We haven't protected Luck for six years so let's draft a RB!!!

[BOTT]

Listen to Ballard talk about building a team.....he's not taking Barkley.

[LockeDown]

I think we should concentrate on our depth.  After all, That's who will be playing.  I wish I were joking.

[Rally5]

5 minutes ago, bigt said:

     So we are going to address the OL in FA by getting a very average to below average guard in Pugh (Schwenke 2.0) and Norwell (an all-pro guard who Carolina could resign).  If they don’t resign him, I’m pretty sure he will want to sign with a contender instead of a 4-12 team with major questions at QB, a new coach (yet to be determined), and an unproven GM.   Norwell is a long shot.  Drop back a couple slots and get Nelson, but not too far back.  I think he is going to go higher than most people think on here.  

      In my opinion, and I know everyone has one, Nelson is the safest pick followed by Barkley, then Fitzpatrick.  I’m just a build-the-trenches-1st type of guy and I’d love to see Kelly and Nelson anchoring the interior.  I like Nick Chubb, Arden Key, Connor Williams, or the IL from Georgia in the 2nd.  I think one of them will slide.  You won’t find a guard of Nelson’s caliber period once he is off the board.

I like how you think!

[Smonroe]

I’m just popping in, (without reading three pages of post) to say I agree with the thread title.

 

Let’s draft Barkley!   

 

Thanks OP, good thread.  

[Rally5]

Just now, Smonroe said:

I’m just popping in, (without reading three pages of post) to say I agree with the thread title.

 

Let’s draft Barkley!   

 

Thanks OP, good thread.  

I like your wit!

 

[jvan1973]

6 hours ago, ManningGM said:

......you do realize this is a generational RB, right?

Never heard that before..  many cant miss backs have failed

[Rally5]

1 hour ago, Restored said:

 

Agreed. I think people forget how much better the Colts offense was when he was healthy and playing. He added a great wrinkle to the offense that hasn't been completely replicated since that time (Frank Gore included).

I think he had less than 600 yards his entire time in Indy.

[jblastick]

I really don’t think Ballard will have the chance to take Barkley.  Giants could very well nab him at 2.  I don’t believe these QB’s are “generational” type QB’s.  Eli will play a couple more years and I can’t see the Giants taking a player that high to sit on the bench on the heels of a 3-13 season.  IMHO

[Buck Showalter]

8 minutes ago, BOTT said:

Listen to Ballard talk about building a team.....he's not taking Barkley.

Agreed, however, he & Irsay may want to "sell" as high a level of legit intrest as possible if they want to court any trade offers...

 

[Rally5]

6 hours ago, Flash7 said:

First we should evaluate what we have in terms of being able to address the team's issues.

 

1. We will have roughly 76 Million in cap space. We can easily address the O-line with this.

2. We will be drafting at the #3 position. We can address O-line with the first pick and subsequent picks.

 

Of the 2 options, I prefer FA because you can obtain proven talent that can make an immediate impact. Then if you wanted, you could draft a stud RB (Barkley at #3) to run through the holes that the new FA linemen have created.

 

Sound good?

It does, if you can land the guy in FA....other teams want oline too, very high demand position with low high-quality supply.

[Rally5]

6 hours ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

I'd feel way more comfortable drafting a potential gamebreaker at #3 overall than taking an OL that we'd have to wait 2-3 years for him to actually be "pro ready." Adding rookie to that line would be a huge mistake in my opinion.

Maybe these facts will assuage your fears.  Yes, you have to expand your browser for better view, sorry.

[a06cc]

1 hour ago, GoatBeard said:

If Williams was even close to Quenton Nelson he would go ahead of him.

 

I like him but he's not an elite prospect. 

Both are maulers at their position. You can’t go wrong with either player in my opinion. Also on many scout boards I’ve seen have him ahead. Again you can’t go wrong in any direction. I like so many prospects. Clelin Ferrell is a guy people need to watch as well.

[New Zealands #1 Colts Fan]

I still think Barkley will be picked #1 or #2 and not necessarily by the Browns or Giants

[Restored]

1 hour ago, Rally5 said:

I think he had less than 600 yards his entire time in Indy.

 

Couldn’t stay healthy but his impact when he was on the field was definitely measurable.

[Colts_Fan12]

We should trade back and take Nelson or Williams plus sign Norwell 

[Goatface Killah]

1 hour ago, a06cc said:

Both are maulers at their position. You can’t go wrong with either player in my opinion. Also on many scout boards I’ve seen have him ahead. Again you can’t go wrong in any direction. I like so many prospects. Clelin Ferrell is a guy people need to watch as well.

My concern is that I personally thought he was a definite first round pick coming into the season. But everything I am reading now is saying 2nd round pick and some teams even have him graded lower than that, which means he has issues I am not aware of. 

 

Quenton Nelson is just a monster with no question about it. He is very similar to Larry Allen. And if he is that good, he is absolutely worth the 3rd pick. People talk about him like he is an average run of the mill, first round OG, but he is much more than that. He is an immediate, impact player for a team that needs a lineman like him more than anything else. 

[Trueman]

9 hours ago, Rally5 said:

Am I the only one that see's something really special in Marlon Mack?  Do we not agree running backs need holes to run through?  Imagine for a minute Luck purveying the field with time to throw!  Can we not have another year where all the discussion is about our OLine!  I get an edge rusher and their value, I really do and I get Barkley is a nice back but I swear give me a monster Oline with Luck, TY, Doyle, Mack, Rogers, and Moncrief and I'll take that all day long!  I truly hope Ballard does what the sign on his desk says and isn't influenced by uninformed media or Irsay for that matter!   Some media nut case has us taking a safety with P1..if that happened I would retire my fandom!  

 

I wouldn't consider Mack having "special" potential, but he's certainly got a chance to be a really good player. I agree that when you consider Luck's entire career as a Colt, the prospect of drafting a running-back , doesn't really excite me.

To me, I don't want to replicate the Polian ethos at all. I want a team with great lines on both sides of the ball , and a team with balance. 

I don't want a team that needs home field advantage, or a predictable defence with serious flaws, and an offence loaded at the skill positions. 

I want a team with a good defence and a good O-line. That's how you surround a star QB who can make skill players better than their talent.

I don't want us to make the same mistakes that we did with Peyton. 

[Superman]

1 hour ago, Colts_Fan12 said:

We should trade back and take Nelson or Williams plus sign Norwell 

 

If Norwell is a free agent when it opens up, they should be offering him Osemele money.

[Calmack]

5 hours ago, Rally5 said:

As just one example, dude face planted Clowney, then went on to win the corner (which in the NFL is special) and gained 10+ yrds, that's not the actions of a scat back. Later in the same game Clowney (in an act of redemption) hit him at full speed and blasts him out of bounds,  he bounced up and gave Clowney a head slap.  That's toughess.  You open a hole for him and he hits his head on the goal post.  So, I respectfully disagree, I think the kid can play but I respect your opinion.  BTW, Who are all of our other backs with breakway speed, because I missed those guys?  

Well if you re-read my post I mentioned there are plenty of players with breakaway speed. I didn't say they were on the Colts. A player with breakaway speed and toughness is not rare my friend. I watch the Colts as I love them, but I watch a good amount of other teams' games as well. Lots of them have that tough, speedy player somewhere in their offense. That stiff arm was nice, but it's not like he trucked Clowney. He was strong enough to hold Clowney off as he attempted to tackle him while running laterally towards the sideline. Heck, I've seen TY stiff arm guys to the ground. A lot of it has to do with angles and momentum.. Mack would be a nice compliment to a true 3 down back.

[BOTT]

3 hours ago, New Zealands #1 Colts Fan said:

I still think Barkley will be picked #1 or #2 and not necessarily by the Browns or Giants

That would be a brilliant use of resources.

[Goatface Killah]

2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

If Norwell is a free agent when it opens up, they should be offering him Osemele money.

He should be available & perfect. But we would have very stiff competition for him and he will probably get more than Osemele.

 

We cant continue to think a 3rd round pick is gonna fix this line. Thats the problem with the line in the first place, they only have two guys you feel good about right now, Castonzo and Kelly, who were both first round picks. This has been going on for years now. Whatever we do, we have to think bigger than that. We either get Nelson or sign Norwell. And we still draft an OL in the first two rounds. We can NOT go into next season without a good feeling about our OL. 

 

But we still should not take Barkley. If we can trade down and get an extra pick or two, I would be all for that. He is a tremendous talent and fun to watch, which means a lot of teams are gonna want him.

 

If we can sign Norwell, we should take who ever we think is the best linebacker or defensive back in the draft with the with the 3rd pick.

 

[Buddy Lee]

18 minutes ago, GoatBeard said:

He should be available & perfect. But we would have very stiff competition for him and he will probably get more than Osemele.

 

We cant continue to think a 3rd round pick is gonna fix this line. Thats the problem with the line in the first place, they only have two guys you feel good about right now, Castonzo and Kelly, who were both first round picks. This has been going on for years now. Whatever we do, we have to think bigger than that. We either get Nelson or sign Norwell. And we still draft an OL in the first two rounds. We can NOT go into next season without a good feeling about our OL. 

 

But we still should not take Barkley. If we can trade down and get an extra pick or two, I would be all for that. He is a tremendous talent and fun to watch, which means a lot of teams are gonna want him.

 

If we can sign Norwell, we should take who ever we think is the best linebacker or defensive back in the draft with the with the 3rd pick.

 

I could not have said it better myself. My sentiments exactly.

[Colts_Fan12]

5 hours ago, Superman said:

 

If Norwell is a free agent when it opens up, they should be offering him Osemele money.

I hope so I'm just hoping we get a shot at him 

[stitches]

6 hours ago, Superman said:

 

If Norwell is a free agent when it opens up, they should be offering him Osemele money.

I wouldn't mind that. 

[lollygagger8]

Mack is good in space, a not great between the tackles, and bad at protection. 

 

I've been waiting for an offense that actually tries to get Mack out in space and throw the ball to him. Like all the misdirection screens the Saints setup all the time. Ingram and Kamara seem like all the Saints production. I would like to see that used with Mack.  

 

If McDaniels comes here, then maybe we'll actually see a good offense for once. I think he's good at OC, I'm just not sold on him for HC. 

[a06cc]

10 hours ago, GoatBeard said:

My concern is that I personally thought he was a definite first round pick coming into the season. But everything I am reading now is saying 2nd round pick and some teams even have him graded lower than that, which means he has issues I am not aware of. 

 

Quenton Nelson is just a monster with no question about it. He is very similar to Larry Allen. And if he is that good, he is absolutely worth the 3rd pick. People talk about him like he is an average run of the mill, first round OG, but he is much more than that. He is an immediate, impact player for a team that needs a lineman like him more than anything else. 

Don’t disagree about Nelson at all. 

[Mr.Debonair]

Barkley has Zeke Elliot ability. People love that Dallas O-Line but even they don’t look the same without Zeke. People made it seem like you could plug anyway behind that line and this year proved that’s not true! If Barkley is there I hope we take him

[ClaytonColt]

15 minutes ago, Mr.Debonair said:

Barkley has Zeke Elliot ability. People love that Dallas O-Line but even they don’t look the same without Zeke. People made it seem like you could plug anyway behind that line and this year proved that’s not true! If Barkley is there I hope we take him

Wouldn't that be more to do with them losing 2 of their players?

 

It's not the same line this season.

[Mr.Debonair]

14 minutes ago, ClaytonColt said:

Wouldn't that be more to do with them losing 2 of their players?

 

It's not the same line this season.

And you couldn’t tell in the games that Zeke played. Dude missed 6 games and still almost ran for 1K 

[ClaytonColt]

2 minutes ago, Mr.Debonair said:

And you couldn’t tell in the games that Zeke played. Dude missed 6 games and still almost ran for 1K 

He did. At a significantly lower average than Alfred Morris I believe. 

[Dingus McGirt]

20 hours ago, Aluckiswolverine said:

I understand the fascination  with Barkley but we need to protect 12. I think Ballard realizes this. Look at us this year. 

 

If if he fixes the line during free agency then awesome. If he gets oline in free agency and still drafts Nelson with the 3rd I’m ok with that.

 

Best case senario, 12 has a wall of an Oline come the beginning of next season. We can get a good Rb in later rounds. 

 

 

The Colts have "good" - the Colts need "great."

[Mr.Debonair]

8 minutes ago, ClaytonColt said:

He did. At a significantly lower average than Alfred Morris I believe. 

Zeke is 4.1 and Morris is 4.7 if that’s significant than idk. Zeke has 7 TDs Morris has 1

[Steamboat_Shaun]

15 hours ago, Rally5 said:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2441018-which-positions-are-the-safest-riskiest-at-the-top-of-the-nfl-draft

 

There's definitely risk associated with drafting a RB, that's a given. He could blow his ACL the first day of OTAs and never play again. Barkley is one of the few RBs I'd roll the dice on though.

[Str8himalaya]

15 hours ago, BOTT said:

Listen to Ballard talk about building a team.....he's not taking Barkley.

 

Agreed! Look at the success they had running the ball in KC:

-Jammal Charles (3rd rd), was a league leader in rushing when healthy

-Spencer Ware (6th rd), serviceable when healthy

-Kareem Hunt (3rd rd), lead the league in rushing this year as a rookie

 

Ballard came from this type of culture and learned there. He was there when they drafted the first two (I believe), and I'm sure a lot of the folks he worked with drafted Hunt last year. Gotta think he has a plan in place to build a defense like KC and get strong on the OL. I'm not against Barkley is we can get good pieces on the OL in FA, however, I feel the ROI on that pick wouldn't be as high as if we selected a top defensive player (Chubb) in it's place. IMHO.

[Str8himalaya]

Double post, sorry!

[Rally5]

1 hour ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

There's definitely risk associated with drafting a RB, that's a given. He could blow his ACL the first day of OTAs and never play again. Barkley is one of the few RBs I'd roll the dice on though.

Fair enough.

[Gigc]

You win with stars. Swing for the fences. If Barkley is the best player available you take him. 

[Superman]

10 hours ago, GoatBeard said:

He should be available & perfect. But we would have very stiff competition for him and he will probably get more than Osemele.

 

We cant continue to think a 3rd round pick is gonna fix this line. Thats the problem with the line in the first place, they only have two guys you feel good about right now, Castonzo and Kelly, who were both first round picks. This has been going on for years now. Whatever we do, we have to think bigger than that. We either get Nelson or sign Norwell. And we still draft an OL in the first two rounds. We can NOT go into next season without a good feeling about our OL. 

 

But we still should not take Barkley. If we can trade down and get an extra pick or two, I would be all for that. He is a tremendous talent and fun to watch, which means a lot of teams are gonna want him.

 

If we can sign Norwell, we should take who ever we think is the best linebacker or defensive back in the draft with the with the 3rd pick.

 

 

I want two new starters on OL in free agency, and I think they should spare no expense. A RT and a guard would be great.

 

Also, while we know Ballard isn't going to go throwing money around recklessly, I think Norwell fits his mold. Lunch pail guy who was unheralded coming out of Ohio State, got drafted several rounds after his boy Mewhort, and has worked his way up the lineup and all the way to being an All Pro this season. When you pay a guy like this, I think it sends the right message to the locker room.

[dgambill]

15 hours ago, Superman said:

 

If Norwell is a free agent when it opens up, they should be offering him Osemele money.

He graded out high in pass protection very high but are you not concerned with Carolina's lack of ability to run the ball? Is it because of their system, backs?, Cam....because while I value pass protection I really would like my guards to be road graders...that can establish the line of scrimmage....and I didn't see that at all in Carolina. I'm not trying to be controversial but everyone just is in love with the guy and I have questions. What do you think?

[dgambill]

3 hours ago, Str8himalaya said:

 

Agreed! Look at the success they had running the ball in KC:

-Jammal Charles (3rd rd), was a league leader in rushing when healthy

-Spencer Ware (6th rd), serviceable when healthy

-Kareem Hunt (3rd rd), lead the league in rushing this year as a rookie

 

Ballard came from this type of culture and learned there. He was there when they drafted the first two (I believe), and I'm sure a lot of the folks he worked with drafted Hunt last year. Gotta think he has a plan in place to build a defense like KC and get strong on the OL. I'm not against Barkley is we can get good pieces on the OL in FA, however, I feel the ROI on that pick wouldn't be as high as if we selected a top defensive player (Chubb) in it's place. IMHO.

Wasn't Ballard the one that pushed real hard in Chicago to draft Cedric Benson at 4? I wouldn't say he wouldn't select Barkley at the top of the draft. I wouldn't say he wouldn't take him either...I think he will take the best player he can that will effect this team on the field. Time will tell but I think nothing is out of the realm of possibility. I think we need to see how free agency goes and then also how the combines and pro days go.