Stitches' 2023 Colts Mock Off-season (ver. 1.0)

[stitches]

The combine is near and soon free agency will be upon us. It's time for me to do my first mock off-season for 2023. 

 

I'm using Overthecap's Colts page for salary numbers. I'm using Overthecap's Colts free agency page for our own free agents.

 

I will be using spotrac's free agency tracker to find other teams' free agents and if there is market value figure listed, I will try to be close to it, unless I deem it unreasonable for one reason or another. 

 

For the draft I will be using The PFF's Mock Draft simulator. I will run it with their default settings, but I will try to take players based on how I feel about the players without trying to cheat the system(for example if a player I have rated as a top 20 is there on the board at 34 and is BPA, but is ranked 77 on their board I will NOT pass on him because I know I can draft him in later rounds, I would consider this cheating the system because I have information that in the real world GMs don't really have). 

 

This version of my mock will be the "what I would do" version of the mock... within reason. I might take some influences from the way Ballard does business in order for this to be at least somewhat representative of what might happen rather than the full tank job I would be rooting for... So... here we go... 

 

Starting Team Cap Space: $12.23M

 

Trades:

- Kenny Moore to the Chicago Bears for a 4th round pick(no. 103). Kenny is best utilized in a the system that Eberflus runs and his talents are wasted here with Gus. He, himself, has expressed some frustration with the way was used last season so... I feel like this is a trade that might actually happen... or he might be part of a trade package for the no. 1 pick. Savings: 8.17M

- Ryan Kelly to Washington Football Team for a 4th round pick (no. 118) - The two teams already made a trade last year so I would guess they have good relationship. Washington needs a center and Kelly might need a change of scenery( Savings: 10.13M post-June designation). 

 

Cuts:

- Matt Ryan - Unfortunately it didn't work out with him. We save about 17.21M by cutting him and he has no incentive to retire before that. 

- Mo Alie-Cox - I'm not 100% certain this is the right move. We save about 2.92M by cutting him, it might be hard to get better player at the position for that money, but this IMO is needed more in order to vacate some playing time for the young guys and to try to add a more dynamic weapon. It's more of a roster-spot consideration than money consideration. 

- Nick Foles - Saving 2.1M

 

Salary cap space after trades and cuts: $52.76

 

Own Free Agents:

 

Unrestricted FAs

Yannick Ngakoue - I don't think he's worth what it would take to pay him... 

Matt Pryor - nope... 

Brandon Facyson - 1 year 4M... same contract as last year ... good CB depth piece

Tyquan Lewis - 1 year, 2M ... prove it deal

Ashton Dulin - 1 year, 2.5M ... special teams player with some WR depth value sprinkled in... 

Rodney McLeod - 1 year, 4M... he did well with us. I won't mind bringing him back... 

Ben Banogu - nope... 

Dennis Kelly - nope 

Parris Campbell - 1 year, 4M... this is higher than what the Spotrac projection has him at, but I feel like this is more realistic value for him. 

Armani Watts 

Matt Haack  - here I hope Rigoberto is back, but if not... I feel like there are enough players capable of replicating Haack's production on the open market 

Tony Brown 

Chase McLaughin - His market value by Spotrac is way too high IMO and I'm just going to let him go. I know this is not going to be popular, 

Bobby Okereke - The Spotrac evaluation says his value is 2 years x 2.3M... this sounds unbelievable to me... If we can have him for that, we should sign him, but IMO he will require much more. I'm giving him 3/15M(5M first year, 8M guaranteed)

Byron Cowart - 

EJ Speed - 1 year 2M... 

 

 

 

 

Restricted FAs

Khalid Kareem - 

 

Exclusive Rights FAs

Carter O'Donnell - let him go

D'vonte Price - keep him for now for competition... 0.7M

---Total Spent on Own FAs: $24.2M ||| Remaining Cap Space: $28.56M

 

 

Other Teams' FAs:

- Jermaine Eluemunor, OT/OG - a swing tackle who had a very good season last year as RT with the Raiders and was one of the better pass-protecting tackles in the league. We give him a solid payday to be our swing tackle and possible RG starter  3/17(6M first year, 9M guaranteed) 

- David Edwards IOL, young guard with some starting experience - we sign him as competition/possible starter at RG, he had some solid years before this one but lost his starting spot this year after suffering a concussion  in week 5 - 1 year 3M

- Arden Key, DE - he just had somewhat of an eye opener of a season. It seems like he's settling well in the NFL as a designated pass-rusher and IMO he can be a great replacement for Ngakoue, will serve in the same role... 3 years/36M(12M year 1, 20M guaranteed)

- Keisean Nixon, CB -  potential slot corner replacement for Kenny Moore. Good tackler and a special teams player(All pro as a kick returner) - 3 years/15M(5M 1st year, 8M guaranteed)

 

---Total Spent on Other teams' FAs: $26M ||| Remaining Cap Space: $2.56M

 

And here comes the draft... 

 

Draft

 

Round 1, pick #4 - Will Levis, QB, Kentucky - I don't think Ballard would trade back in this position and the way I structured my off-season, I cannot draft Anthony Richardson(without serious bridge QB). Bryce Young was drafted ahead of me so I go with one of the higher ceiling QBs in the draft. Will Levis looks exactly like you want your QB to look on a good day. He has it all... the size, the arm, the athletic ability, now he needs to get a bit more consistent with his mechanics and decisionmaking. 

 

(trade - Colts trade the 35th pick in the second round to the Packers and receive pick no. 45 in the second and pick no. 78 in the 3d round) - this is a Ballard special type of trade... I think it's very likely something like this happens. 

 

Round 2, Pick #45(via Packers) - Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State - an exciting explosive pass-rusher, with a lot of production in college(had 28 sacks in the last 3 years). He's more in the Kemoko Turay mold than the typical big EDGE that Ballard usually likes, but make no mistake he covers one of the important for Ballard benchmarks - super long arms. What will be his role? Wide 9 defensive end (pretty much the Yannick Ngakoue role. Needs to get a bit stronger and he seems to have already started putting on some weight. It will be interesting for me to see him test at the combine. It's possible he will be one of the standouts there. He was no. 5 on the Bruce Feldman's Freaks list before the season... 

 

Round 3, pick $78(via Packers) - Nathaniel "Tank" Dell, WR, Houston  - a big of an ironic nickname for a player this slight and I'm not entirely sure Ballard would draft such a small receiver, but he looks incredibly dynamic on tape. A human joystick type of player with superb after the catch ability and great speed who can stretch the field, he also showed some very nifty route running at the Senior bowl. He might not exactly fit the size Ballard likes, but he was one of the Senior Bowl standouts and we know how much Ballard loves his SB stars. 

 

Round 3, pick 79 (via Washington) - Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State - prototypical physical and athletic traits for a complete TE. He can block and he can catch the ball. At this moment he's somewhat raw with his route running, but he flashes very good catching ability away from the body, and good strength and body control to continue running after contact. I will be interested to see how he tests this coming week at the combine. 

 

Round 4, pick 103 (via Chicago) - DeMarvion Overshown, LB, Texas - another standout from the Senior bowl. Long LB with great sideline to sideline movement ability. Similar to previous Ballard picks - fills up the scoresheet , playmaker... Some insurance in case Shaq Leonard's injuries persist. 

 

Round 4, pick 106 - Karl Brooks, DT, Bowling Green - athletic and explosive 3T... not the biggest need but cannot on him at this spot. Had 12 sacks and 4 batted balls last year as an interior lineman. 

 

Round 4, pick 118 (via Washington) - Olusegun Oluwatimi, OC, Michigan - strong competition for the interior of our line. Very experienced -3 year starter in the big 10. Might even start year 1 if Pinter doesn't fix some of his issues. 

 

Round 5, pick 140 - Michael Wilson, WR, Stanford - he was a revelation during the Senior Bowl. Great route running and separation during the whole weeek, seems like he has had trouble staying healthy so far in his career. Probably part of the reason he won't go much higher in the draft. 

 

Round 5, pick 164(via Buffalo) - Jake Moody, K, Michigan - no idea how good he is... I just picked the highest ranked kicker, since I didn't address it in FA. Hopefully he's good enough  

 

Round 7, pick 223 - Darrell Lutter Jr, CB, South Alabama - long corner... depth/camp competition... 

 

Round 7, pick 238(via TB) Trey Dean III, S, Florida - long versatile DB who can play multiple positions... 

 

Disclaimer: Previously I've counted the money for the rookies signing toward the cap but in reality those 8-9 players that will get contracts will replace other players with similar value futures contract that are accounted for in the top 53 number to begin with. We have over 20 players with salary number of around or under 1M and the dead money on huge majority of them is minuscule, so when we cut down the roster to 53, depending on who we cut, the real remaining cap space would be around 15-20M most likely, which will give us plenty of room to sign the rookies and give us room to operate during the season. 

 

 

Depth chart:

 

Offense:
QB: Will Levis, Sam Ehlinger
RB: Jonathan Taylor, Zack Moss, Deon Jackson, D'vonte Price, Jake Funk, Aaron Shampklin
WR1: Michael Pittman, Michael Wilson,  Mike Strachan, Jr., Vyncint Smith, 
WR2: Alec Pierce, Ashton Dulin, Malik Turner, Kristian Wilkerson, 
Slot: Parris Campbell, Tank Dell, Ethan Fernea
TE1: Jelani Woods, Andrew Ogletree, Nikola Kalinic
TE2: Kylen Granson, Tucker Kraft, Jalen Wydermyer, Rashod Berry
LT: Bernhard Raimann, Jordan Murray

LG: Quenton Nelson, Wesley French, Arlington Hambright
OC: Danny Pinter, Olusegun Oluwatimi
RG: David Edwards, Will Fries, Dakoda Shepley
RT: Braden Smith, Jermaine Eluemunor

Deffense:
LDE: Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo, Tyquan Lewis
DT: Grover Stewart, Chris Williams, McTelvin Agim, Eric Johnson
3T:  DeForest Buckner, Karl Brooks, Kameron Cline
RDE: Arden Key, Will McDonald IV
WILL: Shaquille Leonard, DeMarvion Overshown 
MIKE: Bobby Okereke, EJ Speed, JoJo Domann, Forrest Rhyne
SAM: Zaire Franklin, Grant Stuard, Cameron McGrone, Segun Olubi
SS: Rodney McLeod, Nick Cross, Trey Dean III, Marcel Dabo, Henry Black
FS: Rodney Thomas, Julian Blackmon
RCB: Isaiah Rodgers, Brandon Facyson, Trevor Denbow
LCB: Stephon Gilmore, Dallis Flowers, Darrell Lutter Jr, Kevin Toliver II, Darrell Baker Jr.
Slot: Keisean Nixon, David Vereen

Special teams:
LS: Luke Rhodes
P: Rigoberto Sanchez
K: Jake Moody, Lucas Havrisik

 

*names in green are rookies

**names in blue are new FAs/trade acquisitions

***bolded names I project as top 51

 

Final thoughts:

- I... kind of like what I did with with this one, I feel like this is a solid roster. If there is one regret I have, it's that I didn't pick a CB higher. This is a very strong CB class and maybe I had to be more aggressive early for one... but just... there were players I liked better at those respective spots in R2 and R3. 

- Decided to stabilize the OL with players both in FA and in the draft. Eluemunor is a bit of a luxury, but IMO it's important to have a solid swing tackle, who can plug holes not just at OT but on the interior too if needed. 

- Arden Key is me taking a bit of a chance on high potential pass-rusher. He had some issues earlier in his career, but seems to have refocused himself on football and is playing some of his best football. Just in case I added Will McDonald as an additional option of the same mold of pass-rusher - the wide 9, typical dynamic and explosive right DE in Gus Bradley's system. 

- I was thinking about adding a proven WR to our WR corps but I kind of didn't like the FA class. The only player that caught my eye was Michael Thomas, but he's been injured a lot lately and I'm not sure what kind of production he will be able to give us, plus he might actually be more expensive than we have money for. Still, I feel like I diversified our weapons a bit with Tank Dell. We don't really have this type of a weapon. Kraft is a bit raw, but he can be dynamic weapon too.. 

- I really didn't want to spend future pick to move up for QB... I'm glad I stayed put... 

 

 

Any thoughts and critique are welcome. Cheers everybody  

 

(Disclaimer: I used the blueprint from my my prevous years' mocks so it's possible there are some mistakes/leftovers from it that I didn't catch. Please don't hesitate to point out any glaring errors or things you think are overly unrealistic.)

[ChuggaBeer]

2.56 million doesn't leave you enough to sign the draft picks and or season churn 

[danlhart87]

3 hours ago, ChuggaBeer said:

2.56 million doesn't leave you enough to sign the draft picks and or season churn 

I will gladly take the 2.56

[stitches]

5 hours ago, ChuggaBeer said:

2.56 million doesn't leave you enough to sign the draft picks and or season churn 

If you look at the depth chart, most of the names that are not bolded will ultimately get cut and free up some money. I counted 27 players that are over the 53 limit. If we remove the 12 that are currently not included in the salary cap calculation that leaves 15 players in the range of 870K-940k that will free up about 14M of capspace. So we will have about 16.5M to sign the rookies. If need be we can always restructure Braden Smith for example to get a few more bucks...  

[DaColts85]

Why not just keep a proven kicker instead of drafting a guy? McLaughlin has been good and Ballard rewards guys. 

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43 minutes ago, DaColts85 said:

Why not just keep a proven kicker instead of drafting a guy? McLaughlin has been good and Ballard rewards guys. 

Money savings I guess... the projections I saw I thought was too high, so decided to go for the draft instead. 

[DaColts85]

8 minutes ago, stitches said:

Money savings I guess... the projections I saw I thought was too high, so decided to go for the draft instead. 

I would be fine with a 2 or 2.5 mill on 3 years. He has shown accuracy. You don’t let good kickers walk. 

[stitches]

20 minutes ago, DaColts85 said:

I would be fine with a 2 or 2.5 mill on 3 years. He has shown accuracy. You don’t let good kickers walk. 

The projection I saw was 5 years x 4M... 

[Defjamz26]

Great work as always Stitches. Couple questions from me:

 

1. I’d Okereke worth the money? I know he had a breakout year but I’m wondering if he’ll have a reduced role with Shaq coming back and Franklin presumably starting at MLB.

 

2. Do you really think it’s good to roll with Pinter at center without serious veteran competition?

 

3. Was Stroud on the board when you took Levis? Just curious because I know you’re not really a Levis guy

 

4. Do you think Ballard will Buck his trend with Tank Dell? He’s listed at 5’8” and the smallest WR Ballard ever drafted was Campbell at 5’11”.

[DaColts85]

4 hours ago, stitches said:

The projection I saw was 5 years x 4M... 

based on him getting league minimum and us being tight with funds I doubt he gets that from us and don’t really see him leaving again. I could be wrong but I see 2.5 a year more likely. Do a short contract and add to in the future. 

[stitches]

1 hour ago, Defjamz26 said:

Great work as always Stitches. Couple questions from me:

 

1. I’d Okereke worth the money? I know he had a breakout year but I’m wondering if he’ll have a reduced role with Shaq coming back and Franklin presumably starting at MLB.

At that contract I think he's worth it and he's a good insurance in case Leonard is irreperably demaged. I also think Franklin will be moved to SAM if both Okereke and Leonard are healthy and playing well. 

1 hour ago, Defjamz26 said:

2. Do you really think it’s good to roll with Pinter at center without serious veteran competition?

This was one of my worries too... but at the end of the day I figured the other spots are more important to address and Pinter actually looked OK when he played limited snaps at OC. I added a center in the draft who is well rated, but I admit - it's probably the singular spot with most questionmarks in this specific mock. 

1 hour ago, Defjamz26 said:

3. Was Stroud on the board when you took Levis? Just curious because I know you’re not really a Levis guy

He was available. I actually like Levis... maybe it doesn't come accross in my posting because he's fighting for the same territory of my heart as Anthony Richardson  And he has some pronounced weaknesses that are a pet-peeve of mine(the pocket presence thing... I think Luck spoiled me forever). I have Levis above Stroud in my QB ranking... I think he can be great if everything clicks with him and he has the second highest ceiling from this draft IMO. 

1 hour ago, Defjamz26 said:

4. Do you think Ballard will Buck his trend with Tank Dell? He’s listed at 5’8” and the smallest WR Ballard ever drafted was Campbell at 5’11”.

Probably not. I don't know... it's uncharted territory right now. He said he might have to change some things about his process, no idea if this is included. I just liked him too much to pass on him at the spot and as I said this is more of a what I would do mock. After the combine and before free agency I will probably do another mock with "what would Ballard do" motive. 

[Superman]

Good mock. I think you're still light at OL, especially at center. But that's real life, can't solve all your problems in one offseason, but I think prioritizing the OL should be the #2 priority this year, behind QB. And I think a vet QB is probably needed; Mariota just got released, I think he makes sense, but I wonder if he's interested in being a short term bridge again, he seemed to pull away from the Falcons once they moved to Ridder. 

 

What's the difference between Yannick and Arden Key? Why let YN walk to sign Key to the type of contract YN probably wants? Or do you think YN will want more?

 

Already said, but I think Okereke gets a big deal this year. I'm assuming he walks. Some other retentions I don't see happening -- McLeod, Lewis, etc. Might free up some cap space there. And the big issue with having so little remaining cap is that I expect Pittman to get an extension this year. 

 

I agree with your cuts and trades, they seem necessary IMO, and maybe more... I actually think a fundamental reset might be needed, which would make guys like Grove and maybe some other good players available. And I don't think a veteran WR makes sense right now, unless it's a pro who's ready to play WR4 and get 2 targets/week and be okay with it, and I think we have plenty of guys for that role -- that's basically Mike Strahan. I think it makes sense to engineer as much cap space as possible in 2024, without absolutely gutting the roster.

[stitches]

2 hours ago, Superman said:

Good mock. I think you're still light at OL, especially at center. But that's real life, can't solve all your problems in one offseason, but I think prioritizing the OL should be the #2 priority this year, behind QB. And I think a vet QB is probably needed; Mariota just got released, I think he makes sense, but I wonder if he's interested in being a short term bridge again, he seemed to pull away from the Falcons once they moved to Ridder. 

Yep, agreed on the center. That's the weakest spot I think. But I felt like RG and OT were more important at this stage and at least we've seen Pinter actually have some good games at OC. 

 

2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

What's the difference between Yannick and Arden Key? Why let YN walk to sign Key to the type of contract YN probably wants? Or do you think YN will want more?

I feel like YN will get more ... and I actually think Key is better in the run game while giving you similar pass-rush production. In general... I'm not the biggest fan of YN. I think he's massively overrated. He doesn't impact games at the level his sacks number would suggest. Unfortunately Gus doesn't seem to agree with that... 

 

2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Already said, but I think Okereke gets a big deal this year. I'm assuming he walks. Some other retentions I don't see happening -- McLeod, Lewis, etc. Might free up some cap space there. And the big issue with having so little remaining cap is that I expect Pittman to get an extension this year. 

Okereke's expected contract is a bit of a mystery to me. His projection by Spotrac is really low(2.5M a year), I doubled that, because I feel like he deserves more. I think that low evaluation made me want to keep him. But if he gets like 7M+ I agree we might have to let him go. Lewis was at Steichen's presser, now... that's no guarantee he will stay(Bubba was there too), but it feels like he's still around Indy and we might have some interest in keeping him if he's here in the off-season when he's FA. You might be right about McLeod... 

 

2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I agree with your cuts and trades, they seem necessary IMO, and maybe more... I actually think a fundamental reset might be needed, which would make guys like Grove and maybe some other good players available.

I really don't think Ballard would want to move Grover. I think he would move Pittman before he wants to touch Grover and Buckner. The one I was thinking about - Gilmore. Now, I want him back!! But what happens if he goes to Ballard's office and tells him - "please trade me, I want to be on a contender". I don't think Ballard would stop him. Wonder what a reasonable price would be for him? Can we get a 3d out of him? 

2 hours ago, Superman said:

And I don't think a veteran WR makes sense right now, unless it's a pro who's ready to play WR4 and get 2 targets/week and be okay with it, and I think we have plenty of guys for that role -- that's basically Mike Strahan. I think it makes sense to engineer as much cap space as possible in 2024, without absolutely gutting the roster.

Yeah... vet WR doesn't make sense. Especially when you look at the pool of available players. Meyers might be the best one out there... and I am not spending 15M+ on a receiver like that. BTW same is true for vet TEs. Best available is Schultz from Dallas. Again, I don't want to spend big money on that... 

[Defjamz26]

Okereke has also been re-posting a lot of this stuff on his social media as well, so it seems to me like they might not bring him back. His number is too high to bring back. If we brought him back we’d have almost $40 mil invested in our LB room.

[DougDew]

Very nice.  I like the effort put into this.  

 

Do you think Stroud and Young will be off the board by pick 4?  I think Stroud will, but have my doubts about Young.

 

I'd not take the TE but take a Corner in round 3, like Jaylon Jones.  We need a long term outside Corner.  I think Gilmore and Facyson aren't short timers.  Woods can still be the all around TE with Granson the Move TE.  Ballard said nice things about Ogletree too.  A backup/blocking TE can be found in the later rounds instead of at pick 79, IMO.

 

Not sure about spending the money on Key and then devoting our very next pick to another EDGE.  I like McDonald, but I think I'd forego spending the money on Key to get better at OL.  If we need a vet at LEO, I'd probably bring back Yannick on a one year deal.

 

I'd find a way to draft FB Heupel from North Dakota State, probably 7th round.  We need a lead blocker and a swiss army knife of player on O rather than our current group of specialists. 

 

 

 

 

 

[stitches]

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

Very nice.  I like the effort put into this.  

 

Do you think Stroud and Young will be off the board by pick 4?  I think Stroud will, but have my doubts about Young.

From the stuff I'm reading it seems like HOU wants Young. They have a lot of Alabama connections in their FO and coaching staff and they supposedly love Young. And then of course, the question is does anybody trade ahead of us for Stroud? No idea... 

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

I'd not take the TE but take a Corner in round 3, like Jaylon Jones.  We need a long term outside Corner.  I think Gilmore and Facyson aren't short timers.  Woods can still be the all around TE with Granson the Move TE.  Ballard said nice things about Ogletree too.  A backup/blocking TE can be found in the later rounds instead of at pick 79, IMO.

Yeah... the TE might be a bit adventurous. Ballard mentioned Ogletree in his pressers and interviews last week and with this it seems like they have at least 3 TEs they are relying on to be good next year. I'm not sure it's wise... it's possible Ballard is making the same mistake he seems to make every year - just assuming someone will be good without much evidence to support it. I really want a TE from this class. It looks like a really good TE class... it would be a shame if we didn't get one IMO.

 

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

Not sure about spending the money on Key and then devoting our very next pick to another EDGE.  I like McDonald, but I think I'd forego spending the money on Key to get better at OL.  If we need a vet at LEO, I'd probably bring back Yannick on a one year deal.

I've addressed this above. I don't think Yannick is worth what he will be paid. IMO he's one of the most overrated players in the league. 

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

I'd find a way to draft FB Heupel from North Dakota State, probably 7th round.  We need a lead blocker and a swiss army knife of player on O rather than our current group of specialists. 

 

Hm... not sure about FB. Do we think we need one? Has Steichen used one before? Have to check this one additionally. 

[NewColtsFan]

6 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

Okereke has also been re-posting a lot of this stuff on his social media as well, so it seems to me like they might not bring him back. His number is too high to bring back. If we brought him back we’d have almost $40 mil invested in our LB room.

Wowza!    There are no projections even close to low teens for Okereke.   If he gets offered even close to that I think we will say good bye and hope to hold on to Speed.   
 

I think I’ve seen one projection for up to 3/25, but Spotrac spit out a crazy number….   They projected basically 2/5.   Yup, $2.5 per.   Complete nonsense.   I’m in the 3/25 camp.   But multiple years at $12-14m per?   That’s Crazy! 

[NewColtsFan]

On 2/28/2023 at 12:55 PM, stitches said:

Yep, agreed on the center. That's the weakest spot I think. But I felt like RG and OT were more important at this stage and at least we've seen Pinter actually have some good games at OC. 

 

I feel like YN will get more ... and I actually think Key is better in the run game while giving you similar pass-rush production. In general... I'm not the biggest fan of YN. I think he's massively overrated. He doesn't impact games at the level his sacks number would suggest. Unfortunately Gus doesn't seem to agree with that... 

 

Okereke's expected contract is a bit of a mystery to me. His projection by Spotrac is really low(2.5M a year), I doubled that, because I feel like he deserves more. I think that low evaluation made me want to keep him. But if he gets like 7M+ I agree we might have to let him go. Lewis was at Steichen's presser, now... that's no guarantee he will stay(Bubba was there too), but it feels like he's still around Indy and we might have some interest in keeping him if he's here in the off-season when he's FA. You might be right about McLeod... 

 

I really don't think Ballard would want to move Grover. I think he would move Pittman before he wants to touch Grover and Buckner. The one I was thinking about - Gilmore. Now, I want him back!! But what happens if he goes to Ballard's office and tells him - "please trade me, I want to be on a contender". I don't think Ballard would stop him. Wonder what a reasonable price would be for him? Can we get a 3d out of him? 

Yeah... vet WR doesn't make sense. Especially when you look at the pool of available players. Meyers might be the best one out there... and I am not spending 15M+ on a receiver like that. BTW same is true for vet TEs. Best available is Schultz from Dallas. Again, I don't want to spend big money on that... 

 

Saw a stat about Mcloud that he was one of the highest graded safeties in the entire NFL in his 15 starts.    I have no idea why everyone is in such a hurry to be rid of him?    He can play either DB spot for very little money.   I think we’d get him for $2.5. That’s penny’s compared to what others will want in FA.   I’d be happy to bring him back.   Maybe it’s just me?   
 

 

[stitches]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Saw a stat about Mcloud that he was one of the highest graded safeties in the entire NFL in his 15 starts.    I have no idea why everyone is in such a hurry to be rid of him?    He can play either DB spot for very little money.   I think we’d get him for $2.5. That’s penny’s compared to what others will want in FA.   I’d be happy to bring him back.   Maybe it’s just me?   
 

 

I like McLeod. I would bring him back(I did in the mock). I think he's solid vet and he can man up the position in case none of our young safeties takes a jump forward. 

[stitches]

6 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

Okereke has also been re-posting a lot of this stuff on his social media as well, so it seems to me like they might not bring him back. His number is too high to bring back. If we brought him back we’d have almost $40 mil invested in our LB room.

This would be the biggest miss in my mock. We might actually get a 3d round comp pick if he gets as much money on the open market. 

[ColtJax]

No team is giving us a pick for Kelly, let alone a 4th rounder. Same with Moore, after last year he's a late rounder at best, at BEST.

EJ Speed is going to deman a lot more than 2 million, IMO. Maybe a 3 year 15 million, maybe more. I've read some good write ups about him, and that the talk is teams really like him.

[Superman]

8 hours ago, stitches said:

This would be the biggest miss in my mock. We might actually get a 3d round comp pick if he gets as much money on the open market. 

 

Yeah I hope he gets a huge contract. Good for him, good for the Colts. Same for Yannick...

[DougDew]

11 hours ago, stitches said:

Hm... not sure about FB. Do we think we need one? Has Steichen used one before? Have to check this one additionally. 

I don't think Steichen has used one.

 

If we keep JT, I think he would benefit from running out of the I formation once in a while.  Defenses don't see it much.  There are different ways to use a FB, if he has hands.

 

Another slot WR candidate I'm looking at is Parker Washington from PennSU.  Only 5'9 but about 210 pounds, built like a RB.  Not straight line fast at 4.49, but great hands and lots of wiggle and vision for the open field.

[Moosejawcolt]

On 2/28/2023 at 12:27 PM, Superman said:

Good mock. I think you're still light at OL, especially at center. But that's real life, can't solve all your problems in one offseason, but I think prioritizing the OL should be the #2 priority this year, behind QB. And I think a vet QB is probably needed; Mariota just got released, I think he makes sense, but I wonder if he's interested in being a short term bridge again, he seemed to pull away from the Falcons once they moved to Ridder. 

 

What's the difference between Yannick and Arden Key? Why let YN walk to sign Key to the type of contract YN probably wants? Or do you think YN will want more?

 

Already said, but I think Okereke gets a big deal this year. I'm assuming he walks. Some other retentions I don't see happening -- McLeod, Lewis, etc. Might free up some cap space there. And the big issue with having so little remaining cap is that I expect Pittman to get an extension this year. 

 

I agree with your cuts and trades, they seem necessary IMO, and maybe more... I actually think a fundamental reset might be needed, which would make guys like Grove and maybe some other good players available. And I don't think a veteran WR makes sense right now, unless it's a pro who's ready to play WR4 and get 2 targets/week and be okay with it, and I think we have plenty of guys for that role -- that's basically Mike Strahan. I think it makes sense to engineer as much cap space as possible in 2024, without absolutely gutting the roster.

Would u sign Theilan and let Pittman walk?

[Moosejawcolt]

On 3/7/2023 at 1:13 PM, DougDew said:

I don't think Steichen has used one.

 

If we keep JT, I think he would benefit from running out of the I formation once in a while.  Defenses don't see it much.  There are different ways to use a FB, if he has hands.

 

Another slot WR candidate I'm looking at is Parker Washington from PennSU.  Only 5'9 but about 210 pounds, built like a RB.  Not straight line fast at 4.49, but great hands and lots of wiggle and vision for the open field.

What's  going to happen to this board when Ballard trades back   and pick the best player available? They they  draft Hooker with their 2nd  pick.

[Superman]

1 hour ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Would u sign Theilan and let Pittman walk?

 

No. No matter what I'm out on Thielen. 

 

Pittman is a different conversation. If someone makes a great offer I'd consider trading him, but I'm not in a hurry to get rid of him.