April 26, 2025 • 17 mins
Casey Vallier and Bill Brooks dive into the Colts' final five selections of the 2025 NFL Draft and how they fit: Iowa State tackle Jalen Travis, Kansas State running back D.J. Giddens, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, Alabama defensive tackle Tim Smith and Wisconsin linebacker Hunter Wohler. The guys also take a holistic view of the Colts' entire draft and look around the AFC South at some of the biggest moves made in this year's draft between the Titans taking Cam Ward and the Jaguars trading up for Travis Hunter.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
It's time for Instant Reaction, brought to you by Sony.
Every NFL season, Feel every play, every hit, every moment
with the Sony one thousand x five noise canceling headphones,
the official headphones of the Indianapolis Colts. With premium noise cancelation,
You're in the zone, no distractions, just pure football. Whether
you're in your living room or on the go, You'll
(00:23):
never miss a beat with Sony Headphones.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, welcome into Instant Reaction. Day three of the NFL Draft,
which means rounds four through seven are now in the books.
We are brought to you by Sony, Bill Brooks alongside
with me, I am Casey Valier.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Bill.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We're gonna dive into everything, but I'm gonna do a
quick synopsis of kind of what happened here in Day three.
The Colts entered with four picks. They had a pick
in every round four, five, sixty seven. Early in the
early in round four, they made a trade with the Rams,
which essentially gave them an additional sixth round pick. They
swapped fourths. They took that fourth round pick turned into
(01:01):
Jalen Travis, who was a tackle out of Iowa State.
In the fifth round, they took a running back DJ
Giddons out of Kansas State. Then in the sixth round
they doubled up. They had two picks back to back,
one eighty nine and one ninety. Overall, they took quarterback
Riley Leonard out of Notre Dame, defensive tackle Tim Smith
out of Alabama, and then they rounded out the draft
(01:23):
with Hunter Wohler, who was a safety out of Wisconsin
who's going to be kind of sliding in and playing.
Sounds like a multiple of positions, but linebacker for the Colts.
So those are the four selections the Colts made in
Day three. We're not going to dive into all of them,
just because I think it's a good idea to do
a big recap of everything, but we will start with
(01:44):
what we saw today. And one of the things that's
polarizing because of the position is at quarterback. The Colts
selected a quarterback in Riley Leonard, began his career at Duke,
went to Notre Dame. We knew we're going to have
a quarterback competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, and
now it looks like you're going to have a little
(02:04):
bit more of a competition at who's going to be
that third quarterback on the roster between Jason Bean and
Riley Leonard.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, I think you always want to have competition.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Doesn't matter if you set for the first or second
spot or the third or fourth stop spot. You want
to have a competition throughout your roster, guys pushing one another.
They'd be better to make sure that, hey, you're getting
the best out of these guys and when it comes
time to play games, they'll be ready to play and
get the best out there in the football field. So
it'll be interesting to see how these guys go about it.
Each of them have something special that they could do
(02:35):
out there in the football field. So it should be
a good competition at the quarterback position.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And one of the things that I got to learn
by doing a little bit of research on Riley Leonard,
he was kind of polarizing because he was outside of
what Daniel Jones did it Duke there really hasn't been
another quarterback that you've really heard from that school, but
you know, he was that. I know late in that
twenty three season, Duke was a top twenty team. He
(03:02):
had that foot or ankle injury that kind of knocked
him out. Then he transfers to Notre Dame. But I
didn't realize all the connections that he had, So there's
a lot of Colts connections. But then also as an athlete,
pretty impressive. So Colts connections. He trains with Philip Rivers,
so you know there's the Shane Steiken the Philip Rivers tie,
which is also pretty cool. But then as I mentioned
(03:24):
with Daniel Jones, he and Daniel Jones two former Duke quarterbacks.
But while he was at Duke, this is impressive. I
was shocked by this coach K, legendary coach who was
at Duke, asked Riley Leonard if he could play two sports,
if he could play basketball alongside now the head coach
on the football side of things said no, no, no, my
(03:46):
quarterback is not going to play basketball. But that just
tells you the athlete this guy was. I know in
high school he was a two sport athlete, very elite.
But I mean, if coach K is knocking on your
door saying, hey, you want to come and play ten
to fifteen minutes with the Blue Devils, that's pretty impressive
right there.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
That is pretty impressive.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
If you have to think one of the elite college
basketball schools.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
In the country.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Their head coaches come and ask you, do you want
to play basketball for us? And basically he's saying that,
you know what, he can get some minutes on the
floor as far as playing basketball for Duke. So that
just shows how good of an athlete he is. Not
just how good of an athlete he is, but how
he processes things. Because if he's able to do that
on the basketball court, play basketball at that high level,
(04:31):
it shows how he can process things, so he can
carry that over to the football tide of things. So
it shows that, you know what, he's a guy that
if you give him a lot on his plate, he
probably can handle it.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
He can process it, and that only helps.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
You out there in the football field to not only
play and to be able to play at a high level,
but also to be a leader out there, to lead
other guys in regards to what they need to do
on the football field.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So give the young man credit. Very talented young man.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Mobile.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
He gives people problems because he's so mobile in the pocket,
so hard to tackle himself.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You know, it should be a good, good competition.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Yeah, trying to camp for what he does out there
and when he gets to train and camp.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Now, one of the other positions they addressed here on
day three was it running back. We know what the
Colts have and Jonathan Taylor, but Trey Sermon's not on
this roster here heading into twenty twenty five, you've got
Tyler Goodson. They brought in Khalil Herbert as a free agent.
But it was also a you know, we have mentioned
it a couple times this week already that talking with players,
(05:32):
with some of these big wigs, if you will, at
the NFL Combine, some of them had twenty to thirty
draftable grades on running back. So the depth at that position,
you knew it was an area that would probably be
tapped into. The Colts do that in round five when
they get Kansas State running back DJ Giddons. This guy's
pretty impressive. He is second in school history all time
(05:53):
in yards per attempt at five point nine seven yards
per carry lot, third in career rushing yards over three
thousand rushing yards, and he's just one of four players
in school history to have multiple thousand yard rushing seasons.
So definitely, DJ Giddens is a guy who really put
his foot down at Kansas State. One of the best
running backs in the history there. What does he add
(06:16):
to this room because we know what Jonathan Taylor is,
but you're always looking because of the position injuries happen,
you got to have somebody who's ready to tote the rock.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Yeah, you always want someone to can tote the rock
and definitely step in if someone gets hurt. Hopefully no
one gets hurt, but if someone does get hurt, you
want someone to step in.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
And DJ did that in Kansas. I mean in regards
to run the ball, run the rock.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
His last two seasons in Kansas, he had over a
thousand yards rushing. So you know he can tote the
rock and he also can catch the ball in the backfield. Yes,
you know he caught the ball in the backfield. And
I think that's something special for running backs is if
you can catch the ball on the backfield, it just
makes it easier for your offense to do different things
without changing personnel a lot. So having a back out
(06:57):
there that can not only run but also catch the
ball would be very big.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Now.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I know in his career Kansas, you know he hadn't
had a little issue with his hand with a blocking
as far as picking up blitzes and things like that.
So but he's gotten over that. He's he's healthy now.
So he is a back that can play three downs
if you need it. So definitely on third down put
him in there. But you know he'll play three downs
if maybe give him the blow to JT or if
(07:23):
unfortunately JT is not there. And also with Khalil Khalil
stepping in as well, So another position where it should
be a good battle and see.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
How that plays out.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
As far as playing time for those three, well two guys,
I would say, because JT's gonna you know, he's gonna
bright and get the ball exactly now.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
In closing on Day three of the draft, these these
last selections were essentially what we had talked about. We
knew that they were gonna build in the trenches offensive
and defensive line, and this staff has drafted linebacker at
a incredible clip, and those are the positions they went.
They went offensive tackle, they went defensive tackle, and they
(08:02):
drafted safety, who's going to be kind of shift into
that linebacker spot. No surprise there at all.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
No no surprise, and that they want to get some
people there that can have some depth and definitely some
guys that you know, you know, if there is a injury,
especially on the office of defensive line, you want to
have depth. You just have one guys have depth. So
you know, you have Jaalen Travis. That's an offensive tackle
that's played both left and right tackle, so he can amazing.
(08:29):
He's a big man. Yeah, he's He's a big fella.
So you know, could play both left for right tackle,
so that's good. And you know if if he is playing,
you know Gonzalvez, Gonzalvez can play tackle or guard, so
you know, you have that kind of flexibility with the
guys you can use there.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
So that's very important to have him. And you know,
so when you when you have that, then you.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Have Tim Smith defensive tackle, big guy also to give
a blow to the guys up front with Grove and Buck.
So you know, as you said yesterday, Casey, they we
look forward to not look forth to it, but we
thought that they would go with these positions.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
You know, defensive tackle, offensive tackle, linebacker. So uh, you
know a lot of guys at linebacker, you know, you know,
probably more unlikely play some special teams, but that's what
you want. These guys come in and they want to
be out there. They want to play, so they want
to get some playing time. That's one way they can
get some playing time to show it out there in
the football field.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I mean, you talk about that, you mentioned, you know,
Hunter Woller out of out of Wisconsin, seventh round pick,
you're probably gonna make your hay early on as a
special team or well, if you go in that linebacker
room and you ask the guy who's wearing the sea
on his chest Shire Franklin was a seventh round pick
and made his start at in special teams, so you
(09:47):
can make that jump. That's one of these things. That's
what they're trying to do. They want a guy that
they can take to mold a special teams to just
continue to grow. So that's kind of what they're looking
for there. Now, all right, before we dive into some
other teams in the division, because there was some hay
made there, let's do just kind of one little overview
of totality of what the Colts did, starting with, you know,
(10:09):
the one that they got there in the first round
in Tyler Warren dynamic tight end. We've been talking about
this off camera, but the importance of when you have
a premium pick top fifteen. This is a lottery selection,
if you will, getting a dynamic playmaker, and that's exactly
what the Colts did and Tyler.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Warren definitely that's what you want.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
You want a dynamic playmaker that's going to make a
difference for your team out there in the football field.
And Tyler Warren is can do that on the football field.
You know, once he gets here and gets acclimated to
what the Colts want him to do, He's one of
those players with the talent to go out there and
make plays to help the offense out, not just from
a physical talent as far as going out there and
(10:51):
being fast and stuff like that, but just being physical
as far as out there running the ball, catching the ball, blocking,
He can do a little.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Bit of every who said is post draft thing that
hey we might even play defense, yes exactly, so you
never know what can happen.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
So to have a guy like that that is very
versatile with Shane and Shane being able to use him
in multiple ways, I think it's only going to be
a plus for day offense. So having that type of
guy and getting him at the fourteenth pick, you want
him to be dynamic and this is a guy that
can be dynamic.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
He has the traits to be dynamic on the football field.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
One thing that I was interested to see when I
dove into these prospects, they selected winning. He kind of
made it. It made its way through. If you look
at Tyler Warren, Riley Leonard, and then of course JT.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Two E.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Muolau. They all played in the College Football Playoff this
past year with JT. Ryley Lennard meeting in the national championship.
And then you can even throw in what happens at Alabama,
which is nothing but winning. But I mean that's what
Tim Smith did. He spent five years at Alabama, won
a national champion as a freshman. So you put all
four of those guys, four of your eight selections have
(12:04):
won at elite levels, I mean, the highest of high.
How important is that to bring that winning culture into
the locker room.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
It's very important because first of all, you just you know,
you talk about the winning culture. That is very important.
But to me, it goes to the preparation. In order
for those guys to win and be a part of
a winning culture. In that culture, they had to teach
them how to prepare for games. So when they come
in prepare as far as practicing, and not just on
the football field, but in the weight room and the
classroom as well. They bring that type of studied habits
(12:37):
and work ethic to the practice facility. It can rub
off on other people, hopefully, and those guys know how
to win, so when they come into building, they can
carry that with them and then hopefully hopefully pick up
on what the cult are doing, but also maybe show
some other guys this is what's going to take for
us to be winners. And then hopefully that is just
contagious with everyone in the building and the locker room,
(13:00):
and then hopefully they can go out there and practice
hard and practice the right way and get some wins.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Now, as I mentioned the AFC South, there was some
there were some splashes. I mean, it all starts there
at number one Tennessee Titans on the clock and they
take cam Ward. We don't know what cam Ward's going
to be, but we saw what Houston was able to do.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
C J.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Stroud, they bring him in and all of a sudden
they have won back to back division titles. So it's
definitely be something you're going to keep an eye on,
because you know cam Ward that can switch really really quick.
So we're definitely gona keepn eye on down there in Nashville.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
Definitely have to keep an eye there on what they're
doing Nashville, but you're also gonna have to keep a
guye on what they do in Houston. Yeah, because Houston
they got some players as well. They got Jaden Higgins,
a wide receiver, they got Jayleen Noel, another wide receiver,
and they got an offensive tackle Offen to the.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Line try for Dounceans Day.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
He's got Ariante So they got one of those guys.
And in regards to replacing Tunsel down there as far
as at the tackle position, but they also got some
receivers to have CJ. Stride out there. And then in
Jacksonville they got Travis Hunter.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
The guy goes both ways. I could play some receivers.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Think you got Travis Hunter, then he's gonna be team
with Brian Thomas as well, Brian Thomas Junior, another wide receiver.
So they got some weapons and it looks like, you know,
if you look at that just on paper, the teams
in the AFC South did things in the draft to
improve their team to get better, so it should be
pretty exciting when all these teams are playing one another
(14:27):
in the AFC South and see what happens and what
pans out.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I don't claim that I'm an expert. I know you
don't claim to be an expert at all, But when
you think about the moves that were made in the
AFC South, who do you think won the draft?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
If you will?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
I think a lot of teams did things to help themselves,
that's all. And you know, we don't know right at
the end, but I like what the Coast did. I
mean I really do. I really like what the Coast did.
They I think there were some things that they wanted
to do, some areas they wanted to help themselves, not
just in a draft, but just in free agency as well,
and the things they did. So I think it's going
to bode well for the Colts throughout the year, and
(15:05):
hopefully everyone can stay healthy and we'll see what happens.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
But I think Tyler.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Warren it's gonna make a big difference in regards to
what they do on offense, and lot's going to depend
on also the quarterback position.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Yeah, and I mean that's a quarterbacks vision, not just
with the Colts, but you know you got Tennessee.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
You know they got a young guy, you know, rookie
as you mentioned, so we'll see what happens. We don't
know what's going to happen with the Lawrence because he
ended the season not so well.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
So we'll see what happens. It's going to be interesting.
And now C J.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Straud is gonna have some new weapons, so we'll see
what if they can get on the same page.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So there's a lot of question marks.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
So we'll see what happens, and it's going to be
interesting year on twenty twenty five in the AFC South.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Now, it really will. And before we say goodbye here, Bill,
one of the things that we know is currently going on.
We've got the offseason training program is underway for the Colts.
We've we've were a weekend. And the thing that I
love about the draft is so quickly you start to
see what these guys are going to bring to the roster.
(16:06):
I don't speak for all the other professional teams, but
I feel like the draft happens and you wait and
you wait and you wait, and you're like, oh, yeah,
forgot this one. It is right now, You're gonna be here,
ready to go. We got rookie mini camp coming.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Up real soon exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
So I'm really looking forward to getting these guys in
the building and seeing how they can contribute.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Yeah, it's gonna be fun and seeing what they can do,
and you know, them going out there competing and you know,
yeah it might not be in pads or anything like that,
but they're still competing out there. It's gonna be interesting
to see how they come in and what their mentality
is once they get in the building. I think it's
gonna be fun. It's gonna be interesting to see those
guys go out and work and prepare and show what
they can do.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Well, Bill, I've had a lot of fun this week
and I really appreciate it being with me, and you know,
we have at nauseum talked about these draft selections and
what it's gonna look like. Maybe I'm drinking the kool aid.
I love what the Colts have done here of the
last three days.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Yes, I have to agree with you, Casey.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Well, if you need anything else on this draft class,
you can always visit Colts dot com. We've got articles galore,
We've got videos out there of the arrivals of everything.
It's really, really neat. There's a whole bunch of stuff
that you can always go and digest at Colts dot com.
But for Bill Brooks, I'm Casey Valie. Thank you for
spending some time here with us. On Instant Reaction Brought
to you by Sony.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
It's the Reaction is brought to you by Sony. Every
NFL season, Feel every play, every hit, every moment with
the Sony one thousand x five noise Canceling headphones, the
official headphones of the Indianapolis Colts. With premium noise cancelation,
you're in the zone, no distractions, just pure football. Whether
you're in your living room or on the go, You'll
never miss a beat with Sony Headphones.
It's time for Instant Reaction, brought to you by Sony.
Every NFL season, Feel every play, every hit, every moment
with the Sony one thousand x five noise canceling headphones,
the official headphones of the Indianapolis Colts. With premium noise cancelation,
You're in the zone, no distractions, just pure football. Whether
you're in your living room or on the go, You'll
(00:23):
never miss a beat with Sony Headphones.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Well, welcome into Instant Reaction. Day three of the NFL Draft,
which means rounds four through seven are now in the books.
We are brought to you by Sony, Bill Brooks alongside
with me, I am Casey Valier.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Bill.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
We're gonna dive into everything, but I'm gonna do a
quick synopsis of kind of what happened here in Day three.
The Colts entered with four picks. They had a pick
in every round four, five, sixty seven. Early in the
early in round four, they made a trade with the Rams,
which essentially gave them an additional sixth round pick. They
swapped fourths. They took that fourth round pick turned into
(01:01):
Jalen Travis, who was a tackle out of Iowa State.
In the fifth round, they took a running back DJ
Giddons out of Kansas State. Then in the sixth round
they doubled up. They had two picks back to back,
one eighty nine and one ninety. Overall, they took quarterback
Riley Leonard out of Notre Dame, defensive tackle Tim Smith
out of Alabama, and then they rounded out the draft
(01:23):
with Hunter Wohler, who was a safety out of Wisconsin
who's going to be kind of sliding in and playing.
Sounds like a multiple of positions, but linebacker for the Colts.
So those are the four selections the Colts made in
Day three. We're not going to dive into all of them,
just because I think it's a good idea to do
a big recap of everything, but we will start with
(01:44):
what we saw today. And one of the things that's
polarizing because of the position is at quarterback. The Colts
selected a quarterback in Riley Leonard, began his career at Duke,
went to Notre Dame. We knew we're going to have
a quarterback competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, and
now it looks like you're going to have a little
(02:04):
bit more of a competition at who's going to be
that third quarterback on the roster between Jason Bean and
Riley Leonard.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, I think you always want to have competition.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Doesn't matter if you set for the first or second
spot or the third or fourth stop spot. You want
to have a competition throughout your roster, guys pushing one another.
They'd be better to make sure that, hey, you're getting
the best out of these guys and when it comes
time to play games, they'll be ready to play and
get the best out there in the football field. So
it'll be interesting to see how these guys go about it.
Each of them have something special that they could do
(02:35):
out there in the football field. So it should be
a good competition at the quarterback position.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And one of the things that I got to learn
by doing a little bit of research on Riley Leonard,
he was kind of polarizing because he was outside of
what Daniel Jones did it Duke there really hasn't been
another quarterback that you've really heard from that school, but
you know, he was that. I know late in that
twenty three season, Duke was a top twenty team. He
(03:02):
had that foot or ankle injury that kind of knocked
him out. Then he transfers to Notre Dame. But I
didn't realize all the connections that he had, So there's
a lot of Colts connections. But then also as an athlete,
pretty impressive. So Colts connections. He trains with Philip Rivers,
so you know there's the Shane Steiken the Philip Rivers tie,
which is also pretty cool. But then as I mentioned
(03:24):
with Daniel Jones, he and Daniel Jones two former Duke quarterbacks.
But while he was at Duke, this is impressive. I
was shocked by this coach K, legendary coach who was
at Duke, asked Riley Leonard if he could play two sports,
if he could play basketball alongside now the head coach
on the football side of things said no, no, no, my
(03:46):
quarterback is not going to play basketball. But that just
tells you the athlete this guy was. I know in
high school he was a two sport athlete, very elite.
But I mean, if coach K is knocking on your
door saying, hey, you want to come and play ten
to fifteen minutes with the Blue Devils, that's pretty impressive
right there.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
That is pretty impressive.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
If you have to think one of the elite college
basketball schools.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
In the country.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Their head coaches come and ask you, do you want
to play basketball for us? And basically he's saying that,
you know what, he can get some minutes on the
floor as far as playing basketball for Duke. So that
just shows how good of an athlete he is. Not
just how good of an athlete he is, but how
he processes things. Because if he's able to do that
on the basketball court, play basketball at that high level,
(04:31):
it shows how he can process things, so he can
carry that over to the football tide of things. So
it shows that, you know what, he's a guy that
if you give him a lot on his plate, he
probably can handle it.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
He can process it, and that only helps.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
You out there in the football field to not only
play and to be able to play at a high level,
but also to be a leader out there, to lead
other guys in regards to what they need to do
on the football field.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
So give the young man credit. Very talented young man.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Mobile.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
He gives people problems because he's so mobile in the pocket,
so hard to tackle himself.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You know, it should be a good, good competition.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Yeah, trying to camp for what he does out there
and when he gets to train and camp.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Now, one of the other positions they addressed here on
day three was it running back. We know what the
Colts have and Jonathan Taylor, but Trey Sermon's not on
this roster here heading into twenty twenty five, you've got
Tyler Goodson. They brought in Khalil Herbert as a free agent.
But it was also a you know, we have mentioned
it a couple times this week already that talking with players,
(05:32):
with some of these big wigs, if you will, at
the NFL Combine, some of them had twenty to thirty
draftable grades on running back. So the depth at that position,
you knew it was an area that would probably be
tapped into. The Colts do that in round five when
they get Kansas State running back DJ Giddons. This guy's
pretty impressive. He is second in school history all time
(05:53):
in yards per attempt at five point nine seven yards
per carry lot, third in career rushing yards over three
thousand rushing yards, and he's just one of four players
in school history to have multiple thousand yard rushing seasons.
So definitely, DJ Giddens is a guy who really put
his foot down at Kansas State. One of the best
running backs in the history there. What does he add
(06:16):
to this room because we know what Jonathan Taylor is,
but you're always looking because of the position injuries happen,
you got to have somebody who's ready to tote the rock.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Yeah, you always want someone to can tote the rock
and definitely step in if someone gets hurt. Hopefully no
one gets hurt, but if someone does get hurt, you
want someone to step in.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
And DJ did that in Kansas. I mean in regards
to run the ball, run the rock.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
His last two seasons in Kansas, he had over a
thousand yards rushing. So you know he can tote the
rock and he also can catch the ball in the backfield. Yes,
you know he caught the ball in the backfield. And
I think that's something special for running backs is if
you can catch the ball on the backfield, it just
makes it easier for your offense to do different things
without changing personnel a lot. So having a back out
(06:57):
there that can not only run but also catch the
ball would be very big.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Now.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
I know in his career Kansas, you know he hadn't
had a little issue with his hand with a blocking
as far as picking up blitzes and things like that.
So but he's gotten over that. He's he's healthy now.
So he is a back that can play three downs
if you need it. So definitely on third down put
him in there. But you know he'll play three downs
if maybe give him the blow to JT or if
(07:23):
unfortunately JT is not there. And also with Khalil Khalil
stepping in as well, So another position where it should
be a good battle and see.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
How that plays out.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
As far as playing time for those three, well two guys,
I would say, because JT's gonna you know, he's gonna
bright and get the ball exactly now.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
In closing on Day three of the draft, these these
last selections were essentially what we had talked about. We
knew that they were gonna build in the trenches offensive
and defensive line, and this staff has drafted linebacker at
a incredible clip, and those are the positions they went.
They went offensive tackle, they went defensive tackle, and they
(08:02):
drafted safety, who's going to be kind of shift into
that linebacker spot. No surprise there at all.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
No no surprise, and that they want to get some
people there that can have some depth and definitely some
guys that you know, you know, if there is a injury,
especially on the office of defensive line, you want to
have depth. You just have one guys have depth. So
you know, you have Jaalen Travis. That's an offensive tackle
that's played both left and right tackle, so he can amazing.
(08:29):
He's a big man. Yeah, he's He's a big fella.
So you know, could play both left for right tackle,
so that's good. And you know if if he is playing,
you know Gonzalvez, Gonzalvez can play tackle or guard, so
you know, you have that kind of flexibility with the
guys you can use there.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
So that's very important to have him. And you know,
so when you when you have that, then you.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Have Tim Smith defensive tackle, big guy also to give
a blow to the guys up front with Grove and Buck.
So you know, as you said yesterday, Casey, they we
look forward to not look forth to it, but we
thought that they would go with these positions.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
You know, defensive tackle, offensive tackle, linebacker. So uh, you
know a lot of guys at linebacker, you know, you know,
probably more unlikely play some special teams, but that's what
you want. These guys come in and they want to
be out there. They want to play, so they want
to get some playing time. That's one way they can
get some playing time to show it out there in
the football field.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I mean, you talk about that, you mentioned, you know,
Hunter Woller out of out of Wisconsin, seventh round pick,
you're probably gonna make your hay early on as a
special team or well, if you go in that linebacker
room and you ask the guy who's wearing the sea
on his chest Shire Franklin was a seventh round pick
and made his start at in special teams, so you
(09:47):
can make that jump. That's one of these things. That's
what they're trying to do. They want a guy that
they can take to mold a special teams to just
continue to grow. So that's kind of what they're looking
for there. Now, all right, before we dive into some
other teams in the division, because there was some hay
made there, let's do just kind of one little overview
of totality of what the Colts did, starting with, you know,
(10:09):
the one that they got there in the first round
in Tyler Warren dynamic tight end. We've been talking about
this off camera, but the importance of when you have
a premium pick top fifteen. This is a lottery selection,
if you will, getting a dynamic playmaker, and that's exactly
what the Colts did and Tyler.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Warren definitely that's what you want.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
You want a dynamic playmaker that's going to make a
difference for your team out there in the football field.
And Tyler Warren is can do that on the football field.
You know, once he gets here and gets acclimated to
what the Colts want him to do, He's one of
those players with the talent to go out there and
make plays to help the offense out, not just from
a physical talent as far as going out there and
(10:51):
being fast and stuff like that, but just being physical
as far as out there running the ball, catching the ball, blocking,
He can do a little.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Bit of every who said is post draft thing that
hey we might even play defense, yes exactly, so you
never know what can happen.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
So to have a guy like that that is very
versatile with Shane and Shane being able to use him
in multiple ways, I think it's only going to be
a plus for day offense. So having that type of
guy and getting him at the fourteenth pick, you want
him to be dynamic and this is a guy that
can be dynamic.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
He has the traits to be dynamic on the football field.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
One thing that I was interested to see when I
dove into these prospects, they selected winning. He kind of
made it. It made its way through. If you look
at Tyler Warren, Riley Leonard, and then of course JT.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Two E.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Muolau. They all played in the College Football Playoff this
past year with JT. Ryley Lennard meeting in the national championship.
And then you can even throw in what happens at Alabama,
which is nothing but winning. But I mean that's what
Tim Smith did. He spent five years at Alabama, won
a national champion as a freshman. So you put all
four of those guys, four of your eight selections have
(12:04):
won at elite levels, I mean, the highest of high.
How important is that to bring that winning culture into
the locker room.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
It's very important because first of all, you just you know,
you talk about the winning culture. That is very important.
But to me, it goes to the preparation. In order
for those guys to win and be a part of
a winning culture. In that culture, they had to teach
them how to prepare for games. So when they come
in prepare as far as practicing, and not just on
the football field, but in the weight room and the
classroom as well. They bring that type of studied habits
(12:37):
and work ethic to the practice facility. It can rub
off on other people, hopefully, and those guys know how
to win, so when they come into building, they can
carry that with them and then hopefully hopefully pick up
on what the cult are doing, but also maybe show
some other guys this is what's going to take for
us to be winners. And then hopefully that is just
contagious with everyone in the building and the locker room,
(13:00):
and then hopefully they can go out there and practice
hard and practice the right way and get some wins.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Now, as I mentioned the AFC South, there was some
there were some splashes. I mean, it all starts there
at number one Tennessee Titans on the clock and they
take cam Ward. We don't know what cam Ward's going
to be, but we saw what Houston was able to do.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
C J.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Stroud, they bring him in and all of a sudden
they have won back to back division titles. So it's
definitely be something you're going to keep an eye on,
because you know cam Ward that can switch really really quick.
So we're definitely gona keepn eye on down there in Nashville.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
Definitely have to keep an eye there on what they're
doing Nashville, but you're also gonna have to keep a
guye on what they do in Houston. Yeah, because Houston
they got some players as well. They got Jaden Higgins,
a wide receiver, they got Jayleen Noel, another wide receiver,
and they got an offensive tackle Offen to the.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Line try for Dounceans Day.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
He's got Ariante So they got one of those guys.
And in regards to replacing Tunsel down there as far
as at the tackle position, but they also got some
receivers to have CJ. Stride out there. And then in
Jacksonville they got Travis Hunter.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
The guy goes both ways. I could play some receivers.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Think you got Travis Hunter, then he's gonna be team
with Brian Thomas as well, Brian Thomas Junior, another wide receiver.
So they got some weapons and it looks like, you know,
if you look at that just on paper, the teams
in the AFC South did things in the draft to
improve their team to get better, so it should be
pretty exciting when all these teams are playing one another
(14:27):
in the AFC South and see what happens and what
pans out.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I don't claim that I'm an expert. I know you
don't claim to be an expert at all, But when
you think about the moves that were made in the
AFC South, who do you think won the draft?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
If you will?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
I think a lot of teams did things to help themselves,
that's all. And you know, we don't know right at
the end, but I like what the Coast did. I
mean I really do. I really like what the Coast did.
They I think there were some things that they wanted
to do, some areas they wanted to help themselves, not
just in a draft, but just in free agency as well,
and the things they did. So I think it's going
to bode well for the Colts throughout the year, and
(15:05):
hopefully everyone can stay healthy and we'll see what happens.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
But I think Tyler.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Warren it's gonna make a big difference in regards to
what they do on offense, and lot's going to depend
on also the quarterback position.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Yeah, and I mean that's a quarterbacks vision, not just
with the Colts, but you know you got Tennessee.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
You know they got a young guy, you know, rookie
as you mentioned, so we'll see what happens. We don't
know what's going to happen with the Lawrence because he
ended the season not so well.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
So we'll see what happens. It's going to be interesting.
And now C J.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Straud is gonna have some new weapons, so we'll see
what if they can get on the same page.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So there's a lot of question marks.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
So we'll see what happens, and it's going to be
interesting year on twenty twenty five in the AFC South.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Now, it really will. And before we say goodbye here, Bill,
one of the things that we know is currently going on.
We've got the offseason training program is underway for the Colts.
We've we've were a weekend. And the thing that I
love about the draft is so quickly you start to
see what these guys are going to bring to the roster.
(16:06):
I don't speak for all the other professional teams, but
I feel like the draft happens and you wait and
you wait and you wait, and you're like, oh, yeah,
forgot this one. It is right now, You're gonna be here,
ready to go. We got rookie mini camp coming.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Up real soon exactly.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
So I'm really looking forward to getting these guys in
the building and seeing how they can contribute.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Yeah, it's gonna be fun and seeing what they can do,
and you know, them going out there competing and you know,
yeah it might not be in pads or anything like that,
but they're still competing out there. It's gonna be interesting
to see how they come in and what their mentality
is once they get in the building. I think it's
gonna be fun. It's gonna be interesting to see those
guys go out and work and prepare and show what
they can do.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Well, Bill, I've had a lot of fun this week
and I really appreciate it being with me, and you know,
we have at nauseum talked about these draft selections and
what it's gonna look like. Maybe I'm drinking the kool aid.
I love what the Colts have done here of the
last three days.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Yes, I have to agree with you, Casey.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Well, if you need anything else on this draft class,
you can always visit Colts dot com. We've got articles galore,
We've got videos out there of the arrivals of everything.
It's really, really neat. There's a whole bunch of stuff
that you can always go and digest at Colts dot com.
But for Bill Brooks, I'm Casey Valie. Thank you for
spending some time here with us. On Instant Reaction Brought
to you by Sony.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
It's the Reaction is brought to you by Sony. Every
NFL season, Feel every play, every hit, every moment with
the Sony one thousand x five noise Canceling headphones, the
official headphones of the Indianapolis Colts. With premium noise cancelation,
you're in the zone, no distractions, just pure football. Whether
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