My first 2025 mock offseason

[Archer]

sign: Kristian Fulton, CB, LAC

 

Re-Sign: Blackmon, Flacco, MAC, Sanchez (and Dayo if cheap enough)

 

Let Walk: Kelly, Fries, Speed, Granson

 

Draft:

 

1) Deone Walker, DT/NT, Kentucky.  No one has stepped up at DT and NT depth for a couple years now.  Buckner and Grover are getting oldish.  Plus, it think DI will be BPA about the time we draft.

 

2) Drew Allar, QB, Penn St.  Not sure if I’ll lose people or draw them in with this pick.  I’ve always thought AR was to be on the Josh Allen development plan.  Yr 1, he sucked.  Yr 2, he got to middling NFL QB.  Yr 3 and beyond, he’s been an MVP candidate.  Problem is: in his first two years, AR will have probably spent less time on the field than Allen did in his  first.  So, this pick hedges against the possibility that we get halfway through year 4 and realize we need to start all over from scratch.  Allar, who has a heck of a lot of arm talent and is careful with the ball, will have 1 and 1/2 years development at that point.  This is a good strategy IMHO since I believe we have a relatively talented team at most positions and need to ensure the QB position doesn’t sink us.

 

3) Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama.  Quietly, I think our LBs have played fairly poorly this year.  Except Carlies.  Carlies and Campbell (3rd would be the highest we’ve drafted a LB since Leonard, I believe) will be the future Duo.

 

4) Jack Nelson, OT, Wisconsin.  Future swing tackle.  I have hopes that Freeland can eventually take over at RT, where he’s played much better than he’s played LT.  Goncalves and his 33 1/4” arms will be a better IOL.  Letting Kelly and Fries go this offseason helps restructure the OL salaries for the big Raimann contract we all know is coming.

 

5) Glendon Miller, S, Maryland.  Need more at the position.

 

6) John Michael Gyllenborg, TE, Wyoming.  Athletic.  Don’t want to be caught shorthanded at the position when we finally figure out how to integrate our TEs into the O.  
 

7) Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State.  Pure runner, but a punishing one.

[John Hammonds]

I seriously appreciate your mock.  And I hold similar opinions on our roster:

1. The inflated tackle stats of of LB's is overrated.  They allow too many pass completions.  They don't really "dominate" anybody.  I believe drafting this position, if for no other reason than providing significant competition, is a priority.
2. Grover and Buckner are approaching their shelf life date.  And we don't really have anyone on the roster to take their places as starters.
3. I agree that AR's trend is approaching an alarming possibility:  by the time he gets to the end of his rookie contract, he will have missed so many games due to injury that he still will not have completed a 17-game "rookie" season.  We still need a veteran presence at the #2 spot to insure we win games.  Also, Ehlinger is about to complete his 4-year rookie contract without doing anything more than throw in the preseason.  I don't expect to re-sign him, so we're going to need to draft somebody.
4. Where I differ from your draft assessment is that we need to draft the outside corner position with a high pick.  And not just a #2, like with Brents.

THE DRAFT

Pick #1 - Deone Walker is a BEAST.  And would be an instant replacement for either Grover or Buck, even if the incumbent is still on the roster.  I've also had my eye on Notre Dame's CB Benjamin Morrison for a while now.  The fact that he just went out for the season with a hip injury makes it even more likely that Ballard would draft him.  He does love those guys coming off an injury!  I think that if the Colts finish with a 6-win season, both players will be on the board, and we could take either one of them.  If we somehow make 9 wins, then only Walker would be available.

MY PICK - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame

Pick #2 - I think it is too soon to think about totally giving up on AR, and drafting his replacement this year.  Also, we have bigger fish to fry.  I'd like to pick a LB here.  There's been a lot of talk about the quality of OLB Harold Perkins from LSU.  However, I think he's going to be gone by the time we pick in the mid-2nd round.  The "MY GUY" of this draft is Danny Stutsman, ILB out of Oklahoma.  He's got a lot more size than Perkins, and is continuing his trend for high production.

MY PICK - Danny Stutsman, ILB, Oklahoma

Pick #3 - Hard to say which way we'd go with this pick.  And also who would be left on the board.  Tankathon's list has a lot of OL's and Safeties in their 70's to 80's ranking.  I like how well Nick Cross has developed as a strong safety.  But I don't think we have a good pure free safety on the roster, even with the quality of Blackmon.  There are three safeties in this range.  Sebastian Castro from Iowa, Billy Bowman from Oklahoma, and Xavier Watts from Notre Dame.  Both Castro and Bowman are under 6' tall.  And Watts already has 2 INT's and 5 PD's this year.  I'll take the size and production, even though I would be drafting two DB's from the same school.

MY PICK - Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame

 

Not sure who I would pick with 4 through 7.  But I would certainly look for a developmental QB, better depth at RB, and maybe a blocking TE.

 

What do you think of my choices?

[Archer]

7 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

k. 

ces?

 

We have the same priorities, so I like your draft a lot.  I wrote this on another thread, but I think Ballard gives up trying to draft a #1 CB this year and signs one who performed well in 2024 to a top FA contract.  I put Kristian Fulton (coverage and overall pff grades above 80) in this mock.  He pairs with Womack and leaves Brents and Jones to develop as backups.  

 

Stutsman is a bit of a throwback for me.  I wonder how he’ll be able to do in coverage, where Speed and Zaire are already pretty bad for us.  He would be an upgrade over Zaire pretty quickly, though, since he has great production against the run.  I worry about that after some runs like that 3rd and 19 TD run against us on Sunday.

 

Love the Watts pick.  The main casualty of my plan to get another QB developing is that I can’t get around to a safety quickly enough.

[Mr. Too Proud]

This is what I'm thinking as of right now

 

1st. Emory Jones Jr. RG/RT LSU

He can immediately step in for Fries and could potentially be Braden Smith replacement at RT

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Quinshon Judkins RB Ohio State

JT hasn't played a full season and Judkins gives us a 1/2 punch like Detroit Lions have.

 

 

 

 

3rd Xavier Nwankpa S Iowa

Cross has stepped up this season Xavier gives us the option to put him in the box more or to be his running mate in a two high.

 

 

 

 

4th Jihaad Campbell LB Alabama 

EJ Speeds replacement 

 

 

 

 

5th Dillon Gabriel QB Oregon 

Back up QB who has a ton of experience especially in RPO. 

 

 

 

 

 

[OhioColt]

Very well done @Archer as always. Love the idea of going QB fairly early with another one-year rental and upcoming pending FA plus health issues of AR.  Looking over our team and what I feel are the biggest needs are especially on defense.  WLB play has fallen off with Speed on a contract year.  None of our backup DTs are playing well enough to resign.  Almost at the point to dump entire RDEs and go heavy in the draft.  Nick Cross seems to be doing well at FS.  Blackmon on the other hand started hot but has been struggling.  At the mid-point in college football only one true SS that has proven himself and has my interest in Round 1.

 

My Mock:

 

Round 1 SS Lathan Ransom (OSU) he has been playing at such a high rate and watching him play against #3 Oregon he was one of two defensive players from Ohio State that has had success with their opponents. 

 

Round 2 NT Simeon Barrow Jr. Miami (FL) 6'3" 290-pounds - After 6 weeks has an elite 84.7 grade on 173 snaps generating 17 TOTs, 4.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks with 14 QB pressures and has an 84.4 RDEF and an 80.6 TACK grades.  Hasn't missed a tackle on the season.  

 

Round 3 RDEdge J.T. Tuimoloau (OSU) 6'5" 269-pounds - Would have loved taking Princely Umanmielen in Round 1 and pray Tuimoloau lasts this long in Round 3.  As I mentioned before with Ransom, Tuimoloau has been steady this season and against #3 Oregon finished with a 73.8 grade on 56 snaps.  Tyquan Lewis is injured, Dayo is a pending FA, Ebukam is also injured and nearing end of his career, and not much faith in Isaiah Land.

 

Round 4 DT Rayshaun Benny (Michigan) 6'4" 296-pounds - Benny's been a highlight reel this year.  Against #3 Texas earned a 74.4 grade.  Against #11 USC had an 81.2 grade.  Against Washington had a 79.1 grade.  Hoping Benny can plug and play at either DT spot.

 

Round 5 RDEdge Kyle Kennard (South Carolina) 6'5" 254-pounds - Kennard did struggle against #16 LSU with a 59.0 grade and missed the game against #12 Ole Miss.  He did have a decent day against #6 Alabama and has earned Midseason Third-Team All-American honors.  Refer back to Round 3 pick and team need.

 

Round 6 WLB Eugene Asante (Auburn) - Asante's got the coveted speed we like capable of running a 4.48s-forty with a max velocity of more than 22 mph.  Made Bruce Feldman's Freaks List at #33.

 

Round 7 Swing OT Grey Zabel (NDST) 6'6" 296-pounds - Zabel finished 2023 with an overall 79.3 grade as an OG and an 88.5 grade in pass protection.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Dark Superman]

On 10/16/2024 at 5:55 PM, Mr. Too Proud said:

This is what I'm thinking as of right now

 

1st. Emory Jones Jr. RG/RT LSU

He can immediately step in for Fries and could potentially be Braden Smith replacement at RT

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Quinshon Judkins RB Ohio State

JT hasn't played a full season and Judkins gives us a 1/2 punch like Detroit Lions have.

 

 

 

 

3rd Xavier Nwankpa S Iowa

Cross has stepped up this season Xavier gives us the option to put him in the box more or to be his running mate in a two high.

 

 

 

 

4th Jihaad Campbell LB Alabama 

EJ Speeds replacement 

 

 

 

 

5th Dillon Gabriel QB Oregon 

Back up QB who has a ton of experience especially in RPO. 

 

 

 

 

 

I like this mock a lot.

[MikeCurtis]

On 10/16/2024 at 10:37 AM, John Hammonds said:

I seriously appreciate your mock.  And I hold similar opinions on our roster:

1. The inflated tackle stats of of LB's is overrated.  They allow too many pass completions.  They don't really "dominate" anybody.  I believe drafting this position, if for no other reason than providing significant competition, is a priority.
2. Grover and Buckner are approaching their shelf life date.  And we don't really have anyone on the roster to take their places as starters.
3. I agree that AR's trend is approaching an alarming possibility:  by the time he gets to the end of his rookie contract, he will have missed so many games due to injury that he still will not have completed a 17-game "rookie" season.  We still need a veteran presence at the #2 spot to insure we win games.  Also, Ehlinger is about to complete his 4-year rookie contract without doing anything more than throw in the preseason.  I don't expect to re-sign him, so we're going to need to draft somebody.
4. Where I differ from your draft assessment is that we need to draft the outside corner position with a high pick.  And not just a #2, like with Brents.

THE DRAFT

Pick #1 - Deone Walker is a BEAST.  And would be an instant replacement for either Grover or Buck, even if the incumbent is still on the roster.  I've also had my eye on Notre Dame's CB Benjamin Morrison for a while now.  The fact that he just went out for the season with a hip injury makes it even more likely that Ballard would draft him.  He does love those guys coming off an injury!  I think that if the Colts finish with a 6-win season, both players will be on the board, and we could take either one of them.  If we somehow make 9 wins, then only Walker would be available.

MY PICK - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame

Pick #2 - I think it is too soon to think about totally giving up on AR, and drafting his replacement this year.  Also, we have bigger fish to fry.  I'd like to pick a LB here.  There's been a lot of talk about the quality of OLB Harold Perkins from LSU.  However, I think he's going to be gone by the time we pick in the mid-2nd round.  The "MY GUY" of this draft is Danny Stutsman, ILB out of Oklahoma.  He's got a lot more size than Perkins, and is continuing his trend for high production.

MY PICK - Danny Stutsman, ILB, Oklahoma

Pick #3 - Hard to say which way we'd go with this pick.  And also who would be left on the board.  Tankathon's list has a lot of OL's and Safeties in their 70's to 80's ranking.  I like how well Nick Cross has developed as a strong safety.  But I don't think we have a good pure free safety on the roster, even with the quality of Blackmon.  There are three safeties in this range.  Sebastian Castro from Iowa, Billy Bowman from Oklahoma, and Xavier Watts from Notre Dame.  Both Castro and Bowman are under 6' tall.  And Watts already has 2 INT's and 5 PD's this year.  I'll take the size and production, even though I would be drafting two DB's from the same school.

MY PICK - Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame

 

Not sure who I would pick with 4 through 7.  But I would certainly look for a developmental QB, better depth at RB, and maybe a blocking TE.

 

What do you think of my choices?

Great pick IMHO

[OhioColt]

On 10/16/2024 at 5:55 PM, Mr. Too Proud said:

This is what I'm thinking as of right now

 

1st. Emory Jones Jr. RG/RT LSU

He can immediately step in for Fries and could potentially be Braden Smith replacement at RT

 

 

 

 

 

2nd Quinshon Judkins RB Ohio State

JT hasn't played a full season and Judkins gives us a 1/2 punch like Detroit Lions have.

 

 

 

 

3rd Xavier Nwankpa S Iowa

Cross has stepped up this season Xavier gives us the option to put him in the box more or to be his running mate in a two high.

 

 

 

 

4th Jihaad Campbell LB Alabama 

EJ Speeds replacement 

 

 

 

 

5th Dillon Gabriel QB Oregon 

Back up QB who has a ton of experience especially in RPO. 

 

 

 

 

 

@Dark Superman

 

Bearer of bad new but Emery Jones Jr is not a Round 1 talent that pre-college media was projecting.  Week 1 on 64 snaps earned a 52 PFF grade R369.  Improved in Week 2 with a 72.0 PFF grade (62.0 overall season grade).  Week 3 against South Carolina locked. (60.2 season grade).  Week 4 against UCLA – locked. (58.9 season grade) Week 5 against South Alabama – locked. Week 6 bye. (59.0 season grade) Week 7 against ranked Ole Miss locked. (58.8 season grade) Week 8 against Arkansas had a 51.9 grade. (56.9 overall season grade).  Right now have at least 54 other draft prospects ahead of Jones. 

 

Do have some respect for Judkins probably more so while was at Ole Miss.

 

SS Xavier Nwankpa (Iowa) great 4.39s-forty speed, 71% tackling, 82% run defense, 93% coverage, 84% zone, and 93% man/press.  Nwankpa was the most valuable safety in the country by posting an 88.4 PFF coverage grade (t-4th) among Power Five safeties.  Poor Week 1 grades lowest at 54.7 against the run and lowest tackling grade at 38.6 missed two tackles on 45 snaps earned a 66.4 PFF grade R224.  Week 2 a 40.1 PFF grade (56.4 season grade).  Week 3 against Troy had a 73.5 grade. (62.8 season grade).  Week 4 against Minnesota – locked. (66.6 season grade) Week 5 bye. Week 6 against OSU locked. (67.6 season grade) Week 7 against Washington locked. (65.9 overall season grade).  Nwankpa was also pre-college this year high on my list.  As horrible of a season would be lucky to give him a Round 7 grade.  Trey Rucker (Oklahoma St) having a better season or Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina) would be an improvement. 

 

As for Jihaad Campbell, he is listed as a junior and not initially part of this draft class but would be withing top 10-15 players for all LBs but top 5 MLB for me.

 

Not going to lie but Gabriel I am impressed with.  Just wish was taller but does have a quick release.  However, take Jaxson Dart, Kyle McCord, or Drew Aller over Gabriel.

[Mr. Too Proud]

23 minutes ago, OhioColt said:

@Dark Superman

 

Bearer of bad new but Emery Jones Jr is not a Round 1 talent that pre-college media was projecting.  Week 1 on 64 snaps earned a 52 PFF grade R369.  Improved in Week 2 with a 72.0 PFF grade (62.0 overall season grade).  Week 3 against South Carolina locked. (60.2 season grade).  Week 4 against UCLA – locked. (58.9 season grade) Week 5 against South Alabama – locked. Week 6 bye. (59.0 season grade) Week 7 against ranked Ole Miss locked. (58.8 season grade) Week 8 against Arkansas had a 51.9 grade. (56.9 overall season grade).  Right now have at least 54 other draft prospects ahead of Jones. 

 

Do have some respect for Judkins probably more so while was at Ole Miss.

 

SS Xavier Nwankpa (Iowa) great 4.39s-forty speed, 71% tackling, 82% run defense, 93% coverage, 84% zone, and 93% man/press.  Nwankpa was the most valuable safety in the country by posting an 88.4 PFF coverage grade (t-4th) among Power Five safeties.  Poor Week 1 grades lowest at 54.7 against the run and lowest tackling grade at 38.6 missed two tackles on 45 snaps earned a 66.4 PFF grade R224.  Week 2 a 40.1 PFF grade (56.4 season grade).  Week 3 against Troy had a 73.5 grade. (62.8 season grade).  Week 4 against Minnesota – locked. (66.6 season grade) Week 5 bye. Week 6 against OSU locked. (67.6 season grade) Week 7 against Washington locked. (65.9 overall season grade).  Nwankpa was also pre-college this year high on my list.  As horrible of a season would be lucky to give him a Round 7 grade.  Trey Rucker (Oklahoma St) having a better season or Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina) would be an improvement. 

 

As for Jihaad Campbell, he is listed as a junior and not initially part of this draft class but would be withing top 10-15 players for all LBs but top 5 MLB for me.

 

Not going to lie but Gabriel I am impressed with.  Just wish was taller but does have a quick release.  However, take Jaxson Dart, Kyle McCord, or Drew Aller over Gabriel.

 

NP and thanks for the interaction.

Don't have access to Pff, so good to know. We will see different sites have him different places.

 

I like the safety Bowman from OU but just looking at Xavier Nwankpa measurables I went with him.

 

 

[MikeCurtis]

On 10/16/2024 at 10:37 AM, John Hammonds said:

I seriously appreciate your mock.  And I hold similar opinions on our roster:

1. The inflated tackle stats of of LB's is overrated.  They allow too many pass completions.  They don't really "dominate" anybody.  I believe drafting this position, if for no other reason than providing significant competition, is a priority.
2. Grover and Buckner are approaching their shelf life date.  And we don't really have anyone on the roster to take their places as starters.
3. I agree that AR's trend is approaching an alarming possibility:  by the time he gets to the end of his rookie contract, he will have missed so many games due to injury that he still will not have completed a 17-game "rookie" season.  We still need a veteran presence at the #2 spot to insure we win games.  Also, Ehlinger is about to complete his 4-year rookie contract without doing anything more than throw in the preseason.  I don't expect to re-sign him, so we're going to need to draft somebody.
4. Where I differ from your draft assessment is that we need to draft the outside corner position with a high pick.  And not just a #2, like with Brents.

THE DRAFT

Pick #1 - Deone Walker is a BEAST.  And would be an instant replacement for either Grover or Buck, even if the incumbent is still on the roster.  I've also had my eye on Notre Dame's CB Benjamin Morrison for a while now.  The fact that he just went out for the season with a hip injury makes it even more likely that Ballard would draft him.  He does love those guys coming off an injury!  I think that if the Colts finish with a 6-win season, both players will be on the board, and we could take either one of them.  If we somehow make 9 wins, then only Walker would be available.

MY PICK - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame

Pick #2 - I think it is too soon to think about totally giving up on AR, and drafting his replacement this year.  Also, we have bigger fish to fry.  I'd like to pick a LB here.  There's been a lot of talk about the quality of OLB Harold Perkins from LSU.  However, I think he's going to be gone by the time we pick in the mid-2nd round.  The "MY GUY" of this draft is Danny Stutsman, ILB out of Oklahoma.  He's got a lot more size than Perkins, and is continuing his trend for high production.

MY PICK - Danny Stutsman, ILB, Oklahoma

Pick #3 - Hard to say which way we'd go with this pick.  And also who would be left on the board.  Tankathon's list has a lot of OL's and Safeties in their 70's to 80's ranking.  I like how well Nick Cross has developed as a strong safety.  But I don't think we have a good pure free safety on the roster, even with the quality of Blackmon.  There are three safeties in this range.  Sebastian Castro from Iowa, Billy Bowman from Oklahoma, and Xavier Watts from Notre Dame.  Both Castro and Bowman are under 6' tall.  And Watts already has 2 INT's and 5 PD's this year.  I'll take the size and production, even though I would be drafting two DB's from the same school.

MY PICK - Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame

 

Not sure who I would pick with 4 through 7.  But I would certainly look for a developmental QB, better depth at RB, and maybe a blocking TE.

 

What do you think of my choices?

I would love this draft

 

We have dire needs at LB. We also need that monster DT that is quick enough to play both DT spots

 

 

IMHO, we have a QB that regularly completes less than 50% of his passes

 

That is alarming to me, and WILL NOT win in the NFL

 

I have much hope that there is movement here better said growth.

 

I hope he can start to improve that to having games that go to even 60% and stack a few together

 

I haven't yet given up on AR, but I at least want to see some improvement thru the year

 

To me Sam E is an awesome nice guy in the locker room, but......  STILL after a few years hasnt risen to be QB2

 

IMHO, Bean needs that 3rd spot, so that he can develop to be QB2 at some point.

 

Bean still has potential.  Sam does not IMHO

 

Why bother with a low ceiling guy, give the spot to someone who MIGHT be QB2 at some point

 

It makes no sense.  QB3 needs to be a developmental QB

 

 

 

I also have no trust in our GM and our DC  

 

If we finish 3 years in a row at bottom 5 on defense, you HAVE to dump the DC.