The Indianapolis Colts' list of needs for the offseason is a long, exhausting catalog.
With a plethora of 2014 Colts seeing their contracts expire combined with a roster that lost to the New England Patriots 45-7 in the AFC Championship Game, the Colts have many holes to fill for the 2015 campaign.
Needs that will be highlighted include defensive line (New England ran for roughly 3.4 million yards against the Colts over the last two years), safety (there are currently two backup safeties/special teamers on the roster, that's it) and running back (Trent Richardson is nodding his head somewhere). There are others, of coruse . Pass rush was a major concern all season, and the offensive line has been a sieve in big spots over the last two years.
But one need that can slip between the cracks for some is wide receiver. Prior to the 2014 season, wide receiver was one of the Colts' deepest and most talented positions. With Reggie Wayne coming back healthy to join T.Y. Hilton and Hakeem Nicks joining the team in free agency, the Colts had three experienced, starting-caliber receivers. Throw in a solid group of developmental receivers, including rookie Donte Moncrief , athletic freak Da'Rick Rogers and versatile LaVon Brazill , and the Colts had an overall group that could rival any in the league.
Fast-forward a few months, and things look much different.
While Hilton took on the No. 1 receiver role better than anybody expected, and Moncrief flashed serious talent, the rest of the group was a massive disappointment.
Nicks' one-year tenure was just slightly less forgettable than those of Donnie Avery and Darrius Heyward -Bey before him. Wayne slowed way down and was almost invisible for the second half of the season. Rogers and Brazill were both let go for off-the-field issues.
With Nicks and Wayne's contract now expired, the Colts were left with just Hilton and Moncrief as viable contributors for 2015. The team did add NFL legend Cris Carter's son, Duron Carter, out of the CFL , but expecting him to fill the void may be asking too much.
It's easy to look at the beating the Colts took at the hand of New England and say they need to get tougher, to get stouter in the trenches before they can truly compete for a Super Bowl. But that would ignore a hazardous problem.
While the Colts defense was the biggest issue with the loss in New England, the offense struggled to sustain anything either, scoring just seven points. While the lack of run game is certainly an issue, the Colts executed without a run game throughout the season. The much more dangerous problem was the Colts wide receivers and their inability to get open against the Patriots' man-to-man coverage.
With Hilton double-teamed, nobody else on the Colts stepped up, and Andrew Luck was running for his life after finding no options downfield throughout the contest.
Going into this season without addressing that problem would be a travesty, and it's clear what the Colts need. Moncrief and Carter are similar types of receivers: big and fast but unrefined. They are nice developmental pieces, but they will go through (at the very least) inconsistent periods.
That's exactly the kind that struggle to get open in the short and intermediate areas of the field.
No, the Colts need a receiver who can get open quickly against man coverage, be it on short slants and breaking routes or quick outs and comeback routes. They need a smart receiver who can find open spots in zone coverage and replace the "security blanket" that Wayne functioned as for Andrew Luck in his rookie year.
There are several ways to do this. One is to get a veteran possession receiver in the offseason.
While the free-agent market isn't rife with possession receivers, there has been talk of the Colts going after either Brandon Marshall or Andre Johnson in a trade or cut scenario, respectively.
Both would be ideal fits in Indianapolis, albeit expensive ones. These are big-bodied receivers with a history of consistent production despite having awful quarterback situations. Both excel at getting just enough separation to win at the point of the catch and have the experience necessary to quickly identify coverages and be in the spot the quarterback needs them to be.
Of course, there's a cost. Johnson is due a $10.5 million base salary in 2015, with a $1 million roster bonus. His 2016 base salary is $11 million with another $1 million bonus. Marshall is slightly cheaper, due $7.5 million in base salary in 2015, $7.9 million in 2016 and $8.3 million in 2017, with $200k workout bonuses in each of those years.
The nice part about those contracts is that they are only for a few years. Even if those players were cut and were going to renegotiate those deals, they would likely be looking at a length of only two or three years.
The other option is to go to the draft. While the Colts desperately need a veteran presence, the 2015 draft is deep and talented enough to potentially produce an immediate contributor while also giving the team another long-term piece.
The top fits in that respect would be Nelson Agholor (a Wayne clone), Jaelen Strong, Rashad Greene, Justin Hardy or Kenny Bell.
In terms of getting value in the draft, this is an option that makes a lot of sense. The 2015 draft is, for the second consecutive year, loaded with talent at wide receiver. If a team wants to get the best player on the board, there's a good chance that it will be a wide receiver at any point in the first four rounds.
But when factoring in both immediate and long-term needs, the issue is a bit cloudier.
The Colts already have two developmental, long-term pieces in Moncrief and Carter. Adding another early or mid-round pick to the mix is going to make developing those players a bit more complicated. And even the most pro-ready receiver won't fill the experience void that the Colts currently have at the position.
Certainly, another young piece would always be welcomed, but for 2015, the more necessary addition seems to be a veteran.
No matter the case, the point is that the Colts have to make serious effots to improve the wide receiver position in 2015. Andrew Luck is the centerpiece of the organization, and a high-quality passing offense is the lifeblood of the team.
Making sure there are weapons in that offense should be a high priority and even more important than improving a weak defense.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1KqwvkG
via IFTTT March 05, 2015 at 02:34AM
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