Colts have the 15th pick in the draft. (MERGE)

[MikeCurtis]

29 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

I'm actually leaning towards Ballard going EDGE in the first round more and more now. Besides Marshawn Kneeland, there doesn't seem to be any top EDGE rushers outside the first round. I could see Ballard going Latu or Verse at 15. Then he grabs a WR and CB in either order in the 2nd and 3rd round.

I am with you, 

 

I would be happy with best DL at 15, but also happy with WR / CB

 

 

[Yoshinator]

30 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

I'm actually leaning towards Ballard going EDGE in the first round more and more now. Besides Marshawn Kneeland, there doesn't seem to be any top EDGE rushers outside the first round. I could see Ballard going Latu or Verse at 15. Then he grabs a WR and CB in either order in the 2nd and 3rd round.

To add to this, I just did my 2nd version of a mock draft where I took EDGE first round. Check it out if you are interested!

[throwing BBZ]

13 hours ago, cjwhiskers said:

I think 1st round picks are severely overrated. If you have very high confidence in a player then go up and get him. Especially if you think the team is good enough to be towards the bottom of the draft order the following year. If all it took was two 1s and a 2 to move up to get him pull that trigger all day everyday. 

 

 The issue seems to be that you don’t understand our many deficiencies on D, and how effective Steichen will use the many weapons he has on offense with another season of experience. We desperately need those picks to improve the TEAM.

[Indyfan4life]

Is it next Thursday yet? 

[Stephen]

1 hour ago, Yoshinator said:

I'm actually leaning towards Ballard going EDGE in the first round more and more now. Besides Marshawn Kneeland, there doesn't seem to be any top EDGE rushers outside the first round. I could see Ballard going Latu or Verse at 15. Then he grabs a WR and CB in either order in the 2nd and 3rd round.

Edge may be a reach in the 1st 

[Yoshinator]

7 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Edge may be a reach in the 1st 

I actually think the 1st round is the only round where EDGE wouldn't be a reach. I see the class as much weaker throughout the draft as it goes on. Kneeland would be a great get in the 2nd if he fell, but that'd be a huge risk if we wanted an EDGE. We'll see where Ballard has his big board ranked. I think Quinyon Mitchell would be the dream pick, but the draft is deep at CB as well. 

 

Just remember, Paye and Dayo are FAs at the end of the season, so we could definitely take a successor to one of them.

[cjwhiskers]

1 hour ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 The issue seems to be that you don’t understand our many deficiencies on D, and how effective Steichen will use the many weapons he has on offense with another season of experience. We desperately need those picks to improve the TEAM.

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. 
 

The issue seems to be that you think the NFL still cares about defense and low scoring games. Offense need playmakers and the defense just needs to hang on. 
 

Getting a stud offensive play maker would easily move this teams needle far more than adding a stud defensive player. 
 

The most important position on this team is quarterback, agree? What do you do to help the most important position out? Surround him with talent at play making positions. 
 

Anyone who doesn’t look at the transformation of Jalen Hurts getting AJ Brown or Josh Allen getting Diggs or Burrow having Chase as a good comparison for AR needs to remember what’s important in todays NFL, scoring points. 

[CoachLite]

3 minutes ago, cjwhiskers said:

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. 
 

The issue seems to be that you think the NFL still cares about defense and low scoring games. Offense need playmakers and the defense just needs to hang on. 
 

Getting a stud offensive play maker would easily move this teams needle far more than adding a stud defensive player. 
 

The most important position on this team is quarterback, agree? What do you do to help the most important position out? Surround him with talent at play making positions. 
 

Anyone who doesn’t look at the transformation of Jalen Hurts getting AJ Brown or Josh Allen getting Diggs or Burrow having Chase as a good comparison for AR needs to remember what’s important in todays NFL, scoring points. 

It's amazing how two people can watch the same thing and come to very different conclusions. Last year, the Colts defense was mediocre at best.

[richard pallo]

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

Aiyuk is awesome, but I am wondering if we would have so much of our cash tied to one position (WR)

 

That is a good point but they have been saying that about our OL for some time and that has resulted in it being a top 5 OL.  Not on the same scale but we now have two highly paid DT in their 30’s.   If we acquired Hunter we most likely would have had a highly paid DL position group as well.  I am not in the camp of worrying about how much we pay a player or position group.  That’s for the front office to manage.  They have a roster to build to try and a win a championship. That’s a lot of players and talent to deal with.  I am in the camp of bringing in the best players we can to get the job done.  As long as they manage the cap effectively, which they do, then I don’t care where they spend it.  Just bring in the talent and go for that championship.

[cjwhiskers]

6 minutes ago, CoachLite said:

It's amazing how two people can watch the same thing and come to very different conclusions. Last year, the Colts defense was mediocre at best.

The large majority of defenses in the NFL can be considered “mediocre”. The Colts defense did plenty to keep the games winnable and that’s all you can ask of a defense in today’s NFL. 

Let me ask you, was it the Browns top defense that won the Super Bowl? Was it the Ravens? Was it the 49ers? 
 

You don’t need an elite defense. You need an elite offense that scores consistently and in clutch moments. 
 

Colts resigning all of their own defensive players back is really all you need to know about how this organization views their own defense.

[Yoshinator]

19 minutes ago, cjwhiskers said:

The large majority of defenses in the NFL can be considered “mediocre”. The Colts defense did plenty to keep the games winnable and that’s all you can ask of a defense in today’s NFL. 

Let me ask you, was it the Browns top defense that won the Super Bowl? Was it the Ravens? Was it the 49ers? 
 

You don’t need an elite defense. You need an elite offense that scores consistently and in clutch moments. 
 

Colts resigning all of their own defensive players back is really all you need to know about how this organization views their own defense.

The Chiefs defense was absolutely elite last year and made up for a mediocre Mahomes (by his standards). Also, there are rankings to determine if defenses are good, bad, mediocre, and all that. You don't just get to say the large majority of defenses can be considered mediocre, stats and rankings prove otherwise. We don't go by the eye test anymore. The Colts had the 28th best defense last year. Those are the players we re-signed. I understand there were injuries and Stewart was out for 6 games (which hurt the run defense), but the secondary was terrible, and we should have traded for Sneed. 

 

You do need an elite defense in the playoffs. The Chiefs beat the Bills, Dolphins, and Ravens in the playoffs with their defense last year to get to the SB. The Colts won their only SB with Peyton Manning because of their defense. The Broncos had Peyton Manning in the SB Vs the Seahawks when he scored 55 TDs that year, and they got destroyed by the Seahawks defense in the SB.

 

Defenses win Championships.

[Yoshinator]

4 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

The Chiefs defense was absolutely elite last year and made up for a mediocre Mahomes (by his standards). Also, there are rankings to determine if defenses are good, bad, mediocre, and all that. You don't just get to say the large majority of defenses can be considered mediocre, stats and rankings prove otherwise. We don't go by the eye test anymore. The Colts had the 28th best defense last year. Those are the players we re-signed. I understand there were injuries and Stewart was out for 6 games (which hurt the run defense), but the secondary was terrible, and we should have traded for Sneed. 

 

You do need an elite defense in the playoffs. The Chiefs beat the Bills, Dolphins, and Ravens in the playoffs with their defense last year to get to the SB. The Colts won their only SB with Peyton Manning because of their defense. The Broncos had Peyton Manning in the SB Vs the Seahawks when he scored 55 TDs that year, and they got destroyed by the Seahawks defense in the SB.

 

Defenses win Championships.

 

[BlackTiger]

The reason I dont like going with a Defensive end this year is I dont see a big upgrade over what we have.

 

 

[cjwhiskers]

7 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

The Chiefs defense was absolutely elite last year and made up for a mediocre Mahomes (by his standards). Also, there are rankings to determine if defenses are good, bad, mediocre, and all that. You don't just get to say the large majority of defenses can be considered mediocre, stats and rankings prove otherwise. We don't go by the eye test anymore. The Colts had the 28th best defense last year. Those are the players we re-signed. I understand there were injuries and Stewart was out for 6 games (which hurt the run defense), but the secondary was terrible, and we should have traded for Sneed. 

 

You do need an elite defense in the playoffs.

 

Ranked 28th? By what metrics, genuinely curious because that seems incredibly low. They were top 10-15 in most statistical categories...

 

We have two young but promising corners, loading up on defense when you don't even know what you have in a quarterback just doesn't make sense to me. You do everything in your power to make that quarterback successful because that in itself gives you the BEST chance for success. You go as your quarterback does. Not you go as your corner does, or your safety or your edge rusher.

 

I'm not saying defense isn't important but it's less important than putting pieces around AR and giving him the biggest chance to be successful. Look at the Jets...could've easily been the leagues top defense with the amount of play makers they have on their roster...Team didn't go anywhere because they couldn't score.

[richard pallo]

1 hour ago, Yoshinator said:

I actually think the 1st round is the only round where EDGE wouldn't be a reach. I see the class as much weaker throughout the draft as it goes on. Kneeland would be a great get in the 2nd if he fell, but that'd be a huge risk if we wanted an EDGE. We'll see where Ballard has his big board ranked. I think Quinyon Mitchell would be the dream pick, but the draft is deep at CB as well. 

 

Just remember, Paye and Dayo are FAs at the end of the season, so we could definitely take a successor to one of them.

If we put the 5th year option in place with Paye then he is signed through 2025.  If we don’t then he is a FA.  His option price is $14m.  Pretty cheap for an ER who has improved each year.  My guess is they think our new DL coach could hopefully get him to make an even bigger jump.  So I’m thinking they will pick up his option.

[Solid84]

31 minutes ago, cjwhiskers said:

The large majority of defenses in the NFL can be considered “mediocre”. The Colts defense did plenty to keep the games winnable and that’s all you can ask of a defense in today’s NFL. 

Let me ask you, was it the Browns top defense that won the Super Bowl? Was it the Ravens? Was it the 49ers? 
 

You don’t need an elite defense. You need an elite offense that scores consistently and in clutch moments. 
 

Colts resigning all of their own defensive players back is really all you need to know about how this organization views their own defense.

There's a lot of wrong with this and a lot to say, but let's stop at the fact the Chiefs were 2nd in points allowed (294 PA).

2 minutes ago, cjwhiskers said:

 

Ranked 28th? By what metrics, genuinely curious because that seems incredibly low. They were top 10-15 in most statistical categories...

 

We have two young but promising corners, loading up on defense when you don't even know what you have in a quarterback just doesn't make sense to me. You do everything in your power to make that quarterback successful because that in itself gives you the BEST chance for success. You go as your quarterback does. Not you go as your corner does, or your safety or your edge rusher.

 

I'm not saying defense isn't important but it's less important than putting pieces around AR and giving him the biggest chance to be successful. Look at the Jets...could've easily been the leagues top defense with the amount of play makers they have on their roster...Team didn't go anywhere because they couldn't score.

The Colts were 28th in points allowed (415).

[Yoshinator]

3 minutes ago, cjwhiskers said:

 

Ranked 28th? By what metrics, genuinely curious because that seems incredibly low. They were top 10-15 in most statistical categories...

 

We have two young but promising corners, loading up on defense when you don't even know what you have in a quarterback just doesn't make sense to me. You do everything in your power to make that quarterback successful because that in itself gives you the BEST chance for success. You go as your quarterback does. Not you go as your corner does, or your safety or your edge rusher.

 

I'm not saying defense isn't important but it's less important than putting pieces around AR and giving him the biggest chance to be successful. Look at the Jets...could've easily been the leagues top defense with the amount of play makers they have on their roster...Team didn't go anywhere because they couldn't score.

28th in scoring defense. I also added more to my post that you didn't see. Check that out as well. 

 

We'll add more to the offense in the draft, but the defense is the obvious weak point. AR may make the team better. We'll see on that. The defense is terrible though. 

[throwing BBZ]

15 minutes ago, cjwhiskers said:

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. 
 

The issue seems to be that you think the NFL still cares about defense and low scoring games. Offense need playmakers and the defense just needs to hang on. 
 

Getting a stud offensive play maker would easily move this teams needle far more than adding a stud defensive player. 
 

The most important position on this team is quarterback, agree? What do you do to help the most important position out? Surround him with talent at play making positions. 
 

Anyone who doesn’t look at the transformation of Jalen Hurts getting AJ Brown or Josh Allen getting Diggs or Burrow having Chase as a good comparison for AR needs to remember what’s important in todays NFL, scoring points. 

 

 QB's that think fast and throw very accurately are the base for a SB contender.

 The best help for the QB is a strong run game and having time to throw.

  With Taylor missing the first for games, no Elite WR, and Smith missing I believe 6 games, and a rag muffin QB, we were 10th in scoring.

 And near the bottom on D.

  Knock on Woods, year two of Steichen and our scoring should improve.

Pittman is now in his prime, Downs is so smart and quick he is nearly unguardable. We have 4 TE's that run and catch well. Having a 4th WR that is fast, runs good routes, with very good hands will be a big help. And we can find that as late as round 3. 

 My first pick would be RT Latham. Fries is consistently dominated by power and gets pushed back too easily, so adding a better RG is high on my preference. Maybe that is Smith, or Latham for a year.

[tfunky14]

This is really simple for the Colts.  If Bowers or one of the top 3 WR is still on the board, you pick one of them.  

 

If not then best DB or Edge.  

 

 

Not hard guys.   

[jvan1973]

5 minutes ago, tfunky14 said:

This is really simple for the Colts.  If Bowers or one of the top 3 WR is still on the board, you pick one of them.  

 

If not then best DB or Edge.  

 

 

Not hard guys.   

I'm sure it's far more nuanced than that

[Moosejawcolt]

On 4/14/2024 at 8:57 PM, Trace Pyott said:

What do you consider a premium position? What do you consider elite at wr??   We recently used a 6th over all pick on a guard.    Btw I could find many more examples of elite or former elite receivers to win super bowls recently.  Antonio brown, gronk (TE) etc.   We won a Super Bowl with Reggie Wayne.   Having Reggie, and Marvin and all the games we won because of them should show you the importance of WR especially with a pass happy league.  
Having as many weapons for our brand new Qb is huge. He needs to build his confidence now. As he goes we go.  If he starts off terrible he will lose all confidence in his game and be ruined.  I would say that’s more important than any other one player would be since qb is such a huge position. 
 

  Btw , im not saying picking wr or trading back for anyone in this draft is the smartest idea. I was just saying it would be cool and a great story that MAY just work.   Football is about entertainment most of all and it would be entertaining and a great story to see Marvin’s son grow up on the football field in front of us. 

If you are really interested in making this team more complete and willing to trade up, I would do it to get a DE that can rush the qb. Ballard has been unable to get " the guy" and I am not opposed to moving up to get a guy like Turner. I would never use draft capital to move up to say #5 and get Harrison and/or Nabers. Honestly, if i were to move up to get a receiver, it would be Nabers who is explosive and has that dog in him.

[richard pallo]

41 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 QB's that think fast and throw very accurately are the base for a SB contender.

 The best help for the QB is a strong run game and having time to throw.

  With Taylor missing the first for games, no Elite WR, and Smith missing I believe 6 games, and a rag muffin QB, we were 10th in scoring.

 And near the bottom on D.

  Knock on Woods, year two of Steichen and our scoring should improve.

Pittman is now in his prime, Downs is so smart and quick he is nearly unguardable. We have 4 TE's that run and catch well. Having a 4th WR that is fast, runs good routes, with very good hands will be a big help. And we can find that as late as round 3. 

 My first pick would be RT Latham. Fries is consistently dominated by power and gets pushed back too easily, so adding a better RG is high on my preference. Maybe that is Smith, or Latham for a year.

🥜 lol

[masterlock]

36 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

28th in scoring defense. I also added more to my post that you didn't see. Check that out as well. 

 

We'll add more to the offense in the draft, but the defense is the obvious weak point. AR may make the team better. We'll see on that. The defense is terrible though. 

A big reason the Colts were 28th in points allowed, IMO, was Gus Bradley's non-contesting zone scheme. Time and time again, we saw opponents complete critical 3rd and 4th downs, with the nearest Colts defender 10 yards away. It's disappointing to me that they brought him back. IMO, what the Colts' D needs is aggression, not soft, non-contesting zone that keeps opposing offenses on the field. 

[Yoshinator]

3 minutes ago, masterlock said:

A big reason the Colts were 28th in points allowed, IMO, was Gus Bradley's non-contesting zone scheme. Time and time again, we saw opponents complete critical 3rd and 4th downs, with the nearest Colts defender 10 yards away. It's disappointing to me that they brought him back. IMO, what the Colts' D needs is aggression, not soft, non-contesting zone that keeps opposing offenses on the field. 

Yep. it was the worst move of the offseason keeping Gus IMO. Even worse than not trading for Sneed when we had interest. If we don't get pressure more often, those sack numbers will not be sustainable either. 

[richard pallo]

1 minute ago, masterlock said:

A big reason the Colts were 28th in points allowed, IMO, was Gus Bradley's non-contesting zone scheme. Time and time again, we saw opponents complete critical 3rd and 4th downs, with the nearest Colts defender 10 yards away. It's disappointing to me that they brought him back. IMO, what the Colts' D needs is aggression, not soft, non-contesting zone that keeps opposing offenses on the field. 

I think if Gus has the right experienced players in his defense it is very effective.  Starting inexperienced and multiple rookies in the secondary is going to result in breakdowns and problems.  Hopefully we see a significant jump from these players this year.

[Moosejawcolt]

1 hour ago, cjwhiskers said:

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. 
 

The issue seems to be that you think the NFL still cares about defense and low scoring games. Offense need playmakers and the defense just needs to hang on. 
 

Getting a stud offensive play maker would easily move this teams needle far more than adding a stud defensive player. 
 

The most important position on this team is quarterback, agree? What do you do to help the most important position out? Surround him with talent at play making positions. 
 

Anyone who doesn’t look at the transformation of Jalen Hurts getting AJ Brown or Josh Allen getting Diggs or Burrow having Chase as a good comparison for AR needs to remember what’s important in todays NFL, scoring points. 

Did you look at the defensive stats from last year? They ranked near the bottom in most categories that are important in rating a defense. What is more concerning is that these stats were accumulated while playing bottom of the barrel qbs. I would argue that Richardson has talent around him and if he is as good as they say, he should elevate that talent to another level. We have a franchise qb on the offense and now we need a franchise DE and a couple more defensive playmakers such as a corner and safety.

[Moosejawcolt]

11 minutes ago, masterlock said:

A big reason the Colts were 28th in points allowed, IMO, was Gus Bradley's non-contesting zone scheme. Time and time again, we saw opponents complete critical 3rd and 4th downs, with the nearest Colts defender 10 yards away. It's disappointing to me that they brought him back. IMO, what the Colts' D needs is aggression, not soft, non-contesting zone that keeps opposing offenses on the field. 

Agreed to some extent,  but Gus does not have the D line to press the qbs to make wild throws which in turn could be picked off by our corners playing zone. That is the whole of idea of playing Gus' defense. The front 4 puts pressure on the qb and hopefully put them in 3rd and long situations going down the field

[Moosejawcolt]

1 hour ago, Yoshinator said:

The Chiefs defense was absolutely elite last year and made up for a mediocre Mahomes (by his standards). Also, there are rankings to determine if defenses are good, bad, mediocre, and all that. You don't just get to say the large majority of defenses can be considered mediocre, stats and rankings prove otherwise. We don't go by the eye test anymore. The Colts had the 28th best defense last year. Those are the players we re-signed. I understand there were injuries and Stewart was out for 6 games (which hurt the run defense), but the secondary was terrible, and we should have traded for Sneed. 

 

You do need an elite defense in the playoffs. The Chiefs beat the Bills, Dolphins, and Ravens in the playoffs with their defense last year to get to the SB. The Colts won their only SB with Peyton Manning because of their defense. The Broncos had Peyton Manning in the SB Vs the Seahawks when he scored 55 TDs that year, and they got destroyed by the Seahawks defense in the SB.

 

Defenses win Championships.

Complete teams win championships

[DattMavis]

1 hour ago, cjwhiskers said:

 

Ranked 28th? By what metrics, genuinely curious because that seems incredibly low. They were top 10-15 in most statistical categories...

 

We have two young but promising corners, loading up on defense when you don't even know what you have in a quarterback just doesn't make sense to me. You do everything in your power to make that quarterback successful because that in itself gives you the BEST chance for success. You go as your quarterback does. Not you go as your corner does, or your safety or your edge rusher.

 

I'm not saying defense isn't important but it's less important than putting pieces around AR and giving him the biggest chance to be successful. Look at the Jets...could've easily been the leagues top defense with the amount of play makers they have on their roster...Team didn't go anywhere because they couldn't score.

I both agree and disagree with you.

The Chiefs absolutely won the Super Bowl because of their defense.

Having said that, I think we should go offense. 😂

I wouldn't be upset if we went corner or edge, but I'm tired of drafting guys with potential. We need to see what we have on defense, and honestly, I'm starting to doubt Ballard's ability to draft corner and edge early, so I'm just scared.

[masterlock]

15 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Agreed to some extent,  but Gus does not have the D line to press the qbs to make wild throws which in turn could be picked off by our corners playing zone. That is the whole of idea of playing Gus' defense. The front 4 puts pressure on the qb and hopefully put them in 3rd and long situations going down the field

I understand what you're saying, but if Gus doesn't have the players for his scheme to work, then the scheme is the problem. The scheme needs to fit the capabilities, or it's a liability. 

[masterlock]

28 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

Yep. it was the worst move of the offseason keeping Gus IMO. Even worse than not trading for Sneed when we had interest. If we don't get pressure more often, those sack numbers will not be sustainable either. 

This is a profoundly true statement.

[Moosejawcolt]

3 hours ago, Yoshinator said:

To add to this, I just did my 2nd version of a mock draft where I took EDGE first round. Check it out if you are interested!

The more and more I think about it, I tend to agree with you. I think this is the year he moves up to get a guy. This team has been without a franchise DE for  7 years. U saw what Houston did last year to get their franchise qb and DE all in one year. They traded up to get Anderson at 3.    Ballard  talks  about Richardson and how he expects  him to elevate the offense  and allow for more explosive plays. You have Richardson, an elite running back, a number 2 wr (Pittman), Downs is emerging and Pierce is the unknown but i expect that he may have a coming out party this year with Richardson's ability to throw. Ballard has draft a lot of athletic TE's who have not been able to reach their upside because of injury, personal issues and/or overall qb play. I truly believe we have to give the skill players on offense one more year under Richardson to see what we have. Now to the defense. We have no franchise DE. We have Paye who's 5th option should not be picked up. He has been underwhelming and he  is a LDE at best. Buckner is Buckner but has maybe 2 more years of elite play in him. They dont have that guy on the end to put constant pressure on the qb and make this defense work. The saftey play is average at best. Cross  has not shown  the coaching staff anything over the last  2 years. Blackmon is average and that was clear in the Colts offering him a one year deal. He was basically signed because they lack depth at safety.  Brents came with a lot of fan fare but cannot stay healthy and the other corners are late round picks who i have little faith in over a 17 game schedule even though Ballard appears to love them. I would actually draft defense with my 1st 2 picks. I  was shocked that they kept Bradley as I fully expected them to move on in another direction. My keeping Bradley it showed me two things. They are committed to this scheme and acknowledge to Gus that they did not support him by providing him with enough play makers. I expect the Colts to address the D early and often in this draft. I just don't see them pulling the trigger on a TE and/or WR at 15. I really hope this is the year where they finally move up to get one of the DE's and lay the foundation for this D much like they did last year in drafting  Richardson. Drafting a wr is the sexy choice,  and I get it that we should surround the qb with weapons. The thing is that we may actually have some weapons on the roster and all it needs is for Richardson to play and we will see guys like Pierce and the TE's flourish. We don't address the DE, corner and/or safety position early and expect us to really struggle on defense this year. This draft reminds me of the Nelson pick. We struggle for years to protect Luck and they drafted a generational guard to put up a wall. A guard at #6 was a lot for a guard, but their was pressure to protect the franchise qb and the organization had seen enough.   I sense the same urgency with the DE position. It is time to go big game hunting!!

[MikeCurtis]

1 hour ago, cjwhiskers said:

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. 
 

 

Respectfully, per the stats, our defense was bottom 5.

 

(IMHO) We need significant help on defense

 

 

 

[Moosejawcolt]

7 minutes ago, masterlock said:

I understand what you're saying, but if Gus doesn't have the players for his scheme to work, then the scheme is the problem. The scheme needs to fit the capabilities, or it's a liability. 

I am not a big fan of this scheme but he needs a DE. To be honest, every defensive scheme needs to be able to pressure the qb in order for it to be effective. This team lacks a true franchise DE and until we get one, it wont matter what scheme we run, as they will all fail. Also, every defense needs players to make it work. Even the great defensive coordinators had the guy and/or guys. We lack a RDE, FS and a corner. I don't care who you bring in to Indy to be the defensive coach. I bet they would all fail to give results based on the talent they currently have on the roster. 

[MikeCurtis]

4 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

The more and more I think about it, I tend to agree with you. I think this is the year he moves up to get a guy. This team has been without a franchise DE for  7 years. U saw what Houston did last year to get their franchise qb and DE all in one year. They traded up to get Anderson at 3.    Ballard  talks  about Richardson and how he expects  him to elevate the offense  and allow for more explosive plays. You have Richardson, an elite running back, a number 2 wr (Pittman), Downs is emerging and Pierce is the unknown but i expect that he may have a coming out party this year with Richardson's ability to throw. Ballard has draft a lot of athletic TE's who have not been able to reach their upside because of injury, personal issues and/or overall qb play. I truly believe we have to give the skill players on offense one more year under Richardson to see what we have. Now to the defense. We have no franchise DE. We have Paye who's 5th option should not be picked up. He has been underwhelming and he  is a LDE at best. Buckner is Buckner but has maybe 2 more years of elite play in him. They dont have that guy on the end to put constant pressure on the qb and make this defense work. The saftey play is average at best. Cross  has not shown  the coaching staff anything over the last  2 years. Blackmon is average and that was clear in the Colts offering him a one year deal. He was basically signed because they lack depth at safety.  Brents came with a lot of fan fare but cannot stay healthy and the other corners are late round picks who i have little faith in over a 17 game schedule even though Ballard appears to love them. I would actually draft defense with my 1st 2 picks. I  was shocked that they kept Bradley as I fully expected them to move on in another direction. My keeping Bradley it showed me two things. They are committed to this scheme and acknowledge to Gus that they did not support him by providing him with enough play makers. I expect the Colts to address the D early and often in this draft. I just don't see them pulling the trigger on a TE and/or WR at 15. I really hope this is the year where they finally move up to get one of the DE's and lay the foundation for this D much like they did last year in drafting  Richardson. Drafting a wr is the sexy choice,  and I get it that we should surround the qb with weapons. The thing is that we may actually have some weapons on the roster and all it needs is for Richardson to play and we will see guys like Pierce and the TE's flourish. We don't address the DE, corner and/or safety position early and expect us to really struggle on defense this year. This draft reminds me of the Nelson pick. We struggle for years to protect Luck and they drafted a generational guard to put up a wall. A guard at #6 was a lot for a guard, but their was pressure to protect the franchise qb and the organization had seen enough.   I sense the same urgency with the DE position. It is time to go big game hunting!!

I agree with the concept, but until Richardson is a complete proven entity, I would not give up next year's 1st

under any conditions

 

Dallas Turner MIGHT be that guy to trade up for........  But he might just fall to us at 15

 

He would be a PR specialist until he added some NFL muscle

[richard pallo]

36 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Did you look at the defensive stats from last year? They ranked near the bottom in most categories that are important in rating a defense. What is more concerning is that these stats were accumulated while playing bottom of the barrel qbs. I would argue that Richardson has talent around him and if he is as good as they say, he should elevate that talent to another level. We have a franchise qb on the offense and now we need a franchise DE and a couple more defensive playmakers such as a corner and safety.

I think that's why Ballard tried to sign Hunter.  He knows he could use an upgrade there.

[Superman]

13 hours ago, cjwhiskers said:

I definitely don’t disagree with this but ultimately I think it comes down to your appetite for risk and both strategies can work effectively. I think this is the year to trade up. What we saw from this team last year was enough to tell me with competent QB play we can be a playoff team. Get him a weapon that has a proven college track record and is a lineage player who knows exactly what it takes to make it in the NFL. 

 

I had the trade up discussion earlier in this thread, I think. To me, the board will fall in a way where we get a great prospect at #15. I wouldn't hate moving up for one of the top three WRs, but MHJ being a lineage player wouldn't be a big part of my evaluation. 

[shasta519]

2 hours ago, cjwhiskers said:

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. 
 

The issue seems to be that you think the NFL still cares about defense and low scoring games. Offense need playmakers and the defense just needs to hang on. 
 

Getting a stud offensive play maker would easily move this teams needle far more than adding a stud defensive player. 
 

The most important position on this team is quarterback, agree? What do you do to help the most important position out? Surround him with talent at play making positions. 
 

Anyone who doesn’t look at the transformation of Jalen Hurts getting AJ Brown or Josh Allen getting Diggs or Burrow having Chase as a good comparison for AR needs to remember what’s important in todays NFL, scoring points. 

 

How does one come to this conclusion? They played a bottom 5 schedule and a slew of really bad QB...and still ended up #28 in ppg (for the second year in a row). Realistically, we could be talking about a defense that has a chance to be the worst in the NFL, barring significant development or improvement. 

 

I am good with getting a playmaker like one of the big 3 WRs, but the defense needs serious help. Plus, the core of this team will be 30 or older in no time. So they not only need improvement, but replacements as well.

[richard pallo]

29 minutes ago, DattMavis said:

I both agree and disagree with you.

The Chiefs absolutely won the Super Bowl because of their defense.

Having said that, I think we should go offense. 😂

I wouldn't be upset if we went corner or edge, but I'm tired of drafting guys with potential. We need to see what we have on defense, and honestly, I'm starting to doubt Ballard's ability to draft corner and edge early, so I'm just scared.

TBH Ballard hasn't really drafted edge or corner early.  I don't consider Paye at 21 early for an ER.  The potential elite go before pick 21.  Usually top 10.  This is the year to move up for Turner.  He is within reach.  That said I wouldn't entirely rule out Ballard trading pick 15 for a starting Edge or WR. 

[Moosejawcolt]

2 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

I agree with the concept, but until Richardson is a complete proven entity, I would not give up next year's 1st

under any conditions

 

Dallas Turner MIGHT be that guy to trade up for........  But he might just fall to us at 15

 

He would be a PR specialist until he added some NFL muscle

Turner will not fall to us. He will be gone early . Everyone is expecting these wrs to fly off the board. Harbaugh builds in the trenches. I wouldn't shocked if he went D line early. Look at San Fran and Michigan. Power football and build in the trenches. This is a wr stacked draft and DE's are a luxury in this draft. U better get one early. Would  I trade up to get  a guy like Turner and or insert name if I believed he could be our next Freeney? U bet I would. Ballard has used the approach of trading back and hoping that the DE he drafts will become that guy and it hasn't turned out well for the Colts. To me it is time to target and go after that guy and if it means giving up a #1 then so be it. IF you go after a guy like Turner and he becomes that guy, you will not miss next year's 1st pick.  I do have a lot of faith in Richardson and  I feel if he stays healthy, he will be a superstar. So if Richardson comes in and lights it up and you have Turner, you are probably picking in the early 20's next year. So would i give up our #15 and next years #20 for a guy like Turner? For sure. IF Richardson bombs out and we finish with a top 5 pick, so be it. Houston took a gamble going for Anderson at 3 and how does that look now? They gave up their 1st this year which is in the 20's. I will take that every day. I actually don't think our 15 and next years 1st rounder would be enough to move up to get a guy like Turner. I think a GM say in the top 8 would project next years pick to be in the 20's based on what they feel would transpire with Richardson as our guy. Just my thoughts