INDIANAPOLIS – Last year the whispers began to grow a bit louder and louder at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It was at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis where the rumblings grew about the Colts and Frank Gore joining in free agency.
While the main headlines this week will surround the 332 draft prospects going through the ultimate interview process, there is plenty of news to go around with NFL headquarters coming to the Circle City.
What is on the agenda for the Colts at the 2016 NFL Combine?
Pagano, Grigson Meet The Media
Thursday afternoon will be the time for Chuck Pagano (1:30 p.m.) and Ryan Grigson (2:00 p.m.) to have their yearly Combine media session. With all the hoopla in January about their respective extensions, Thursday will be the first time we've heard from these guys about football specific topics in 2016.
Are there any unrestricted free agents the Colts are hoping to bring back in 2016? What went into all the assistant coaching moves? Are there injury updates for the likes of Andrew Luck, Henry Anderson, Arthur Jones, etc.? How active will the Colts be in free agency?
Those are questions that could have some answers come late Thursday afternoon.
Where's The 2016 Draft Depth?
With virtually every GM talking to the media this week, we will get a nice idea of where the draft depth is in the 2016 class.
Early reports sound like this year is loaded on the defensive side of the ball, especially up front.
From a Colts standpoint, this should be music to fans' ears with all the potential depth along the offensive and defensive lines this year. As opposed to years past, this class doesn't appear to have a bunch of wide receiver depth (something the Colts have plenty).
Risers And Fallers
Ryan Grigson has stressed before that his draft board rarely changes, drastically, from the Combine. Too much time is invested in other areas of the draft process to completely shift things from a workout in shorts.
The workouts can really differentiate a prospect from the rest of his position group if there's a different look when Player A goes through drills versus the others.
Where the real intel comes this week would be from the critical medical testing and the invaluable interview process. Even having scouts around the stadium and watching guys interact with his position group during drills/lifting can be beneficial before the prospects enter an actual interview session, where they've been "coached" up.
NFL Musings
As mentioned above, this week is where NFL news seems to leak every year.
Coaches, GMs and agents are all in Indianapolis. Couple that with more than 1,000 media members and you see why that happens.
This is also where free agent talks truly ramp up for unrestricted guys. Agents and personnel people are meeting throughout the week with the hard deadline of March 9 approaching.
2016 Combine Schedule
We know Thursday is the day for Chuck Pagano (1:30 p.m.) and Ryan Grigson (2:00 p.m.) to meet the media this week.
Here is the rest of this week's schedule for on-the-field workouts (media sessions are typically two days before on-the-field work for the prospects):
QB: Saturday (Thursday)
RB: Friday (Wednesday)
WR: Saturday (Thursday)
TE: Saturday (Thursday)
OL: Friday (Wednesday)
DL: Sunday (Friday)
LB: Sunday (Friday)
DB: Monday (Saturday)
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Local Flavor**
Harvard
OT-Cole Toner (Roncalli High School)
Indiana
RB-Jordan Howard
DT-Darius Latham (North Central High School)
OT-Jason Spriggs (Concord High School)
QB-Nate Sudfield
Notre Dame
WR-Chris Brown
DT-Sheldon Day (Warren Central High School)
WR-Will Fuller
OG-Nick Martin (Bishop Chatard High School)
DE-Romeo Okwara
RB-C.J. Prosise
CB-Keivarae Russell
S-Elijah Shumate
OLB-Jaylon Smith (Bishop Luers High School)
OT-Ronnie StanleyPurdue
CB-Anthony Brown
