5 Positions Indianapolis Colts Must Still Address Before 2015 Season
The draft is complete, but that doesn't mean that the Indianapolis Colts' work is done.
As the 2015 season approaches, the Colts will continue to churn the bottom of the roster with veteran free agents and undrafted college players. The team has found starters late in the offseason before with signings like Ahmad Bradshaw and Mike Adams.
While starters may not be found outside of the organization late this year, the team still must continue to churn and compete among each other in order to find the best combinations.
With that in mind, here are five positions that still need to be addressed in the offseason, whether it be via free agency, trade or pure competition.
Cornerback Depth
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Heading into this offseason, the Colts had virtually no depth at cornerback after the trio of Vontae Davis, Greg Toler and Darius Butler at the top.
The Colts did address the long-term viability of the position with the drafting of Florida Atlantic's D'Joun Smith in the third round of the draft, but the team still could use some additional depth for the fifth spot on the roster.
Now, this doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of another signing.
The Colts signed three undrafted free agents at the position in Donald Celiscar, Josh Mitchell and Al-Hajj, Shabazz, as well as signing veteran Deveron Carr after the veteran combine earlier this offseason. Those four, along with Sheldon Price and Jalil Brown, should have a good offseason battle for the fifth and final cornerback spot.
The winner of the competition may not be the best cover cornerback, but may end up being a special teams stud.
Tackle Depth
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Heading into the offseason, I listed offensive tackle as a long-term priority that the Colts needed to address:
"The Colts have no safe backup plan behind [Anthony Castonzo and Gosder Cherilus]. 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.
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It all still holds true today, as the Colts invested heavily on defense in the draft and didn't select an offensive lineman until the second-to-last pick in the draft. Denzelle Good is another Ulrick John-type prospect, with long-term potential but little chance of making an impact early.
I doubt the team is finding a long-term tackle answer in the rest of this offseason, so making Castonzo's extension a priority seems like the prudent move.
The Colts will have plenty of contract issues to figure out next offseason, with the 2012 draft class (sans Andrew Luck) hitting free agency, along with a few key defensive players (Greg Toler, Jerrell Freeman). Getting Castonzo out of the way now allows for one less task next offseason while also giving the Colts some long-term stability on the line.
Nose Tackle
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The Colts selected Stanford nose tackle David Parry in the fifth round of this year's NFL draft, presumably to compete with incumbent starter Josh Chapman.
After drafting Chapman in 2012, the Colts were very high on him as a run-stopping two-gapper, but a disappointing lack of development was a part of several beatings at the hands of the New England Patriots over the last two years.
That's not to say that Chapman was to blame for those losses. In fact, other defensive linemen's failings and a complete breakdown at linebacker were likely more to blame. But Chapman hasn't proved to be a player with a very high ceiling, and "average" play tends to be the best result.
So as the Colts go into the 2015 season, expect to see an interesting battle between Chapman and Parry, but don't discount other players on the roster either. The Colts have had Zach Kerr, Montori Hughes and even Arthur Jones play nose tackle before, and with a variety of versatile players in this group the team could land on a sleeper candidate as the main nose tackle before the offseason ends.
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Pass-Rusher
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No, the Colts aren't going to find a stud pass-rusher on the street, and it's unlikely that the team will be able to upgrade the position at all from now until August, but make no mistake, this is the one thing that could really hold the Colts back in 2015.
The Colts have a decent group of edge-rushers in Trent Cole, Robert Mathis, Jonathan Newsome, Erik Walden and Bjoern Werner, but there isn't a go-to stud unless you plan on Mathis coming back from a torn Achilles (at 34 years old) at 2013 levels or Cole turning back the clock to 2009.
The team will rely on another "pass rush by committee" approach in 2015, albeit with a better committee than the 2014 team possessed. Still, the approach has a cap on its effectiveness without players that can consistently win one-on-one matchups, as the team found out last year.
Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky did a great job manufacturing pass rush last year, but the Colts sputtered against good offenses with quarterbacks and offensive lines that knew how to pick up stunts and blitzes well. Looking into the future, the Colts will need their own stud pass-rusher. Maybe that's Jonathan Newsome, or maybe it's somebody yet to be on the roster. But for the team's long-term growth, that needs to be the next step.
Nickel Linebacker
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After Jerrell Freeman signed his one-year tender, it was ensured that the Colts' starting inside linebackers would return in 2015.
The team did make some changes behind the starters, however, replacing Josh McNary with former Denver linebacker Nate Irving. Unlike McNary, Irving is a run-stopping thumper. McNary was more of a nickel linebacker with the ability to rush the passer and drop back into coverage. With McNary still on the commissioner's exempt list until his case is completed, there is room for a more coverage-oriented linebacker on the roster.
Recently drafted Amarlo Herrera is more of a thumper as well, and while former CFL star Henoc Muamba may have the range to drop back into coverage, the Colts only gave him 21 snaps last year, per Pro Football Focus.
I've cited it often this offseason, but the Colts were 26th and 31st against tight ends and running backs, respectively, in the passing game last year, per Football Outsiders' DVOA. The team needs to find a long-term replacement to D'Qwell Jackson that can actually drop back into coverage without being a total liability, or at least a depth linebacker that can fill in with more effectiveness in obvious nickel situations.
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