HEADLINES

Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

Raiders Trade Up To 140, Take Maurice Hurst

April 28th, 2018 at 1:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day after taking a first-round talent whose stock plummeted, the Raiders have repeated the practice. And it took another trade to do so.

Per Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area (on Twitter), Oakland surrendered its Nos. 159 and 185 overall selections to trade into Indianapolis’ No. 140 slot, where Maurice Hurst Jr. became the pick.

The Michigan interior pass rusher was viewed as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the draft, but heart issues caused him to fall to this juncture of the draft. Hurst will join Arden Key as defensive linemen heading to Oakland. Jon Gruden‘s team is ready to gamble on some boom-or-bust talent in hopes of creating a better supporting cast for Khalil Mack, whose team has lacked such a contingent for a while now.

Hurst was given clearance from his heart condition, one that emerged at the Combine, recently. But teams still stayed away until Day 3. Nevertheless, the Michigan defensive tackle combined to register 24.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, and the Raiders have struggled to generate interior pressure for years now. Top inside rusher Mario Edwards is entering a contract year as well.

Browns Trade No. 64 Pick To Colts

April 27th, 2018 at 8:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts moved back into the second round and will make the final pick. They acquired the Browns’ No. 64 overall choice to do so.

One of the picks acquired in the 2016 Carson Wentz trade now goes to the Colts, who used it to draft Ohio State defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis.

Indianapolis will send its third-round pick, No. 67, to Cleveland, which also will receive a sixth-rounder (No. 178), per Nate Ulrich of ohio.com (on Twitter). Lewis served as a consistent weapon for the Buckeyes, going back to Joey Bosa‘s final season. Lewis combined to register 23 sacks from 2015-17, never dropping below 7.0 sacks in those seasons.

Eagles Trade Up, Acquire Colts’ No. 49 Pick

April 27th, 2018 at 7:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Eagles will make their first pick in this year’s draft, moving up into the Colts’ No. 49 slot to do so, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

With this newfound draft real estate, the defending Super Bowl champions will add to their tight end mix by drafting Dallas Goedert. They may well have made this move to slide in front of the Cowboys, who pick at No. 50, with Jason Witten likely to retire.

Brett Bensley of Fox 59 tweets the Eagles will send the Colts the No. 169 selection in order to move up three spots and select the South Dakota State pass-catcher. Goedert will join an Eagles team that released Brent Celek last month.

As for the Cowboys, they were mentioned as being interested in Courtland Sutton — who went at No. 40 to the Broncos — and are likely set to see their franchise’s all-time great tight end go into broadcasting.

NFL Draft Rumors: Bills, Broncos, Chubb

April 27th, 2018 at 10:23am CST by Zachary Links

Day 1 of the NFL Draft is in the books, but there are plenty of big-name players left on the board. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) notes, quarterback Mason Rudolph, running back Derrius Guice, tight end Dallas Goedert, offensive lineman Connor Williams, defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, wide receivers Anthony Miller, D.J. Chark, and Courtland Sutton, defensive ends Harold Landry and Sam Hubbard, and cornerbacks Josh Jackson and Isaiah Oliver are all available as we get set for the second round.

Here’s the latest NFL Draft news:

  • The Bills and Broncos had agreed to a trade based on who was available; but Broncos decided not to pass up on Bradley Chubb at No. 5 overall, Schefter tweets. Things worked out just fine for the Bills, however, as they were able to move up to the No. 7 spot to select quarterback Josh Allen. The move to No. 7 cost the Bills the No. 12 pick and a pair of second-rounders (No. 53 and No. 56), but they did not have to part with the No. 22 pick, which they later used to move up to No. 16 for linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
  • The Bears surprisingly tried to trade up from the No. 8 pick, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. It’s not clear who they were targeting, but they were able to land Georgia’s Roquan Smith, who many feel has the potential to be a top-tier inside linebacker.
  • Colts GM Chris Ballard says he had an opportunity to trade back from No. 6, but the team would have had to move back too far for their comfort (Twitter link via Mike Chappell of CBS4). Ultimately, they stood pat and landed Quenton Nelson with the sixth pick.
  • The Colts had Smith and Nelson close on their board, but they ultimately favored Nelson because of the need to protect quarterback Andrew Luck, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
  • Browns GM John Dorsey says about half a dozen teams wanted to trade up to No. 4, but the value never was attractive enough for him to pull the trigger (Twitter link via Mike Jones of USA Today). The Browns arguably could have traded down and still landed Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, but they apparently did not want to take that chance.

Browns, Colts Lead League In Cap Space

April 25th, 2018 at 2:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns and Colts have the most cap room of any team in the NFL heading into draft, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the official rundown of every team’s cap space for 2018 on the eve of draft weekend:

  1. Browns – $69.5MM
  2. Colts – $59.8MM
  3. 49ers – $43.8MM
  4. Titans – $35.8MM
  5. Texans -$35.6MM
  6. Bears – $24.1MM
  7. Jets – $21.9MM
  8. Bills – $19.4MM
  9. Jaguars – $18.6MM
  10. Cardinals – $18.1MM
  11. Redskins -$17.1MM
  12. Bengals – $16.8MM
  13. Packers – $16.2MM
  14. Vikings – $15.5MM
  15. Broncos – $14.6MM
  16. Patriots – $13.8MM
  17. Buccaneers – $12.3MM
  18. Cowboys -$11.9MM
  19. Chargers – $11.4MM
  20. Lions – $9.4MM
  21. Giants -$9.4MM
  22. Ravens – $8.8MM
  23. Seahawks – $7.6MM
  24. Chiefs – $6.7MM
  25. Saints – $5.7MM
  26. Panthers – $5.2MM
  27. Dolphins – $2.9MM
  28. Eagles – $2.2MM
  29. Steelers – $2MM
  30. Raiders – $1.8MM
  31. Falcons – $1.3MM
  32. Rams – $264K

Four Teams Work Out DB Will Blackmon

April 23rd, 2018 at 11:24am CST by Zachary Links

Veteran defensive back Will Blackmon worked out for the Seahawks, Browns, Colts, and Falcons recently, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Blackmon will turn 34 in October, but he impressed in his workouts and Garafolo gets the sense that he’ll land with a team after the draft. 

Blackmon appeared in 30 out of 32 possible appearances for the Redskins between 2015 and 2016, including 16 starts, but missed Washington’s final cut in 2017. Blackmon auditioned for the Colts in November, but did not sign with a team last season.

The veteran offers experience at both safety and cornerback. Blackmon played almost exclusively at corner between 2013 and 2015, but shifted to safety in ’16 when the Redskins added Josh Norman. The move to safety suited him well as he earned his best marks ever from Pro Football Focus. PFF placed him as the 32nd in the league at the position in that season, ahead of notables like Shawn Williams, Bradley McDougald, and T.J. Ward.

Where Are Colts Biggest Areas Of Need In The Draft?

April 22nd, 2018 at 4:30pm CST by Ryan Posner
  • The Colts will have four selections inside the first 49 picks in the upcoming draft, which is good because they could use help at nearly every position outside of quarterback and their specialists. Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star breaks down where the team is in most need, though, with wide receiver, linebacker and offensive line ranking as the top three. Rounding out the top five were defensive line and defensive back. The Colts moved back to the No. 6 overall pick in the first round in a trade with the Jets.

Ex-Colts HC Chuck Pagano To Take Season Off From Coaching

April 21st, 2018 at 7:49pm CST by Ryan Posner
  • Former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano plans to take this season off from coaching and work as a consultant for the NFL, according to Troy Renck of Denver 7, ABC. Pagano was fired this offseason after the Colts missed the playoffs for a third straight season. Frank Reich has since been hired as the team’s head coach.

Malik Hooker Not A Lock For Week 1?

April 20th, 2018 at 5:42pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Malik Hooker joined his Colts teammates for the start of their offseason program earlier this month but said (via Matt Taylor of Colts.com) he’s “not 100 percent by any means” as he recovers from a severe knee injury. Colts.com’s Andrew Walker writes training camp isn’t a certainty for the 2017 first-rounder, who went down in late October of last year with a torn ACL and MCL.
Load More Posts