Free Agents Discussion

[indycolts2]

Originally Posted by ukcolt

I would like to have a healthy Poe on our defense, but i am happy with how Ballard has approached free agency. He has a figure in mind and has stuck to it, he isn't going to get into risky contracts. I also have no issue with Poe taking other visits to see what's out there and if he decides that his best situation is with the Colts then great.

People seem to think that every player plays this game to win a Superbowl, that is the icing on the cake for a player, but ultimately he is looking after himself and his family and needs to take the situation that best suits him, be that financial or being closer to family etc.

We as fans in our everyday work life move companies to further our careers, and generally have little loyalty to a company....why do we think that players shouldn't think this way as well? They are a commodity, and need to try to maximise their earnings over what is usually a short career. Sure we have an undivided loyalty to our team, but these players might be drafted by a team that when they were growing up was the team they despised as a fan.

You could fill in for Dan Lebatard with that take.

[YDFL Commish]

What do you guys think of Jonathan Hankins as a possible younger cheaper alternative to POE?

[Puck]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

What do you guys think of Jonathan Hankins as a possible younger cheaper alternative to POE?

Or Bennie Logan

[natagu23]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

What do you guys think of Jonathan Hankins as a possible younger cheaper alternative to POE?

Meh

He's not very good but we need a big body with some experience.

[natagu23]

Originally Posted by Puck

Or Bennie Logan

He'd be a better option

[Puck]

Originally Posted by natagu23

He'd be a better option

Could actually sign them both for less than Poe I bet

[Wyatt]

@AdamSchefter 3m3 minutes ago
After visiting the NY Jets, Patriots free-agent LB Dont'a Hightower is scheduled to visit the Steelers, per source.

@AdamSchefter 28s29 seconds ago
Steelers' LB Jarvis Jones is visiting today with the Arizona Cardinals, per source. Steelers remain interested, still in discussions

[sherck]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

What do you guys think of Jonathan Hankins as a possible younger cheaper alternative to POE?

I think Hankins is NFL average and that he is not a true 3-4 0-tech NT.

He is the 4-3 defense 1/2-tech NT that the Giants run. He is more used to being a 1-gap shooter rather than being a 2-gap "stuffer." I think he could fit into a Colts defense well that is in serious need of "SOMEONE" at NT but I don't know that he is a great fit.

Bennie Logan from PHI is also a solid choice for the Colts. He is also a 4-3 defense, 1/2-tech NT that saw some 0-tech NT work this year as PHI ran a bit of a hybrid defense.

Nabbing one of those two guys and then pairing him with a mid-round draft choice rookie would help stabilize our NT spot. Most of the following guys should be available in the 4th or 5th rounds:

Dalvin Tomlinson, Alabama
Elijah Qualls, Washington
Vincent Taylor, Oklahoma State
Eddie Vanderdoes, UCLA
DeAngelo Brown, Louisville

DeAngelo Brown is the one that really intrigues me.

12/26/16 - 2016 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL THIRD TEAM (COACHES): DT DeAngelo Brown, Sr.-R, Louisville (15),...Anchoring the middle of the defense, Brown, a starter in all 12 games, recorded 37 tackles and a team-high 12.0 tackles for loss, while also notching 3.0 sacks. - Louisville Football

Name: DeAngelo Brown
Position: Defensive tackle
School: Louisville
Height/weight: 6-0, 312
Year: Senior
Pros: ESPN Scouts Inc. likes Brown as a "scheme versatile run defender. Pads rise and he gets stood up at times but tends to generate above average initial surge and flashes ability to drive offensive linemen back."

"He's one of the strongest guys I've ever been around," defensive line coach L.D. Scott told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "He is hard to move. You can double- or triple-team, and you're still not going to move him."

Cons: Brown suffered a torn Achilles in summer workouts, which cost him the 2013 season. That surely will be a topic for teams assessing him for the draft.

Projection: Fifth round

ACC analyst John Breitenbach goes to bat for one of the better interior defensive linemen from the conference in Louisville’s DeAngelo Brown. It’s been three years of consistently strong play up front for Brown as he’s shown stout against the run, handling double teams and finishing plays, while flashing just enough as a pass-rusher. Brown has increased his snap count from 353 in 2014, to 595 in 2015, to 743 last season, all while keeping a solid overall grade in the low-80s. He provides a late-round nose tackle option and he’s one of the better players who was not invited to the NFL Combine

I am sure that you can find a lot of positive comments about all the kids that are draftable this year. But I like what I read and see on video about Brown.

Cheers,

[Wyatt]

@AdamSchefter 7m7 minutes ago
Colts LB Erik Walden is visiting the Titans today, per source.

[sherck]

Originally Posted by Wyatt

@AdamSchefter 7m7 minutes ago
Colts LB Erik Walden is visiting the Titans today, per source.

I hope they pay him a TON for his "sack master" status because I don't think he will hit that high water mark again.

Suck the money out of their cap, Erik! Do one more good deed for the Colts!

Cheers,