The pick I want, don’t want, & probably who it will be 2024 NFL DRAFT

[throwing BBZ]

4 hours ago, KB said:

Latu is really about the only pass rusher in the first round that could be what we are looking for. If it is him he is coming in to replace Paye on obvious passing downs.

 

I would rather spend the money for experience in the secondary vs Hunter. If we didn't have Ebukam I'd take him. With how much he is going to cost, and his age, I don't think he fits our lineup well. Huff on the other hand can just push Paye out of the way if he preforms well.

 

 You are talking about gambling on a one year wonder playing for Robert Saleh. 

  "Pro Football Focus graded Huff as a top-25 overall edge player but viewed him as one of the worst run stoppers among edge rushers, potentially creating a quandary for interested teams come March".

 A career high 480 highly productive snaps used in pass rush situations. Ngauake type player? The idea he would be more valuable at strong side DE is a bad argument. As a pass rush specialist what is he worth to Ballard?

 Or anyone? Will someone give him $25M fully guaranteed over the 1st 2 years? Our guys will grade his play.

[KB]

14 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 You are talking about gambling on a one year wonder playing for Robert Saleh. 

  "Pro Football Focus graded Huff as a top-25 overall edge player but viewed him as one of the worst run stoppers among edge rushers, potentially creating a quandary for interested teams come March".

 A career high 480 highly productive snaps used in pass rush situations. Ngauake type player? The idea he would be more valuable at strong side DE is a bad argument. As a pass rush specialist what is he worth to Ballard?

 Or anyone? Will someone give him $25M fully guaranteed over the 1st 2 years? Our guys will grade his play.

Ebukam would switch to the strong side. Huff would just play the LEO role. Ebukam does well against the run as well as pass. Just not great. Anyone we bring in is gonna be a gamble. Unless we find a unicorn DE, we're gonna take a dip on run defense. Paye is good in that department, but we want pressures. So were sacrifice the run defense a bit to bolster the pass rush pressures.

Ebukam said he came here for the money at 3 year $24 mil, $9 mil garunteed. Both were backup pass rushers. If we can swing that contract for one year at least, then it's an open competition for starting reps. Winner gets a payday that matches production.

This is all fun to speculate, but most likely the only FA DE Ballard is looking at is Lewis. Anyone new coming in is probably going to be from the draft.

[Solid84]

11 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 You are talking about gambling on a one year wonder playing for Robert Saleh. 

  "Pro Football Focus graded Huff as a top-25 overall edge player but viewed him as one of the worst run stoppers among edge rushers, potentially creating a quandary for interested teams come March".

 A career high 480 highly productive snaps used in pass rush situations. Ngauake type player? The idea he would be more valuable at strong side DE is a bad argument. As a pass rush specialist what is he worth to Ballard?

 Or anyone? Will someone give him $25M fully guaranteed over the 1st 2 years? Our guys will grade his play.

I don't think anyone's giving him $25m. I think he'll be in the $16-18m range.

 

Huff is a weakside DE and would play LEO here. Ebukam would be moved to RDE if we brought him in.

[throwing BBZ]

On 2/14/2024 at 3:49 PM, Superman said:

 

 

I think I go Edge, CB, LB, FS. Edge is pretty much scheme agnostic, assuming we're not ever going back to a 3-4. I don't trust Bradley to do anything meaningful with good corners, but at least playmakers can force turnovers, like Gilmore did. And LB is needed because we don't have anyone who can cover right now, but to me, zoning up the middle is more effective than playing zone outside. And for this defense, I might put FS right behind Edge.

 

To me, Edge is the second most valuable position in the draft. I have practically zero feel for this draft class, but I think that's probably the position where we can get the most bang for our buck at #15, even though I doubt anyone would change our defense in Year 1.

 

 I would like to read a paper on how effective the edge pass rushers were from the final 8 teams. 

 If we were strong in coverage with our back seven our pressures would have been higher. Raise are blitz % 8-10% and we wouldn't be talking about pressures.

 With Ballard/Dodds/Gus, there is NO reason we should expect them to build a SB caliber D. 

 They instantly gave the CB Jones kid a new one year deal. They believe in him. Hahaha! How many Ballard duds have they kept around to "develop" for naught?  

 I'm a diehard Colts fan. Irsay pledged he wasn't in this to go 8-8. A lesser coach than Steichen and we would have one 4-5 games. 

[throwing BBZ]

8 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

I don't think anyone's giving him $25m. I think he'll be in the $16-18m range.

 

Huff is a weakside DE and would play LEO here. Ebukam would be moved to RDE if we brought him in.

 

 I don't believe we wanted Ngaukee back at all because of his run D. 

So Huff?

 And Ebukam is tough but Paye out weighs him by 15-20. You are begging to see us get killed against the run. Shades of Freeney- Mathis, and that only worked because we played from ahead so much. lol

[Solid84]

17 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 I don't believe we wanted Ngaukee back at all because of his run D. 

So Huff?

 And Ebukam is tough but Paye out weighs him by 15-20. You are begging to see us get killed against the run. Shades of Freeney- Mathis, and that only worked because we played from ahead so much. lol

I get the concern Huff, but I don't think there'll be step-down from Paye to Ebukam - at least not much.

 

My main problem with Ngakoue was he didn't really get a lot of pressure and the sacks he got weren't felt - coverage sacks. I can't say Huff for sure won't be another Ngakoue, but I value pass rush ability a lot higher than run defense ability from my LEO player.

[Superman]

8 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 I would like to read a paper on how effective the edge pass rushers were from the final 8 teams. 

 If we were strong in coverage with our back seven our pressures would have been higher. Raise are blitz % 8-10% and we wouldn't be talking about pressures.

 With Ballard/Dodds/Gus, there is NO reason we should expect them to build a SB caliber D.  

 

I had a back and forth with someone else a few weeks ago, and they brought up the difference between winning on the initial pass rush move vs winning on a counter or later in the play. I don't know where to find any kind of analysis on that, but it would be interesting to see. 

 

And I think there's a strong connection between good coverage and good pass rush, yet I think you need both. Your pass rush can't get home in less than two seconds on every down, but your pass coverage can't hold up for 4-5 seconds on every down.

 

Quote

 

They instantly gave the CB Jones kid a new one year deal. They believe in him. Hahaha! How many Ballard duds have they kept around to "develop" for naught?  

 

 I'm a diehard Colts fan. Irsay pledged he wasn't in this to go 8-8. A lesser coach than Steichen and we would have one 4-5 games. 

 

 

Sometimes I don't know what you're talking about. What Jones kid got a new contract? And was it a futures contract or an ERFA? I don't think they've done anything meaningful with anyone on the roster so far. 

 

I believe Irsay. And I think that's why Reich got the hook. But Ballard won't stick around much longer if the Colts aren't making serious noise in the next two seasons. I try not to set my expectations on the basis of my own wishes, but I think Bradley is under serious evaluation in 2024 also. 

[MikeCurtis]

On 2/14/2024 at 2:49 PM, stitches said:

I am not sure we have that guy. I'm not sure many teams have that guy to be honest. Hooker was supposed to be that and he was showing signs of being able to do it.. but then injuries hit him. I think Blackmon is OK as one of our 2 safeties for the time being... if he can stay healthy. I'm not 100% certain we have the other guy. Cross had some nice moments, but again... not sure he has the consistency to be full time starter... Rodney Thomas IMO got a bit overrated after solid rookie year. IMO he's more of a rotational piece than a starter. 

I would say that our needed FS is NOT on the roster, and has to be addressed with an early pick or FA

 

(There are some good ones in the draft that are better than our current roster

 

IMHO

 

Need One - Dynamic DE

We are near the bottom on a very important stat. Pressures. 

This has to change.  

My hope is that we take ONE "splash" step in FA...... DE

I dont see a cant miss DE, that can contribute at a high level this year.

MAYBE Latu, but otherwise..... I hope we dont chance it, for this year 

 

Need Two - Playmaking FS

Unless we address the back end, we will get strangled out by Houston and Jacksonville. 

If we truly fill Need One, the FS will be getting opportunities for interceptions

Need one and Need two will feed off of each other, as the number of coverage sacks will increase 

This guy MIGHT be Cooper Dejean, who played CB this past year who seems like a Ballard kind of guy. 

He has amazing talent .

 

Need Three - Field Stretching WR

We saw 8 man box on many if not most plays last year. A dynamic field stretching WR, limits that, and opens up our strength with our OL.....  running the ball 

 

Need Four - 3 Down LB 

We need a LB that can tackle and cover (We are one short today)

 

Need Five - A Defensive Appropriate CB

I estimate that we run a zone 90-95%, which makes a different player spec vs a press heavy focus

A stud CB would be somewhat wasted in this defense, as it is today

We actually have some scheme fit CBs on the roster with some promise

Today on our current roster

Ameer Speed is 6' 3" CB that ran a 4.33 40

Darrel Baker is a 6'1" CB That showed some promise

Dallis Flowers is  6' 1" CB That showed some promise

Jaylon Jones is 6' 2"" CB that showed some promise

I think one of these young guys will step up for this year.

I do think that they have to take a look at Cooper Dejean, who has the speed, size, and ball hawk ability to 

be a FS 

 

 

[Defjamz26]

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

Ameer Speed is 6' 3" CB that ran a 4.33 40

Darrel Baker is a 6'1" CB That showed some promise

Dallis Flowers is  6' 1" CB That showed some promise

Jaylon Jones is 6' 2"" CB that showed some promise

I think one of these young guys will step up for this year.

I do think that they have to take a look at Cooper Dejean, who has the speed, size, and ball hawk ability to 

be a FS 

Issue with all those players is they are late round or undrafted guy. You don’t want to or need to roll with them. Part of this team issues is we’ve overly relied on late round and UDFA players to play significant rolls and start. Not many of those guys have worked out or proving much tbh. I know Flowers has a huge fanbase but he really hasn’t proven anything as a starting outside corner. We saw what relying on Rodney Thomas got us. “Regression”, which isn’t surprising for a 7th round player from Yale. I loved the way Jaylon Jones played this year, but as Zach Hicks said, you don’t have to rely on Jaylon Jones. He can be a good backup and you can go get a Terrion Arnold or Quinton Mitchell.

 

Unless a guy just absolutely balls out, we need to stop being comfortable with low ceiling young players playing significant rolls. Not everyone is going to be the next EJ Speed or Grover Stewart.

[stitches]

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

I would say that our needed FS is NOT on the roster, and has to be addressed with an early pick or FA

 

(There are some good ones in the draft that are better than our current roster

 

IMHO

 

Need One - Dynamic DE

We are near the bottom on a very important stat. Pressures. 

This has to change.  

My hope is that we take ONE "splash" step in FA...... DE

I dont see a cant miss DE, that can contribute at a high level this year.

MAYBE Latu, but otherwise..... I hope we dont chance it, for this year 

 

Need Two - Playmaking FS

Unless we address the back end, we will get strangled out by Houston and Jacksonville. 

If we truly fill Need One, the FS will be getting opportunities for interceptions

Need one and Need two will feed off of each other, as the number of coverage sacks will increase 

This guy MIGHT be Cooper Dejean, who played CB this past year who seems like a Ballard kind of guy. 

He has amazing talent .

 

Need Three - Field Stretching WR

We saw 8 man box on many if not most plays last year. A dynamic field stretching WR, limits that, and opens up our strength with our OL.....  running the ball 

 

Need Four - 3 Down LB 

We need a LB that can tackle and cover (We are one short today)

 

Need Five - A Defensive Appropriate CB

I estimate that we run a zone 90-95%, which makes a different player spec vs a press heavy focus

A stud CB would be somewhat wasted in this defense, as it is today

We actually have some scheme fit CBs on the roster with some promise

Today on our current roster

Ameer Speed is 6' 3" CB that ran a 4.33 40

Darrel Baker is a 6'1" CB That showed some promise

Dallis Flowers is  6' 1" CB That showed some promise

Jaylon Jones is 6' 2"" CB that showed some promise

I think one of these young guys will step up for this year.

I do think that they have to take a look at Cooper Dejean, who has the speed, size, and ball hawk ability to 

be a FS 

 

 

 

I personally would put CB and WR higher... I would also put TE somewhere on the list... pretty high actually. We have no dynamic TE to speak of. When you typed it down... and if we add TE to the list... we kind of have a ton of needs for a team with winning record.  

 

I will be posting my mock off-season sometime before the combine. But we have the resources. Ballard can make some moves if he wants to. 

[Rolltide_gocolts]

Missing out on a big talent because of Gus scheme is all the reason we should’ve let him go!!!… we started the season with Dj baker for peeps sake !!!… if Nate Wiggins, Terrion, kool aid.. are available we take them… now that only makes our defense more versatile cause now we have guys that play man… guys like Jake browning and t Taylor Heineke won’t go for 400 yds and 3 tds 

[KB]

55 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

Issue with all those players is they are late round or undrafted guy. You don’t want to or need to roll with them. Part of this team issues is we’ve overly relied on late round and UDFA players to play significant rolls and start. Not many of those guys have worked out or proving much tbh. I know Flowers has a huge fanbase but he really hasn’t proven anything as a starting outside corner. We saw what relying on Rodney Thomas got us. “Regression”, which isn’t surprising for a 7th round player from Yale. I loved the way Jaylon Jones played this year, but as Zach Hicks said, you don’t have to rely on Jaylon Jones. He can be a good backup and you can go get a Terrion Arnold or Quinton Mitchell.

 

Unless a guy just absolutely balls out, we need to stop being comfortable with low ceiling young players playing significant rolls. Not everyone is going to be the next EJ Speed or Grover Stewart.

Dallis Flowers and Jaylon Jones would be amazing backups, and theres noyhing wrong with that. Its actually a good thing. Flowers is going to need to take it easy on that ACL this year anyways. Let them grow slowly. 

[Solid84]

I think defense has the most needs, but @Superman had a good point when he said (in another thread) that we need the offense around AR to be as good as possible to remove any doubt when evaluating him. 
 

Both our WR and TE rooms need to be more explosive and we properly need a solid veteran backup behind Braden Smith. 

[MikeCurtis]

44 minutes ago, Rolltide_gocolts said:

Missing out on a big talent because of Gus scheme is all the reason we should’ve let him go!!!… we started the season with Dj baker for peeps sake !!!… if Nate Wiggins, Terrion, kool aid.. are available we take them… now that only makes our defense more versatile cause now we have guys that play man… guys like Jake browning and t Taylor Heineke won’t go for 400 yds and 3 tds 

I don’t disagree but Gus is still here.  

[stitches]

16 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

I think defense has the most needs, but @Superman had a good point when he said (in another thread) that we need the offense around AR to be as good as possible to remove any doubt when evaluating him. 
 

Both our WR and TE rooms need to be more explosive and we properly need a solid veteran backup behind Braden Smith. 

I agree with @Superman and that's one of the reasons I would put both TE and WR pretty high on the list of things to address this off-season. We need to know what we have in AR and we don't need to still wonder where we stand with him because we didn't have great weapons. Give him everything he needs to succeed and let him fly or fall without excuses or second-guessing if we did enough or not... 

[John Hammonds]

10 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

I would say that our needed FS is NOT on the roster, and has to be addressed with an early pick or FA

 

(There are some good ones in the draft that are better than our current roster

 

IMHO

 

Need One - Dynamic DE

We are near the bottom on a very important stat. Pressures. 

This has to change.  

My hope is that we take ONE "splash" step in FA...... DE

I dont see a cant miss DE, that can contribute at a high level this year.

MAYBE Latu, but otherwise..... I hope we dont chance it, for this year 

 

Need Two - Playmaking FS

Unless we address the back end, we will get strangled out by Houston and Jacksonville. 

If we truly fill Need One, the FS will be getting opportunities for interceptions

Need one and Need two will feed off of each other, as the number of coverage sacks will increase 

This guy MIGHT be Cooper Dejean, who played CB this past year who seems like a Ballard kind of guy. 

He has amazing talent .

 

Need Three - Field Stretching WR

We saw 8 man box on many if not most plays last year. A dynamic field stretching WR, limits that, and opens up our strength with our OL.....  running the ball 

 

Need Four - 3 Down LB 

We need a LB that can tackle and cover (We are one short today)

 

Need Five - A Defensive Appropriate CB

I estimate that we run a zone 90-95%, which makes a different player spec vs a press heavy focus

A stud CB would be somewhat wasted in this defense, as it is today

We actually have some scheme fit CBs on the roster with some promise

Today on our current roster

Ameer Speed is 6' 3" CB that ran a 4.33 40

Darrel Baker is a 6'1" CB That showed some promise

Dallis Flowers is  6' 1" CB That showed some promise

Jaylon Jones is 6' 2"" CB that showed some promise

I think one of these young guys will step up for this year.

I do think that they have to take a look at Cooper Dejean, who has the speed, size, and ball hawk ability to 

be a FS 

 

 

I agree with all of these needs, although I might rank them in a different order.  Personally, I would put a dynamic offensive playmaker ahead of the DE.  But truth be told, we need both.

 

So, here's a question.  It's pick #15.  You have TE Brock Bowers, DE Laiatu Latu, and DB Cooper DeJean all in front of you.  All three.  What would you do?  Which would you take?  Which one is the best choice?  Yes, yes, I know.  You could trade down 3 picks, and hope one of them remained.  What I'm asking is:  which is worth the pick?  Both from a positional need and from an innate talent perspective?  What would you do?

[MikeCurtis]

4 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

I agree with all of these needs, although I might rank them in a different order.  Personally, I would put a dynamic offensive playmaker ahead of the DE.  But truth be told, we need both.

 

So, here's a question.  It's pick #15.  You have TE Brock Bowers, DE Laiatu Latu, and DB Cooper DeJean all in front of you.  All three.  What would you do?  Which would you take?  Which one is the best choice?  Yes, yes, I know.  You could trade down 3 picks, and hope one of them remained.  What I'm asking is:  which is worth the pick?  Both from a positional need and from an innate talent perspective?  What would you do?

If we don’t grab a DE in FA, and no one offers a decent trade back I would probably take Latu

 

He would have to pass physical for his neck

[MikeCurtis]

7 hours ago, stitches said:

I agree with @Superman and that's one of the reasons I would put both TE and WR pretty high on the list of things to address this off-season. We need to know what we have in AR and we don't need to still wonder where we stand with him because we didn't have great weapons. Give him everything he needs to succeed and let him fly or fall without excuses or second-guessing if we did enough or not... 

There is a promising TE from Texas.   Sanders

 

Worth a watch of highlights

[John Hammonds]

8 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

If we don’t grab a DE in FA, and no one offers a decent trade back I would probably take Latu

 

He would have to pass physical for his neck

I agree, that whichever one we pick, we also need to address one of the other two in FA. 

[throwing BBZ]

21 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I had a back and forth with someone else a few weeks ago, and they brought up the difference between winning on the initial pass rush move vs winning on a counter or later in the play. I don't know where to find any kind of analysis on that, but it would be interesting to see. 

 

And I think there's a strong connection between good coverage and good pass rush, yet I think you need both. Your pass rush can't get home in less than two seconds on every down, but your pass coverage can't hold up for 4-5 seconds on every down.

 

 

Sometimes I don't know what you're talking about. What Jones kid got a new contract? And was it a futures contract or an ERFA? I don't think they've done anything meaningful with anyone on the roster so far. 

 

I believe Irsay. And I think that's why Reich got the hook. But Ballard won't stick around much longer if the Colts aren't making serious noise in the next two seasons. I try not to set my expectations on the basis of my own wishes, but I think Bradley is under serious evaluation in 2024 also. 

 

  Oops, it was not Jones, who will never be a high quality CB, but a Ballard JAG.

It was Contract Notes:

Darrell Baker signed a 1 year extension, as ERFA, with the Indianapolis Colts on January 8, 2024. 

 JMO of course the guy can't cover. No business on a 90 man roster. Good enough for Ballard to waste coaching and $ on.

 

[rockywoj]

Regarding the idea of drafting a shutdown corner, but the argument that is a waste because we don’t play enough man … maybe we don’t play more man because we don’t have a true shutdown corner and perhaps if we drafted a true shutdown corner, we’d play more man.  I don’t know, but just a thought, best secondaries have the best DBs, no?

[NewColtsFan]

2 hours ago, rockywoj said:

Regarding the idea of drafting a shutdown corner, but the argument that is a waste because we don’t play enough man … maybe we don’t play more man because we don’t have a true shutdown corner and perhaps if we drafted a true shutdown corner, we’d play more man.  I don’t know, but just a thought, best secondaries have the best DBs, no?

It’s possible we already drafted a true shutdown corner last year.   But Julius Brent’s was hurt for half the season.  But in the time he did play, he played pretty well. 

[Defjamz26]

6 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s possible we already drafted a true shutdown corner last year.   But Julius Brent’s was hurt for half the season.  But in the time he did play, he played pretty well. 

I thought Brent’s was the best man corner we had last season. Against the Raiders when he was on Adams in man, he made a few plays. He still has work to do in zone which is why he had a hard time with Evans against Tampa Bay.

[throwing BBZ]

8 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s possible we already drafted a true shutdown corner last year.   But Julius Brent’s was hurt for half the season.  But in the time he did play, he played pretty well. 

 

 This would be the same Brents that got destroyed in our last game against Houston. He finally took himself out of the game "as injured". He didn't look physically injured. He will require a whole Lotta LB  & safety help, as a "shutdown".

[Superman]

12 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

  Oops, it was not Jones, who will never be a high quality CB, but a Ballard JAG.

It was Contract Notes:

Darrell Baker signed a 1 year extension, as ERFA, with the Indianapolis Colts on January 8, 2024. 

 JMO of course the guy can't cover. No business on a 90 man roster. Good enough for Ballard to waste coaching and $ on.

 

 

So they tendered Baker as an ERFA, which is kind of automatic for players with less than three years service. If it were up to me, Baker would not have a great shot at making the roster, but there's no point in getting rid of him now. Either way, a low level retention like this doesn't seem like a strong indication of what will happen moving forward. I guess we'll see.

 

But they also drafted Jaylon Jones, who started ten games by accident, and had some decent moments. It seems interesting to make a big deal out of a low level retention like Baker, but give no credit for a 7th round pick who probably wasn't expected to play a major role but held his own most of the season.

[chad72]

14 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

I agree with all of these needs, although I might rank them in a different order.  Personally, I would put a dynamic offensive playmaker ahead of the DE.  But truth be told, we need both.

 

So, here's a question.  It's pick #15.  You have TE Brock Bowers, DE Laiatu Latu, and DB Cooper DeJean all in front of you.  All three.  What would you do?  Which would you take?  Which one is the best choice?  Yes, yes, I know.  You could trade down 3 picks, and hope one of them remained.  What I'm asking is:  which is worth the pick?  Both from a positional need and from an innate talent perspective?  What would you do?

 

Brock Bowers hands down. It fortifies the middle / underneath of the field significantly and is as good as getting a Top 5 WR, IMO, at pick No.15, with the #1 TE. No question in my mind. 

 

Plus, TEs and RBs will be AR's best friends. He was threading it down the seams to Ogletree only for both Ogletree and AR unavailable later to continue the connection. As The Chiefs showed, when they used 1-3 personnel in the playoffs, teams can't just put their light guys on the field and rush the passer blindly, so less nickel and dime to deal with, and for AR to find openings in zones while passing with the dual threat he can be.

 

[Superman]

10 hours ago, rockywoj said:

Regarding the idea of drafting a shutdown corner, but the argument that is a waste because we don’t play enough man … maybe we don’t play more man because we don’t have a true shutdown corner and perhaps if we drafted a true shutdown corner, we’d play more man.  I don’t know, but just a thought, best secondaries have the best DBs, no?

 

Your point tracks logically, and makes sense. But expecting Gus Bradley to employ man coverage to a significant degree seems like misplaced hope. 

[jblastick]

Go out and get Khalil Mack.  Word is chargers are looking to move him.  He would immediately be the best pass rusher on the team.  Fill secondary with some veteran free agents.  Draft Thomas from LSU, a CB and safety Calen Bullock from USC with the 1st 3 picks. I'd also look to see what we could get for Kwity.  I'd move him for a 2, maybe even a 3.  Too inconsistent.  Extend Buckner and cut MAC to create more cap space.  

[Solid84]

Just now, jblastick said:

Go out and get Khalil Mack.  Word is chargers are looking to move him.  He would immediately be the best pass rusher on the team.  Fill secondary with some veteran free agents.  Draft Thomas from LSU, a CB and safety Calen Bullock from USC with the 1st 3 picks. I'd also look to see what we could get for Kwity.  I'd move him for a 2, maybe even a 3.  Too inconsistent.  Extend Buckner and cut MAC to create more cap space.  

Mack is nearly 33. Adding him in FA is a win now move and we’re not there yet. 

[jblastick]

Just now, Solid84 said:

Mack is nearly 33. Adding him in FA is a win now move and we’re not there yet. 

Dude had 17 sacks last year.  The window is open now.  Look at what Cincinnati did in year 2 with Burrow (who got hurt and missed a bunch of time his rookie year).  They're not as far off as you might think, especially if you fill the holes.  

[Solid84]

17 minutes ago, jblastick said:

Dude had 17 sacks last year.  The window is open now.  Look at what Cincinnati did in year 2 with Burrow (who got hurt and missed a bunch of time his rookie year).  They're not as far off as you might think, especially if you fill the holes.  

So you think this team is ready to make a run at the Super Bowl? Yeah, I definitely don't agree with that.

[jblastick]

2 hours ago, Solid84 said:

So you think this team is ready to make a run at the Super Bowl? Yeah, I definitely don't agree with that.

So what will it take and how long?  Buckner is on the last year of his deal.  What do you do with him next year?  If they add missing pieces in key areas, the division title is a very realistic goal.  Once you get in and get a home game, a lot can happen.  Look at the Lions.  They missed the playoffs by one game just like we did and they were some bad coaching decisions away from being in the Super Bowl.  It doesn't take 5 years to build a team anymore.  Take advantage of AR's rookie deal and go for it.  Now please know I'm not saying they WILL be that successful, but the mindset should not be to keep looking years down the road.  Bring in some difference makers to get a different outcome 😊

[Solid84]

18 minutes ago, jblastick said:

So what will it take and how long?  Buckner is on the last year of his deal.  What do you do with him next year?  If they add missing pieces in key areas, the division title is a very realistic goal.  Once you get in and get a home game, a lot can happen.  Look at the Lions.  They missed the playoffs by one game just like we did and they were some bad coaching decisions away from being in the Super Bowl.  It doesn't take 5 years to build a team anymore.  Take advantage of AR's rookie deal and go for it.  Now please know I'm not saying they WILL be that successful, but the mindset should not be to keep looking years down the road.  Bring in some difference makers to get a different outcome 😊

Well, I don't think our defense is anywhere near what the top 5-6 teams brought to the playoffs this season for instance. And that's talking secondary, through linebackers to the Dline. Then add our defensive scheme is so basic even average QBs make us look like schumcks.

 

So, an elite pass rusher, an elite CB or maybe safety and solid linebackers. Then add I don't think we have the guy at DC.

 

ASSUMING AR pans out I think out offense is closer. We do need to get more explosive though - I like an actual playmaking receiver.

 

Still, considering Ballard hasn't spent big money in FA and he likely still won't we have to hit in the draft... and we need a lot of hits. I think absolutely best case is 2025 season and that's if we boot Bradley (or he dials it up) AND we hit with everything.

 

Quote

It doesn't take 5 years to build a team anymore.

We're going into Ballard's 8th year and he still hasn't. And that's excluding the QB controversy. This team is way behind the contenders. It may not take 5 years to build a team, but the GM has to hit in the draft at some key positions as a minimum and Ballard hasn't.

[John Hammonds]

3 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

Brock Bowers hands down. It fortifies the middle / underneath of the field significantly and is as good as getting a Top 5 WR, IMO, at pick No.15, with the #1 TE. No question in my mind. 

 

Plus, TEs and RBs will be AR's best friends. He was threading it down the seams to Ogletree only for both Ogletree and AR unavailable later to continue the connection. As The Chiefs showed, when they used 1-3 personnel in the playoffs, teams can't just put their light guys on the field and rush the passer blindly, so less nickel and dime to deal with, and for AR to find openings in zones while passing with the dual threat he can be.

 

For myself, which position we draft at #15 matters less than if that person is of sufficient level to qualify as a "Rare Air" player.  Even if that position isn't on our Need List.  We've been doing the "let's get a player that is Pretty Good in the second round" thing for far too long.  The way to become a Rare Air team is to have Rare Air players.

[John Hammonds]

2 hours ago, jblastick said:

Dude had 17 sacks last year.  The window is open now.  Look at what Cincinnati did in year 2 with Burrow (who got hurt and missed a bunch of time his rookie year).  They're not as far off as you might think, especially if you fill the holes.  

I would be agreeable to signing Mack to a 2-year deal.  Bring him in on passing downs, with Paye in on short yardage.  Adding him and DL coach Partridge should address our consistent pressure issues.  Which would free us up to address offensive playmaking and defensive secondary.  I'm ok with that.

[NewColtsFan]

18 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 This would be the same Brents that got destroyed in our last game against Houston. He finally took himself out of the game "as injured". He didn't look physically injured. He will require a whole Lotta LB  & safety help, as a "shutdown".

Yes….  The same Brent’s that in that game received a grade in the 80’s from PFF.  It was on the front page of this website.  
 

I try not to focus on any one game.  I try to focus on the season as much as I can.  I try to see the Big Picture.   And for a guy who suffered several annoying injuries, Brents season grade was 68.   That’s pretty good for a rookie. 
 

 

[MikeCurtis]

On 2/18/2024 at 2:20 PM, throwing BBZ said:

 

 You are talking about gambling on a one year wonder playing for Robert Saleh. 

  "Pro Football Focus graded Huff as a top-25 overall edge player but viewed him as one of the worst run stoppers among edge rushers, potentially creating a quandary for interested teams come March".

 A career high 480 highly productive snaps used in pass rush situations. Ngauake type player? The idea he would be more valuable at strong side DE is a bad argument. As a pass rush specialist what is he worth to Ballard?

 Or anyone? Will someone give him $25M fully guaranteed over the 1st 2 years? Our guys will grade his play.

Respectfully, according to Spotrac (I think that was the one) the cost to sign Huff is believed to be around 15M

 

He gets pressure at a rate that puts him in the top five DEs on the plays that he is in. He is a guy that offensive coordinators HAVE to account for on every play (Pass plays)

 

If he was also a great run stopper, we would pay $25M vs $15M

 

Think of it this way, when its 2nd and long or 3rd and long, or if the offense has a penalty on first down, you bring Huff in.  He will make the QB pass quicker..... he is that good

 

We take Grover off the field constantly.....  We are going to pay him 10-12M to keep him.

 

Its the same concept, but fills a desperately needed gap for the Colts. He is also young at 25. He MIGHT get better at run support.

 

Another option is to pay the expected 22-25M for D Hunter.  He is 30 years old (at Season start)

 

He plays the run and pass very well. He is my first choice., but as I think about it, Ballard HATES to give out the enormous FA $$ (Its not in his wheel house, but who knows)

 

This team is in DIRE need of a pass rush that it doesn't have today.

 

If we dont address this year, we can all start to say.... "Wait till next year" Because THIS team is going to have a problem against the top teams in the South Central AND the AFC without it

 

 

 

In my best Jim Mora  Playoffs... Playoffs???????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MikeCurtis]

17 hours ago, Solid84 said:

Well, I don't think our defense is anywhere near what the top 5-6 teams brought to the playoffs this season for instance. And that's talking secondary, through linebackers to the Dline. Then add our defensive scheme is so basic even average QBs make us look like schumcks.

 

That's "Mr *" to you   

 

 

I agree 1000%

 

It HAS to be addressed

[chad72]

15 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

That's "Mr *" to you   

 

 

I agree 1000%

 

It HAS to be addressed

 

The new DL coach and secondary coach, I am curious what they bring to the table.

[richard pallo]

On 2/19/2024 at 1:38 PM, Solid84 said:

I think defense has the most needs, but @Superman had a good point when he said (in another thread) that we need the offense around AR to be as good as possible to remove any doubt when evaluating him. 
 

Both our WR and TE rooms need to be more explosive and we properly need a solid veteran backup behind Braden Smith. 

Couldn’t agree more.  This is why I like Darnell Moody and Noah Fant in FA.  They are both fast and explosive at their respective positions.  Both in their mid 20’s as well.  They will not break the bank and seem to fit Ballard’s MO.  He did bring in Ebron I believe so a TE FA is possible.  Last year it was McKenzie at WR.  So I’m expecting FA upgrades at those two positions.