The NFL Playoffs may still be going on, but the Indianapolis Colts’ season has already ended, and so the offseason has arrived. Thanks to the masterclass from C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins that effectively ended our playoff hopes, most first draft mock drafts are predicting a CB for our first round pick. There are others who are hoping we trade up to have the opportunity to draft all-world tight end Brock Bowers or even Marvin Harrison Jr., but the reality is we will have to pick at our spot (#15) or trade back and accumulate more draft picks. There are rumors of A.J. Brown being traded (2nd highest odds of him landing in Indianapolis currently) here but I don’t see that happening right now. If Michael Pittman Jr. decides to not return to Indy next season, whether under a new contract or the franchise tag, the chance of A.J. Brown coming to Indianapolis increases.

On Spotrac, the Indianapolis Colts have the 5th most cap space at $66,350,395 for the offseason. Of course there are a few of our own guys that are unrestricted free agents, including Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore, Julian Blackmon, Gardner Minshew, and Zach Moss. Personally, I hope we are able to re-sign all of them, but this won’t be possible unless we release a player or two currently under contract (sorry Mo Alie-Cox).

Gus Bradley is back for 2024. And that should strike fear into the hearts of Colts fans everywhere. Not all the blame can be placed on Gus Bradley, but I would argue a large part of our poor defense this season was due to Gus being hard-headed and leaving our secondary hung out to dry. Gus decided to rarely (if ever) call a blitz and relied on our defensive line to generate pressure. If you asked the average NFL fan to name two players on our defensive line, they probably won’t be able to. DeForest Buckner has been the only player who put consistent pressure on the QB, with Ebukam being average with the pass rush. Our recent draft picks Odeyinbgo and Adebawore have been underwhelming, with Kwity Paye straight up disappearing in some games. Why then would Gus not call for some slot corner blitzes or rush the linebackers? Especially when E.J. Speed and Zaire Franklin are terrible coverage linebackers.

What I want to see next season is Nick Cross play the sub-LB role (he has been excellent at defending the run this season so no concerns there) so we have more speed in the secondary. I want to see more blitzing LBs and less soft zone coverages and more man from Brents/Moore/Jones/Flowers and see what they can do when they don’t have to defend a WR for a longer duration. I want to see more Cover 1 or 2 with a Cover 0 thrown in once in a while. I want to see aggressive plays on the ball and not the soft “bend don’t break” defense that we saw a while back when we wasted a lot of the Peyton Manning years. This is what I want to see, but this probably won’t be what I get. So we’ll have to go another direction – sign and draft better players. If I am Chris Ballard, the below are what I would do with the current roster:

1. Cut Mo Alie-Cox – With Mallory shaping up to be our top receiving TE (until Jelani Woods is back healthy) and Granson as a capable backup (not sure if Ogletree is returning), Mo’s salary is too much for the production he brings. He isn’t a capable pass blocker, only better than Will Fries and Freeland (who isn’t better than Freeland?), and another receiving TE for ~$6 million is a luxury we don’t need. I’d cut Mo and use the cap space to re-sign players.
2. Re-sign Kenny Moore – Kenny is one of the top slot corners in the league, and if we are able to re-sign him(Spotrac has him at a Market Value of ~$9 million), that would be ideal. Otherwise, we’d have to look at CB in the draft as a top priority, and the top 5 here are Cooper DeJean, Nate Wiggins, Lassiter, Max Melton, and Terrion Arnold)
3. Re-sign Grover Stewart – Big Grove has been a run stopper his entire career, and having him paired with Buckner would be nice. However, Spotrac’s MV on Grover is ~$11 million, and the Colts could go the younger route for DT2 in this year’s draft. I’m thinking Kris Jenkins, Johnny Newton (good speed rusher but mediore run defense), Byron Murphy II, or Brandon Dorlus later in the draft.
4. Re-sign Michael Pittman Jr. – MPJ has been our only consistent receiver the past few years so we need to lock him up. He is going to explore other options in free agency but I hope we are able to re-sign him or place him on the franchise tag. Spotrac values him at around $22 million, so this would cover a chunk of the cap space, though it would be well worth it.
5. Sign Josh Dobbs – This season has proven having a good backup QB is essential. Although Minshew has played well this season, he has been very inconsistent. Josh Dobbs (or Tyrod Taylor) might command a similar salary at around $5-6 million per year, and I would sign the Passtronaut for the upside he brings, with a playstyle more similar to Anthony Richardson. That Josh Dobbs to Josh Downs connection would be sick. I’d be open to drafting a QB if J.J. McCarthy or Michael Pratt are still available in the mid-rounds.
6. Sign Townsend or Bojorquez – Can we get Deestroying? Nah I’m just playin. I’d like Tommy Townsend or Corey Bojorquez here at around $4-5 million as they are top 5 in the league, and Rigo has been an average punter this season (#16). However, if we’re able to re-sign Rigo for under $4 million, I’ll take it, as the cupboard for the other available free agent options out there is bare (Braden Mann and Jake Bailey, looking at you).
7. Draft a linebacker – I wish we retained Okereke. Our LB coverage has not been good this season with Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed. I want Queen or one of the Devins but some team will probably give them a big contract we can’t afford. Therefore, drafting a LB should be a top 3 priority in the draft. There aren’t many elite inside linebackers in this year’s draft, but my targets here are Junior Colson and Cedric Gray early or Marist Liufau and Edgerrin Cooper in the later rounds.
8. Re-sign Zach Moss – In JT’s absense and as a spell HB, Zach has been great in his role. He may be offered a bigger contract from an RB-needy team, but I would like to retain him here at around $4.5 million).
9. 2024 NFL Draft targets:
   – Round 1 Pick 15: Cooper DeJean, Nate Wiggins, Lassiter, Max Melton, and Terrion Arnold
   – Round 2 Pick 43: Byron Murphy II, Kris Jenkins, Junior Colson
   – Round 3 Pick 74: JJ McCarthy, Michael Pratt, Cedric Gray
   – Round 4 Pick 109: Marist Liufau, Edgerrin Cooper
10. Free agents to target – after the re-signs and then setting aside roughly $10 million for the Colts’ draft picks, there will be ~$12 million to play around in free agency. I’d like to bring in a RG such as Kevin Zeitler for ($7.5 million) and Jamal Agnew ($4 million) for kick/punt returner and WR depth.

Improving the defense is the clear focal point of this offseason, and for good reason. With promising young QBs in our division in Stroud, Lawrence, and Levis, stopping them is key. All that being said, our franchise is dependent on Anthony Richardson’s health. If he is healthy, the Colts can win every single game and mask the deficiencies of the Gus Bradley defense. Otherwise, we’ll need to hope our rookies and new additions step up on the defensive side. Our team is built to be dynamic while controlling the clock, play with a lead, and keep the defense fresh (or fresher than normal) as we play the bend-don’t-break defense hoping the opposing offenses messes up. There isn’t any more we can improve on the offensive side other than RG and depth, but there is plenty of weaknesses on defense. I hope to see some exciting additions on the defensive side of the ball this offseason and get excited for Colts football again.