Anthony Richardson is special | Colts Deep Dive

What is going on? It's Alex coming back at you with another video. And today we are doing the 2024 Indianapolis Colts Deep Dive. If you are new, feel free to like, comment, and subscribe. Let's get right into this. It's going to be three parts, one video. Draft class breakdown, depth chart slash roster breakdown, as well as a records prediction at the end. Let's get right into this, starting out with the draft class. You know, it's a good group of guys. Started out really, really hot. Leatu Laatu slipped, which he was projected to go number 8 overall, or maybe even, you know, within the top 10. And, you know, really solid player. Had to, he had to end up leaving, if I'm not mistaken, Washington because of a neck injury. Obviously, he didn't slip very far, which means that, you know, people felt very comfortable with him being able to play. So, that's a big plus right there. One of the most technically sound edge rushers that you'll find. Not the best at run support, but you got to see him improve year over year. So, that's why by the end of the draft cycle, he ended up shooting up more and more, because originally he was more of a DPR, but he really did solidify his overall game, which I appreciated about him. A.D. Mitchell slipped because of some grouchy issues, because of his blood sugar. And, you know what, I think that your front office said it best. It's a bunch of BS that he ended up slipping that far. Fantastic player. I think he was a top 10 player. On my board, if not top 15, he was excellent. Then you got Matt Goncalves. To me, after hurting himself early in the year, I didn't think that he justified being a top 100 pick, but I did like his game. He was my tackle 20 coming into the draft, and he's going to be, you know, a very versatile piece on that line of scrimmage. Looking at it right now, he is still listed as a left tackle. Then you got Tanner Bortolini at pick 117, and I like Tanner Bortolini. Again, that's a little bit early for me, because I didn't like his anchor. It was a little inconsistent, but at the end of the day, you're going to have a full year to let this guy develop, and because Kelly as well as Wolf Reiser are up for a contract, I think that getting a versatile player like Tanner Bortolini, who's very athletic, and giving him a year to develop is a very, very smart thing to do. Anthony Gold's going to be fun, given the new kick return rules. He's probably going to be a primary special teamer, but one of the guys who I love to take in my seven-round mock drafts because he's just somebody that was a really good value for what you got. He's a big playmaker. Jalen Charlie's what's next. He's a defensive back, but now he's listed as a linebacker. He was formerly a safety, but now he's your will. Interesting pick up there, to say the least. I really want to see how it plays out, but you all know I love Missouri players. Jalen Simpson, he was a talented DB out of Auburn, and taking him in the fifth round, I thought maybe there was some better value there, but after the first two picks, I did get reducing returns on investment, so to speak, in terms of looking at the value that you got for players, and that's okay. Micah Abraham, I love Marshall defensive backs. I love Marshall players in general, but again, I saw a lot of really talented players on the board at 201. Didn't really see that as the best return on investment because defensive back, especially the boundary corner position, needed to be addressed, and you guys waited until 151, and he's a linebacker now, so technically 164, to try to address it, and didn't really see that difference maker that you took there. Then you got Jonah Leolu. He literally thought it was a prank call. I remember seeing that. That's funny as hell, but you got yourself someone that you probably would have tried to go after in UDFA, and then just wanted to secure him. It is what it is, but you started off really hot, got two very good players with great value at very high-level positions in terms of value, so you know what? That's awesome. They really did kind of carry the draft, and then you got some really solid depth offensive linemen there to develop over a year, but again, C is average for me, so I'm being very nice with my grading system this year, but you do have at least guys who are filling out the depth of your roster, going to be saving you money when contracts come up, and so on. Let's talk about the offense, though. If you guys know me, this is going to be going from skilled position to offensive line, and then for the defense, line to skilled position. This is based on our lads' current depth chart because I like to keep everything pretty similar, keep a controlled variable there, which is the source of the depth chart, and they're more accurate than most predictions, and if it's not, feel free to shout it out. That's perfectly fine with me. You guys are a fan of one team. I'm a fan of 32, and so I like to be able to have a controlled variable right here, and you know what? I'm happy with it. I'm happy with it. Let's talk about this. It's going to be a fun one. Starting out with the quarterback, Anthony Richardson. Arguably, you should have Michael Pippen Jr. as the MVP. Who gives a ----? It's honestly there more for fun than any ways. I just love Anthony Richardson. He was my QB2 above CJ Stroud. Obviously, I don't think that's the case, but if he ends up staying healthy, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to see him really ascend, and I think he could take the jump this year, as the thumbnail suggests. I really do like Anthony Richardson, though. Jonathan Taylor's a running back. He was one of the best in the NFL. I still think he's definitely one of the best. He could probably still make, if he's back to 100% health, a push for the best. Looking at the receiving weapons, Jelani Woods, if he can stay healthy, is a very viable target. The problem is the tight end core is just a little bit underwhelming. You got a bunch of dudes, but when you end up actually looking at your tight end core compared to other teams, similar to what I was talking about with the Chargers who probably released the day before this, or on the same day, depends on how crazy I get, it's comparatively worse than the majority of teams. That's why you're seeing Colston Loveland pretty much almost as a lock to the Colts if a good cornerback is not available there in the first round. Josh Downs, phenomenal. Love Josh Downs. Michael Pittman Jr. He went to my high school. I got to watch him literally in high school. It was unbelievable. The dude's fantastic. Christian, you know, he's turned out as good as you could probably imagine. You guys got him on a killer deal as well. Super excited to see him really thrive. Alec Pierce, as of today, got moved up to the starter according to our lads. I'm not saying that's finalized because I think it's a really, really good battle between him and Mitchell, but I personally would be putting Mitchell up there as a starter. It doesn't matter. It's a good problem to have, to have two guys who I think are very, very talented. Alec Pierce just hasn't really shown the fact that he has all that talent and can apply it, but you see the flashes in there, and I'm excited to see him take that final step up. And then, of course, mentioned Anthony Gold earlier on. Anything else to mention in terms of receivers? I don't believe so. Looking at the offensive line, Bernard Ryman, I love the fact that he's taking those steps up. He did have some deficiencies, slipped to the third round. Honestly, I thought that was great value. My only concern with him was when he was being pretty much a lock burst rounder. Quentin Nelson, he's still a phenomenal guard. Maybe he is not the day one gold jacket type of player if he randomly started his career with who he is right now because post-injury, he's not a shell of himself by any stretch of the imagination. He's still a very, very, very good guard. But we are talking about the best guard of all time. He's still one of I still think he's fantastic and actually gets a bad rap. Ryan Kelly, I think he's, you know, solid. He's a veteran, man. I mean, there's a reason you guys got some replacement into your offensive linemen, and I do think that it might be one of the positions that the cap casualty, not cap casualty, but in terms of resigning, might be a casualty to save some cash because you do have some really good talent there with Tanner Bortolini. Of course, Tanner Bortolini is right now listed as a right guard behind Will Fries, and I do think that Will Fries could end up being somebody who is very finally kissed goodbye. I'm not the biggest Will Fries guy. You guys know that. I don't know if it's Freeze or Fries, but it looks like Fries, and I don't hear enough about him, so sue me. Please don't. I've dealt with that enough in my life. But then Braden Smith at the right tackle spot backed up by Blake Freeland at the moment. I really was disappointed with Braden Smith at the start of last year. I really did see some deficiencies in his game, but I'm hoping that he can be more consistent and bounce back to the really good right tackle that I know him to be, and then Blake Freeland's really solid backup to have there in case of injury. Overall, B-plus is kind of wishful thinking. You have a very top-end wide receiver core with a very big question mark at tight end and then a health question mark at quarterback, and unfortunately, you have Joe Flacco as the backup, not Gardner Minshew. I do worry if you guys are going to be overzealous with pushing Anthony Richardson's physical limits, that if he does go down, you're not going to be as lucky as you were last year to have someone who can keep you afloat. TBD on that. Excited to see, and I'm praying that you don't have to deal with that situation, but excited to see what this team can become. Defensively, looking at the line, technically Layato Lato is not listed as a starter. It's theoretically Odingbo or Dayo Odingbo. I don't know why the hell I can't pronounce names today, but Samson Ebukom was the guy who was listed as the starter, and then, well, we ended up changing that a little bit. Layato Lato, I'm going to be pushing up there. I don't like to be able to project who's starting, but I don't think Dayo is going to be getting reps over Layato Lato, so I'm going to be putting him out of position theoretically. So, interesting first-rounder duo there at the Edgerushing group. Then you look at Grover Stewart, DeForest Buckner on the interior. Solid, reliable veterans. I mean, defensive-line-wise, I actually really do like how this would turn out. And then you got Zayer Franklin and EJ Speed at linebacker. You know, two really, really solid linebackers, in my opinion, for the value. I mean, these guys are not the name-brand linebackers, like Shaq Leonard was, but I think that they actually have a better impact than anything. So, good for you guys. You guys ended up getting some really solid players. You got Jalen Charlies on the backburner as well, behind EJ Speed, who's up for a contract, so we will see what happens there. So, actually, I have him listed as middle linebacker. He ended up being switched as the backup to Will. Doesn't really fully matter, but I do think that's more accurate with him as a Will over a middle linebacker, as my graphics suggest, because he's not at the 240-plus range. He's going to be more in that 230-235. Then we look at the safety core. You got Blackman brought back, a one-year deal. I think that's great. You got that system familiarity. The safety core already was pretty weak, so you ended up getting a familiar face in there. And then Ronnie Harrison Jr. ended up supplanting Nick Cross in recent weeks as the frontrunner for the starter at pre-safety. Nickelback, Kenny Moore, is phenomenal. Not the youngest guy on planet Earth, but at the same time, he is extremely talented, and he is the leader of the defense. My big issue is going to be this cornerback position here. I love Jalen Jones. Y'all know if you ended up watching during that draft cycle. I ended up having Jalen Jones as a top-five corner the whole time. There was a period of time, I believe, he was my corner one. It was him and Joey Porter Jr. that were up there. It was a big surprise to see him slip all the way to the seventh, but it's kind of confidence boosting, so to speak, to see him actually being a starter. At the same time, it's Juju Brents that I'm more worried about than Jalen Jones. Juju Brents is not a bad corner, let me clarify that. But when we're talking about the top-end receivers in the NFL and the more lethal offenses that are pass-heavy, I don't think Juju Brents, and I didn't think Juju Brents, had what it takes to be able to be a corner one. I like him as a corner two, and I hope Jalen Jones maybe can accelerate his overall talent and just uplift his abilities to where that could be the dynamic. I just don't think that's very probable. I think Jalen Jones should be a corner two. I think Juju Brents should be a corner two. And you're still looking for that guy to be your certified corner one. And I think if you got Cam Hart, and he went in the fifth round as well, if you guys got Cam Hart, I think I'd just have a way different opinion of how this would end up shaking up. I do have my concerns, and so versus heavier pass attacks, I do have my lack of trust in you guys being able to consistently stop them, but it's not like you have tomato cans. You do have good players. There's just not a certified corner one, but with all that yapping being finished, let's get right into the records prediction. Right into the records predictions, these are cumulative, but that does not mean that if we have a strong conviction we can change things. We're starting out one in five. We're already on the ropes. That doesn't mean things can't change. So, let's review what has gone on so far. We went in, again, we're going to re-evaluate these games when we go through them in sequential order, but we did end up having the Vikings beat you guys. Vikings. I'm tripping. I ended up seeing that. Troy didn't slip there, but we ended up having the Titans beating y'all in a division rival matchup at home, coming off a bye. Spoiler, I will not be changing that. The Vikings are a good squad coming off a mini bye at home. I do think that's also relatively possible. New England in the winter, not going to be super easy to play at, so I also think that might end up staying put, but we'll be very TBD on that. Broncos at home coming off a bye, same thing with you guys. Denver's a tough place to play, so we'll be definitely probably leaving that there, and then, of course, ended up splitting that inner division rivalry. And New York's looking really good, and with the league neighbors looking as good as he is, probably going to be leaving that week 17 game as it is as well, but we will be revisiting those right now. Starting out with week number one, you're facing Houston at home. I love the idea of y'all having a great return for Anthony Richardson. However, the Texans are super loaded with talent, especially in that receiving room, and Anthony Richardson, it's his first day, his first game coming back off of that injury, so I am going to be leaving this in the hands of CJ Stroud taking the W. Week number two, you're facing a red-hot Green Bay Packers. Jordan Love has looked dynamite so far. I certainly believe that this is a game where you could pull off an upset. I do think the offensive line is actually really solid, though, for the Packers, the receiving core. It's one of the receiving cores that doesn't have a legitimate one, in my opinion, but they have a lot of twos, so it's one of the first matchups where I think defensive back to wide receiver group, you could actually have a really solid matchup here, but when you look at the offense, I mean, Green Bay has one of the most loaded defenses out there. They have the most loaded team in terms of depth. They're a top-ten team for me. At the moment, we'll keep it as a win for Green Bay. It's going to be in Lambeau. We'll check, actually, this really quickly. It's going to be their first game in Lambeau as well. They're going to be winning that game. You face the Bears in week three. I will allow you guys easily to win that one because I still think Caleb's going to be getting the ropes of the NFL. I also think the left tackle spot is not perfectly secured for the Bears. I have them as a better team. However, that early on, I think you guys will have the advantage. You play the Pittsburgh Steelers in week number four. There's a developing rumor that Brandon Aiyuk is going to be traded to the Steelers. I'm going to wait until that's empirical before that actually becomes my analysis, but of course, that's theoretically supposed to be announced tonight on the 5th of August. If it is, then I think y'all are in trouble, but I do think that there's a lot of RNG that happens in the NFL. I think that teams that are away certainly have more of a higher quality chance to lose or a higher likelihood of losing because I just think home teams, you're comfortable at home, and you have the home crowd on your side. It doesn't always mean that the victories are 100% logical, and you always have to ask yourself, you're like, why is this team beating this other team? Sometimes logic just doesn't matter. It doesn't. You have to throw a little bit of some BS in there because the NFL has a massive BS factor, far more than what I'd like to give it credit for. That's why I don't put too much emphasis on who's going to win necessarily because it's just so tough to predict because A, injuries happen, but B, and more importantly, the B part, there's just these players are NFL players at the end of the day. One guy could have a really good day, one guy could have a very bad day, and instantly the tides shift even though it never seems like it should. But at week number five, you face Jacksonville at their home. I do think that you're going to be splitting this matchup in the division, so spoiler alert for that. You do face the Titans at home, well, at their home. You're going to be away, and they're going to be coming off a bye, and they have a really solid receiving core. I do have a massive, massive concern for you guys as a defense versus the Titans. The Titans have an underrated team. If J.C. Latham can hold up at left tackle, you guys could be in for a pretty long day. Week number seven, the Dolphins are coming off a bye week as well. You guys have an awful schedule in terms of facing some winnable teams when they're coming off a bye. They'll have extra preparation, but when you look at the roster of the Dolphins, they are, spoiler alert, going to be one of my next videos. I do think that you guys are similar in talent, but they are the legion of Zoom, and you have two corners that did not test the best in terms of their overall top-end athleticism. I do worry that the Dolphins will be getting the best of you in that. They're going to be an air-raid assault, and they're also just a lot of quick game. Again, Jalen Jones ran in the 4.5s, the 4.6 range, same thing with Juju Brent. They're more of that physical type, not necessarily going to be locking up Tyreek and Jalen Waddles. I do have my issues there. Week number 8, you face the Texans at home. I do think that at their home, you're away. I'm going to be giving them the division sweep. It's going to be a tough year. I'm just already seeing it right now. The Vikings beating you at home, it is a dome, which theoretically, a couple of these teams I say have home field advantage, have a dome, including yourselves. You're not too far away. This is a game I will debate flipping. We'll come back to this at the end of the day, because I think you're a better team. The Vikings have a much better offensive line than what you think about, but the quarterback situation is not great. TBD on Jordan Addison, he is right now, if convicted, which it's pretty obvious he was doing DUI, it's pretty possible that he's going to be facing a suspension, possibly even a half year, if not a full year. The receiving core for the Vikings will be diminished because of that. I think he'll be facing a suspension regardless. It might be a shorter suspension than half a year, though. TBD on that, but you are still facing Justin Jefferson. There's still a talented defense as well. It's just I'm actually going to flip it. **** it. Sorry. I just think the receiving core is actually much better. Also, you have Jonathan Taylor. The defensive interior is a weakness for the Vikings. The corner core, unfortunately, rest in peace, Kyrie Jackson is a weakness for the Vikings. I do think I'm going to be flipping that game for you. Week number 10, you're facing the Bills at home. The Bills are so freaking good, man. They're just underrated out the wazoo. People just didn't think Keon Coleman would be a wide receiver one. Right now, I think he should be a wide receiver two, but easily could be ascending into that wide receiver one conversation. To be fair, I do think that the majority of the strength in the Bills receiving core comes from tight ends as well as slot style receivers, which I think is more your strength. I can see a victory here. There's an RNG factor. I'm going to give it to you. You're going to beat the Bills. Even though I think that you are an inferior team, I think the Bills are far superior team. You're at home, and you do have the possibility, you do kind of have the recipe to potentially pull this off. The Bills certainly have their own woes in the secondary, and you have a really strong strength in your receiving core. I really do like the potential of the upset there, but the Jets are the one team where I've had to knock them down because of Aaron Rodgers' health concerns overall, which to be fair, it was an Achilles tear. You can't just predict those. Let's be honest here. They're a team that, even when knocked down significantly, are still one of my top 10 to 15 teams. They're rock solid. They have guys everywhere. It's one of the teams that should be making a heavy push this year. Facing the Detroit Lions at home in week number 12, pretty close Detroit and Indianapolis. I'm sure the Lions, because of their recent acceleration in terms of talent, could certainly rival the amount of fans as Indy has there. The Lions are a tough team, man. They are a tough team. I should have been putting the thing over here. I've been looking away from you guys the whole time. Look at this. Absolutely horrible job by me. I should be looking at it over here. Silly me. Regardless, continuing my analysis, looking at the Lions versus you guys, the Indianapolis Colts, I really do like the Lions. They have the best tackle duo, arguably, in the NFL, which will take out your competitive strength. Their offensive line is phenomenal, especially if it stays healthy. Their receiving core has its potential weaknesses, but it still has some really good deep speed. If you can get James and Williams going, I do have my concerns. I'm going to be going with the Lions here. I will be. I've been giving you guys a couple RNG wins. This is not even an RNG win. It's a legitimate one. Same thing with the Patriots. That's going to be more of the roll-the-dice win, but at the same time, I find it hard to believe that the Patriots are actually going to be successful this year. Drake May has had a little bit longer of a development period than expected. The offensive line is now fully shifting in terms of who's playing where. I'll be giving it to you guys. I'll be giving it to you. I feel pretty confident in that. Week number 15, we have you guys facing the Denver Broncos. This is a game that you should win, but again, Denver is not the easiest place to play. Keep that in mind as well. I'll be giving you guys the loss on that one because Denver is going to be fully rested. Sean Payton is going to be pretty much on the ropes at this point. He's going to be, I think, 3-13 at that point, or not 3-13, but with only 3 wins, so I'm going to be giving them the W there. I do think you split with the Titans. You end up getting beaten by the Giants, as described earlier, because the Giants are a team that is pretty damn solid, minus Daniel Jones. And then we are looking at week 18, and let's look at the situation in the division where I'm tripping. I do think that the Jaguars will be making a strong push here, but I don't think you guys are going to be last in your division, so we're going to be giving the Jaguars a little taste of their medicine with a nice last game victory right there. So you guys will be not last in your division. It will be the Titans once again, but it's going to be far more competitive in your division than ever. Looking at games, again, we could have potentially flipped this one right here. I already gave a strong middle finger to the Vikings right there as well to give you guys a victory as well as for the Bills. It's a tough schedule. People might say it's not tough, but when you analyze the fact that the Bears got significantly better, the Steelers, especially with B.A. ends up being one, got significantly better. And you're in a division with a rising star team here with the Texans. There's a lot of like, there's not many games where you could actually say oh, we should have won that, except probably week 15. But I'll have an eye for an eye in terms of games that are improbable. So, that's going to be the video. Thank you so much for watching. Love y'all. See you on the far side. Peace.