Deon "Neon" Jackson

[Scott Pennock]

With roughly 20+ teams calling to sign him and the $45k bonus needed to sign him I wonder if we tried to stash him on the PS would he get claimed? Granted we have not seen him play in a true NFL setting yet, but, for the sake of argument lets say he performs well during preseason games, what then?

 

Do we cut or try to trade Wilkins and keep Jackson on the active roster? Or, heaven forbid Mack does not return to normal after his injury I suppose he could slide into his spot?

 

All things being even, do we try to stash him and risk losing him?

[csmopar]

Doubtful 

[WoolMagnet]

15 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

With roughly 20+ teams calling to sign him and the $45k bonus needed to sign him I wonder if we tried to stash him on the PS would he get claimed? Granted we have not seen him play in a true NFL setting yet, but, for the sake of argument lets say he performs well during preseason games, what then?

 

Do we cut or try to trade Wilkins and keep Jackson on the active roster? Or, heaven forbid Mack does not return to normal after his injury I suppose he could slide into his spot?

 

All things being even, do we try to stash him and risk losing him?

With contracts coming for Mack, Wilkins, and Hines, its a good move to solidify the position.  
  
  We are gonna have some tuff decisions and possible cuts at RB, OL, DL, and WR this year.  It will be interesting to see  who sticks.  We’re gonna be cutting some players with potential.  But in the big picture, not a bad problem to have i guess.

[chad72]

We could keep 5 RBs if we keep 9 total WRs and TEs, IMO. Hines plays such an important role that they may not want him returning kicks for risk of injury, so maybe Deon Jackson is like Trindon Holliday, someone that will be a key part of the return game??? I don't know. Just speculating. But then we got enamored with Chad Kelly too, and no one claimed him from the PS either.  

[r a y s k i]

Damn this dude can play, see a bit of Marlon Mack in him w more juice, excited

[CR91]

He can beat out Wilkins

[richard pallo]

He’s actually the UDFA who I think has the best chance to make the team.  They were willing to pay him 45k to sign with us over 20 other offers.  They must have made a strong case to convince him to sign.  Let’s face it Mack is going to have to prove he has fully recovered.  He is not guaranteed a spot.  And although I like Wilkins he is at the end of the depth chart and could be traded at cut down day.  So if he shows well during preseason I think he will have a good chance to make the team.  Another position group to keep an eye on.

[Stephen]

Just now, richard pallo said:

He’s actually the UDFA who I think has the best chance to make the team.  They were willing to pay him 45k to sign with us over 20 other offers.  They must have made a strong case to convince him to sign.  Let’s face it Mack is going to have to prove he has fully recovered.  He is not guaranteed a spot.  And although I like Wilkins he is at the end of the depth chart and could be traded at cut down day.  So if he shows well during preseason I think he will have a good chance to make the team.  Another position group to keep an eye on.

Yea between him and Pittmans old teammate 

[WoolMagnet]

If Mack and Hines had a child, it might be this kid.  I see some of both of them in him.

  Our RB room should be stacked. Can’t wait.

[WoolMagnet]

4 hours ago, richard pallo said:

He’s actually the UDFA who I think has the best chance to make the team.  They were willing to pay him 45k to sign with us over 20 other offers.  They must have made a strong case to convince him to sign.  Let’s face it Mack is going to have to prove he has fully recovered.  He is not guaranteed a spot.  And although I like Wilkins he is at the end of the depth chart and could be traded at cut down day.  So if he shows well during preseason I think he will have a good chance to make the team.  Another position group to keep an eye on.

Competition!  We truly have it at all positions. Well, except perhaps kicker and punter..... and mascot.  

[WoolMagnet]

6 hours ago, chad72 said:

We could keep 5 RBs if we keep 9 total WRs and TEs, IMO. Hines plays such an important role that they may not want him returning kicks for risk of injury, so maybe Deon Jackson is like Trindon Holliday, someone that will be a key part of the return game??? I don't know. Just speculating. But then we got enamored with Chad Kelly too, and no one claimed him from the PS either.  

Kelly never had over 20 teams “courting” him.

[#12.]

10 hours ago, CR91 said:

He can beat out Wilkins

 

Wilkins is one of the more underappreciated Colts.  Practically every time he has gotten an opportunity he's produced, yet people have been trying to get rid of him since he arrived.  Dude is as solid and reliable as it gets.

 

As far as Jackson replacing Wilkins goes, Jackson does not look like a workhorse.  You need another workhorse backup in Wilkins, especially with Marlin coming back from injury.

[LiveAndLetAddai]

  With a signing bonus like that he will be given a chance to replace Wilkins.  Competition is a good thing and with all the interest in him, before he signed with the Colts, I doubt he would last long on the Practice Squad.

[Jackie Daytona]

He's my pick as most likely to keep the Colts UDFA streak going ... It's getting harder and harder to keep it intact, which is a great thing.

[CR91]

3 hours ago, #12. said:

 

Wilkins is one of the more underappreciated Colts.  Practically every time he has gotten an opportunity he's produced, yet people have been trying to get rid of him since he arrived.  Dude is as solid and reliable as it gets.

 

As far as Jackson replacing Wilkins goes, Jackson does not look like a workhorse.  You need another workhorse backup in Wilkins, especially with Marlin coming back from injury.

 

Wilkins is far from a workhorse. He has one big run and then 5 small ones if he even gets the ball that much. Please don't bring up his YAC. Everyone knows it's inflated. 

[EastStreet]

3 hours ago, #12. said:

Wilkins is one of the more underappreciated Colts.  Practically every time he has gotten an opportunity he's produced, yet people have been trying to get rid of him since he arrived.  Dude is as solid and reliable as it gets.

 

As far as Jackson replacing Wilkins goes, Jackson does not look like a workhorse.  You need another workhorse backup in Wilkins, especially with Marlin coming back from injury.

 

He's been great depth, and I like him. That said, he's played with a good OL, and generally gets later carries which make it easier.

Given Taylor is our obvious bell cow RB1, and Hines is our obvious APB, the next few guys on the depth chart are always subject to churn. If Mack is back to health, he'll be next in rotation. That leaves a competition open for the 4th RB.

 

Wilkins was not workhorse at all in college either. Here's how senior years look like in attempts.

 

Taylor - 320

Hines - 197

Mack - 174

Jackson - 161 (shortened season)

Wilkins - 155

 

Overall, I expect Jackson to end up on the PS unless Mack isn't back from injury. If he can beat out Mack and/or Wilkins, I'm OK with that too.

[#12.]

1 hour ago, CR91 said:

 

Wilkins is far from a workhorse. He has one big run and then 5 small ones if he even gets the ball that much. Please don't bring up his YAC. Everyone knows it's inflated. 

 

He's a straight line runner who can run between the tackles and cover that part of Taylor's game, if Taylor goes down.  Wilkins is a more physical runner than Jackson.

 

Jackson looks closer to Hines than either Mack or Wilkins and might be the Colts' insurance policy if Hines isn't extended.  

[#12.]

52 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

 

 

Wilkins was not workhorse at all in college either. Here's how senior years look like in attempts.

 

 

I'm speaking more on running style and what the Colts would want in a runner to replace Taylor, if he  goes down.  It took Rathman a season to transform Mack into a competent between the tackles every down back, and as I said, Jackson looks closer to Hines than Mack to me.

[EastStreet]

17 minutes ago, #12. said:

 

I'm speaking more on running style and what the Colts would want in a runner to replace Taylor, if he  goes down.  It took Rathman a season to transform Mack into a competent between the tackles every down back, and as I said, Jackson looks closer to Hines than Mack to me.

 

Rathman wasn't the RB coach when we drafted Mack. It was Singleton.

 

Jackson has very good size and toughness, vs Wilkins who was considered a finesse runner in college. I'm not saying Jackson will be great, but he has prototypical size for a workhorse type back, and is considered a tough back who runs through arm tackles. And very durable.

 

As far as Mack is concerned, his rise in 2018 from 2017 had like more to do with our OL ranking 25th in 2017, and we had the 3rd lowest run blocking grade that year. In 2018 after our lineup gelled after week 5, we were one of the best OLs. We ended the year ranked 3rd best OL in 2018. 

 

 

[hoosierhawk]

One of his weaknesses according to his draft profile is  "Lacks speed to find his way around the corner" but yet he supposedly ran a 4.32 40 at the Duke's Pro day. Go figure!

[EastStreet]

5 minutes ago, hoosierhawk said:

One of his weaknesses according to his draft profile is  "Lacks speed to find his way around the corner" but yet he supposedly ran a 4.32 40 at the Duke's Pro day. Go figure!

Purely my opinion, but hitting the corner in a zone run O (which Duke runs), unless it's the specific play call, can look a lot slower than a RB is capable.

 

And Pro Days are often home cooking. He's definitely fast, but I'm calling nonsense on 4.32 at his size. I'd say he's probably pretty close to 4.4, which is still great. His official RAS is 4.42

 

[CR91]

54 minutes ago, #12. said:

 

He's a straight line runner who can run between the tackles and cover that part of Taylor's game, if Taylor goes down.  Wilkins is a more physical runner than Jackson.

 

Jackson looks closer to Hines than either Mack or Wilkins and might be the Colts' insurance policy if Hines isn't extended.  

 

Jackson is bigger then Mack by almost 10 pounds and just as tall. He's not Hines

[#12.]

28 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

 

Rathman wasn't the RB coach when we drafted Mack. It was Singleton

 

Yes, and according to everyone involved it was Rathman coming in and working with Mack which turned Mack into a competent between the tackles runner.  As a rookie, he was still dancing.

28 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Wilkins who was considered a finesse runner in college

  

That's of concern to me now.  Rathman told Wilkins to run a straight line, take what the defense gives you, and that's what he generally does.  I'm not sure how anyone  could watch his play as a pro and characterize it in any other way.

28 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

I'm not saying Jackson will be great, but he has prototypical size for a workhorse type

 

I could be wrong, but I'm going by what I see on film.  Currently, Jackson does not at all look like a physical runner you would choose  to cover the hard running portion of Taylor's game.  Perhaps he could be transformed into that or maybe you never hear from him again.  It's that time of year on message forums when it comes to undrafted free agents.

[Four2itus]

Being an every down runner has a lot to do with the mental make up of the RB. I've seen plenty of big RB's hold up their hand for a replacement. 

[Scott Pennock]

I love the dialogue on the thread I started.

 

I see Jackson as a Mack replacement as part of the Thunder and Lightening duo with Hines as the scatback.....

 

Though I still think Wilkins loses his job if Mack is healthy. If Mack isn't then Jackson slides right in.

[PuntersArePeopleToo]

11 hours ago, WoolMagnet said:

Competition!  We truly have it at all positions. Well, except perhaps kicker and punter..... and mascot.  

Blue will never have competition and if you bring them in he will run over all your children 

[EastStreet]

1 minute ago, #12. said:

 

Yes, and according to everyone involved it was Rathman coming in and working with Mack which turned Mack into a competent between the tackles runner.  As a rookie, he was still dancing.

All backs need a year typically. Even Taylor looked much better late in the year.

 

I think you're giving to much credit to Rathman. Simplest thing is our line went from bottom 5, to top 5, from 2017 to 2018. 

1 minute ago, #12. said:

  

That's of concern to me now.  Rathman told Wilkins to run a straight line, take what the defense gives you, and that's what he generally does.  I'm not sure how anyone  could watch his play as a pro and characterize it in any other way.

A zone run O is not a straight line O most of the time. We run some power gap, but IMO more zone read. Takes patience. 

Keep in mind most of Wilkins touches are late after the DL is worn down.

1 minute ago, #12. said:

 

I could be wrong, but I'm going by what I see on film.  Currently, Jackson does not at all look like a physical runner you would choose  to cover the hard running portion of Taylor's game.

Duke and Wiscy Os are night and day difference. 

[#12.]

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

A zone run O is not a straight line O most of the time. We run some power gap, but IMO more zone read. Takes patience. 

Keep in mind most of Wilkins touches are late after the DL is worn down.

 

As far as Mack and Wilkins go, they wanted decisive running between the tackles.  From everything I read out of the Colts and Rathman, their goal was to turn both into more decisive runners.  Another back with a different skillset, coming from a different system, they might want them reading more.  

[colts8718]

If he is that good Mack or Wilson  but I do like Wilson 

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, #12. said:

 

As far as Mack and Wilkins go, they wanted decisive running between the tackles.  From everything I read out of the Colts and Rathman, their goal was to turn both into more decisive runners.  Another back with a different skillset, coming from a different system, they might want them reading more.  

Decisive in a zone run O just means being patient to read the rush and for the hole to open, then be decisive in your cut once you pick the hole and hit it hard and accelerate. Gap/man is purely hitting the called gap hard without reading.

[#12.]

5 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Decisive in a zone run O just means being patient to read the rush and for the hole to open, then be decisive in your cut once you pick the hole and hit it hard and accelerate. Gap/man is purely hitting the called gap hard without reading.

 

With most inside running in zone, you're still talking split second decisions, and their stated goal was to turn Mack and Wilkins into more decisive runners between the tackles.  Mack still reads and hesitates more Taylor or Wilkins, but he's much more decisive than he was when he entered the league.  

 

[EastStreet]

15 minutes ago, #12. said:

 

With most inside running in zone, you're still talking split second decisions, and their stated goal was to turn Mack and Wilkins into more decisive runners between the tackles.  Mack still reads and hesitates more Taylor or Wilkins, but he's much more decisive than he was when he entered the league.  

 

huh? Mack is the best zone runner we have by far. Wilkins isn't bad. Taylor really struggled, especially early. He was better late, but he's still not on the level as Mack was. Keep in mind Taylor ran a ton of power at Wiscy.

[#12.]

17 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

huh? Mack is the best zone runner we have by far. Wilkins isn't bad. Taylor really struggled, especially early. He was better late, but he's still not on the level as Mack was. Keep in mind Taylor ran a ton of power at Wiscy.

 

The Colts don't want Wilkins or Taylor to be LeVeon Bell, and they don't want every back to play the same.  Rathman coached Wilkins to play a certain way and coached Mack to be more decisive.  You might think Mack is the best zone runner, and stylistically, he does still hesitate and read more than the other two, but ideally for an every down back, I think they are looking for something closer to what Taylor was by season's end.  

[WoolMagnet]

5 hours ago, PuntersArePeopleToo said:

Blue will never have competition and if you bring them in he will run over all your children 

Sheesh!

So........... what if I don’t have any children?   

[Archer]

If he plays well, Dion can have Wilkins’ roster spot.  Nothing wrong with Wilkins, but he’s been unable to win PT and doesn’t likely figure prominently in the future...

[AwesomeAustin]

On 5/8/2021 at 7:54 AM, #12. said:

 

Wilkins is one of the more underappreciated Colts.  Practically every time he has gotten an opportunity he's produced, yet people have been trying to get rid of him since he arrived.  Dude is as solid and reliable as it gets.

 

As far as Jackson replacing Wilkins goes, Jackson does not look like a workhorse.  You need another workhorse backup in Wilkins, especially with Marlin coming back from injury.

I don’t think Wilkins was very good last year.  His usage went up and his numbers went down.  He is a career backup that is good for 3-5 carries a game. Nothing wrong with trying to find a dynamic player to take his spot. This will be is 4th year and he can compete with other players like the rest of the team. If he gets beat out so be it.  

[PuntersArePeopleToo]

19 hours ago, WoolMagnet said:

Sheesh!

So........... what if I don’t have any children?   

He will still run over your "Children" ;)