My Post Draft Look At The Roster - Offense

[Ironshaft]

Quarterback:
Likely on the 53-man roster: Phillip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett, Jacob Easton (4th round rookie)
Fighting for a spot: Chad Kelly

The offense is going to look night and day different with Rivers running it in 2020 versus what we saw in 2019. The part of Jacoby’s game that I think he is bad at (reading, reacting and decision making) are the strongest parts of Rivers’ game. Major Rivers may not have the physical skills anymore to drop the ball all over the field on a dime but they will design plays that match his remaining arm strength and he will decide and deliver well within the smaller volume of space. Great pass protection will also be a nice thing he is not used to and will increase his comfort level. A strong, strong rushing attack behind our O-line and spearheaded by Tylor and Mack will take a ton of pressure off Rivers in having to press to gain yards and allow the game to flow through him rather than having to have him shape it. He will easily be the best QB behind Colts center since Luck’s 2018 campaign and arguably better than any QB since Peyton’s last season for us in 2010. Andrew never had the O-line (in its mature form) or the rushing attack that Rivers is going to have in 2020.

Brissett will be our backup because…well, because. I am over him but management loves him and ownership remembers the 2011 season and does not want a repeat. There is no way that either Easton or Kelly are ready to win in the NFL right now so it makes since to retain him for 2020 even if it means paying two different QBs more than $21m each in cap space. If Easton progresses well during TC and the early part of the season, I could see Brissett trying to be moved before the trade deadline for low round compensation but I also think that no one would want to pay him and would be willing to wait until free agency in 2021 to kick the tires. Easton has all the physical skills to be a franchise QB in the league; I hope the rest of it catches up. Kelly is a great story but he appears to be the odd man out for us at the moment.

Running Back:
Likely on the 53-man roster: Marlon Mack, Jonathan Tylor (2nd round rookie), Nyheim Hines, Jordan Wilkins
Fighting for a spot: Roosevelt Nix

You can debate the wisdom of taking a RB early in the 2nd round when we already had a serviceable stable of backs on the roster but Taylor’s talent is undeniable. My guess is that Hines will transition to more of a slot receiver / move player with Mack and Taylor taking 90%+ of the handoffs from behind center. Wilkins’ workload will probably decrease and he will be more of a ready spare instead of part of the rotation; that talent . Behind our O-line, Mack and Taylor are just going to gouge the crud out of defenses. Both of these kids can run over folks, break away if they hit the 2nd level and punish defenders who tackle them. I am excited to see them get the rock this season and “run the damn ball.”

Wide Receiver:
Likely on the 53-man roster: T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman (2nd round rookie), Paris Campbell, Zach Pascal
Fighting for a spot: Marcus Johnson, Daurice Fountain, Dezmon Patmon (6th round rookie), Chad Williams, Ashton Dulin, Steve Ishmael, DeMichael Harris (UDFA rookie)

Of the five or six WRs that will probably end up on the 53-man roster, I only think four of the spots are spoken for. Pittman should be an instant starter and greatly upgrades our WR corps. If Hilton and Campbell are both recovered from their 2019 injuries, then our top four WRs will be much, much better than in 2019. I liked what Fountain was showing last TC and hope he can build on that. Marcus Johnson always brings some interesting skills and if Patmon can flash, it might be tough deciding who gets on the 53 and who hits the practice squad. I would have liked to have added a veteran WR to the mix to push competition (ideally, a guy with Pascal’s skills is WR5) but with the strengthening of RB, the availability of Hines more as a move piece and adding Pittman, our options for receiving from Major Rivers will be much, much better in 2020.

Tight End:
Likely on the 53-man roster: Jack Doyle, Trey Burton, Mo Allie-Cox
Fighting for a spot: Everyone else

The skill gap from the top three to everyone else is pretty big. These three will do the jobs that TEs need to do in our offense which is block well, run the underneath routes and occasionally pop down the seam for a larger gain. Burton is a good add if he can revert to his 2016/2017 days when he worked with coach Reich in Philly versus his less effective days of 2018/2019 when in Chicago. Jack is Jack and will always do the job that needs to be done. MAC as depth is fine.

Offensive Tackle:
Likely on the 53-man roster: Anthony Castonzo, Braden Smith, Le’Raven Clark
Fighting for a spot: Carter O’Donnell (UDAF rookie), Andrew Donnal

Pretty much the same as last season where Castonzo and Smith make up one of the best OT pairings in the league. Clark is a substandard backup who I do not trust to give quality time if pressed into service but he is who we have. Donnal has played in 31 games in his career but is no more than average. I like the Canadian kid O’Donnell from what I have seen of him and hope that he can bring the goods. If we need someone playing any meaningful time this season other than Castonzo or Smith, we are probably in trouble. This HAS to be a focus in 2021 of finding Anthony’s successor whom I don’t think is on the roster as of right now.

Offensive Guard:
Likely on the 53-man roster: Quenton Nelson, Mark Glowinski, Danny Pinter (5th round rookie)
Fighting for a spot: Jake Eldenkamp, Chaz Green

I love that we added someone in the interior group that the coaching and scouting staff was obviously in love with in Pinter. We needed depth with Haeg getting signed away and we got it. Pinter’s arms are only 7/8th of an inch shorter than Braden Smith’s but apparently that is enough that he projects inside rather than to OT in the NFL. Even so, his athleticism is outstanding (10th best in the draft class) and he should provide quality depth for 2020 and perhaps push Glowinski for starting duties in 2021. Nelson is a stud and should continue to be one for the next decade. Glowinski regressed in 2019 from his contract year and was the weak link in the O-line last year. That being said, he was still NFL average so was not a liability but in my best scenario, he gets beat out at some point this year by someone better because the spot could be improved. Right OG will continue to dominate.

Offensive Center:
Likely on the 53-man roster: Ryan Kelly, Javon Patterson
Fighting for a spot:

Not much of a change here. Kelly is a top ten OC in the league and is good. He is consistent and knows the offense well. I am more than content with him and assume that we will extend him a new contract during the season or at the end of it. If he were to be injured, Patterson is pretty much a complete unknown having been drafted in the 7th round last year and missing all of 2019 with a torn ACL in June. He is like a brand-new draft pick!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

The most important offensive position got greatly strengthened and we added weapons at WR and RB. IF our WR corps gets healthy in Hilton and Campbell, then we should be able to score A LOT more points this season which will help the defense as well by not being on the field as much. While position groups could be strengthened, I see no weaknesses in the Colts offense this season on paper. Hopefully, injuries will not change that.

Other than not finding someone of quality to play OT depth, I am greatly pleased with how the off-season fixed all the other issues I had with the offense. Ballard did a great job drafting help and bringing in a veteran QB to replace JB. While I was hoping for either Derek Carr or Teddy Bridgewater, Major Rivers will be a fine choice for a year or two behind our O-line complemented by a vicious rushing attack. Move over TEN, you no longer have the most feared rushing attack in the division!

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Earlier this morning Schefter reported that the Colts waived WR Steve Ishmael

[Pez]

Nice writeup, really looking forward to seeing the running game and playaction this year. From a line perspective, I really wanted another OT to move Smith inside to OG, and also to be heir apparent to Constanzo.