Prior to this month's draft, 1SBD's Mark Hogan takes an in-depth look into each team's current projected starters and identifies strengths and lingering team needs after the first waves of free agency.
Player stats collected from Pro Football Reference. Salary information per Over The Cap.
TAKEAWAYS
PROS
- Indianapolis' offensive line was nothing short of phenomenal in 2018. The team surrendered a league-low 18 sacks after general manager Chris Ballard overhauled the group last year. The starting offensive line will count as just $24.7 million against the cap in 2019. In comparison, the league's most expensive O-Line - in Dallas, $51.7 million - gave up the second-most sacks (56.0) last year. The numbers suggest Colts' fans should have a lot of faith in their third-year GM, as he prepares to use the draft to build a team over free agency -- despite having had the most cap space of any team.
CONS
- The Colts certainly have an enviable couple of pass-catching tight ends but the wide receiver group needs an upgrade in that department. Considering the team is built to win-now, Devin Funchess's one-year deal isn't exactly a worry - of course you want long-term security, but let's focus on winning a Super Bowl first - but depth behind him is. The team is a #2 wide receiver away from being a match-up nightmare for opponents.
- The team had the 11th fewest sacks (38.0) last season. Ideally Indianapolis will change that by relegating defensive lineman Denico Autry or Margus Hunt to the bench in place of young interior pass rusher from this draft. The team put defensive end Justin Houston opposite Jabaal Sheard in free agency and already has the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Darius Leonard at outside linebacker. A penetrating pass rusher - and maybe another linebacker - could help the defense massively.
Projected Starters
NOTE:
NAME, Draft Round.Overall Pick (TEAM, year). Starts/Games Played. Age. Cap Hit 2019
QB has an additional 'total yards, number of attempts (yards per attempt)' figure.
RB, WR and TE have an additional ‘total yards / number of touches (yards per touch)’ statistic
Age as of Sunday September 8, 2019 (Week 1)
QUARTERBACK
ANDREW LUCK, 1.01 (IND, 2012). 86/86. 23,671 yards/ 3,290 attempts. (7.2 y/a). 30-years-old. $27,525,000
RUNNING BACK
MARLON MACK, 4.143 (IND, 2017). 10/26. 1,594 yards/ 326 touches (4.9). 23-years-old. $749,912
WIDE RECEIVER
TY HILTON, 3.92 (IND, 2012). 87/108. 8,152 yards/ 516 touches (15.8). 29-years-old. $15,000,000
DEVIN FUNCHESS, 2.41 (CAR, 2015). 40/61. 2,233 yards/ 161 touches (13.9). 25-years-old. $10,000,000
Average: 67th overall pick. 127 starts/ 169 games played (75.1%). 10,385 yards/ 677 touches (15.3). 27-years-old. Total cap hit: $25.0M
TIGHT END
JACK DOYLE, undrafted (TEN, 2013). 42/84. 1,728 yards/ 200 touches (8.6). 29-years-old. $5,337,500
ERIC EBRON, 1.10 (DET, 2014). 45/72. 2,813 yards/ 256 touches (11.0). 26-years-old. $7,000,000
Average: 133rd overall pick. 87 starts/ 156 games played (55.8%). 5,541 yards/ 456 touches (12.2). 27.5-years-old. Total cap hit: $12.3M
OFFENSIVE LINE
ANTHONY CASTONZO, 1.22 (IND, 2011). 116/116. 31-years-old. $11,050,000
QUENTON NELSON, 1.06 (IND, 2018). 16/16. 23-years-old. $5,429,298
RYAN KELLY, 1.18 (IND, 2016). 35/35. 26-years-old. $3,325,314
MARK GLOWINSKI, 4.134 (SEA, 2015). 28/46. 27-years-old. $3,306,250
BRADEN SMITH, 2.37 (IND, 2018). 13/15. 23-years-old. $1,634,929
Average: 43rd overall pick. 208 starts/ 228 games played (91.2%). 26-years-old. Total cap hit: $24.7M
DEFENSIVE LINE
JABAAL SHEARD, 2.37 (CLE, 2011). 91/121. 30-years-old. $8,000,000
MARGUS HUNT, 2.53 (CIN, 2013). 20/75. 32-years-old. $5,068,750
DENICO AUTRY, undrafted (OAK, 2014). 29/68. 29-years-old. $4,875,000
JUSTIN HOUSTON, 3.70 (KC, 2011). 96/102. 30-years-old. $14,000,000
Average: 104th overall pick. 236 starts/ 366 games played (64.5%). 30.3-years-old. Total cap hit: $31.9M
LINEBACKER
MATTHEW ADAMS, 7.221 (IND, 2018). 5/16. 23-years-old. $595,396
ANTHONY WALKER, 5.161 (IND, 2017). 16/25. 24-years-old. $711,357
DARIUS LEONARD, 2.36 (IND, 2018). 15/15. 24-years-old. $1,647,229
Average: 139th overall pick. 36 starts/ 56 games played (64.3%). 23.7-years-old. Total cap hit: $3.0M
CORNERBACK
PIERRE DESIR, 4.127 (CLE, 2014). 25/49. 29-years-old. $9,000,000
KENNY MOORE, undrafted (NE, 2017). 20/31. 24-years-old. $645,000
Average: 192nd overall pick. 45 starts/ 80 games played (56.3%). 26.5-years-old. Total cap hit: $9.6M
SAFETY
CLAYTON GEATHERS, 4.109 (IND, 2015). 24/41. 27-years-old. $3,000,000
MALIK HOOKER, 1.15 (IND, 2017). 20/21. 23-years-old. $3,436,393
Average: 62nd overall pick. 44 starts/ 62 games played (71.0%). 25-years-old. Total cap hit: $6.4M
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