Analyzing the post draft depth chart | Colts Cover-2 Podcast

hello and welcome to the Colts cover two podcast I'm jol Ericson I'm joined as always by Nate Atkins Nate is in a bit of a different spot here going forward uh he is going to spend a lot of the month of May working on the race I don't think I need to say which race I'm talking about it's May in Indiana um but he's also gonna he's also gonna keep making appearances on the cover two podcast because uh he he is faithful to you the listener um and today today we're going to go through an exercise that I kind of went through at the end of the draft um and and Nate's kind of taking a look at it but we're we're going to kind of look at the depth chart Nate Nate was saying before we started this pod that you could make a case that the Colts have really only added one starter quote unquote to this depth chart from last year that's that's kind of I hadn't thought about it that way but that's that's pretty like that's a pretty good way to put the Colts offseason yeah I mean SLU latu who was the first Defender off the board so you know we assume you pencil him in safely for a starter type of role but even that when you factor in the Investments they've made in quiddy pay and Samson eicom in the rundown responsibilities even that is like plunging it a little bit he's he's going to split some of those reps and that's just kind of the nature of that position you give him that one that's the only one that's that's sure there's not a lot of other possibilities if not for injury the one other one would be you know ad I Mitchell if he can really get going in if he can beat out Alec Pierce who is you know he's a guy that same kind of thing second round pick with a lot of long speed but they need to see it come together with Anthony Richardson that's one other possibility but I still would give the edge to the second round pick who's entering his third season uh and mostly has been for the most part held back than the thing he's supposed to do by the fact that they haven't had that quarterback out there um but there's really not a lot of other guys that even have a chance I mean like Joe flacko is going to play if Anthony Richardson gets hurt which everyone's praying doesn't happen rayquan Davis is here to help rotate and take snaps off of two guys that the Colts paid a ton into Force Buckner and Grover Stewart and the other guys that the Colts drafted in the third and fourth rounds are backup linemen who are supposed to be starters in the future it's really hard to find any players that they've added this offseason who have a chance to start i' put that list at two and as of today I think only one of them is actually going to start at least at the beginning of the Season which is kind of crazy I mean it does speak to how many guys they brought back that was their huge thing in for in fre agency was bring back pretty much every single guy that that started for them not due to injury and you know they were nine and eight so they didn't have as many holes as some other teams but they they were nine and eight because they did have some holes that that um that they're banking on young players to come back and fill and then Lau latu is the one type of thing they were trying all offseason to add which was a you know a big time Edge rusher they went after denil hunter in free agency didn't come together latu is you know here to develop into that guy but it is a very it really does sum up the kind of whole approach to this franchise which is so hellbent on drafting develop and let the young guys play and and roll it back and all that kind of stuff and we'll we're really going to see how uh right there around they are with the way this plays out I think that's a good segue just into the depth chart because the obvious place to start with the depth chart is at quarterback and ultimately I've already written about this we've talked about this a couple times but the guy that they're hoping is going to develop the most or show the most this year is Anthony Richardson this the the clear-cut starting quarterback he only played 173 snaps last year the Colts have said Don't expect him to be Superman right away but they're also expecting him to elevate the offense significantly um ex especially in terms of explosive plays both with his legs and with his arm I would say there's a secondary element of expecting Jonathan Taylor to help the explosiveness uh but really A lot of it falls on the shoulders of Richardson and the legs of Richardson and you know the depth chart it's really there's not a ton to discuss here I think you know I'll just throw this out real quick I don't really think at this point that either of the two undrafted free agents that they signed are real are are have a good shot at knocking out Sam mellinger from the emergency quarterback position um but uh like that Richardson is is is a good example of what you're saying they are expecting him to develop in a way that helps get them over the top and into the playoffs yeah I think I think Jonathan actually is a huge piece of that it's the idea of Richardson and Taylor together happened for two total snaps last year and so I think when they talk about like not crowning Anthony expecting him to be Superman's partly because they finally bit the bullet and decided we're gonna pay Jonathan Taylor to like let him combine with Anthony's rushing upside the backfield and the Shane Sten offense and let that be the kind of Superman combo interesting route of going there when they spent half a season not wanting to pay that guy but that's that's old news and uh you know we're we're we're plunging forward into the future but the thing is it's risky because I mean it's a running back his running backs get hurt in two straight years Jan Taylor's been hurt for multi-week absences and last year they had Zack Moss fill in really really well he left in free agency they haven't replaced that position so in a way like yeah they're not if that all pans out if they get 17 games out of Anthony richon and 17 games out of Jonathan Taylor there is a route for this to get a lot better because of that but I think the histories of both of those players in the playing styles of both those players show that's a big time risk and it's just interesting they they're backing one of those guys up pretty well with Joe Flaco a guy who can uh maintain the explosive you know down thefield throws of the offense and has obviously played a ton they're not really doing it at the other position right now so you know they are kind of a j Taylor injury away from just putting everything on the offense on anony Richardson's shoulders which isn't the plan but could become the reality based on how they've done this yeah let's talk about the running back dep chart well we we can move on to the running backs right now Taylor obviously the starter um I think everyone would expect and we saw this last year even with Zach moss on the roster if Taylor is healthy and available he's going to get the Lion Share the carries right now it's Trey Surman as a backup and then honestly looks like a competition between Evan Hall and Tyler Goodson for the pass catching back is there anything I'm missing there no not really I mean we were just looking on our last podcast looking at guys they could sign to those guys it's not a good list and two of them had signed Zeke Elliott and Boston Scott and it's boy it is Slim out there right now so the only thing that's going to change I think is do you like old running backs do you like old running backs whose careers are probably behind them that's that's pretty much what's available out there yeah like we go on a time machine of four years ago maybe but uh yeah I mean it's it's only going to change like if if we get to you know we get to roster cuts and there's some new guys that pop up or I think it's possible they could explore a trade that's probably more something that would happen once you you know once you deal with an injury to Taylor um but yeah right now it's it very much seems like I know there are a lot of people who are fans excited about Evan Hull and that's that's fine I mean he he could become something but there's no way to know that there's absolutely no way to know that he had one carry last year for one yard uh the preseason he got a little bit of run I think he averaged like 3.2 yards a carry he showed very nice pass pass protection and that like you mentioned I think that's the area he can come in and contribute uh is is try to be a receiver third down pass protector type of player but the the closest thing they have to an established Runner it's not established the closest thing they have to a running skill set that you feel decent about at the NFL level would be Trey Surman and that is based on a very small sample of filling in weight L it was like 100 carries maybe probably less than that I mean that's that's kind of what they're working with so no doubt when Taylor's out there though you're not going to look to those other guys that much it's just can he play 17 games is is the bigger question well I will say like they what's interesting with the backup running back is I know that they very much were interested in bringing Zach Moss back that was like that was the one guy that got away from them that they did want back but the problem is they've got Jonathan Taylor they've invested in him if he wants to go prove he can be a starting running back and keep signing new one-year deals and what's not a fun Market um that that was his route to go play for a team like the Bengals and try and become a player for a really good team it's just interesting that once once he left other teams raced to sign starting running backs and that's why I think you know I think there were a couple guys they were hoping to get in the draft that didn't come through and the depth of that class was just so bad so now they're just in this spot where it's really hard to find anything to like at that spot more than what they already have which is very unproven but so everything else there on the Market's either unproven or to proven passor Prime of them to proof it is an incredible way to put that I like that we gotta we gotta save that for future pods yeah it's it's 78 career cares for Trey Surman 35 last year 35 wow um and uh and and three teams I think that's also important three separate teams as a third round pick uh is is also sort of of to me that's always an indicator now there are those guys who they bounce around for a while and they find the right one and it sticks but this is this is the this is the something that I think happens with NFL stuff a lot that's the exception not the rule um so yeah it it's kind of weird like it's kind of weird like you were just saying that they thought well we're going to get Zach Moss back and if cuz none of us thought they were going to get Zach Moss Back you and I didn't think that because yeah he very clearly doesn't have a path to the starting lineup here and of course he should want a path to the starting lineup like I I don't know that that's like [Laughter] confusing com back maybe I shouldn't sell as much they expected him back they really wanted him back uh that I don't know maybe that just speaks the fact that like that's this is how they do for agency they bring everyone back that they could possibly want back um and that was the one that they didn't get back but for very obvious reasons I mean there just wasn't the only way it was going to work is if not if if no other team saw him as a starter I think that was their hope but he played well enough last year and especially when you compare it to with this running back class I mean this running back class in the draft had you could maybe talk yourself into three starters it's probably more like two but yeah it's I don't know it just yeah there was no alternative to that either I I don't like I said I think Trey Benson the Florida state was the guy they wanted in the third round he pieced together what Ballard said with what else they've done and not done but you know he went the second pick of the third round so they're like this is just where they're at it's kind of weird yeah wide receiver is a position that's interesting to me because uh we we've gone into a lot of camps in my time here I started covering the Colts in 2018 midseason so I've I've covered every Camp from 2019 on uh I've gone into a lot of camps where there were say three receivers or four receivers that you knew were going to make the roster and then there was a fight for the the last couple spots I'm gonna be honest I outside of an injury outside of a an Ashton Duan style preseason injury which my desk is particle wood does that count can I knock on that sure that counts I don't I don't know the wood luck uh you know parameters we we'll knock on my desk here that outside of that I I just don't see a lot of opportunity for like a DJ Montgomery or a Jan Winfrey to be anything more than a practice squad player you have three guys who played more than 700 snaps last year that's Pitman Downs Pierce you drafted a guy in the second round you get duelan back Duan as long as Duan is is healthy and Ash Duan he's making the roster especially with more kickoff returns more importance on special teams Ashton duan's making the roster the dude is a demon when it comes to covering punts and the kickoff is kind of a punt now so he's making it and I think Anthony G is making it I think Anthony Gold's going to make it because he's a natural Return Man and Brian Mason said Point Blank yesterday this is one of those ones where Nate is working on the race and didn't get to hear this but he said Point Blank that one of the places they thought they needed to upgrade this year was returner like that's what Anthony gold is like that's six guys I think they're all on the roster the the biggest question I think in at this spot in the depth chart is just as we look through the depth chart is just is it Alec Pierce or ad Mitchell or is it some combination of the two uh in that that other outside receiver spot I I don't really see it any other way no I think that is the only question that's out there because they just extended Michael Pitman Jr to be exactly what he has been the only thing changing is they hope that he finally gets to play with his starting quarterback for a full season uh but he's going to continue to be that that sort of high volume outside receiver that is just going to going to kind of lead all these guys in targets and production um Josh DS is going to be the same thing he was last year they I think they hope that um I mean pretty much the same thing as last year just you know they're trying to build the chemistry with Anthony Richardson that's really the only questions here is can guys how did they take off within playing with Anthony but those two spots are exactly what they were and then Ashton duan's going to be like you say he's going to be on the roster and he's a guy that like I think they'd feel better about if he has to go in and an out side spot because of an injury just because he's done it a little bit and like last the last time he played 2022 which was a disaster year to play in this offense but um you know he did catch 207 yards and average 9.4 yards a Target so that that's better than what else they have in a pinch but they drafted ad Mitchell to be more than that and so it is just to me about ad Mitchell versus Alec Pierce I think that the slot rle uh that's that's why I also think Anthony gold is I mean he was already going to make it for the return stuff but his ability to be a backup slot receiver who produced more than 1300 yards in college they didn't really have that on the roster either that's sort of the gadgety stuff they did with Isaiah McKenzie kind of yeah some of that I mean the only other like if Josh towns were to get hurt they probably would go probably a lot of more you know big sets uh just just remove the slot a lot Michael Pitman Jr would play there sometimes but they did not have like a natural this guy's just going to step in for Downs they do now with Anthony gold so to me the only question is is it you know is it a you know 3A 3B type thing with Alec Pierce and AD Mitchell for that that outside wide receiver spot do they split it does one is one just ahead of the other because either ad Mitchell's just that explosive early on or Alec Pierce like we see that experience pay off and and it and it hits with Anthony Richardson but I still imagine they're both going to play um at the very least because like you brought up they got really lucky with those receivers playing almost every snap outside of about a game and a half Michael Pitman Jr missed they're probably going to miss some games so that's gonna kind of play out the pecking order very much seems Pitman one Downs two Pierce vers Mitchell for three and duan's like your outside guy in a pinch and Gold's your backup slot yeah yeah let's let's go to a fun position to talk about where there's actual like uh Intrigue tight end could go a lot of different ways tight end could go a lot of different ways so you have galani Woods who who knows with gani Woods in the health he's he's posted a lot of stuff about being back I think within the building there's some trepidation about you know can he stay healthy can he be on the field um but man if he's if he's galani Woods that we saw against Pittsburgh say his rookie year that's that's your starting tight end um that's your high volume Target that's the field stretcher down the seam then you've got some you've got four more guys and I I want to hear I want to hear what you think on this because to me Mo Ali Cox is an inline blocker Drew ogal tree can do a little more than that in terms of options for Shane Sten as a blocker it kind of feels like the roster spots for them it's a competition it's one or the other um and then or I mean they could they could keep four like they did last year but but the really interesting one to me is kylin granson and will mallerie because it kind of feels like if you have a healthy galani Woods that's two guys who are kind of competing for the same spot yeah that's that's actually really interesting because last year the way it worked out is you know they drafted will mallerie but we and we just expect tight ends to take a while and it kind of did for him but also there wasn't they had a lot of these different guys but galani missed the full season and it got to the point late in the year where granson and mallerie both had pass catching roles and kind of did fairly well within those but they are kind of duplicate as things play out here I does feel like there's one blocking spot for moi Cox versus Drew ogal tree and that to me just comes down to you know do they a little bit of a trust Factor veteran versus a guy who's barely played you know there's a little more upside in Drew Ogle tree as far as some of the blocking he can do kind of pre- snap motion and on the move is different than M coxks there's more athleticism in him than than Mo Alli has and then there's a cost-saving element if they if it just becomes a coin flip between them but yeah it's uh they they really were a big fan of will mallerie last year down the stretch they really liked like when he would whenever he was on the field it felt like they were designing up plays for him and they liked how it went like they felt like he was getting it he he seemed to mentally transition better than some tight ends because you he grew up in the game it didn't seem overwhelming to him small sample size of course he had only 26 targets but he caught 27 yards and eight yards to Target like he was pretty efficient for that low volume roll and it but very similar numbers to Kin Grant and it's one of those like highin entering his contract year the way this is probably the way that they've set this up and this is what they do a lot of positions like we'll talk about on the offensive line is the ideal hope would be that will mallerie just steps in and is your you know fills that role on a for for three more years on a rookie deal um that that is though where that's the competition I think as you get into camp and this kylin's edge of EXP experience in and being around the block a little bit more does that show up a lot in training camp in the preseason like like I don't see them cutting will mallerie though so it would be like I do they could get to a point where they carry those two plus galani woods and one of the blockers to have four so it almost comes down to like yeah it feels like you're keeping one of one or two of kylin and mallerie just based on like does one guy just pull way ahead of the other do you feel like you need both yeah it's it's a very interesting uh throw out there is we also have to Jian Woods has to be healthy come September 1 well that's I mean and whether or not it's gelani Woods like there's a really good chance that at any of these positions there's going to be an injury or something that sort of decides these roster spots like it's no team gets to the no team gets to the start of the regular season with everybody healthy it's like you mentioned July Woods is just so fascinating because it's it could go a lot of different ways where the talent the athleticism in him is unbelievable he's still one of the most athletic tight end prospects the game has ever seen and they have a new training staff that just did not click with him last year at all uh Cole's training staff with with him and man managing an injury he never had before his offseason training's been impressed but he was trying to rework pretty much rewire his entire body to handle football in a way that he wasn't built for before does it work I think we're gonna find that out um maybe we'll find it out by September maybe it's something that gets into the season but it's it's going to decide a lot here because I think yeah he is as a pass catcher he should be if he's healthy he's the guy if he's not that's where still feels like a position that's much more committee based I could see frankly if like galani is not out there I could see kylin Will and Drew all getting kind of a mix of targets the way that they did it last year just with Mo over Mo over Drew so kind of whether or not they're a total committee or whether they have one guy who could potentially break out has a ton to do with stuff we don't know we don't have answers to which is did galani Woods's offseason training fixed the problem with his hamstrings offensive line wise this is another position that's kind of like wide rece kind kind of like wide receiver or quarterback we know who the five starters are if everybody's healthy same ones as last year uh the Intrigue is more who makes the roster and who gets pushed out by the selections of Matt Gonzalez and Tanner bortolini because if you use a third round pick and a fourth round pick on those guys I I know I know Ballard has cut a fourth round pick before Zack bner I'd be shocked if that happens with these two Um Zack Banner was a very different kind of player in different kind of evaluation than these two guys are balini is from Wisconsin which like just go look at the history of drafted Wisconsin offensive lineman um and then Gonzalez is a third round pick who they traded up for and think is a perfect fit for their room it's hard it it's hard to imagine either of those guys doing something to like get themselves cut the way Banner was so you have the two rookies Blake freeland's not going anywhere um that kind of leaves one spot Wesley French Danny Pinter um you know Arlington hamite like it it kind of leaves one or two spots you either keep 10 offensive linemen or nine offensive linemen and it's just that last spot or two really as far as we know right now everything else is is accounted for yeah I would say the likelihood or at least the hope is that they keep nine with the idea that like a guy like Matt Gonzalez can play tackle if he needs to if you were to lose more than one or lose more than one in a game or something like that um but yeah I mean it's mostly it's easy to see a lot of what the roles are right now or um you know I think Danny Pender's going to start as the backup center I guess it's possible that they could just love T borini so much early on that they think he's ready to be that backup center since he did play a lot good amount in college uh he's he's your he's your backup guard I think to start out mckin alz almost seems a little that mol's pick the more I think about it feels a lot like Nick cross where they trade up third round they pick a guy because they they just fall in love with sort of the skill set they see him as the best player available but there's not I guess what's a little different is Nick cross they mistakenly started the first two weeks and then and then they went into this longterm plan for him but mat Gonzalez I mean he was a Col tackle who played three games last year and they're gonna move him inside mostly but they already have other guys to play Above him so he's almost more of you know I think ideally this is more of a red shirt season for him where he's more of like your emergency tackle um I don't know maybe it's possible that he's just good enough in Camp that he's he's better than Tanner bourini as like a guard a position he hasn't played yet I it just seems like I'd be a little bit of a surprise but yeah most of feels set your nine guys make sense too just because like it all these all these guys were talking about with the exception of Blake Freeland and even Blake Freeland play more than one spot because Freeland can play both tackle spots pretty well so like keeping 10 is a little unnecessary especially for game day purposes when you have guys who can fill multiple spots um and you have multiple back you have multiple Center options you have like it just kind of a this doesn't make sense so nine kind of makes sense there defensive line when I did this I cut like 600 snaps from the defensive tackle position um uh when I did this exercise on on indystar.com right after the draft because you have DeForest Buckner you have uh Grover Stewart neither of them are going anywhere rayin Davis you signed to a fairly significant free agent contract he's not going anywhere and then I kept Tommy Adar atat Adar as a three technique pass rusher and then cut Tav Bryan and Eric Johnson because I think edar and um Dave rayquan Davis they eliminate those positions essentially yeah I that yeah I think their plan is to streamline it a ton in the interior with rayquan Davis he's the guy he is the backup at both spots uh for deforce Buckner and gr Stewart and not just backup but you know he'll rotate in especially rundowns um quick note on rayquan Davis I finally got to finally ran into him at Josh to City Youth Camp and he was there and that is maybe the most massive human being I've ever seen in my life he is so big that he just walked out of the facility and all these kids ran over for autographs and none of them knew who he was they were just they knew he played for the Colts and this is the same event where Caleb DS who's gonna be a top 10 pick in the NFL most kids had no idea that he was a player just I mean just because when he's not in anything it doesn't necessarily look like like rayquan Davis is he is deforce Buckner's height and Grover Stewart's weight so it's just very like I see what they see in him as a guy that can do both of those spots and last year they fell off a cliff in the run defense when gr SE was out but yeah I think he's going to simplify that part of it it's more like the crowded parts are the edge group now that you've added lot to latu to it and like we said there's a little like what I think will probably happen is on base Downs first second down it'll be quiddy pay and Samson eacom and then third Downs passing Downs it's going to be eom and uh lotu watu and then you have doodo is mostly an interior rusher but you know and then you have tawon Lewis in there too I forgot about him he will play a little bit interior those guys are more like interior like they're interior on passing downs and they can help back up a little bit on the edge it's more like they're they're built for injuries here it's five It's Five Guys Who on that defensive end who can all really play and it's really hard without an injury it's really hard to see anybody cracking that you know um and and so in one way or the other like you have you know quy pay being a great run Defender um and then and then very you know good second effort pass rusher eacom kind of the same way I mean he he's he can do a little bit more than second effort with the pass rush but it's kind of Hit or Miss latu is supposed to be the do everything uh pass rusher that they can move around the formation and help create mismatches and then you have oo and Lewis who can play outside in the base like it's it's just a lot of guys who can play um at defensive end and you know you could keep like an Isaiah land or jard Avery but you could probably also sneak those guys through the practice squad and and not have to worry about it linebacker linebacker is interesting to me just in I think so I was asked on the radio the other day I was on on with Kevin Bowen good friend of the show Good Friend of the pod uh and Andy and they Kevin asked me uh day three pick who would play the most this year see the most percentage of snaps and I went Jaylen Carli and I'm gonna make my case here I'm gonna make my case here uh quickly so when EJ speed first uh got into the lineup it was as the team strongs side linebacker in base it's a couple years ago uh and athletically and build wise that was the comp that Ballard used the other day was EJ speed for Carli they don't really have a strong side linebacker that's not what Ronnie Harrison did last year when he came in he was more of like a passing down weak side guy and like you're you're usually bringing in your strong side linebacker against heavy formations where it's more likely they run so I I I think Carli is probably the best fit for that and obviously zier and EJ speed as long as they're healthy they're the starters but I mean the other guys there are like Grant Stewart Shu alobi alobi could do it but he's kind of more the middle linebacker backup and then Grant Stewart is mostly a special teamer so that's that's my pick Jaylen Carly maybe on the field a little more than you'd expect from a fifth round pick yeah that's interesting I'm not entirely sure how that's going to go because although Ronnie Harrison is not built to be a strongside linebacker that is what he started out as some that was when they were managing Shaquille Leonards fall out and like that's what they had at the time but it's kind of interesting because uh like Jaylen Carli is built the same way pretty much he is 63 227 um kind of forget what Ronnie Harrison his you know he's had super long arms super that's where he gets J Speedy is he's super like Ry I mean I definitely the long-term plan is to use car eyes I I mean he's he's their new yeah he's he's their new day three linebacker that're they're going to develop from Special Teams into uh you know ideally a starter and then maybe a plus starter the way that Z Franklin EJ speed came up I think maybe just it's just interesting to start out I could see I could see Harrison playing above him just the coaching staff prefers veterans and they know Ronnie a little bit more not that he's played there a ton uh but just in terms of knowing some of the Run fits and the guy they trust out there I could see that early on but uh just because it's a new position for Jaylen Carli I mean he it's interesting he started out as a cornerback then he moved to safety at missou the past two seasons their scheme has used him in the Box quite a bit that's why they think he can do some of that it was the SEC so it's about as high it's as high level as it gets in college I still think like rookies I just tend always think rookies they've got to catch up in their strength and in physical development so those areas that are more about strength physical development I tend to just give the edge to the veteran but they wouldn't surprise me though if if he just you know he's he's got more upside than Ronnie Harrison and he just shows that enough early on but I I had just have a feeling knowing these coaches that I think they're going to play the veteran early on over the rookie that brings us to the the last position group unless you unless you have major thoughts about kicker punter or Long Snapper I don't luckily they don't have any questions there we're not we're not in the spot they were a couple years ago where I was I was tracking I had Google alerts set up for udfa kickers because I couldn't believe that they didn't bring somebody in and then by week one of the season they couldn't believe they didn't bring so many in either but no luckily they're in a spot where they have three really good players there yeah uh so so so here's the secondary this is where we'll finish it's also the most interesting one um Gus Bradley was talking about this yesterday so it's there's some some recent information to go on but like there's two spots there's two spots that that you just don't worry about here or you don't there's not I don't think there's really a challenge as long as everyone's healthy Kenny Mo is your SL uh Julian Blackman is your strong safety Kenny will play outside against base def against base sets where they have heavy Personnel because you're just not going to find somebody better against the Run um now now for the fun Parts at free safety and at both outside cornerback spots did you see what Gus Bradley said yesterday about those two spots in terms of what he's thinking right now uh I saw you mentioned Daniel scottt as a free safety Wide Open Wide Open Wide Open they they like the athleticism and the like body types they have at those spots and it's in both cases it's about finding the consistency they need play in and play out so if you want to know right now what I think the most interesting position battle to watch is in training camp uh I have two it's corner it's outside cornerback and free safety those are the two spots I mean what's interesting this time of year is like trying to read between the lines of how much is it a you know coaches talking about competition to inspire everybody and how much is it real um I guess the way I'd say this is I look at Juju Brent similarly to how I look at gelani Woods which is the big question is health and durability can he be out there but if he's out there he's a starting outside corner if he's not they have a problem they have a serious problem but I think he will be I mean I think he showed in he played like nine games last year U it was ups and downs like you expect out of a corner but skill set wise was exactly what they drafted him to be which is super physical good against the Run makes plays on the ball and they've got to catch him up and experience which is why it's so important that he actually stays on the field uh but I look at more like that other outside Corner Spot Dallas flowers was the starter till he got hurt Jaylen Jones filled in pretty well for a rookie but had some rookie moments depends on how quickly Dallas fowers comes back from that kind of a serious injury I guess there's a world where Jaylen Simpson could factor in but I would think it's more likely either flowers or Juju or Jaylen Jones and maybe just a mix of those two honestly I could see them just rotating that spot a little bit based on matchups two different kind of players uh in a way Dallas Flyers is a super athlete and when he when he's healthy and you know Jaylen Jones is super physical long and rangy and all of that so uh yeah that's uh I think the same thing honestly goes for free safety where if Nick cross is not the starting free safety either they went out and signed somebody which you could very much argue they should do or something went wrong because I just think that's where the investment is and that's where that's kind of what should happen in his third year in the league so here's what Gus Bradley said yesterday about free safety I think Rodney Nick and Daniel all those guys at safety it's it's just which one is going to come to the top I think that a guy like Rodney his first year was a good year second year struggled at times but feels like now in a short time being back with him now it's like you know what I learned from that that's not happening again he's kind of got that mindset it feels like a pretty competitive group back there and I think Nick we tried him at strong and he can play strong but I think even looking back at him in college when he sees things from the top down his comfort level and his speed picks up he's in a pretty good mindset now it just play out and we'll see what we come up with any any anything spark in your brain listening to that I I my general my general thought is that that Gus is generally pretty positive about players in general um I I don't know I I feel like Nick cross has to be the guy though well so so this is what's kind of interesting is that and this happens this is not anything like celicious or or specific to the Colts what happens a lot in the NFL is the the front office prefers their draft picks and the young players they look at the upside and what a player can be and coaches especially kind of older coaches tend to rely on the guys they trust mentally preparation wise they like the veterans better this is a the Colts I think take that to the extreme on the defensive side especially the back end where Ron Milas and Gus Bradley have a way they've done it forever and they they like veterans back there a couple years ago the Colts signed one of the veterans that they trusted Brandon fa on to a deal that was like sort of like he could start he could not and then he was starting and playing every single snap and that did not go particularly well going to just put it that way but the next year what did the front office do they didn't sign any veterans they said you have to play the young guys you w there's not going to be anybody else out there to play but them and I think free safety is kind of feeling like that this year where Nick cross did not crack he didn't find his fit with this coaching staff for a while part of it was figuring out was he a strong safety was he a free safety but a bigger part of it was they started him for two games it went very poorly at the start of his rookie year and they just don't know if they can they just don't know what he's going to do play to play and at that position the floor is low if he doesn't do what he's supposed to do out a single play you could have Juju Bron man coverage on Nico Collins 60 yards down the field in a must-win game and that's what the coaching staff doesn't want to have now the flip side of that is he can do a lot of great plays Splash plays to pick against the Steelers and great third down stop he had against the Buccaneers when he came from depth and made the tackle and so I think the front office is setting it up to where they he doesn't they don't have a lot of great options to play outside of n cross you know maybe Rodney Thomas can ReDiscover more of what he did as a rookie but the more that times played out I think Rodney Thoms is a good backup to have but he comes off to me like I think that was so singular to playing with uh Rodney McLoud and Stefan Gilmore in the positions they put a young player in to where they have a decent foundation for that with Kenny Moren and and uh and Julian Blackman but they don't have it at outside corner to save a free safety the same way so I think Nick cross is gonna play that's why I'm saying that if he doesn't something's really not coming together like it's they've set it up to where this again unless they go and sign somebody and that's that's still possible they have the C face and there's a probably at least three guys out there on the market I think could start at free safety you know pretty clearly over Nick cross but if they don't go out and sign somebody and that's what I'm saying that's coming down to does the front office want to make them play the young player this year and if they don't sign somebody I think that's basically what they're doing I I've been in a I've been in a rabbit hole of Moneyball Clips I think Moneyball memes are my favorite thing in sports right now and uh it's it's very much like the scene in Moneyball what what you're describing is very much like the scene in Moneyball where Billy Bean just trades all of Art House first base options that he has to play Scott hadberg there um I I I would like to point out just as a quick mini rant not related to the Colts unless you really want to make it about the Colts uh one of the players that they trade in that scene is Carlos Peña uh who at the time was super young and had just started his career and they're like he's like the only first baseman I think is what they say the only actual first baseman they're like well we got to play hatur because he gets on base uh what what happened to Carlos Peña Nate I'm trying to remember after they traded Carlos Peña oh this tickles me he didn't he didn't fully become like a a full a full-fledged power hitter until he was 29 with Tampa Bay when he went 46 home 31 homers and 39 homers but but even even with that even with that the rest of the season after he went to Detroit uh he ran a 783 Ops the next year he was a 772 Ops and the year after that he was an 810 Ops as a young presumably controllable player and over that span he hit 57 homers well taking walks so I'm just saying I'm just saying maybe Money Ball shouldn't have traded Carlos pñ because he was a Moneyball player that's true I mean one year he had a 411 on base percentage so maybe that inspired him though maybe he was so mad at getting traded and told he can't take walks that it it inspired something in him so got they gotta look out not to do that U my favorite my favorite thing like this though was Nick chub's rookie year like the Hugh Jackson would just always play Carlos Hyde no matter like Nick chub was ripping off 80 yard runs and he would get like three carries a game so in the middle of the season they just traded Carlos Hideway and made Nick chub play finish like a thousand yards and so it does happen sometimes it's um and I I think now look they they brought back this coaching step because they they like them in general just saying in this specific way I do think there and this is a disconect that's across the NFL is that there's always a front office wants you to play the picks and the coaching staff wants veterans they can trust and it's finding a middle ground in all of that and so I think the coaching staff would probably pop bottles of champagne if they went out and sign quandre Diggs right now uh but that does not fit how the Colts have generally done things and so yeah it's just like that's what's like my big hold up with Nick cross and like I've thought they should play him more anyway but my thing was like if he was supposed to be your starting free safety this year why didn't we see it until like the last two weeks of the Year this is this is Nate's this is Nate's white whale Nate's Nate's white whale is getting someone to tell him why they didn't play nit cross it's not a bad white whale it's not like a bad one but this is this is your like big unanswerable question from last year is what in the world was going on with Nick cross in the starting lineup yeah that's right I did ask a lot and wrote a lot about it I I mean I think ultimately no the coaches didn't want to play him and they fired the safeties coach and they're making them playing now that's how it feels like the safeties coach may have been fired for other more public reasons very true but the thing is they they didn't add anything at that position so uh and well look part of it was understanding and this this is true too I don't think the front office knew 100% what position niit cross was this is something Chris balard does where he he wants to keep things open-ended he did this with ad I Mitchell saying I think he can do everything he tried that with Alec Pierce when he drafted him like oh we don't want to put him in the Box even though very quickly it turned out no he's an outside down the- field guy he's not a slot receiver he tries to keep a little open-ended the downside to that is when it's a player that that sometimes it doesn't become clear so early what he is and that was Nick cross where he's got like that his skill set physically can do either one but his time played out in this defense what they need out of the strong safety role it just doesn't the high level Communicator the way to see things from that part of the field pre- snap wasn't fitting Nick cross nearly as well as as free safety does and that's um you know that's that's where like it took them all time coaching staff and front office time to figure out that Nick cross is a free safety but now that he is I think that's the front office's way of saying okay now he's a free safety so he's just starting free safety so there it is there is your 2024 cold step chart as we see it on May the 2nd the year of Our Lord 2024 things will change they will well sometimes sometimes for reasons that are are not great like I said there there will be injuries there will be other things um maybe it'll change because they signed somebody maybe maybe maybe if we keep saying that they'll sign someone it would give us an easy podcast I'm starting to feel like I'm starting to feel like we're giving people false hope oh we would never do that on this podcast we would never talk about trading up for Marvin Harrison Jr on a podcast I'm not about false hope the hard part the hard part is what we're really trying to do is we're really just trying to cover our bases because they have said like Balor did say at the draft you know we we still could add to this team but man if if you're sitting there out if you're sitting out there and you're like they're not gonna add to this team I don't believe them I I got nothing I don't have anything to turn that around on you we're just leaving the door open because Balor does well yeah and the just the fact that there are two star free safeties out there I think is the other thing yeah there's some veteran Corner GNA sign somewhere so some teams beat Riders are going to go through this where they go hey we were poo pooing the free safety spot now they have a pro bowler there it's a chance that the Colts are that one team or that I guess there's two teams that'll end up doing that with with Diggs and Simmons it's possible the Colts are one of those two teams but I don't blame you for not having faith in that being the way it's going to play out so that's your that's your bummer ending for the week head on head on into your weekend uh and and think about uh how the Colts probably won't sign anybody it's not what they do and for the CT cover two podcast I'm Joel Ericson this is Nate Atkins