5 Mistakes the Indianapolis Colts Can't Afford to Make This Offseason

Every NFL team has holes. Every NFL team has things it must address in the offseason. 

The Indianapolis Colts, despite reaching the AFC Championship Game, have another crucial offseason at hand. The team had its holes exposed in the 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots, holes that must be filled. 

Now, Ryan Grigson hasn't been perfect over the last three years, but he's made his fair share of solid moves, and the team has progressed each season. But the team has the big hurdle to make now, the hurdle to becoming a true Super Bowl contender. 

In order to do so, the Colts have several things they can't afford to do, or fail to do, during the upcoming spring.

Standing Still at Safety

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One area that Grigson has failed to shore up throughout his tenure in Indianapolis is safety. 

On one hand, the Colts had Antoine Bethea for two years, and picked up a steal in Mike Adams to replace him in 2014. On the other hand, the free-agent signings of Tom Zbikowski and LaRon Landry have been incredible disappointments. 

Going forward, the Colts can't ignore the futility of their assets. Adams is a free agent, and is turning 34 in March. Even if he does want to come back in 2015, he's not a long-term option. Then there's Landry, who has been average at best in Indianapolis. The problem with average is that it's coming at a $24 million price. 

So what should the Colts do? They have options, from signing a safety in free agency (Devin McCourty) to drafting one, or perhaps both. Cutting Landry should definitely be on the table, a $1.426 million savings if done before June 1, after the date the savings rise to just over $3 million, per OverTheCap. 

The one thing that the team can't do is nothing. Be proactive at the position. Get rid of the dead weight Landry contract and either use that money to sign a playmaker at the position or use a guy like Sergio Brown (who was just as good) and use the money elsewhere. 

Failing to Upgrade Andrew Luck's Weapons

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There's a common misconception that the Colts have strong skill positions, but that the offensive and defensive lines drastically need to improve. 

On one hand, I get it. The Colts were bullied by the Patriots, in large part because the defensive line was dominated for the fourth consecutive matchup. 

On the other hand, the line aren't the positions that most drastically need an upgrade, at least not on the offensive side of the ball. Most of the core offensive linemen will be back next season, with Anthony Castonzo, Jack Mewhort and a healthy Gosder Cherilus projecting as solid pieces. On the interior, you have guys like Khaled Holmes, Hugh Thornton and Jonotthan Harrison in the mix, with Joe Reitz and A.Q. Shipley as potential re-signings. 

The skill positions, however, have much less to work with. T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Zurlon Tipton are the only significant players currently on the roster for next year (not counting Trent Richardson, who seems likely to be cut after his two-game suspension voided his guaranteed contract, per CBS Sports' Joel Corry). 

Hilton is a very good No. 1 receiver, and Moncrief has potential, but that is way too thin a group for an offense with Andrew Luck at the helm. The Colts want to address the trenches, but they can't afford to go into the season without giving Luck more weapons either.

Not Planning Ahead at Tackle

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The Colts signed Gosder Cherilus in 2013 to be the bookend complement to Anthony Castonzo, but the plan hasn't worked out as well as the team had hoped. 

Cherilus struggled with lingering issues throughout 2014, and it affected his play quite noticeably. While Anthony Castonzo was having the best season of his career the Colts' right tackle situation was, well, not so good. 

But even if Cherilus comes back strong in 2015, which I would expect, there is a big gap in the Colts' future at both tackle spots. Castonzo's contract is up after next year, as the Colts used his fifth-year option to get him on board for the upcoming season. Cherilus has three years left on his contract, but after 2015, the cost rises dramatically. 

For 2014 and 2015 combined, Cherilus costs just $10.8 million against the cap. In 2016, Cherilus costs $9.9 million against the cap. In 2017, $10.4 million. But cutting him in either season, the Colts could save significant cap space, according to OverTheCap. 

The Colts have no safe backup plan behind the two. Ulrick John is a seventh-round prospect who was a practice squad guy before going on injured reserve. Everybody else the Colts have is really a guard forced to play tackle when Cherilus is hurt. This doesn't mean the team needs to draft one right away, but they need to start planning ahead.

Maybe that means working out an extension for Castonzo. Maybe it means drafting a mid-round prospect to develop. But they can't let it go unaddressed. 

Missing on a Defensive Playmaker

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With the high amount of turnover coming, it would be a waste of time to predict a specific position for the Colts' first-round pick.

That being said, it seems likely that the Colts will be looking for at least one defensive playmaker in the first few rounds of the NFL draft. They may look to free agency as well.

This is something the Colts cannot afford to miss on. 

Even if Bjoern Werner ends up progressing into a decent strong-side linebacker, he isn't the pass-rushing playmaker the Colts hoped he would be. None of the Colts' high-priced free agents in recent years have panned out as blue-chip players (Ricky Jean Francois, Greg Toler, D'Qwell Jackson, Arthur Jones, LaRon Landry). Vontae Davis turned out spectacularly, but he's the only real long-term, certain piece the defense has. 

No matter if you believe in some of the Colts' younger talent to develop or not, it should be agreed that the Colts need star talent on defense, especially in the front seven. 

Drafting a Running Back in the First Round of the Draft

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A popular sentiment among a certain segment of Colts fans would really like the Colts to draft a high-profile running back like Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon. Just look at the comments on this article, for example, or search "Colts melvin gordon" on Twitter.

But spending first-round draft picks on running backs is a risky business. 

There's a reason why zero running backs have gone in the first round in the last two seasons: NFL teams have realized the decreased importance of individual backs. More teams use committees, especially with the importance of the passing game and the need for backs who can contribute in the passing games. 

There are very few "workhorse" running backs in the league that hold up over the course of a season, and they are very hard to find. The 2007 first-round class of Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch was a slam-dunk, but outside of those two, the only stud first-round picks since 2000 are Steven Jackson, Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson. 

That's it. Maybe throw Chris Johnson in there. In 15 years of drafting. 

The Colts need an effective running back or two, but they don't need to spend a first-round pick to do so. This draft in particular is deep in talent, and the Colts should be able to find more-than-adequate talent in the middle rounds. 

And if the Colts keep their hands off, there's no guarantee that those highly rated backs even get drafted by teams in the first round.

Kyle Rodriguez is Bleacher Report's lead featured columnist for the Indianapolis Colts. He is also the editor-in-chief of Colts Authority and Colts Academy and a PFWA Dick Connor Writing Award recipient. Follow him on Twitter for year-round Colts and NFL analysis.