The 2020 class projection

[CR91]

I will include Buckner on the list as he was in a way our first round pick.

 

Deforest Buckner

 

Living in north cal, I've had plenty of chances to watch the 49ers and believe me Buckner is as good as advertised. People wanna suggest Buckner excelled because of the talent on the 9ers line which is part of it, but Buckner was dominant even before then. What I'm even more impressed with Buckner is his ability to line up anywhere on the line. The 9ers had him at the 1, 3, and even on the edge and I see the colts doing the same thing. I expect Buckner to quickly become a leader for our defense.

 

Michael Pittman Jr

 

Pittman is a completely different weapon for the colts, but not for Rivers. Ballard mentioned Vincent Jackson as a comparison and I think that's fair. I see more of a Mike Evans as I see that kind of potential. Pittman would most likely start right away in a normal off-season, however with things how they are, I can see the colts letting Pittman learn and use him mostly in the red zone at first. 

 

Jonathan Taylor

 

Taylor I am expecting to have an impact right away splitting carries with Mack. Mack imo will actually benefit with Taylor in the line up as it not only takes a huge burden off his shoulders to carry the offense as he did last season, but also keeps him fresh. I felt at times last season, Mack tapped himself out too many times. Mack and Taylor will tire out defenses along with our o-line allowing our passing game to flourish this season.

 

Julian Blackmon

 

It will interesting to see how Blackmon will be used during his rookie year. The colts mentioned they will use him by lining him up against certain matchups as I do think he's that versatile, however it will depend on his knee. I would rather we don't rush him back to soon as we saw how that effected Hooker. Blackmon imo will become an intricate part of our defense as I see him used as our main cover piece all over our secondary.

 

Jacob Eason

 

It depends on Eason on what he becomes. He will either be our future franchise QB or our future franchise backup. I've mentioned before watching film on Eason that I see a better version of Jay Cutler as there are a lot of good things you can work on, but he needs to take advantage of what's in front of him as he has Rivers, Reich, and weapons to help him succeed, but he needs to put in the work.

 

Danny Pitner

 

Pitner will take the Haeg role as he will be most likely become our sixth o-linemen. The question will become though rather or not he can unseat Glowinski in the future. Unfortunately for Pitner, he's never played inside as he started out as a TE before he moved to T. He needs time to develop as he still learns to play the other spots on the line.

 

Rob Windsor

 

This kid is someone to watch imo as he has so much heart and hustle. Sure Buckner, Autry, and Stewart are our first Date, but after that, you have other open reps and you know how the colts love rotating their linemen and I think Windsor will take advantage of any opportunity he gets.

 

Isaiah Rodgers

 

Rodgers will obviously make his biggest impact on STs as he gives us what Wilson didn't, a willing tackler not afraid to do the dirty work on STs.

 

Dezmon Patmon

 

Pittman Patmon. Man if that's the future, that's gonna be tough to say. Patmon can be like Pittman, but the biggest difference is Pittman plays to his size while Patmon hasn't fully grasped how to use his size. He's a fun project to work with, but he has some competition for possibly two spots.

 

Jordan Glasgow

 

Glasgow actually has a really good chance to make this roster as he will only need to beat out either Adams or Franklin, however Glasgow also needs to prove he can play more then just STs. 

[shasta519]

I don't think Pittman has VJax's strength or athleticism. VJax is also bigger.

 

Evans is probably a better comp...but Evans has that ridiculous wingspan and he was incredibly explosive in college...whereas Pittman was more of a volume possession WR when he broke out.

 

IF Pittman is as good as either...that's a home run. But even at a tier below those guys...Pittman will be a good WR.

[chad72]

5 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

I don't think Pittman has VJax's strength or athleticism. VJax is also bigger.

 

Evans is probably a better comp...but Evans has that ridiculous wingspan and he was incredibly explosive in college...whereas Pittman was more of a volume possession WR when he broke out.

 

IF Pittman is as good as either...that's a home run. But even at a tier below those guys...Pittman will be a good WR.

 

Yeah, he is more like a Courtland Sutton type of WR that cannot thrive without a speedy element on the opposite side but will come down with tough catches in 1-on-1 situations. He has a little bit of Anquan Boldin in him too, IMO.

[Yoshinator]

I'll do my projections of every draft pick here

 

Michael Pittman: 65 receptions, 750 yards, 8 tds. 

 

Johnathan Taylor: 210 carries, 950 yds, 8 tds. 20 receptions, 160 yards, 2 receiving tds

 

Julian Blackmon: 40 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 FF

 

Jacob Eason: 250 passing yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT

 

Danny Pinter: 5 games started at RG, 1 sack allowed

 

Rob Windsor: 25 tackles, 5 TFL, 1.5 sacks

 

Isaiah Rodgers: 35 tackles, 1 INT, solid special teamer

 

Dezmon Patton: Makes the team, 20 receptions, 180 yards, 2 tds

 

Jordan Glasgow: Makes the team as a special teamer. 25 tackles

 

[jameszeigler834]

10 hours ago, CR91 said:

I will include Buckner on the list as he was in a way our first round pick.

 

Deforest Buckner

 

Living in north cal, I've had plenty of chances to watch the 49ers and believe me Buckner is as good as advertised. People wanna suggest Buckner excelled because of the talent on the 9ers line which is part of it, but Buckner was dominant even before then. What I'm even more impressed with Buckner is his ability to line up anywhere on the line. The 9ers had him at the 1, 3, and even on the edge and I see the colts doing the same thing. I expect Buckner to quickly become a leader for our defense.

 

Michael Pittman Jr

 

Pittman is a completely different weapon for the colts, but not for Rivers. Ballard mentioned Vincent Jackson as a comparison and I think that's fair. I see more of a Mike Evans as I see that kind of potential. Pittman would most likely start right away in a normal off-season, however with things how they are, I can see the colts letting Pittman learn and use him mostly in the red zone at first. 

 

Jonathan Taylor

 

Taylor I am expecting to have an impact right away splitting carries with Mack. Mack imo will actually benefit with Taylor in the line up as it not only takes a huge burden off his shoulders to carry the offense as he did last season, but also keeps him fresh. I felt at times last season, Mack tapped himself out too many times. Mack and Taylor will tire out defenses along with our o-line allowing our passing game to flourish this season.

 

Julian Blackmon

 

It will interesting to see how Blackmon will be used during his rookie year. The colts mentioned they will use him by lining him up against certain matchups as I do think he's that versatile, however it will depend on his knee. I would rather we don't rush him back to soon as we saw how that effected Hooker. Blackmon imo will become an intricate part of our defense as I see him used as our main cover piece all over our secondary.

 

Jacob Eason

 

It depends on Eason on what he becomes. He will either be our future franchise QB or our future franchise backup. I've mentioned before watching film on Eason that I see a better version of Jay Cutler as there are a lot of good things you can work on, but he needs to take advantage of what's in front of him as he has Rivers, Reich, and weapons to help him succeed, but he needs to put in the work.

 

Danny Pitner

 

Pitner will take the Haeg role as he will be most likely become our sixth o-linemen. The question will become though rather or not he can unseat Glowinski in the future. Unfortunately for Pitner, he's never played inside as he started out as a TE before he moved to T. He needs time to develop as he still learns to play the other spots on the line.

 

Rob Windsor

 

This kid is someone to watch imo as he has so much heart and hustle. Sure Buckner, Autry, and Stewart are our first Date, but after that, you have other open reps and you know how the colts love rotating their linemen and I think Windsor will take advantage of any opportunity he gets.

 

Isaiah Rodgers

 

Rodgers will obviously make his biggest impact on STs as he gives us what Wilson didn't, a willing tackler not afraid to do the dirty work on STs.

 

Dezmon Patmon

 

Pittman Patmon. Man if that's the future, that's gonna be tough to say. Patmon can be like Pittman, but the biggest difference is Pittman plays to his size while Patmon hasn't fully grasped how to use his size. He's a fun project to work with, but he has some competition for possibly two spots.

 

Jordan Glasgow

 

Glasgow actually has a really good chance to make this roster as he will only need to beat out either Adams or Franklin, however Glasgow also needs to prove he can play more then just STs. 

I think Rodgers can do more than ST in the future for now probably just ST but I think he can play defense too in the future.

[CR91]

1 hour ago, jameszeigler834 said:

I think Rodgers can do more than ST in the future for now probably just ST but I think he can play defense too in the future.

 

It's tough to really say especially with Kenny and Rock already in the cornerback room as well as Tell. Blackmon's background as a CB also doesn't help him.

[chad72]

 

Marvel Tell is a wildcard, what did the eye test tell you folks towards the end of the season? Can he transition to CB fine? It seems our depth is riding on his 1st to 2nd year jump considerably.

[NewColtsFan]

2 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

It's tough to really say especially with Kenny and Rock already in the cornerback room as well as Tell. Blackmon's background as a CB also doesn't help him.

About Blackmon...    did you mean to write “doesn’t help him”.   Or did you mean doesn’t hurt him?

 

Just asking. 

[CR91]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

About Blackmon...    did you mean to write “doesn’t help him”.   Or did you mean doesn’t hurt him?

 

Just asking. 

 

I was referring to Rodgers chances of getting playing time

[EastStreet]

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

I will include Buckner on the list as he was in a way our first round pick.

 

Deforest Buckner

 

Living in north cal, I've had plenty of chances to watch the 49ers and believe me Buckner is as good as advertised. People wanna suggest Buckner excelled because of the talent on the 9ers line which is part of it, but Buckner was dominant even before then. What I'm even more impressed with Buckner is his ability to line up anywhere on the line. The 9ers had him at the 1, 3, and even on the edge and I see the colts doing the same thing. I expect Buckner to quickly become a leader for our defense.

I think his stats may have actually been hurt by all the talent around him lol.. And I agree on him being flexible. I'd like to see heavy run sets with both him him and Autry at DE. I could also see him at 1 on 3rd and longs. Autry will likely line up all over the place too, and I think we'll see him more at DE like when he was in Oakland.

 

Prediction - 10 Sacks, 15 TFLs

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Michael Pittman Jr

 

Pittman is a completely different weapon for the colts, but not for Rivers. Ballard mentioned Vincent Jackson as a comparison and I think that's fair. I see more of a Mike Evans as I see that kind of potential. Pittman would most likely start right away in a normal off-season, however with things how they are, I can see the colts letting Pittman learn and use him mostly in the red zone at first.

I'll happily take either comparison (Evans or Jackson). Jackson might be a little more freakish athletically, so I agree Pittman is probably closer to Evans.

 

I do think Pittman will start at X out of the gate. While I wouldn't call him perfectly polished, he's got enough polish and athleticism/measurements to give him the nod.  He should be incredibly effective underneath right away, but perhaps need some patience on the outside. It's not like Pascal was all that effective on the outside anyway, so Pittman doesn't have that much of an uphill battle in that aspect. Pascal was most effective running out of the slot, so he'll likely continue to get snaps there, especially on possession and short yardage downs.

 

Prediction - 800ish yards, 10 TDs

 

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Jonathan Taylor

 

Taylor I am expecting to have an impact right away splitting carries with Mack. Mack imo will actually benefit with Taylor in the line up as it not only takes a huge burden off his shoulders to carry the offense as he did last season, but also keeps him fresh. I felt at times last season, Mack tapped himself out too many times. Mack and Taylor will tire out defenses along with our o-line allowing our passing game to flourish this season.

I'm really torn here on how they might use both guys. I also wonder how the FO views the RB position. Are they going to ride out rook contracts and move on to new rooks (letting vet RBs go) like a lot of the league? Or will they spend big on a second contract once they find a top guy? I think it's probably the former, and the Colts will probably lean on rooks and modest priced vets. And I'm OK with that. We've all seen teams suffer once they shell out a lot for RBs.

 

That said, I could see them starting out heavy Mack (75/25 split), and let Taylor ease into things. Also, they don't plan on bringing Mack back, why not make him the workhouse this year and keep Taylor fresh for key games and next year. Taylor's body could probably use a year off after being the work house in WI for years. Even if it's a 75/25 split, that still takes some of the load off Mack. You also have to assume Hines will be in the mix running a bit just to keep D's from keying on him in the passing game.

 

Prediction - 125 carries, 625 yards, 6TDs

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Julian Blackmon

 

It will interesting to see how Blackmon will be used during his rookie year. The colts mentioned they will use him by lining him up against certain matchups as I do think he's that versatile, however it will depend on his knee. I would rather we don't rush him back to soon as we saw how that effected Hooker. Blackmon imo will become an intricate part of our defense as I see him used as our main cover piece all over our secondary.

I also hope he's not rushed. I know recovery is better these days for his injury, but they do say it's a year to heal, a year to trust. He's also coming from a very heavy "man" defense, which we've been heavy zone. And he's only had one year at Safety (moving from CB). So in short, injured/recovering, still new at position, scheme change, and a big step up in competition. That's a lot to ask a rook to do in 9-10 months.

 

I do love his upside though. Kid can lay the wood, so even if he starts out on special teams, he can still make a good impact for us. Personally I think he ends up long term as SS instead of FS (perhaps even NB), but I won't be upset if he's a stud at any position.

 

Prediction - Unless there's injury, he'll be worked in slowly the 2nd half of the season. 

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Jacob Eason

 

It depends on Eason on what he becomes. He will either be our future franchise QB or our future franchise backup. I've mentioned before watching film on Eason that I see a better version of Jay Cutler as there are a lot of good things you can work on, but he needs to take advantage of what's in front of him as he has Rivers, Reich, and weapons to help him succeed, but he needs to put in the work.

Total wildcard to me. He's got the arm, just not sure if he has the processing/progressions to go along with it. He landed in a fantastic place to grow, so I agree, it's all up to him.

 

Prediction - doesn't see the field if JB remains on the roster

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Danny Pitner

 

Pitner will take the Haeg role as he will be most likely become our sixth o-linemen. The question will become though rather or not he can unseat Glowinski in the future. Unfortunately for Pitner, he's never played inside as he started out as a TE before he moved to T. He needs time to develop as he still learns to play the other spots on the line.

I love this kid, just not sure how to predict him. I agree he should go inside, but thought Smith would be inside too. The kid gained a lot of weight when he moved from TE to OT, so his body is still probably adjusting. I could see anything from a starting OG to a JAG who gets released after a year or two.  I'm cheering for him.

 

Prediction - doesn't see the field unless there's injury

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Rob Windsor

 

This kid is someone to watch imo as he has so much heart and hustle. Sure Buckner, Autry, and Stewart are our first Date, but after that, you have other open reps and you know how the colts love rotating their linemen and I think Windsor will take advantage of any opportunity he gets.

Probably my least favorite pick. Love his motor, but I think he's the most likely draft pick to not make the roster. Undersized one gap specialists rarely stick around long.

 

In that spot, I would have taken OT Prince Tega Wanago (still can't believe he lasted that long) or Khalil Davis if they really wanted at DT. 

 

Prediction - PS

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Isaiah Rodgers

 

Rodgers will obviously make his biggest impact on STs as he gives us what Wilson didn't, a willing tackler not afraid to do the dirty work on STs.

My favorite late round pick. Could end up being both a returner and gunner. I always worry a bit letting a rook return, but I'd love to see him get a shot given his production.

 

I'd love to see him add 15-20 lbs of good weight (while keeping his speed) and see him compete for a CB spot next year.

 

Prediction - worked into special teams as returner in the second half of the season. No meaningful minutes on D unless there's injury.

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Dezmon Patmon

 

Pittman Patmon. Man if that's the future, that's gonna be tough to say. Patmon can be like Pittman, but the biggest difference is Pittman plays to his size while Patmon hasn't fully grasped how to use his size. He's a fun project to work with, but he has some competition for possibly two spots.

Better straight line speed than Pittman, but less agile. I agree that he doesn't play as big as Pittman. He needs a lot of work getting better vs the press and with route running too. It would be awesome though if he stepped up with a year of good coaching. Having both him and Pittman on the field at the same time in the RZ would be crazy. His film was inconsistent, but when he was on, he was on.

 

I might have went Juan Jennings at WR here, as I think he's a pretty good big slot candidate. Or KJ Hill is a more traditional slot.

 

Prediction - PS unless there is injury to Pittman or Pascal

33 minutes ago, CR91 said:

Jordan Glasgow

 

Glasgow actually has a really good chance to make this roster as he will only need to beat out either Adams or Franklin, however Glasgow also needs to prove he can play more then just STs. 

Probably my second least favorite pick. While I think he could be good on special teams, we already have a few depth LBs that are good on special teams. Hopefully he really stands out there, as I don't see him competing for any snaps at LB.

 

Probably would have taken a shot at a TE here. Either Bryant, Pinkney, or Moss.

 

Prediction - coin flip between PS and roster for special teams