There is no such thing as a “perfect offseason” in the NFL. Fans crave free agency and the draft and fall in love with players, hoping their team will pick them up in the offseason.
While Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard and company have different ideas on what their vision for a perfect offseason would be, I wanted to share what my perfect offseason would include.
2020 NFL Draft
The Colts hold the Nos. 13, 34 and 44 picks in this upcoming draft, and they have plenty of holes to fill.
With the quarterbacks that are coming out this year that could be available at pick 13 (Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm), most are projects and will need time to develop.
Indianapolis should draft a ready-made difference-maker at No. 13. With how thin the talent is at the defensive line, the Colts should look to get a guy like Javon Kinlaw, Derrick Brown or Neville Gallimore.
With the 34th pick, an option will be to move back into the first round if the Colts see someone slipping. But in my hypothetical world, they stay at 34 and draft a young prospect out of Washington, quarterback Jacob Eason. At 34, Eason won’t be forced to start right away, and won’t cost as much.
With how deep the receiver class is in this draft, Indianapolis could wait on a receiver until the 44th overall pick and get a player like Donovan Peoples-Jones, K.J. Hill, Tyler Johnson or Chase Claypool.
Free agency
According to Spotrac, the Colts have the most projected cap room in the NFL this offseason. If anyone watched Ballard’s end-of-season presser, it seemed likely he might spend a little of that money in free agency.
Indianapolis seems unlikely to re-sign all of its in-house free agents, so let us look at a few guys the team could target in free agency.
If I was Ballard, I would look to go get a multi-dimensional defensive end to replace Jabaal Sheard opposite Justin Houston. Bringing in a guy like Shaq Lawson of the Bills or Arik Armstead of the 49ers will do that.
Last offseason, it was Ballard poaching Houston from his former employer, the Kansas City Chiefs. He could do that again this offseason by signing free agent Chris Jones. As a 4-3 interior defensive lineman, Jones won’t be cheap but would provide an instant upgrade inside.
Lastly, the receiver group was a major disappointment last year due to injury and while drafting a receiver will help, the Colts need depth at that position and some guys that can create explosive plays when the ball is in their hands.
There are a few intriguing free-agent receivers this offseason. Emmanuel Sanders, while he is 33, has shown can still make plays. Amari Cooper is also a premier option if he hits the market.
They do have the option to bring back Devin Funchess, probably for a one-year deal. If that’s the case, I’m all for it because he was that big-body threat the Colts used a lot in Week 1 when he played.
While the likelihood of any of these things happening is very small, I think these could be some ways the Colts could look to improve the roster going into 2020.
