Colts Fans and Stampede Blue Community Q&A - Week 17 ANSWERS

Colts fans and Stampede Blue readers can submit their Colts questions to have a chance of them being answered in our Q&A.

Missed out this time? Don’t worry, you can get involved next time by submitting a question when the Q&A post goes up in the comments section, in the Twitter replies or on the Facebook post comments.

Let’s jump straight into this week’s questions:

Clydesdales (Stampede Blue Comments): What happened to Isaiah Rogers?

Answer: Isaiah Rodgers is the Colts primary kick returner and a key depth cornerback for the Colts. Rodgers was inactive last week as a healthy scratch. The reason for Rodgers being a healthy scratch last week is still an unknown but it may have just come down to numbers needed at other positions such as the offensive line where the Colts were down both starting offensive tackles. Rodgers has had a good year for a sixth round pick having nailed down the kick returner job down and play when needed at cornerback. The future is bright for Rodgers on special teams but he does still need development for him to get any significant snaps at cornerback.

Mr. Too Proud (Stampede Blue Comments): Take out Lawrence, Fields, Wilson and Lance (all out of our reach without a trade).... where would you rank Eason in this year class of QBs?

We seen CB take big swings at free agency with rumors of Landon Collins, Clowney and trying to get involved with Mack when the Raiders where trading him? Who is a guy you see CB going after Trent Williams? Marcus Lattimore? Von Miller? OBJ (the contract is decent)? Just as a few examples.

Answer: Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance, in no particular order are widely considered as the top 4 quarterback prospects in the 2021 NFL draft. They are the top tier of quarterbacks in the upcoming draft, in the next tier below them there are quarterback such as Mac Jones (Alabama), Kyle Trask (Florida) and Desmon Ridder (Cincinnati). I would say Eason would have been firmly in this tier if he was in this years draft class. Eason would have probably been top of this tier and QB5 in this years draft, off his college tape he was ranked as a mid round prospect, he was selected in the fourth round by the Colts last year. The top four quarterbacks in this draft all look to be 1st round picks and are better draft prospects than Eason off college tape.

Chris Ballard is not afraid to gauge the market and interest in some of the top available talent. Ballard will again this off-season look into acquiring top talent but also Ballard has a specific type of player he likes to acquire and they have to fit what Ballard has built already in Indianapolis. A few top tier talents I could see Ballard at least gauging interest in are; quarterback Dak Prescott (Dallas), wide receivers Allen Robinson (Chicago), Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay) and Kenny Golladay (Detroit), tight ends Hunter Henry (Los Angeles) and Zach Ertz (Philadelphia) if he is released, and cornerback William Jackson (Cincinnati).

Lucky Jock Strap (Stampede Blue Comments): Do you like Eberflus as a defensive coordinator or do you think he’s getting over hyped this year? The media praises us as one of the best defenses in the league, but we are so inconsistent. Personally I think the talent is there, but play calling is left to be desired - never blitzing when we’re getting zero pressure or sitting back in coverage and letting teams pick us apart are some examples.

Answer: I think Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is a great at his job and rightfully deserves the hype he gets. You are right in saying that the Colts defense is inconsistent at times but they really are a top 10 defense in the NFL right now. The Colts defense are a very talented group but they do have their weaknesses and top teams have been able to get the better of them at times this year. The Colts have never been a blitzing defense under Eberflus and there are reasons for it, blitzing has it’s positives and negatives and the Colts prefer to rush four defenders leaving more in coverage on the back end. Another factor to remember when talking about the Colts defense is that the defense is a very young group and features a lot of starter who are 25 or under, there is lots of room for improvement but they are playing very well under Matt Eberflus and hopefully can continue to do so.

TheKingJoker22 (Stampede Blue Comments): What position do you think we should draft with our first round pick next year? After the recent news about Castonzo should we go for OT?

Answer: The Colts have some glaring needs this off-season that they need to fill either via the draft or free agency. The Colts top needs appear to be quarterback, offensive tackle, cornerback, edge rusher and cornerback. Depending what the Colts do in free agency and where they end up drafting will potentially dictate what they do in the first round of the draft next year. The Colts need a quarterback of the future so that is definitely on route they could go in the first round with a prospect like Trey Lance (South Dakota). As you mentioned Anthony Castonzo’s future is up in the air so they could go offensive tackle with a prospect like Christian Darrisaw (Virginia Tech). They could look at offensive weapons such as a wide receiver with a prospect like Jaylen Waddle (Alabama) or Rashod Bateman (Minnesota). Or maybe even get some help on the defensive side of the ball at cornerback with a prospect like Jaycee Horn (South Carolina) or a edge rusher with a prospect like Gregory Rousseau (Miami). Also Ballard never likes to be pinned down by drafting for needs and may just go best player available in the first round, lots of options.