UPDATED: Colts UDFAs 2012
Here is your list of undrafted free agents for the Colts, as we learn about them:
LB Chris Galippo, USC (Confirmed) (2009 highlights) (2011 highlights)
WR Griff Whalen, Stanford (Confirmed by hometown beat reporter)
CB Micah Pellerin, Hampton (Confirmed)
WR Jabin Sambrano, Montana (Confirmed) (Highlights v. Idaho State)
CB Antonio Fenelus, Wisconsin (Confirmed by Wisc. insiders, plus... INTERVIEW) (Highlights)
CB Cameron Chism, Maryland (Confirmed) (Highlights)
OG Jason Foster, Rhode Island (Confirmed) (Highlights)
P Brian Stahovich, San Diego State (Confirmed) (Highlights)
DB Buddy Jackson, Pittsburgh (Confirmed by Pitt. insiders) (Highlights Part 1, Part 2)
S Matt Merletti, North Carolina (Per former high school contacts) (Recovering from knee injury)
OL Hayworth Hicks, Iowa State (Confirmed) (Highlights)
OL Steven Baker, East Carolina (Confirmed)
DE Kevin Eagan, Endicott (Confirmed by teammate)
DT James Aiono, Utah (Tweeted by Agent) (Highlights)
DT Chigbo Anunoby, Morehouse College (Confirmed by Indy Star) (Highlights)
Note: Unless noted, these are not confirmed by the player or the Colts, but have been noted by reputable members of the media. So, take with a grain of salt.
By my math, if all of these UDFAs actually signed with the team, the Colt's would be about 4 people over the 80-man offseason roster. Has anyone heard who is getting cut?
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@rebuild2012 According to reports the Colts specifically targeted 2 CBs in the draft but they were taken JUST before the Colts picks, forcing them to go to next available pick. Best money right now is on Casey Hayward at 62 and Asa Jackson at 169. Colts were forced to draft Dwayne Allen at 64 and Vick Ballard at 170. It actually makes quite a bit of sense that the two most confusing picks coincided with the Colts losing out on the real guys they were targeting. The draft would have made so much more sense if they'd gotten Hayward at 64 and Jackson at 170.
It also may indicate that since they couldn't get any guys they specifically wanted in the draft that they could hit the secondary hard next year for pospects.
@rebuild2012 Crazy part is we go from 90 to what 53 active, and like 6 or 7 on the practice team?
That means atleast 30 people will get cut at some point in the process. So most people will probably not even get close to making it.
I guess I missed the change. In that case, we still have a few open slots. I am sure we'll pick up some 4th string castoff CB...since we didn't think we needed any in the draft.
My expectations for the Colts Regular Season roster based on the draft looks like this.
QB: Andrew Luck, Drew Stanton
WR: Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, Donnie Avery, TY Hilton, LaVon Brazill
RB: Donald Brown, Delone Carter, Vick Ballard
TE: Coby Fleener, Brody Eldridge, Dwayne Allen
LT: Anthony Castonzo, Jeff Linkenbach
LG: Joe Reitz, Justin Anderson
C: Samson Satele, Jake Kirkpatrick
RG: Winston Justice, Mike Tepper
RT: Ben Ijalana
LDE: Fili Moala, Ollie Ogbu, Riccardo Mathews
NT: Brian McKinney, Mookie Johnson, Josh Chapman
RDE: Cory Redding, Drake Nevis
WOLB: Robert Mathis, Jerry Hughes
WILB: AJ Edds, Chris Galippo,
SILB: Pat Angerer, Kavell Conner
SOLB: Dwight Freeney, Justin Hickman
LCB: Chris Rucker, Kevin Thomas, Brandon King
FS: Antoine Bethea, Mike Newton
SS: Tom Zbikowski, David Caldwell, Joe Lefeged
RCB: Jerraud Powers, Micah Pellerin, Cameron Chism
PK: Adam Vinatieri
P/KOS: Pat McAfee
LS: Justin Snow, Matt Overton
Practice Squad
QB Chandler Harnish
LB Tim Fugger
RB Darren Evans
G Matt Murphy
CB Antonio Fenelus
+2 Others taken from other teams
@LovinBlue A) Tamme is gone now, so we have no backup, and B) Justin Snow is in THE last year of his contract. If the team wants any kind consistent transition from what may be the end of the Justin Snow era to any other LS, they need to get someone working on that position now and not after Snow has gone and retired.
@Jake Good first cut Jake. Am I crazy, or does that team look decent? I know our DBs are all suspect beyond Bethea (Powers is constantly injured), so we're probably a year away there.
The O will progress as the line gels. We could be contenders in a year.
@smonroe The way Grigson made it sound is that they have an idea in mind for the secondary, so I think even if we go and get 4-6 wins we could be looking at a more defensive minded draft next year unless the offensive line falls apart this year. Like say Justice fails again and Ijalana gets hurt again. We might have to go OT in the first round then, but my thought is that CB may be our first couple of picks. I like Powers but he can't play a full year and no matter how good someone is they are worthless if you only get 8 games a year out of them. And he is in a contract year, so the Colts may be looking for his replacement this next year.
Offense could be gelling, Defense could have a Houston like turnaround. I give it about a 5-10% chance of happening, but the Colts could conceviably be around .500 this year.
The Bears didn't improve their line, so Chicago in week 1 could be a win, as could weeks 2 and 3 vs. MIN and JAX. If we go 3-0 to start the season and then beat Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Kansas City while splitting with Tennessee would put us at 8 wins. I'd say it would be a stretch and take a bit of doing, but it is completely possible.
Oh the Pundits would be eating crow if the Colts were entering week 15 with 7 or 8 wins and still numerically in the playoff race. I would laugh my ass off. Now that said, I expect to be at 4 maybe 5 wins come week 15, but that is the realist in me.
@Jake Does not sound too off, I could see Chism or Pellerin starting on the practice squad, Fenelus is a beast on special teams, and thats what 3rd CB's are used for. Also I am not sure about Mike Newton, we will see though, I almost would not mind putting Chism at that position instead of Newton.
Oh and Kavell over Edds, and I think atleast one of the UDFA OL guys will make the practice squad.
Really interested to see how Hickman comes along.
@paulcareyjr Newton has been pretty good in coverage each of the past two years during Training Camp. Doesn't guarantee anything, but there is a reason he has been kept around. I actually like his potential over Caldwell's (both are Free Safeties in reality).
As for Edds, the reason he would start is because his specialty is coverage. Conner can't cover to save his life and with our OLBs having essentially 0 coverage capabilities it comes down to the ILBs, and unless we don't want Angerer to keep on stuffing RBs at the line and getting into the backfield we almost have to start someone to play coverage and let Angerer be free to drop/blitz as he sees fit.
Hickman and Eagan are the kind of small school/CFL guys who the Colts have brought in and actually stuck pretty well. I'm very interested in seeing how they'd come along behind Freeney/Mathis/Hughes.
@Jake Yeah I think Hickman will be a quality guy and Galippo from what I saw really showed a lot in coverage, I could see him being around because of his potential.
Yeah I just do not like Caldwell at all, he is a below average safety to me, and he really does not offer too much, but for some reason they like him and he has experience. I really wish we would have gotten Janzen Jackson into camp, more of a FS than SS to me but I think he has potential.
I wonder what UDFA's we made plays for and did not get, I wonder which we will try to target for the practice team.
@ColtsHomer He's got ILB size, and outside of Edds and Angerer, we have no ILBs. Conner may be able to convert, but even then that is only 3. I'm not sure Lutrus or Harvey would beat him out, but Lutrus is an interesting possibility.
Also, after reading more into Eagen, I'm thinking I'd rather have him as a backup DE than Galliapo at ILB anyway, so there is that.
@ColtsHomer @Jake I think he will atleast make the practice squad, I saw some of his tape from 09 and 11, they were highlights so that never tells the whole story, but he did show a lot of good stuff in them. Seemed like he had good instincts, and was a hard tackler. He also has wonderful hands for a LB.
I also heard that he did much better before Kiffin got there as a 3-4 LB instead of a 4-3, but we will see what happens.
Also I will say if there was 0 chance then he never would have been signed as a UDFA, he has some shot, how much not sure but a greater percentage than zero.
Just watched some ballard footage. Looks like he has solid hands and good balance. He does seem to jump a lot.. that usually translated to injuries and fumbles
Checked out the DB's and LB's and WR's from that group I am thinking that Galippo, Jabin, Chism, Micah and Fenelus will make either the team or the practice squad.
Fenelus will probably have the heads up because of his special teams play which is very good, Chism as most ready, and Pellerin as upside guy. Buddy seems interesting, and is a terrific athlete but is probably too big of a project for us at this time. I do not see Griff or Merletti making it.
I do believe that with more "questions" than "holes" on D w.r.t player fit, scheme fit etc., the Colts chose not to invest high picks on D. When Bill Polian drafted, Angerer and Hayden were projected to be round 4 LB and round 5 CB respectively. But Polian felt strongly about them and in our non-GM, non-scout eyes, they were perceived reaches. However, the players showed us they were worth it. That is what Grigson will also learn. After round 2, if other GMs are making a run on certain positions, it is OK to reach by a round if you believe the player will pay off with his talent.
Either you remain stubborn to your board and watch the other GMs scoop players 1 spot or 20 spots before you. Or you join the crowd of one half of the GMs that go after what they want, and scoop them a round earlier than half the GMs would but get the talent you want to better your team. Not all GMs that reach for a player belong to failing franchises as the above examples show. I was one of those hard on Polian for those Angerer and Hayden picks. Prior to Angerer, Sean Lee and Daryl Washington, two other ILB candidates were picked, before they were projected to go as well. Now my eyes are opened as to how one can miss out on these defensive players.
Reaching for need is OK in my books after round 2 as long as you strongly believe the player’s talent will pay off. Grigson failed to reach by a round for a few players and it cost us a little defensive talent, IMO. This draft was a great offensive draft but could have been re-prioritized by reaching for a defensive player or two and still come away with WR speed in a WR deep draft, IMO. Reaching for a round 5 talent early in round 4 is not a reach for me personally if I believe in the player’s talent. Just my two cents based on the recent draft history observations.
@chad72 I didn't have a problem (too much) with the first two days. Today however, I was not a happy camper. I agree that Grigson and Co stuck to their board (and that's good!), I'm just wondering what the heck their board was based on that made Ballard, Brazill, and Harnish be the BPA. Obviously we don't know yet, and they could turn out to be like Angerer/Hayden. But my initial reaction to most of Day 3 was negative.
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Thank you. Finally, someone who saw it the way I saw it. If they believed in Asa Jackson, they should have pulled the trigger on him at No.136. If they believed in Billy Winn, they should have pulled the trigger on him at No.170. As you know Asa Jackson went at No.169 and Billy Winn went at No.205, one pick before we picked. Polian would have done that, he was experienced and shrewd enough to recognize what is left on the board, how many teams will pick at a position for depth etc. and get a player he wanted badly a round before they were projected to go. One can quote numerous instances, I just quoted two with Angerer and Hayden.
Grigson admitted that he learnt from the draft. This was his first one as GM and I will give him a pass for that but Irsay did say Pagano slammed his desk in the draft room for missing out on one or two. Hopefully, next time they want someone, they go get him.
T.Y.Hilton, Joe Adam and Jarius Wright, the Arkansas speedsters went in round 4 to middle of round 4, so where T.Y.Hilton was drafted was about right. I would have gone CB first if you felt NTs like Nicolas Jean Baptiste and Hebron Fangupo would all be there in round 7. Then, everything would have followed suit. Lavon Brazill was a luxury pick, IMO. So was Vick Ballard. UDFA market is always flooded with RBs. The draft was deep in WR for us to get a Dwight Jones or Jeff Fuller, who are still UDFAs (maybe one of them got signed overnight, I dont know).
@Kyle Rodriguez @chad72 I think the picks were okay, but there are others I would have looked at, all have upside, but yeah you never know how they will turn out.
@chad72 What is your take on Ballard?
I think he got drafted solely on this one game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6EFyAwNcow&feature=related
he, does really good when he commits to a whole, puts his foot in the ground and runs straight for it, when he hesitates the play always seems to break down, also he does a little too much jumping for me.
I personally would have waited to target RB, and possibly took a chance on Bryce Brown in the 7th, but I bet Grigson did his due diligence on the pick.
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Vick Ballard did average 6 YPC in a tough SEC. So when he was healthy and he ran, he ran real well between the tackles. I think it was Walterfootball that said that he is the kind of runner who projects better at the next level than at the college level.
No.1 concern with him, his fumble rate is higher than Donald Brown and Delone Carter put together in college, that is my big red flag.
@paulcareyjr @chad72 I don't think they intended to target Ballard. From their post-draft press conference, it sounds like Asa Jackson was their guy and the Ravens snatched him literally the pick before at 169. But hey, that's the draft. I too question the RB pick with perceived talent at the CB position still available but we all regarded that position too highly in this draft. I mean, look at all the CB "talent" still left on the board after the draft ended. If any were as good as you thought, they'd have gotten drafted. All in all, it was a quality draft that filled a lot of needs for the team. The next year will be interesting.
@Torridphenix @paulcareyjr @chad72 Yeah when I looked at the draft tracker I saw that Asa got drafted right before Ballard and assumed that was our initial target. I still would have liked us to go for need, LB, OL, DL or S.
I think we probably would have looked at George Iloka as well but he got drafted a little bit ahead of us, I would have been interested in giving Bethel a shot at that pick. Also that pick was pretty interesting because they had to make sure they got their guy there, because it would be a while before they got to pic again due to the Stanton traded.
But all in all we have the bulk of our team now and we will see how it plays out, no one really knows how anyone will turn out, hopefully a couple of these guys turn out to be studs.
Oh yeah forgot this about Ballard, he really did a good job at catching the ball and getting up field, not sure what his ceiling is but he did show what his potential could be.
Oh, darn it. Chase Minnifield was signed by the 'Skins. I was hoping Indy would bring him in. Minnefield was a high rated CB who fell due to injury concerns, so as a UDFA he's have been an excellent risk to take.
Too bad. :(
@Kyle Rodriguez I agree. There's already a backup QB on the roster. Why not get a guy who's value is through the roof?
I mean, I don't want to make too much out of a 7th round pick, let alone *the last pick of the draft*. Normally, that's not a pick you worry about. But, in my mind, it was a chance to grab a potentially high round caliber player with a very low round pick, so it would be essentially passing on a 2 or 3rd - or even first, depending on what past prospect analysis you lean on - round talent regardless of the actual draft slot.
I'm disappointed, I have to admit.
@AJ_ @Kyle Rodriguez I believe the thinking is that Stanton is not going to be with the Colts beyond this year but they wanted an experienced QB to back up Luck. Therefore they decided to draft a college QB good enough to grow in the system the same time as Luck and be able to provide quality backup down the road. I hope we don't need him like we did not need Sorgi and the entire cohort of backup QB during Peyton's time with the team.
@Kyle Rodriguez I'm not sure it was that dumb. Harnish was a quality QB at NIU and will make a great clipboard holder for Luck in years to come. Stanton is only on a one year deal and, I'm not sure if anyone noticed but having a solid backup QB is important. I think they may also start trying to train him as a holder and move ole Boomstick to both kicking and punting duties. It'll free up a roster spot because your backup QB is going to be on the roster anyways so why waste the spot on an unecessary holder. Just an idea...
@Kyle Rodriguez @AJ_ Yeah I thought it was kind of a silly pick as well, with Dennard and him available in the 7th we should have grabbed atleast one of them even with their issues.
@Kyle Rodriguez @AJ_ could have grabbed him or Kellen Moore as a free agent, maybe Moore would not have been as excited though...
Can't believe Moore did not get drafted.
@AJ_ wow I did not even get to see the draft today was at a graduation, did not realize he did not get picked up, that is a shame, yeah would have been nice to sign him as a UDFA, still a chance he gets cut, they have a lot of guys at that position I believe.
@paulcareyjr It woiuld've been excellent. At points during the season, he was ranked as a first and second rounder. I think it was injury concerns that knocked him down so low, not productivity (someone will correct me here if I'm wrong). He'd have been an excellent UDFA to grab, but someone else got there first.
Too bad.
@AJ_ he still may not make their final roster, there will be a lot of options, even if it is just to sign to our practice squad initially.
I don't know too much about most of these FAs (not surprisingly, as they went undrafted). Are there any that seem particularly promising for UDFAs?
@7IHd The punter apparently is pretty good. But I can't imagine McAfee gets passed up.
