I am going to try my hand at the Mock Draft and Free Agency targeting thing. I'm nervous about the Pats game and need to take my mind off it. Let me know what you think.
Round 1 Pick 29
Benardrick McKinney, ILB- We need defensive help. We need ILB help. To beat New England we need someone who can run with Gronk. I've read reports that McKinney will run in the 4.5 range. He is a huge body guy who could hopefully slow down Gronk. I think he fits nicely.
Round 2 Pick 61
Cedric Ogbuehi, OT- He was originally slated to be a top 10 pick this year. Poor play pushed him down and then he tore his ACL in his bowl game so this is why he may be available for us here. He has outstanding athleticism and has played all the positions on the line but center. He excelled as a guard and RT which is where i have him playing for us. This could end up being a steal.
Round 3 Pick 93
Jay Ajayi, RB- I love how he plays. He has excellent balance when he makes his cuts and is decent in pass protection. He has a good burst and can find the holes. I considered an RB earlier but the thought of Ajayi in the third was to good to pass up.
Round 4 Pick 125
Ronald Darby, CB- He can play. Recently people have been poking holes in his game and he has gone from being a second round pick in people's eyes to a fourth. I like guys who can play on a big stage. He has decent size, similar to Vontae which is good enough. And if there is one thing Pagano can do it's coach up db's.
Round 5 Pick 157
Noah Spence, 3-4 OLB- This is a very risky pick, but in round 5 I'm ok with that. Spence has huge upside, but major character questions. If we can get him and he cleans up his life he could be a steal. Jonathan Newsome was another player kicked off Ohio State and that seems to be working out pretty well for us.
Round 6 Pick 189
Josh Shaw, CB- Shaw was originally projected as a top 40 player. He lied about saving his nephew and broke two ankles running from the police. USC suspended him for the season. The upside is there though. He is a big body at 6', 200 pounds and a good athlete. This could be a steal for us.
Round 6 Pick 191
Anthony Chickillo, DE- He was a 5 star recruit that never quite played like one. The upside is there though. Decent size at 6'4, 282 but could stand to add some weight. A 6th round pick to me is a lottery pick and I tend to like great athletes that could maybe produce.
Round 7 Pick 221
Brandon Bridge, QB- I think we should draft a developmental qb this year. It makes no sense to pay Hassleback 5 million a year or any backup qb that kind of money anymore. If Luck goes down, the ship goes down. Bridge is a big kid with a huge arm. I may be biased here because he is Canadian and went to school pretty close to where I live but I like the idea of him. Also his nickname is Air Canada. If we draft him we may pick up some more Canadian fans so I won't be the only one anymore.
Free Agent Signings
Spotrac says the Colts have a little under 30 million for next season in cap space. That is before any cuts are made. I'll just go with 35 million though even though I think it will be closer to 37 million when it's all over.
Re Sign
Reggie Wayne- 1 year 2 million
Cory Redding- 2 years 4.5 Million
Darius Butler- 3 years 10 million
Joe Reitz- 2 years 2 million
Mike Adams- 1 year 1.5 million
Matt Overton- 2 years 1.5 million
Jerell Freeman- 4 years 18 million
That leaves us with roughly 20 million in cap space. We need to sign all of our rookies and that will be roughly 5 million. So we have only 15 million.
Players to Target
Mike Iupati- 5 years 30 million
Terrance Knighton- 3 years 12 million
That leaves us with 5 million in cap space. And I think even more than that realistically when all the cuts are done.
Let me know what people think of this. I think it's not perfect but I'd be pretty happy with it.