Ron_Codpiece
Starter
CHANGE FOR 2017
Peyton looked over his roster and knew immediate improvement was needed. The Colts had a decent line but no run game. The defensive line was very old and slow. The linebacker core was also old and built mostly for pass rushing, but the days of the offense putting up 30+ weekly and forcing teams to pass to keep up, were long gone. Special teams were an issue was well, with legendary kicker Vinatieri calling it quits. We have exclusive footage of Peyton's first look at his teams roster and salaries:
The team addressed some needs in the draft. Overall it was a solid draft, nothing really spectacular, but really no duds, either.
HB Donnel Pumphrey - Adds a speed element to the ground game, can also catch out of the backfield. Will battle with Chris Thompson for carries at HB.
WR Stacy Coley - Solid receiver out of Miami. Can already catch and run routes pretty well for a rookie. Can step right into the offense in the event of injury.
TE Clint Oldenburg - Tall tight end who provides depth behind Allen and is a much better blocker. Could be the starter in a year or two down the line.
DE Dawuane Smoot - Quick DE out of Illinois. Has power to go with the quickness as well. Should provide immediate help to the Colts feeble pass rush.
DT DJ Jones - Powerful nose tackle selected later in the draft for depth. The team later signed another rookie DT off the Raiders practice squad though, Derrick Nnadi, they will compete for the backup role.
OLB Zach Cunningham - Good pass rusher who also has great coverage skills at the LB position. Day one starter with this teams weak linebacker core.
CB Bob Smith - The Colts like good man coverage corners and he will be one of those down the line.
Outside of the draft, the Colts spent a lot of money in free agency. To help provide depth at RB they signed Chris Thompson, who has good speed and a killer spin move, but will struggle to get yards after contact. They added two rookies on their line through free agency, including center Joe Tavecchio, and guard Kameel Hope, both of whom have great blocking stats and will be staples on what the front office hopes will be a killer line in time. Defensively Josh Mauro will start at DE for them. They added a whopping six linebackers through free agency, but head coach Chip Kelly says none of them have earned anything and they all will be swapped in and out depending on who plays well.
In the secondary they spent a lot of money on Prince Amukamara, we'll see if that was worth it or if it was a waste. Vontae Davis is in a contract year, they might end up regretting that Prince money. They were already solid at safety so just added depth there, and Jordan Gay will do his best to fill in Vinatieri's shoes at kicker.
The team switched to a 3-4 in the offseason but will throw in some 4-3 at times as well. On offense they will play Chip's west coast style utilizing quick passes and power runs. Their schedule is brutal, but the games should be a lot closer than they were last year.