In my last blog in January, I
discussed the roster needs for the Colts and ranked them in order of need. Now that the biggest part of free agency is
over, I thought we’d take another look at the roster and see where the Colts
are now leading up to the draft.
The Colts biggest need was on
the offensive line. Not only did they
lose Winston Justice, but the line needed to be upgraded overall as
well. At the time of my blog, I had ranked the
Right Tackle and Left Guard positions of greatest need. While they didn’t make a huge splash, they
did pick up Gosder Cherilus from the Detroit Lions. I knew nothing about this guy, but have
read that he is a definite upgrade over Justice at the Right Tackle position. They also picked up Donald Thomas who
played for the New England Patriots last year and filled in nicely for them
when they had some injuries. I expect
Thomas to compete for the starting Left Guard position. The Colts also still have starters Anthony
Castonzo at Left Tackle, Samson Satele at Center and Mike McGlynn at Right
Guard. Looks like AQ Shipley will
compete for the Center position again.
Coming of a year sidelined by injury is Ben Ijalana and Justin
Anderson who should both compete for the starting Left Guard position or as a
backup Guards. The Colts were able to
resign Jeff Linkenbach and Joe Reitz.
I’m not high on either, but both proved to be invaluable versatile
backups. As only situational linemen
and as backups, they are probably ok and not being on the field as much
should keep them from constant injury.
Also on the roster are Bradley Sowell, Robert Griffin and Lee
Ziemba. All of whom were either added
last season to the roster or practice squad, but are probably more
projects/works in progress. Seth Olsen
was loss to Minnesota via free agency.
While the Colts addressed the Right Tackle position, I still see the starting
Left Guard position still not settled.
Having three solid players competing is nice, but neither Ijalana nor
Anderson has played a down in regular season and newly acquired Thomas though
has a little experience, he is also still basically unproven. I’d like to see the Colts pick up one of
the remaining veteran free agent Guards to come in and provide some
experience and competition. Someone
like a Brandon Moore might make a good vet that’s available and likely available
for cheap for a one year deal. And if
it doesn’t work out, there’s always camp and pre-season casualties.
The next offensive position I
thought needed attention was at Running Back.
Looks like the Colts think they are set with Vick Ballard, Donald Brown and Delone Carter
and prospects Alvester Alexander and Davin Megget. The Colts did pickup Stanley Havili via a
trade with Philadelphia Eagles as the Full Back. They also have Robert Hughes on the roster
as a FB, but must not have thought he’s as ready as Havili. I liked what I saw in Ballard, but I still
think were a little weak at this position.
Next offensive position that
needed to be addressed was at Wide Receiver.
The Colts lost Donnie Avery to the Kansas City Chiefs via free agency and
were very quiet for a long time despite owner Jim Irsay’s tweets regarding
signing a WR. The speculation ended
when they signed Darius Heyward-Bey.
Not known for good hands thus far, but has speed and size and is a vet
they can lean on. He’s at least as
good as Avery and maybe given another chance away from the Raiders, might be
what both he and the Colts need. With
Reggie Wayne, Heyward-Bey, TY Hilton and Lavon Brazil making up the core WR group, I feel
good about this group. With Griff Whalen
coming back from injured reserve, speedster Nathan Palmer, the addition of
Jeremy Kelley and Jabin Sambrano, I think there’ll be great competition come
camp.
I ranked back up Quarterback as the
next offensive need, but thought the Colts would just give Chandler Harnish that
role. Not so fast. The Colts picked up Matt Hasselbeck just
about as soon as the Tennessee Titans let him go. Sure he’s old and in no way a starter (well
maybe for the Arizona Cardinals), but he has a lot of experience that can be
shared with Andrew Luck and Harnish for that matter.
He was relatively cheap and does provide better insurance over Harnish
and is definitely an upgrade over Drew Stanton.
That left the Tight End position where I think the Colts are pretty well stocked. With Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener, the Colts already have two great young tight ends. They also have Dominique Jones and Wesley Saunders on the roster and both looked to have a lot of upside. It’ll be interesting to see how many Wide Receivers and Tight Ends make the 53-man roster next year. On the defensive side of the ball, I had ranked Safety as the most pressing need. The Colts must have too. They signed LaRon Landry at the SS position replacing former starter Tom Zbikowski who was signed by the Chicago Bears after the Colts released him. Landry was the biggest free agent name signed by the Colts. He’s had a history of injury, so that’s a bit of concern, but if he can stay healthy, I think beside Antoine Bethea, they’ll make up a great backfield duo. Behind Landry and Bethea though, I feel the Colts are still thin. Joe Lefeged was good on special teams, but only so-so on defense. Same with Sergio Brown (whom I still am having trouble forgiving after giving up the Jacksonville Jaguars TD that lost the Colts that game in 2012). Behind those two are prospects Delano Howell and Larry Asante. This might be another position where the Colts could bring in a veteran free agent on a one year deal if for nothing else than to bring in leadership and experience for the younger guys. Regardless, swapping Landry in for Zbikowski is a major upgrade. Next need was at Outside Linebacker. This was primarily because of letting Dwight Freeney go. Robert Mathis was the only other proven OLB on the roster. Jerry Hughes will get another camp to prove himself. The Colts signed Erik Walden and Lawrence Sidbury via free agency. Justin Hickman will be back from injured reserve as well. Also on the roster are prospects Monte Simmons, Quinton Spears, and Jake Killeen. What I’ve read on Walden and Sidbury doesn’t make me feel like the starting Right OLB position is settled. There will be competition for sure, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the Colts bring in a cheap veteran free agent at least to camp until we see who might separate themselves as the starter. The next defensive need I thought was at Defensive Linemen. With Cory Redding starting at Defensive End, Brandon McKinney or Josh Chapman competing for starting Nose Tackle, the only real void is at Defensive Tackle. The Colts signed Ricky Jean-Francois from the San Francisco 49ers. From what I’ve read he’s good, but a starter good I’m not sure. The Colts also signed NT Aubrayo Franklin (most likely as insurance in case McKinney or Chapman aren’t ready to return) and resigned Fili Moala who was improving until injured last year. Behind those are Ricardo Matthews, Drake Nevis, Lawrence Guy, Kellen Heard, and Martin Tevaseu. My bet would be whichever of this group can play more than just one DL position would be more likely to make the roster. Cornerback was the postion I had as the next biggest need. Losing Jerraud Powers made this one more critical. The Colts basically swapped CBs with the Arizona Cardinals with whom Powers signed with while the Colts signed the former Cardinal, Greg Toler. The Colts also resigned Cassius Vaughn and Darrius Butler. The Colts also have prospects Marshay Green, Teddy Williams and made a tender offer to Josh Gordy who is the lone Colt yet to sign his offer sheet as of April 10th. I’d feel a little better with another veteran backing up Toler due to his past injuries. Someone like Mike Jenkins free agent from the Dallas Cowboys or Quitin Demps from the Houston Texans would be nice additions. A player I felt the former Colts regime gave up on too early in Justin Tryon is also available. Even some older free agent CBs like Sheldon Brown, Quentin Jammer or Terrence McGee would provide nice insurance at the position as long as they were expected to start every game. The last defensive position I had as a need was Inside Linebacker. As long as health isn’t an issue, with Pat Angerer, Jerrell Freeman, and Kavell Conner the Colts have starters and a rotational player on the roster. So, the need here is at depth. On the roster are Mario Harvey, who was on the regular roster last year, and prospects Shawn Loiseau and Scott Lutrus. The Colts could easily use the draft to fill this need. That leaves special teams. The only reason the Colts would have a need at Kicker or Punter is if Pat McAfee wasn’t resigned. He was franchised and recently signed the offer sheet. Matt Overton settled into the LS position very well last year, so that position is set as well. So, that leaves Kick and Punt Returners. I think Hilton proved to be the best punt returner on the team and with Heyward-Bey being signed, that should relieve some of the pressure of having to start Hilton on offense every snap. Brazil will likely be given another chance at Kick Returner and I’d expect the new Running Backs and Defensive Backs to be in the competition with Hilton and Brazil as the returners. With that said, below is the roster as I see it at this point in free agency and pre-draft. Looking at it now, I’d say the Colts will be looking for these positions primarily in the draft: OT/OG, DT, OLB/ILB, CB, S. They’ll also be looking for backup/prospects for DE, RB, WR, C, and K, so if a player at any given position is high on the Colts board and still available when they are on deck they may opt to take the best player over a need. Pre-Draft Roster
Offense
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POSITION
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STARTER
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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QB
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Luck, Andrew
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Hasselbeck, Matt
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Harnish, Chandler
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WR
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Wayne, Reggie
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Hilton, T.Y.
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Kelley,
Jeremy
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Sambrano,Jabin
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LT
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Linkenbach, Jeff
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Sowell, Bradley
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LG
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Thomas, Donald
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Reitz, Joe
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C
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RG
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Anderson, Justin
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Griffin, Robert
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RT
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Cherilus, Gosder
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Ziemba,
Lee
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TE
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Fleener, Coby
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Saunders,
Weslye
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WR
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Heyward-Bey, Darrius
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Brazil, LaVon
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Palmer,
Nathan
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TE/WR3
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Allen, Dwayne
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FB
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Havili, Stanley
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Hughes, Robert
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RB
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Ballard, Vick
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Brown, Donald
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Carter, Delone
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Alexander,
Alvester
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Megget,
Davin
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Base
3-4 D
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POSITION
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STARTER
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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DE
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Redding, Cory
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Guy, Lawrence
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NT
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Chapman, Josh
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Franklin, Aubrayo
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DT
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Jean-Francois, Ricky
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Mathews,
Ricardo
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Heard, Kellen
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LOLB/SLB
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Mathis, Robert
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Hughes,
Jerry
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Simmons, Monte
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Spears, Quinton
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RILB
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Conner,
Kavell
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Loiseau, Shawn
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LILB
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Freeman,
Jerrell
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Harvey,
Mario
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Lutrus, Scott
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ROLB
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Walden, Erik
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Sidbury, Lawrence
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Killeen, Jake
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LCB
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Davis, Vontae
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Vaughn, Cassius
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Green, Marshay
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Williams, Teddy
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SS
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Landry, LaRon
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Howell, Delano
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Asante, Larry
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FS
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Bethea, Antoine
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RCB
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Toler, Greg
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Butler, Darrius
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Gordy, Josh
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Special
Teams
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||||||||
POSITION
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STARTER
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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PK
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P
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H
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LS
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KR
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Hilton, T.Y
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Brazil, LaVon
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PR
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Hilton, T.Y.
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Brazil, LaVon
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