Colts receive worst offseason grade of AFC South teams from PFF

During the offseason, it is popular to give grades to the different teams free agency or draft moves, and we have mentioned a number of those grades so far this offseason. Another outlet has conducted their offseason grades, however, and Pro Football Focus had the same opinion of the Colts' moves as seemingly everyone else: it was average.

PFF gave the Colts a "C" grade, which was one of the worst marks in the NFL. Only five other teams received an equal or lesser grade (the Jets, Steelers, and Falcons received the same grade, while the Seahawks and Panthers got a "C-minus"), and the Colts received the worst grade of the four AFC South teams (the Jaguars got an "A," the Titans got a "B," and the Texans got a "B-minus"). Here's what PFF had to say about the Colts' moves:

Gone is 2015 breakout ILB Jerrell Freeman, as well as tight end Coby Fleener. With so little action in free agency—outside of the addition of CB Patrick Robinson from the Chargers—the Colts in 2016 will be reliant on immediate help from the rookie class, in particular their first-round pick, center Ryan Kelly.

They examined the Colts' offseason more in-depth in a separate article, and they basically said more of the same while looking at more of the moves. They obviously didn't like the drafting of T.J. Green in the second round (they have been the main and most vocal critics of the pick), and they called the Colts "razor-thin" at a number of positions (which is accurate). They loved the signing of Patrick Robinson, saying that if he can replicate what he did last year with the Chargers then the Colts "will have one of the top CB-tandems in the league." They noted that some of the departures (like Greg Toler, for example) are addition-by-subtraction, and they called the re-signing of Dwayne Allen "somewhat surprising." Whether or not you agree with PFF's grades, it certainly is interesting that Allen's grades have been nowhere close to his rookie season over the last three years, and in fact he received the fifth-lowest grade at run blocking among tight ends last year by PFF.

Overall, I don't think it should be any surprise that the Colts received the lowest grade of the AFC South teams, as the other three teams all improved noticeably this offseason (particularly the Jaguars). The rest of the division is catching up to the Colts, and it very likely won't be nearly as bad as it has been in recent years. That makes it even more important for the Colts to continue to improve as well, which they did this offseason - though not as much as some of the other teams. OF course, we must also remember this: Andrew Luck is coming back healthy. No offseason addition by any of the AFC South teams will be as big as that for the Colts, so while that doesn't factor into grades like this it must be taken into consideration.

I think an offseason grade of a "C" for the Colts is perfectly fair, and it's been what we've seen from most outlets so far. The Colts made some nice moves - like the signing of Patrick Robinson and the drafting of Ryan Kelly - but didn't make as many moves as in past years. That should pay off in the long run, but for right now it warrants an average grade.