Make four moves to improve the roster

[Superman]

We have a QB, and about $49m in expected cap space. What other moves would you make as GM to hopefully make the Colts a legit title contender in 2021?

 

Try to be realistic, don't trade Ben Banogu for Aaron Donald or anything dumb like that. In fact, trades are probably unrealistic, unless it's a guy we know is on the market. But account for the cost of the player.

 

So what would you do? What do we need? Can we get there in four moves?

[The Fish]

LT in round 1, call JJ Watt, find a CB in FA, find one more weapon on offense, be it a TE or WR. 

[CaptainColt12]

Sign either Allen Robinson, David Moore, or Kenny Golladay

 

Sign Romeo Okwara

 

Draft Samuel Cosmi at 21 

 

Draft Greg Newsome II in the second round 

[SteelCityColt]

Resign TY (If he's willing to be team friendly)

Sign FA Hunter Henry 

Draft BPA at 21 but ideally I'd like one of the T/CB prospects to slide to us. 

Look for a good EDGE project in the 2nd round

[PeterBowman]

Get Romeo Okwara or Carl Lawson 

[Smonroe]

Fill LT through the draft.  Re-sign TY at the going rate (if it's reasonable).  Go big on an Edge rusher.  Get a mid level FA WR if TY is gone.

 

We can't spend all of the cap, there are going to be a lot of big contracts coming up.  Q is going to be the highest paid lineman...ever.  Leonard won't be cheap.  Braden should be paid, he's playing like a pro bowler.

 

Then there are guys like Bobby and Khari.

 

Bottom line - do a Ballard, make smart moves.

[TomDiggs]

1) Back up the Brinks truck for Trent Williams and make the best left side of a line in the NFL.

 

2) Sign a solid WR to add to Pittman, Campbell and Pascal....someone like Corey Davis or Rashard Higgins (I'd love a bigger name like JuJu or Samuel or Fuller but cost might prohibit it....I think Golladay/Robinson/Godwin get priced out of our range or get tagged)

 

3) Sign an edge guy like Bud Dupree if Pitt actually lets him go as they say they might have to. A one year prove it deal might work for him if his market is cool. If the edge market goes too high for a guy like Dupree/Ngakoue/Ingram/Barrett/Judon then turn your attention to a young guy with upside like Haason Reddick who had moments where he put it together last year. 

 

4) Target one of Jonnu Smith or Hunter Henry but if that fails or money is too tight with the other moves, see if Gerald Everett comes at a reasonable rate

 

I think CB and staff have done a good job rehabbing DBs (Corners in particular) so I wouldn't go ham there and would hope we can still keep that rehab process up w Gannon gone.

[gnet550]

Sign Patrick Peterson

 

Sign Curtis Samuel

 

Sign Trey Hendrickson

 

draft LT in the 1st

[Superman]

For me, these positions have to be addressed: Edge, LT, CB, TE. In that order.

 

I'm going TE instead of WR, because I'm going to be hopeful that our young horses at WR will get better. Even if we lose TY, I think we're okay. So sign Hunter Henry, let Burton walk, and keep Doyle and MAC.

 

Edge is most important to me. Can't get the defense to perform better against good QBs without a better pass rush. So I'm signing Bud Dupree, and hoping I can keep one of our FAs.

 

LT is obvious. I don't think we need to be top ten at LT, but we need a guy who can play. Give me a LT in the draft on a rookie deal, who can grow with the squad, but I also want a vet with some experience. I think this is two moves... (?) Just don't re-sign Le'Raven Clark.

 

Corner is also important, because Rhodes is a FA. We need to keep him. We also need to address the position -- again -- in the draft. Ballard has drafted multiple corners so far, none of them have hit. We have to be strong at corner.

[SteelCityColt]

6 minutes ago, Superman said:

For me, these positions have to be addressed: Edge, LT, CB, TE. In that order.

 

I'm going TE instead of WR, because I'm going to be hopeful that our young horses at WR will get better. Even if we lose TY, I think we're okay. So sign Hunter Henry, let Burton walk, and keep Doyle and MAC.

 

Edge is most important to me. Can't get the defense to perform better against good QBs without a better pass rush. So I'm signing Bud Dupree, and hoping I can keep one of our FAs.

 

LT is obvious. I don't think we need to be top ten at LT, but we need a guy who can play. Give me a LT in the draft on a rookie deal, who can grow with the squad, but I also want a vet with some experience. I think this is two moves... (?) Just don't re-sign Le'Raven Clark.

 

Corner is also important, because Rhodes is a FA. We need to keep him. We also need to address the position -- again -- in the draft. Ballard has drafted multiple corners so far, none of them have hit. We have to be strong at corner.

 

I take it that, you too, aren't a fan of moving Nelson to LT?

[colts89]

I would like Allen Robinson for sure.

 

For LT, the best option is Trent Williams. However, he's old so it shouldn't be a long term contract. If not Trent, then I can see Ballard going the trade route. This is the most interesting spot to see what the colts do. We might go with a LT prospect in the draft as well, but that might be a bit risky. Perhaps Nelson goes to LT and we get one of the good available guards in free agency 

 

Carl Lawson could be a good move too. Maybe Barrett from the Bucs if they feel he could play in our scheme.

 

 

[MFT5]

13 minutes ago, gnet550 said:

Sign Patrick Peterson

 

Sign Curtis Samuel

 

Sign Trey Hendrickson

 

draft LT in the 1st

 

i like this but i think i'd take Jonnu Smith over Trey H

[Mackrel829]

1. Sign Allen Robinson for 4/$70

2. Sign Carl Lawson for 4/$34

3. Trade back from #21 for a 3rd round pick

4. Draft the best LT available (e.g. Mayfield, Jenkins, Eichenberg)

 

 

[BluesGirl]

Posted this in the FA thread but it may be of some help here also trying to get an idea of what some of these plays could cost 

 

https://www.spotrac.com/research/nfl/projecting-predicting-the-top-nfl-free-agents-1161/

[Superman]

11 minutes ago, SteelCityColt said:

 

I take it that, you too, aren't a fan of moving Nelson to LT?

 

Not at all, I think it would be a big mistake.

[a06cc]

We also need a DT quality backup. We seen what happened when Buckner went down last season. 

[Bravo]

1.) Sign K. Golladay Personally I believe our WR group is very subpar. Especially if we lose T.Y. Pittman (obviously room to improve) and Pascal are average. Campbell can NOT stay healthy. Can’t even count on him at this point. Get our new QB some weapons.

 

2.) Sign a pass rusher. Whether it is Clowney, Williams, or Ngakoue. (Also re-sign Autry)

 

3.) Re-sign Rhodes at CB. HOPE that Ya-Sin shows something...

 

4.) Draft the best LT available with 1 round pick.

[coltsfanatic24]

There are some really good Offensive Tackles and DE in this draft. So many teams in the top 15 needs a QB so some great talent is going to fall to our pick.

 

I’d look for Ballard to stay put at 21 and draft an OT. Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas, 6’7 310 lbs could be there. Then an Edge rusher in the 2nd.

 

As far as free agency I think he goes with a veteran CB to make this a well rounded team. 

[harrisoncolts88]

1. Sign Bud Dupree or Leonard Williams (DE priority)

 

2. Sign Ahkello Witherspoon (CB priority)

 

3. Try to trade back in 1st round to get future 3rd rounder and use 1st round pick eventually on Kadarius Toney (our Tyreek WR version)

 

4. Draft LT (Liam Eichenberg, Brady Christensen, etc) in 2nd round 

[BProland85]

I would be targeting DE Carl Lawson, and the best TE that comes available in free agency. Options include Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, and Zach Ertz. Another player I would target is WR Curtis Samuel. I think he is very underrated. 

 

Then in the draft, I would look to address LT either round 1 or 2, and then get a CB with the other pick. Other areas I would address in the draft would be WR, and depth at OT, DT, and LB.

[Hoose]

16 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Not at all, I think it would be a big mistake.

We don't know that. I'm not suggesting it will or won't work, but Nelson has the skill set to play the position, and the Colts will have to pay him like a LT anyway. If he can do the job and Pinter, for example, can step into the LG slot effectively, you've just saved a bundle. It would allow the Colts to grab the best CB/DE available at #21, and also a tackle in Day 2 for quality depth and possible starter down the line. More importantly, it allows the Colts to go big for a top tier FA or two, and get the team closer to major contenders. 

[ClaytonColt]

Trade for Orlando Brown Jr

 

Sign Allen Robinson 

 

Resign Rhodes 

 

Pray that one of our highly drafted pass rushers can actually make some sort of impact! 

[Patagonia Chris]

You have to address Pass Rusher, OT, WR, CB. The good news for Ballard is that the draft is deep at WR, OT and CB. You can probably get two guys who can really play at those positions in the draft and then add a pass rusher through free agency. Would lean towards adding a veteran WR as well, but if you can get a guy like RonDale or Elijah Moore, who you can do some things with schematically on offense and roll out an 11 personnel package of Pittman, Pascal, Moore, Taylor and Ertz or Alie-Cox, I think Frank would be very happy with that. 

[stitches]

I just started thinking about this and my initial lean is to go all offense. Not because I don't think the defense needs work... but because I think we need to give Wentz every chance to succeed and we need him to have no excuse for failing. By the end of the season (and preferably by week 11) we need to know where we stand with Wentz. Give him protection, give him weapons! Give him everything he needs to succeed. 

 

With that said... 

1. FA WR - give him the best one we can get... and give him one that's good at the things Wentz is good at. This reminds me of the Funchess signing - I remember Funchess was amazing at the same exact routes that Luck was great throwing. Not exactly sure who that would be, but I bet our FO and Reich know better than me. 

2. This might be controversial... Wentz targets TEs a LOT. A LOT A LOT! We need a dynamic TE target. None of our current ones can be described like that. This would mean - Try to get Hunter Henry in FA. If not... maybe Gerald Everett? If we cannot get a dynamic pass-target TE in FA... this comes to the draft then... What if Pitts falls for some reason? If he's within reach, I'd go for it. Who are the other dynamic pass-target TEs? Brevin Jordan? Is Pat Freiermuth this type? Not sure... 

3. LT - this is our most likely R1 draft pick IMO. There seems to be good talent in this year's draft at the position. This seems like good marriage of need and value. 

4. DE - another position with good value in the late 1st if a players like Paye, Rousseau, Oweh or Azeez Ojulari is there.

 

Whichever one from 3 and 4 we don't get from the draft we should probably address in FA. EDGE seems like a better FA class to me, but it's still early and we don't know who will get cut and who will get franchise tagged, etc. 

 

Those are my very first initial thoughts right after the trade so... I might change my mind but I will be doing a mock off-season post Wentz trade and I feel like I will incorporate some of those there. 

[Superman]

2 minutes ago, Hoose said:

We don't know that. I'm not suggesting it will or won't work, but Nelson has the skill set to play the position, and the Colts will have to pay him like a LT anyway. If he can do the job and Pinter, for example, can step into the LG slot effectively, you've just saved a bundle. It would allow the Colts to grab the best CB/DE available at #21, and also a tackle in Day 2 for quality depth and possible starter down the line. More importantly, it allows the Colts to go big for a top tier FA or two, and get the team closer to major contenders. 

 

It's just my projection, we don't know anything for sure, but I'm not in favor of moving Nelson to LT.

 

I don't care about the bolded. Once we drafted him, we knew we'd have to pay him. That's done. He's a great guard, and he'll get paid that way.

 

If Nelson can play LT at a high level, then you need at least an adequate replacement at LG. What's likely is that Nelson would be, at best, an average LT, and then you'd replace him with an average LG. So now you've weakened two positions on the OL. I'd rather be weak at LT but great at LG, than average at both. We'd be better off just getting an adequate LT and helping him with protections.

 

I just don't think it's reasonable to expect Nelson to be good at LT. He hasn't played LT at a high level. He played a few snaps last year, but he didn't look good in those snaps; he looked like a guard playing tackle in an emergency. His lateral movement was bad, and his hands were all over the place. You don't take a guy with Nelson's traits and expect him to perform well at tackle. It's been done before, but generally speaking, the odds are strongly against that kind of move working out favorably.

[Colt Overseas]

I think if we can get a good LT and DE and hold onto Rhodes, we can return a better roster next season.

 

I think it looks quite clear the best option of addressing the LT spot is through the draft, as you want a cheap contract given how much money we will eventually be spending when Nelson and Smith get renewed. Its also a deep class. I will say Sam Cosmi is a good shout here.

 

The FA market at DE is actually one of the better ones in years. Some good options. I really like Trey Hendrickson, has great size/length, athleticism and high motor. Is also an ascending talent in the league, finishing with the second most sacks last year.

 

The last two moves. I would like to draft Tyson Campbell in the second round of the draft. Right size for what we want and has good athleticism. My final move would be to take Hunter Long in the 4th round of the draft.

 

Resign TY, Rhodes and Autry.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Edge in FA and I would not be against paying big, LT in first round. Let the rest play out as BPA in draft, fill holes after that.

[TrueBlue12]

One thing that isn't mentioned regarding our receivers is that under contract we don't have what I consider to be a legit deep threat. The deep ball is a Wentz strength. Let's allow him to take advantage of it by getting that type WR in the draft or in FA.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Oh and we need to keep onto Rhodes. When we finally find a great CB, not wise to move on, LOL

[MikeCurtis]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

For me, these positions have to be addressed: Edge, LT, CB, TE. In that order.

 

I'm going TE instead of WR, because I'm going to be hopeful that our young horses at WR will get better. Even if we lose TY, I think we're okay. So sign Hunter Henry, let Burton walk, and keep Doyle and MAC.

 

I think with the QB that we picked, and the offense that we run, TE is absolutely one of the top key positions

 

We dont have that TE playmaker on this roster today

[w87r]

4 moves?(I will go with outside organization moves)

$49m(ish)

1. Will go with LT in 1st round, or with a trade back.($2m)

2. Offer 2nd round pick to Saints for Marcus Lattimore($10m) 

3. Sign Nelson Agholor ($9m) Reich and Wentz connection

4. Hmm.... Trey Hendrickson($10m)/ or Hunter Henry/Ertz if released.

 

$18m left($21m top 51)

[Smoke317]

What would a trade for Lattimore cost us?  2nd round pick?  If not too much more, I’d do that and sign Watt and take a LT in the draft.  If we can’t get Lattimore I’d be trying to resign Rhodes.  Lattimore or Williams would be my free agent priority. Then I’d be looking to fill the other position in the draft.

[compuls1v3]

Sign Leonard Williams, DE,  2 yr, $30 million.

Sign JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, 2 yr, $2 million.

Draft Christian Darrisaw, LT, round 1.

Draft Aaron Robinson, CB, round 2.

 

This buys us one more year at DE and WR development, fills our need at LT, helps fill a possible hole at CB should Rhodes go somewhere else.

 

 

[Zoltan]

Draft LT in first round

 

sign Von Miller for 1 year deal

 

sign Zach Ertz or Hunter Henry

 

Add FA cornerback haven’t looked at all Free agents yet but I believe there will be a couple good ones available 

 

 

[EastStreet]

Good thread @Superman I was thinking about this now that we've checked this box, and was also thinking a bit broader. 

 

As far as FA moves go, I don't think we need to be huge players here outside of signing back key guys (Houston, Autry, Rhodes) and some scheme tweaks. If we bring those guys back and kinda keep last year's D in place and draft an OT, I'd say......

 

-LB - Upgrade LB. Oke and Walker aren't 3 down guys. I'd move Leonard to MLB actually and bring in a new WILL. Since we play mostly 4-2-5, both LBs are really hybrids anyway. 

 

-CB - If we're going to continue zone heavy coverage, find a CB to pair with Rhodes. Either that, or play more press man that would allow RYS to be more natural. Also, possibly give RYS a look at S.

 

-DE - If we resign Houston and Autry on moderate deals, add a legit DE. Doesn't have to an elite guy, but needs to be a very solid young guy with 3 down capability. Again though, we need to blitz more. Not Pitt or Balt level, just not near bottom of the league %.

 

-FS - If we continue to play C1/C3 with the rip/liz blend, we need a guy that's more like Hooker to be in the rotation. If Hooker is back from injury and hasn't lost anything, perhaps resign. If not, find a C1/C3 guy. I'd let Blackmon float between FS and SS depending on the game plan. SS vs deep QBs, FS vs shallow QBs or run heavy teams. I'd give RYS a look too.

 

All in all, I think have a lot of talent. I think some of that talent is either misused due to scheme, or misused due to need. Either way, I think we can do some shuffling internally matched with some scheme tweaks to get better.

[TheNextGM]

1. Acquire or wait for his release and sign Von Miller

 

2. Sign AR12 (Robinson) 

 

3. Sign Villanueva LT

 

4. Trade up a few spots and draft Pitts, dynamic TE

[Smonroe]

A quality LT is an absolute need.  But it’s not as absolute now as when PR was the QB.  

Draft the LT, don’t break the bank for one of the stars.  
 

Spend on the Edge!

[AZColt11]

I think the draft is the best place to find a good LT at #21.  I'd start there.  Darrisaw maybe?

 

Then I think if you just made a trade for your future QB, you'd better not only protect him, you'd better have some weapons for him.  So I'd spend the majority of any remaining FA dollars on a WR or TE.  Maybe a higher-priced guy like Godwin, Robinson, or Golladay.  Seems like Godwin may make the most sense with what TB has down there.

 

Next I'd look at a 2nd-tier Edge.  A guy like Dupree makes sense since the Steelers are in cap hell.  Even if they get rid of Big Ben they still have issues.  I'd like a bigger name but don't know if we'd have the cap space.

 

The #1 FA I'm looking to retain is Rhodes.  They absolutely cannot afford to lose him or else add that just behind LT as one of the top needs.  If they do, then they gotta bring a guy in but I'm not sure who would be affordable.  If Peterson would fit in the cap I'd like to have him.

 

Now, I'm not a capologist so I have no idea if this is even feasable.  But if we have nearly $50M available I'm sure Ballard is savvy enough to get this accomplished.

[NewColtsFan]

11 minutes ago, compuls1v3 said:

Sign Leonard Williams, DE,  2 yr, $30 million.

Sign JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, 2 yr, $2 million.

Draft Christian Darrisaw, LT, round 1.

Draft Aaron Robinson, CB, round 2.

 

This buys us one more year at DE and WR development, fills our need at LT, helps fill a possible hole at CB should Rhodes go somewhere else.

 

 

For what it’s worth...   

 

Wiiliams and Schuster are both going to come close to breaking the bank.

 

Unless Schuster gets tagged, both are looking at 4-5 years and roughly $12-15 million per year.   
 

[w87r]

9 minutes ago, w87r said:

4 moves?(I will go with outside organization moves)

$49m(ish)

1. Will go with LT in 1st round, or with a trade back.($2m)

2. Offer 2nd round pick to Saints for Marcus Lattimore($10m) 

3. Sign Nelson Agholor ($9m) Reich and Wentz connection

4. Hmm.... Trey Hendrickson($10m)/ or Hunter Henry/Ertz if released.

 

$18m left($21m top 51)

Will add to this:

 

I would restructure Kelly saving $6.75m this year.

 

Also would look to trade Doyle and save another $4.35m(especially if we pick up outside of team TE)

 

That gets us back up to about $30m

 

 

Try and re-sign Houston($7-$9m)/or Autry($4-$6m), Rhodes($9-$10m)

Pascal, Odum($2.2m/each)

 MAC($800k)

Hunt($1m)

Carrie($2m)