tackles VERY well, and plays 100% until the whistle blows.  And he has VERY good insticts,...he's had quite a few "WOW" plays in the last couple games.  AKA a HUGE hit behind the line of scrimmage for a loss on a running play, and a flying tackle on a TD leap from another running play saving the TD, to name just 2 off the top of my head.

His speed is a concern,...you do NOT put him in coverage, but he does look like a young D.Q.

[Lawrence Owen]

I think we nailed the o-line picks.  Even Clark.  Clark was supposed to be a 'work in progress' with a high upside.  And it seems we might actually get that.

Defensively, I think Morrison is our younger version of D.Q.  Solid tackler, good instincts chasing ball carriers,...just not fast enough to be a coverage linebacker.

Green still has the upside that was there from last year, he just needs more coaching.  Remember, he has not played safety very long, and that definately shows this past year.  But he has the speed and physical traits you want from a FS.  He just needs experience, (most safeties come out of college with 2 more years experience than he has now.)

Ridgeway.....he is a conundrum.  He flashes big play capability, then makes HUGE mistakes when the running game is concerned.  He does not leave himself in a position to make a play/tackle when a run play is in his area.  BUT he does flash explosive ability to get into the backfield.  This was a similar problem Freeney had.

Overall...this Draft COULD be our best draft since 2012.   But it'll take another year or two to see how these guys pan in the long run.

[Buddy Lee]

I hope Green develops some safety instincts. He certainly has the physical tools. I have no idea how coachable he is. He could be a force if he learns the position.

[UKColt13]

1 hour ago, Lawrence Owen said:

I don't think Morrison is in the same class as Herrera.  Herrera was stiff, AND slow,..with no instincts.

Morrison is slow..and that is his only real flaw that i have noticed.  He tackles VERY well, and plays 100% until the whistle blows.  And he has VERY good insticts,...he's had quite a few "WOW" plays in the last couple games.  AKA a HUGE hit behind the line of scrimmage for a loss on a running play, and a flying tackle on a TD leap from another running play saving the TD, to name just 2 off the top of my head.

His speed is a concern,...you do NOT put him in coverage, but he does look like a young D.Q.

 

Reminds me of a smaller Brandon Spikes if I'm honest. If you play him as a 2 down ILB you'll be fine. Just don't trust him to cover TEs. For a 4th round rookie he did well this year I think. Made some splash plays as you said.

[colts8718]

Still trying to get over the 2013 draft he did so well in

[stitches]

Can I pose an additional question for discussion - if your team is completely devoid of talent and the competition is lackluster, does the mere fact that your rookies started games make your draft good?

 

In my mind this draft's evaluation hinges on how Clark and Green develop. Kelly looks solid and we can expect him to get even better. Morrison is probably long-term sub if you want to have good LB core. I don't know what to think of Haeg, he played so many positions that I don't feel like it's fair for me to throw him under the bus for the numerous sub-par performances because he never really was given the chance to get comfortable. I still have high hopes for Ridgeway, I guess he's another in and "wait and see" column.

 

I can't help but be worried about Green. He just doesn't seem like he knows what he's doing in coverage. He truly is as bad as advertised. Has no instincts, no coverage skill, always with his back to the ball at the catch point... But I'm willing to give him and our coaching staff one more year to see some progress.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by Clark. He was supposed to be red-shirted, but injuries forced him into a starting role by end of the year and he at least didn't embarrass himself. I wouldn't say he was great or anything, but at least you could see what our FO saw in him and he might justify the pick we used on him.

 

Overall I feel like the draft will be somewhere between OK and good, with the slight potential of being great if Green makes a jump next year.