Hey there Colts’ fans! Here are my thoughts on the Colts’ activities this month, mostly looking back to last month’s draft class.

ROSTER MOVES: The biggest move that took place was the release of veteran secondary leader CB Kenny Moore after 9 stellar seasons. He had requested a trade in April, and they agreed to let him seek his future on his own. The Colts likely will turn to young CB Justin Walley in the slot; Walley was having a great camp as a 3^rd round rookie before tearing his ACL last summer. With all that is demanded of a slot corner, it will be a lot to ask of a guy that has never played an NFL snap and is coming off a major surgery. In other defensive news, they also released recently-added S Nasir Adderly and LB John Bullock. Because of the lack of depth at linebacker, this release of Bullock was sort of surprising so early in the campaign.

SCHEDULE: The schedule was released this week, and the Colts will get another international game this year, this time going to England in week 4 to face the Commanders in Tottenham. But not only do they return to a game instead of a bye week, that game is on the road in Pittsburgh where they always get shellacked. They have three tough games out of the gate with the Ravens Chiefs and Texans followed by the games mentioned above. It would not be a shock to see them start 0-5 and reeling from the start. They might be hard pressed to exceed 6 or maybe 7 wins this season even if everything goes right -- and this team is not deep and can not deal with any injuries at all. It could be a long year in Indy.

ROOKIE CAMP: While the draft picks all looked as expected, there was some interesting hope developing with a couple of the undrafted free agents. With all the gaps on the roster and the lack of available draft capital, the Colts really need to hit on a few of these guys to fill the depth at least. LSU LB West Weeks looked like a keeper as he has size and speed and played with some natural instincts. The staff was noting that he at least will be an asset on special teams, but could push for playing time in a thin linebacking crew. Massive Penn State OL Nolan Rucci also impressed, with his sheer size if nothing else. The massive blocker looks like he may be a solid depth addition to an undersized and sketchy O-line.

DRAFT CLASS: As of the moment, six of the eight draftees have already been signed, with only the two 4^th rounders - OG Jalen Farmer of Kentucky and LB Bryan Boettcher of Oregon - still unsigned. Their top pick, 2^nd rounder LB CJ Allen of Georgia, looks to be the real deal. He was rated as high as round 1, so it was a pleasant surprise to fin him on the board in round two. If you recall, he was one of the two guys I thought the Colts might target here if he was available. I would be shocked if he is not the opening day starter, barring injury. He might even wear the "green dot" helmet as the prime defensive communicator, just like he did in college. They moved back 6 slots and still got him, picking up a 4^th rounder and moving up 12 slots in round 7. They also look to have drafted a second starter in round 3 with the selection of SS AJ Haulcy of LSU. While he is a bit smallish, he is crazy strong and physical and may remind some Colts fans of former Colts star Bob Sanders (but not that small…). With the departure of Nick Cross, he also is likely to start across from veteran S Cam Bynum in week 1.

I was surprised that the Colts took Farmer in round 4 with Elijah Sarrat still on the board (he went a few picks later), and he was rated a bit lower as well. He is better as a run blocker than as a pass protector, and he has some skills, but he definitely has some technique to clean up. Boettcher was a free pick because of the Allen trade-down, and they added at worst a special teams player and a steady depth guy with some versatility. The Colts definitely needed some pass rush and took two shots with their next two picks, but they may have waited too long to get anyone who could be impactful. Florida’s DE George Gumbs has good measurables as a speed rushing end, but simply has not been productive. On the other hand, local boy DE Caden Curry (grew up in the Indy suburbs) out of Ohio State had one year of great productivity, but his body doesn’t really predict that this may continue at the next level; he may have just been the one "weakest link" guy on a great defense that teams let run free. He has been a winner at every level, which is important, and he does play with great instinct and passion, which is also important…but I do wonder if he has the physical tools to contribute with that passion on special teams as late-round defenders must.

With the final two selections, the Colts took a few flyers on some guys to shore up the back end of the offensive skill positions. Kentucky RB Seth McGowan stylistically is similar to Jonathan Taylor, but clearly not nearly as talented. He did show a nose for the end zone, scoring once in every 11 touches last season. I do wonder if his off-field concerns and well-traveled resume (5 NCAA teams) contributed to a fall beyond what his talent may have afforded? With their final pick, the Colts took diminutive Oklahoma WR Deion Burks. His speed and route-running definitely raises eyebrows, but his size raises questions. Questions also likely surround why his impressive physical numbers did not translate to better numbers on the field in five seasons at Purdue and Oklahoma.

I would say that I give this draft a B, maybe a B+ if one of the later round players steps up to be a significant contributor right away. It wasn’t terrible, but I think it could have been better. They do deserve credit for getting nearly every guy on their draft list below where he was projected to go, so that has to count for something in a draft where value had to be maximized more than for most teams.

That is all from the Crossroads of America for this month. Enjoy your Mothers Day, Memorial Day, and likely some graduations days as well!

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