[IndyNorm]

So I am guessing on that, but of all the pass rushers that have impending Free Agency, Hunter's situation seems like the best combination of high end talent and likely to get to the free agent market, because of Cousins. Josh Allen and Brian Burns are likely to be franchised, and you're taking a much bigger risk if you go after Chase Young, Josh Uche, or Za'Darius Smith. Hunter is a proven elite pass rusher, and because the Vikings have the Cousins situation to deal with, they likely won't have the franchise tag at their disposal. If he gets to free agency, the Colts should be offering him a contract.

I'm not as optimistic as you are that Hunter will be available, but agree he's elite, potentially available, and less risky than some of the others you list. I would definitely be disappointed if he is available and we don't at least make a serious run at signing him.

The medical history is why I think he'll be there at 15. I don't see how he wouldn't be EDGE1 and a top 5 pick without it. In gathering information on him, two players came to mind. The film reminds me of Myles Garrett, though I don't necessarily think he'll reach those heights because he's two years older coming out. The medical situation reminds me of Jaelan Phillips, who fell to 18 because of his medical status (both also wore 15 at UCLA at different points, coincedentally). Phillips's tape was not as good as Latu's, though. Even with the medical history, the tape is so good I like Latu over Verse, and Verse is very reminiscent of Brian Burns with no medical history.

That's fair. TBH I didn't watch any of UCLA this year, but from his stats and write ups I've read Latu is really good. Will be interested to see how his medical history plays out in the predraft process. With how Phillips and Sweat have worked out ok I'm thinking teams might be less scared off.

If the Colts are addressing DE in the manner I did above, there's no room for Lewis on the team. Odeyingbo and Latu take his interior snaps, and Hunter, Paye, and Ebukam take his edge snaps. That said, under different circumstances I wouldn't be opposed to bringing both Lewis and Taven Bryan back.

Good point on the snaps, but if we can sign Lewis to a similar deal that he played on this year then it'd be worth bringing him in IMO. He was only guaranteed $500K, so very minimal cap impact if he doesn't make the team. Of course he stayed healthy and produced a bit, so his market is probably higher.

Speaking of Dayo, it might make sense to extend him now if we can make room and he's willing to do it. If he continues to improve next year then he's probably going to get pretty pricey.

Shit, I didn't think to check that, Ironshaft usually does include the draft pool in his numbers. I'll add a Kelly restructure, it's something I think should happen anyway.

It's only ~$1M, so we could probably convert someone's salary to a bonus to free up the space. Not that Kelly hasn't earned an extension. He definitely had a really good bounce back year.