Now that the
free agency period, the draft, and undrafted free agents have been signed, I’m
taking another look at the roster and potential depth chart for our 2013 Indianapolis Colts.
Before I go
into the specific positions, just looking at the roster as it stands it looks
like there will be quite a bit of competition in several key areas that were
weaknesses last season. This should lead
to not only improving the starting units, but also provide much needed depth
that was lacking last season and became apparent over the course of the season
as guys got nicked up and missed playing time.
In a previous blog http://naptownrich.blogspot.com/2013/01/building-colts-2013-14-roster-monster.html I had ranked
offensive line as the priority
number one, specifically at Right Tackle
(RT) and Left Guard (LG) and depth
across the line. The Colts definitely
addressed all three. Donald Thomas was
signed as a free agent pickup previously from the New England Patriots and
Gosder Cherilus was signed as a free agent pickup previously from the Detroit
Lions. The Colts didn’t stop there. They added G Hugh Thornton and C/G Khaled
Holmes via the draft and Emmett Cleary as an unsigned free agent. The Colts also traded A.Q. Shipley to
Baltimore for a future draft pick. So
the starting line-up is starting to look set with Castonzo and Cherilus at the
Tackle positions, Thomas and McGlynn at the Guard positions and Satele at
Center. Satele and McGlynn could both be
pushed for the starting position. Returning
from last year are Linkenbach, Reitz, Sowell, Griffin and Ziemba and returning
from injury are Ijalana and Anderson.
Both the starting line-up and the reserves seem to be much improved over
last season’s group.
LT
|
Linkenbach, Jeff
|
Sowell, Bradley
|
Cleary, Emmett
|
|
LG
|
Thomas, Donald
|
Reitz, Joe
|
||
C
|
Holmes,
Khaled
|
Schmeig,Rick
|
||
RG
|
Thornton,
Hugh
|
Griffin, Robert
|
||
RT
|
Cherilus, Gosder
|
Anderson,
Justin
|
Ziemba, Lee
|
I
had ranked the Safety position as
the second priority, both starting and depth.
As I predicted and hoped, Zbikowski was replaced. In fact, he was waived completely. The Colts picked up free agent LaRon Landry
previously with the NY Jets. So the
starters are set with Landry and Bethea.
That alone should be a big improvement.
I’m still concerned with the depth as the Colts only added John Boyett
via the draft and Daxton Swanson via undrafted free agency. Returning are Howell, Lefeged, Asante and
Brown. Landry has an injury history
already, so depth could become an issue here.
If Landry and Bethea are on the field though, I like our safety unit.
SS
|
Landry, LaRon
|
Howell, Delano
|
Asante,
Larry
|
Boyett, John
|
FS
|
Bethea, Antoine
|
Swanson,
Daxton
|
The
next priority I had was at Outside
Linebacker (OLB), primarily because I knew Freeney was going to be let go
and he was. Big cleats to fill. The Colts went both free agency and the draft
to fill the Outside Linebacker need.
First, in free agency, the Colts signed Erik Walden and Lawrence Sidbury
then drafted Bjoern Werner with their #1 draft pick. The Colts traded Jerry Hughes for ILB Kelvin
Sheppard, eliminating any questions about how much of a leash Hughes had used
up or had left with the Colts staff.
Losing Freeney is big, but losing Freeney of 2011-12/2012-13, not as
big. Not only did the Colts need a
starter, but also depth. I’m not sure
about Walden or Sidbury replacing the ‘Freeney’ at his prime, but probably are
no worse then Freeney of last year and likely better suited for the 3-4
defense. With Sidbury and Werner and the
return of Hickman off injured reserve, depth seems to have been addressed as
well. Also returning are Simmons. New free agents are Spears, Rayford and
McNary who will be coming off Military Reserve this summer.
LOLB/SLB
|
Mathis, Robert
|
Werner, Bjoern
|
Simmons, Monte
|
Spears, Quinton
|
ROLB/WLB
|
Walden, Erik
|
Sidbury, Lawrence
|
Rayford, Caesar McNary,
Josh
|
The
number four priority I had for the Colts was on the Defensive Line, DL and DE, both starters and depth. The Colts seemed to add a ton of guys to
compete here. Returning are Redding,
Moala (from IR) and Guy at DE, McKinney (from IR), Chapman (from IR), Tevaseu
at NT and Mathews, Heard and Nevis (from IR) at DT. Added were free agents NT Franklin, DT
Jean-Francois and from the draft DT Montori Hughes. I like this group of guys to compete for the
starting positions and for depth. The
depth here allowed the Colts to trade Geathers to Philadelphia for FB Havili. A low risk move since Geathers was brought in
last year to fill in for roster players who went on IR late in the season. Only small surprise was Antonio Johnson not
returning.
DE
|
Redding, Cory
|
Mathews, Ricardo
|
Guy, Lawrence
|
|
NT
|
Chapman, Josh
|
Franklin,
Aubrayo
|
||
DT
|
Jean-Francois, Ricky
|
Hughes, Montori
|
Heard, Kellen Nevis, Drake
|
The
position I ranked as the next highest need was at Cornerback especially if starting RCB Powers was not
re-signed. He wasn’t and was replaced
with free agent Greg Toler. Though
Powers was (or at least seemed) like a great locker room and interview guy, his
numbers compare pretty evenly to Toler.
Interesting to note that Powers went to the Arizona Cardinals, along
with former Colts interim head coach and Offensive Coordinator, and Toler went
from the Cardinals to the Colts.
Basically, the teams swapped corners.
Returning are Vaughn, Butler, Gordy, Green and Williams. The only other new additions were free agents
Sheldon Price and Allen Chapman. All in
all, the cornerback position only improved as much as each of the players who
were on last year’s roster improved.
With the addition of Landry at Safety and potentially more of a rush
from the defensive linemen, it may not matter as much that this position didn’t
improve all that much. With other needs
and cap space, I don’t mind the Colts strategy.
Keep in mind, the major improvement at corner happened last year when
they traded for Davis, who will have a year under his belt wearing the
horseshoe and a full training camp and preseason with the team this year.
LCB
|
Davis, Vontae
|
Vaughn, Cassius
|
Green, Marshay
|
Williams, Teddy Price, Sheldon
|
RCB
|
Toler, Greg
|
Butler, Darrius
|
Gordy, Josh
|
Chapman, Allen
|
At
the number six priority I had Running
Back, particularly at the number 2 spot and depth. The Colts must have confidence in Ballard,
Brown and Carter as they were all kept and very little was added. Davin Megget was signed, Alvestor Alexander
was waived and Karim and Moore were also not resigned. The only pickups were Kerwynn Williams via a
late draft pick and Dan Moore and Denodus O’Bryant as undrafted free
agents. They also traded for FB Stanley
Havili and let FB Robert Hughes go. Looks
like the Colts were sold that the offensive line was more to do with the lack
of a good running game versus talent at the running back position. Though I’m not 100% confident in this group,
I still like the way the Colts are building the roster. Improve the line and let’s see what these
backs can do while making improvements in other much more needed areas. My bet is if none of the backs work out this
year, we’ll see more transactions and draft picks spent in this area next
season.
FB
|
Havili, Stanley
|
||||
RB
|
Ballard, Vick
|
Brown, Donald
|
Carter,
Delone
|
Megget, Davin Williams, Kerwynn
|
Moore, Dan
O’Bryant, Denodus
|
At the seventh priority spot, I had Inside Linebacker depth. The Colts are pretty set with Angerer, Freeman and Conner, but Angerer battled injuries all season and lack of depth showed. The Colts took a major step here by trading Jerry Hughes for Kelvin Sheppard a former starter for the Buffalo Bills. Also kept from last season were Mario Harvey and Scott Lutrus. The only new addition was undrafted free agent CO Prime. I like this group going into the summer.
RILB
|
Freeman,
Jerrell
|
Conner,
Kavell
|
Prime, C.O.
|
|
LILB
|
Sheppard, Kelvin
|
Harvey, Mario
|
Lutrus, Scott
|
At
priority number eight, I had Wide
Receiver, both a starter if Avery wasn’t resigned (and he wasn’t) and
depth. The Colts addressed the Avery
replacement by signing free agent Darrius Heyward-Bey. I’m hoping the change of scenery and much
better quarterback play will make Heyward-Bey better and be the WR all expected
him to become before falling into the Raiders system. Returning are Wayne, Hilton, Brazil, Palmer
and Whalen who will be coming off IR so really entering his first season. Sambrano is also returning from the practice
squad. Three other new additions include
Jeremy Kelley and two undrafted free agents Lanear Sampson and Rodrick
Rumble. The only “proven” receivers are
now Wayne, Hilton and Brazil. Whalen
went to Stanford with Luck, so hopefully can get back in tandem with him
quickly. Palmer has yet to get much
playing time to display his “Na-palm” speed.
Kelley is a big prospect at 6’6 and 230 lbs. The competition should be fun to watch
through camp and pre-season.
WR
|
Wayne, Reggie
|
Hilton, T.Y.
|
Kelley,
Jeremy
|
Sambrano,Jabin Sampson, Lanear
|
WR
|
Heyward-Bey, Darrius
|
Brazil, LaVon
|
Palmer, Nathan Rumble, Rodrick
|
At
the number 9 priority, I ranked the Kick
Returners, particularly kickoff returner (KR). Hilton became the punt returner, but no one
emerged as the primary kickoff returner last season. Late in the season, Karim became that guy,
but wasn’t resigned. I expect Hilton to
be more involved in the offense so that may limit his punt returning
duties. I think Brazil will be given
another opportunity as well as several new additions to the roster, but Kerwynn
Williams was the only one that seemed to have a lot of experience in this
area. Without a clear favorite, these
positions could be up for grab again.
KR
|
Hilton,
T.Y
|
Brazil, LaVon
|
Williams, Kerwynn
|
PR
|
Hilton,
T.Y.
|
Brazil, LaVon
|
I
ranked the Kicker/Punter as priority
number 10 and only if either were not resigned or were let go. McAfee was resigned, so the punter position
is solidified. And I’m very glad the
Colts resigned him. Not only is he a great
punter/kickoff guy, he’s just a great guy and interesting dude to have on the
team. I heard him on a local radio show
this Spring that he’d like to have Fall Out Boys song “My songs know what you
did in the dark (Light ‘em up)” as the kickoff song this upcoming season. I say make it so. I would love to see the crowd pumping up to
this song right before he sails one out of the end zone. Vinatieri would have to have an injury or
major competition in camp/pre-season to be uprooted. Though, I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see
the Colts let him go for a younger, “almost as good as” kicker just to relieve
the cap number. If there was a major
injury to a starter and cap space was needed, I could see it happening. Otherwise, I think these positions are set.
PK
|
McManus, Brandon
|
Josifovski,
Michael
|
||
P
|
McManus, Brandon
|
Josifovski,
Michael
|
I
had backup Quarterback as the number
eleven priority. I honestly expected the
Colts to promote Harnish after Stanton was signed by the Arizona Cardinals. Well, after the Tennessee Titans let
Hasselbeck go, the Colts quickly signed him.
Hasselbeck is definitely an upgrade over Stanton and has a ton of
experience. Though this may be a setback
for Harnish, I think the Colts upgraded here.
QB
|
Luck, Andrew
|
Hasselbeck, Matt
|
Harnish,
Chandler
|
At
the last priority spot, I had Tight End,
primarily because the Colts rookies, Allen and Fleener, were just that
good. The Colts drafted Justice
Cunningham as the only new Tight End addition to the roster as the draft’s Mr.
Irrelevant. If he’s as lucky as the
Colts’ last draft pick and Mr. Irrelevant, he could land a roster or practice
squad spot. I think the bigger question
here will be how many TE’s do the Colts keep on the active roster.
TE
|
Fleener, Coby
|
Saunders, Weslye
|
TE/WR3
|
Allen, Dwayne
|
Cunningham, Justice
|
I
didn’t mention the Long Snapper (LS)
position as a need, because it wasn’t.
Matt Overton came in as a rookie last year and took over after long
tenured Justin Snow and that part of the Colts game never missed a beat.
LS
|
Given
the current roster, I still have concerns at Running Back (RB), depth at Safety
(SS/FS) and Cornerback (CB), depth
at Defensive Tackle (DT) and Defensive End (DE) and the Kick Return (KR) position, specifically
the Kickoff Returner. That’s pretty good
considering the needs at the end of last season. The roster “Monster” is slowly coming
together.
How the Roster is shaping up.
POSITION
|
STARTER
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
|
QB
|
Luck, Andrew
|
Hasselbeck, Matt
|
Harnish,
Chandler
|
||
WR
|
Wayne, Reggie
|
Hilton, T.Y.
|
Kelley,
Jeremy
|
Sambrano,Jabin Sampson, Lanear
|
|
LT
|
Linkenbach, Jeff
|
Sowell, Bradley
|
Cleary, Emmett
|
||
LG
|
Thomas, Donald
|
Reitz, Joe
|
|||
C
|
Holmes,
Khaled
|
Schmeig,Rick
|
|||
RG
|
Thornton, Hugh
|
Griffin, Robert
|
|||
RT
|
Cherilus, Gosder
|
Anderson, Justin
|
Ziemba,
Lee
|
||
TE
|
Fleener, Coby
|
Saunders, Weslye
|
|||
WR
|
Heyward-Bey, Darrius
|
Brazil, LaVon
|
Palmer, Nathan Rumble,
Rodrick
|
||
TE/WR3
|
Allen, Dwayne
|
Cunningham, Justice
|
|||
FB
|
Havili, Stanley
|
||||
RB
|
Ballard, Vick
|
Brown, Donald
|
Carter,
Delone
|
Megget,
Davin Williams, Kerwynn
|
Moore, Dan O’Bryant, Denodus
|
Base
3-4 D
|
||||||||
POSITION
|
STARTER
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
||||
DE
|
Redding, Cory
|
Mathews, Ricardo
|
Guy, Lawrence
|
|||||
NT
|
Chapman, Josh
|
Franklin,
Aubrayo
|
||||||
DT
|
Jean-Francois, Ricky
|
Hughes, Montori
|
Heard, Kellen Nevis, Drake
|
|||||
LOLB/SLB
|
Mathis, Robert
|
Werner, Bjoern
|
Simmons, Monte
|
Spears, Quinton
|
||||
RILB
|
Freeman,
Jerrell
|
Conner,
Kavell
|
Prime, C.O.
|
|||||
LILB
|
Sheppard, Kelvin
|
Harvey, Mario
|
Lutrus, Scott
|
|||||
ROLB/WLB
|
Walden, Erik
|
Sidbury, Lawrence
|
Rayford, Caesar McNary,
Josh
|
|||||
LCB
|
Davis, Vontae
|
Vaughn, Cassius
|
Green, Marshay
|
Williams, Teddy Price, Sheldon
|
||||
SS
|
Landry, LaRon
|
Howell, Delano
|
Asante,
Larry
|
Boyett, John
|
||||
FS
|
Bethea, Antoine
|
Swanson,
Daxton
|
||||||
RCB
|
Toler, Greg
|
Butler, Darrius
|
Gordy, Josh
|
Chapman, Allen
|
||||
Special
Teams
|
||||||||
POSITION
|
STARTER
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
||||
PK
|
McManus, Brandon
|
Josifovski,
Michael
|
||||||
P
|
McManus, Brandon
|
Josifovski,
Michael
|
||||||
H
|
||||||||
LS
|
||||||||
KR
|
Hilton,
T.Y
|
Brazil, LaVon
|
Williams, Kerwynn
|
|||||
PR
|
Hilton,
T.Y.
|
Brazil, LaVon
|
||||||
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