Originally Posted by sherck
QB: Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, Phillip Walker, Brad Kaaya
Notes: Assuming that Luck is back healthy, I cannot complain in the least with that lineup. In a better, quicker hitting, 1 or 2 look offense, Brissett will look much better because he has to process less and Luck will just carve defenses apart. If our offense looks anything like Philly’s did this season, it will be a wonderful thing to watch these two guys work. If any other QB takes snaps this season, we are screwed.
RB: Marlon Mack, Robert Turbin, Matt Jones, Josh Ferguson
Notes: Love, love, love the concept of seeing Mack being placed all over the field in situations that help create mismatches. Hate, hate, hate to see him lined up behind QB and running between the tackles 85% of the time like he did under Chud. I think he can be a special player who, if used correctly, can gain yards in chunks. Turbin is fine for the between the tackles running when required and not telegraphed. Jones has shown to have some skills in the past but looked ineffective last season. I will not hate adding a body here (unless that body is Barkley at 1-6), but I also think that a more intelligence offensive game plan will help tremendously in increasing the output of our running game and our passing game to the RB out of the backfield.
TE: Jack Doyle, Eric Ebron, Erik Swoope, Travis Ross
Notes: Really like the signing of Ebron. He has obviously been underwhelming when compared to his draft spot selection (#10 overall in 2014) but has performed solidly over the past two seasons (172 targets, 114 receptions, 66.3% catch rate, 1,285 yards, 5 TD, 11.3 ypc) and can hopefully still get better with a new change in QB, offense, team and city. He is the new “Dallas Clark” with the athletic ability to outrun linebackers and make defensive backs have to work hard to keep up. His blocking is substandard but with an excellent example of Jack Doyle, perhaps he can get better? Doyle was a stud last season and continues to improve every year in the league. He is the guy who will make this new offense click. Who knows if Swoope will be back to the potential he showed in 2016 but if he does, this could be an excellent 1-2-3 combo of TEs. If a lower round “value” pick says TE then I would be all for it but I would not want one drafted prior to the 4th round.
WR: T.Y. Hilton, Chester Rodgers, Ryan Grant, then a bunch of “who dats?” after them
Notes: Okay, more work needs to be done here. Hilton is a stud, Rodgers and Grant are nothing but “hope and prayer” at the moment and everyone else is forgettable. I suspect that Ballard is holding his powder dry for the veteran cut period that always happens to find another veteran WR or 2 as a short-term patch. We need to start drafting WRs to restock but I think that need is behind DE, O-Line and LBs in 2018. With whom we have at TE and WR currently, 1 or 2 more quality bodies this season (via free agency or the draft) would be welcome but we will need to wait for a larger restock for future seasons.
OC: Ryan Kelly, Matt Slauson, Deyshawn Bond
Notes: Kelly is good when healthy that hopefully he will be for 2018. Slauson has played OC at high levels before and Bond did a fine job for the first part of 2017 before getting injured himself. We have some depth from guys who can also play OG so we should be able to find a good combo to play the pivot position on the O-Line.
OT: Anthony Castonzo, Denzelle Good, La’Raven Clark, Joe Haeg
Notes: ‘Stanzo had a good year last year and continues to be a top 10 / 15 left OT in the NFL. While he will never be considered a “Joe Thomas” kind of guy, he continues to do a good job of protecting the blind side of our QB. What to think of Good, Clark and Haeg at OT? All have filled in at OT at times over the past couple of seasons and all have ranged from “good” to “solid” to “cover your eyes terrible!” I have hopes that Clark can find a resurgence under a new O-Line coach and offensive scheme (because his physical size and skills are impressive) but I honestly have zero confidence in any of them being a quality starting linemen. I really, really, really hope that one of our 2nd round draft picks is an OT like Jamarco Jones, Martinas Rankin, Brian O’Neill or Kolton Miller. None are as good of prospects as Connor Williams or Mike McGlinchey (both excellent left OT candidates) but all would probably come in and stabilize the right OT position for years to come.
OG: Matt Slauson, Jack Mewhort, Joe Haeg, Jeremy Vujnovich, Deyshawn Bond
Notes: If we knew for sure that Mewhort and Slauson would be healthy all season, then I would have zero issues with heading into the season just how we are. However, the knock on both of them is health and I am less than thrilled with Haeg or Vujnovich taking a lot of snaps as starters this season. This position screams out for a top rookie draft pick to be added (Nelson at 1-6 or someone like Hernandez, Wynn or Price in the 2nd round) and then hopefully one of Mewhort or Slauson can hold down the other side all season.
My ideal offensive line at this point would be:
Starters = ‘Stanzo / 2nd round rookie / Kelly / Mewhort / 2nd round rookie
Depth = Slauson, Haeg, Good, Clark, Vujnovich
We can probably get away with not drafting a 2nd round OG if the value is higher at other positions and roll the dice on a combination of Slauson, Haeg and Good playing fine but we really, really need a rookie right OT drafted this season.
In the end, I think the combo of a new O-line coach and a better offensive system will help our current offensive linemen look better than in 2017. However, I really think that we need a new OT to start on the right side as all of our current choices appear to be much better suited for depth than starter.
NT: Al Woods, Grover Stewart, Joey Mbu,
UT: Henry Anderson, Hassan Ridgeway, Marcus Hunt
Notes: I lumped them all together as I have ZERO idea how well any of them will transition from a 2-gap, “hold & assess” style of D-line play to a 1-gap penetration style of D-Line play. Honestly, looking through the NFL.com draft profile pages for all these guys, almost none of them “fit” a 4-3 gap shooting style of play. The only one that said that they thought one of his “natural” positions was a 4-3 3-tech UT was Grover Stewart who is WAY heavier than a typical 4-3 3-tech UT. It sure looks like on paper that we have the wrong guys for the 4-3 but time will tell. My guess is that we don’t do much here during the draft because we have many other areas of higher need but my guess is that a few of these guys will not be on the 53 man roster for 2018 and some “unknown scrubs” will be because they fit the scheme better.
DE: Jabaal Sheard, Denico Autry, Tarell Basham, Johnathan Calvin, Arthur Miley
Notes: I don’t hate the beginning of the DE rotation with Sheard, Autry and Basham but the position group is incomplete. All 3 of those guys played college ball as a hand-in-the-dirt 4-3 DE and Sheard had 2 of his most production 3 seasons as a pro in CLE as a 4-3 DE before they switched to the 3-4 defense. I think we will be pleasantly surprised at those three guys. That said, they are SCREAMING for a talent to demand the double team and that guy is Bradley Chubb if we get to draft him at 1-6. I love the idea of getting OG Nelson because I think he will be a 10-year all-pro but if both are sitting there, we have to draft Chubb. I don’t think he will be the next coming of Dwight Freeney or Von Miller but I do think that he will be a force that has to be countered and will make whoever is on the other side that much better. We might get lucky and find a rookie lower in the draft that excels but Chubb is as close to a “sure thing” as a DE that we will have access to. We have to add a rookie somewhere in the first 3 rounds of the draft to the position group no matter who it is.
SSLB: John Simon, Josh Perry
Notes: Covers the TE, sets the edge and turns any outside action into the middle of the field. Check, check and check for John Simon. I am excited to see him playing this spot this year because I think he can do a great job at it. I just hope he stays healthy. Perry? Got no idea but I went back to his draft profile and it said that SSLB was the position for him. We will see
MLB: Anthony Walker, Jeremiah Grace, Antonio Morrison
Notes: Goodness, here is hoping that Walker can become our next Gary Brackett as a lower round/UDFA guy who can man the middle of the defense for years to come. I don’t have a ton of confidence in that but you never know. Grace’s draft profile gives him + coverage skills so a combo of Walker on early downs and Grace in coverage could be good. I included Morrison here because he has been a starter but I hope he is cut because he just does not do anything well; the new Rob Morris of the defense.
WSLB: Jeremiah George, Darnell Sankey
Notes: Both these guys are identified as 4-3 WSLB candidates in their NFL draft profiles but both were also projected as 7th round / UDFA type guys. I am not counting on much from either of them.
We HAVE to get more talent at LB! I like John Simon but every other spot could be upgraded. If we get lucky and Walker or Grace or George end up doing well then all the better but that is all hope and prayer instead of a solid plan.
SS: Clayton Geathers, Matthias Farley, Ronald Martin
Notes: Would I turn down a guy like James Derwin or Minkah Fitzpatrick being drafted to play here? Nope. Do we need him? Nope. Geathers and Farley make a very nice combo when paired with Hooker for a “big 3” safety rotation. I think we are just fine here but if Derwin or Fitzpatrick are the picks at 1-6 or lower if we trade back, I will not scream. But unless it is high level talent like that? We do not need anyone else.
FS: Malik Hooker, T.J. Green
Notes: Hopefully, Hooker comes back and is the guy we all think he is. If so, then nothing else is needed at this position group. Green is just fine as a depth guy and for special teams; I just don’t want him in the box or in man-to-man coverage on anyone!
If the Colts end up with another high end safety to pair with Hooker I will not complain because a strong secondary is a wonderful thing but I would be fine with adding no one to the position groups if that is how the draft plays out.
CB: Quincy Wilson, Pierre Desir, Kenny Moore II, Nate Hairston, Chris Milton, D.J. White
Notes: 11 years league experience COMBINED in our 6 cornerbacks! Holy crud are they young! They are screaming for another top end talent (like DE) to help make them all better but I really like what we saw out of Wilson (when allowed to play), Moore, and Hairston last season. Desir played well as a 4th year pro and is the “veteran” of the group having fully 4 of the 11 seasons of experience under his belt alone! I would love for us to find a veteran cap casualty to help out this position group for a season or two as the young guys mature.
ST: Adam Vinatieri, Rigoberto Sanchez, Luke Rhodes
Notes: Just fine as is. I hope Adam kicks until he is 50. Sanchez was 20th in KO distance (1.9 yards less than 1st place) but 6th in KO return average (only 19.2 ypr) and 10th in KO Touch Back percentage. He was 4th in net yards punting, tired 1st place with OOB kicks, 1st in punts downed by own team, 2nd in lowest number of returned punts, and 2nd in lowest return yards. Seriously? A top 5 punter and a top 10 kick-off specialist? As a rookie!?! Great fricking find!
So, looking through this list, IMO, our “critical” needs priority out of the draft are:
#1: Starting quality right OT
#2: Starting quality ILB
#3: Starting quality DE
#4: Starting quality WSLB
#5: Starting quality OG
#6: WR depth
#7: LB depth
#8: Veteran CB help
It would be wonderful to get Chubb at 1-6 and then OT and 2x LB or OT, OG and LB in the 2nd round. That would be about my “perfect” draft scenario.
Walk Worthy,
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03-30-2018, 08:50 AM
You must be a gloom and doom fan.
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