PALM BEACH, Fla. – While questions about the Colts' quarterback competition dominated Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen's press conferences at the NFL Annual Meeting in Florida this week, there were a few critical areas of the roster discussed by both the Colts' general manager and head coach.
Here's what you need to know about four key position groups, all of which lost players via free agency in the last few weeks:
Tight End
- Additions: None
- Moving on: Kylen Granson (signed with Philadelphia Eagles)
- Re-signed: None (Mo Alie-Cox remains an unsigned free agent)
- Currently on the roster: Will Mallory, Sean McKeon, Drew Ogletree, Albert Okwuegbunam, Jelani Woods
The Colts have been searching for a true two-way tight end – one who can reliably block and catch passes – since Jack Doyle retired following the 2021 season.
"I remember when we lost Jack Doyle telling everybody in the building, we just lost a real game changing player," Ballard said. "I my mind, Jack Doyle was freaking great. He was great in who he was, how he produced. It wasn't sexy but he was great.
"And do we need a game changer? Absolutely we do. Will it happen? I can't dictate the draft."
With the NFL Draft approaching in just over three weeks, plenty of mock drafts have the Colts drafting either Penn State's Tyler Warren or Michigan's Colston Loveland with the No. 14 overall pick in the first round. It's easy to see why those predictions are being made: The Colts have a need for a tight end who can both block and catch.
While finding one of those dual-threat tight ends is difficult – there aren't many of them in the NFL – having one can keep opposing defenses guessing in a way that's difficult to replicate with tight ends who a capable in only one area (i.e. just receiving or blocking).
"That's a huge part of it," Steichen said. "When you got the guy who can do both and you can run, stay in 11 personnel (three receivers, one tight end, one running back) and not have to sub certain guys out, that definitely helps."
Because the Colts have a strong receiver room – Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce on the outside, and Josh Downs in the slot, primarily – having that singular tight end who can block in the run game and also catch in the passing game is even more important.
Downs played about two-thirds of the Colts' offensive snaps when he played in 2024, and he topped the team with 72 receptions. The vast majority of Downs' snaps, though, came in 11 personnel – with one tight end on the field – which was the Colts' preferred personnel grouping.
"If you can get a guy that the other team has to account for on three downs, that to me is something – and they're hard to find," Ballard said.
Whether the Colts can find that tight end in the draft, though, remains to be seen.
"You gotta be multiple in the pass game," Steichen said. "Obviously you would love the guy that can block. I think those guys, it's hard to find the true blocking tight ends anymore, but a guy that can battle in the run game is good. Great hands, can come in and out of the breaks, big and strong after the catch as well. There's a lot of good ones in this draft. It'll be interesting."
Offensive line
- Additions: None
- Moving on: C Ryan Kelly (signed with Minnesota Vikings), G Will Fries (signed with Minnesota Vikings)
- Re-signed: C Danny Pinter, C Wesley French (G Mark Glowinski remains an unsigned free agent)
- Currently on the roster: G/C Tanor Bortolini, C Wesley French, C Danny Pinter; G Atonio Mafi, G Quenton Nelson, G Josh Sills, G Dalton Tucker; T Blake Freeland, T Matt Goncalves, T Bernhard Raimann, T Braden Smith, T Luke Tenuta, T Jack Wilson
Steichen said the Colts will have Bortolini, the 2024 fourth-round pick, compete with Pinter, the 2020 fifth-round pick who's been re-signed twice, to start at center. Bortolini started five games in place of Kelly in 2024, while Pinter started two games later in the season at center. French also has starting experience.
There is some intrigue at right guard with Fries signing with the Vikings. There's a possibility Goncalves, the Colts' third-round pick in 2024 who started eight games at left and right tackle as a rookie, could kick inside to right guard.
While Goncalves was a tackle in college at Pitt (24 starts), the Colts drafted him in part because of projecting some future positional flexibility – Ballard said after Day 2 of last year's NFL Draft the Colts thought Goncalves indeed could play guard.
"We think a lot of Gonz," Ballard said Monday. "If he ends up being the right guard, I don't know yet. Let's get through the rest of the offseason and go."
Guard, then, is a position the Colts could still address in the NFL Draft or free agency in the coming weeks and months. Beyond which player gets the nod there, though, the Colts are moving forward with confidence because of their faith in offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.
"I have a lot of believe in Tony, our O-line coach, who I think is outstanding," Ballard said. "He never complains, just hey, whatever we give him — 'Chris, I'll make it work.' And we want to give him the best we can give him."
Defensive line
- Additions: DT Neville Gallimore
- Moving on: DT Raekwon Davis (released), DE Dayo Odeyingbo (signed with Chicago Bears)
- Re-signed: None
- Currently on the roster: DE Samson Ebukam, DE Isaiah Land, DE Laiatu Latu, DE Tyquan Lewis, DE Durrell Nchami, DE Kwity Paye; DT Adetomiwa Adebawore, DT DeForest Buckner, DT Neville Gallimore, DE Pheldarius Payne, DT Grover Stewart
While the Colts lost Odeyingbo – whose 745 snaps topped Colts defensive linemen in 2024 – the return of Ebukam, who sustained a torn Achilles in a late July training camp practice, is important to note here.
"It's a concern, absolutely," Ballard said of Ebukam coming off the Achilles' injury. "But when you know who the kid is and what he stands for and the effort he puts into everything, I'm willing to make that bet. We missed his physicality. Undeniably, we missed what Samson brought a year ago.
"... Whether he's a 10-sack guy again or not, I can't judge that. But in terms of energy, toughness and what he brings every day, absolutely I think he could be that."
Ebukam led the Colts with a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2023, his first year with the team after signing as a free agent.
In addition to getting Ebukam back, the Colts believe Latu – the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft – will make a leap in his sack production in 2025. Latu had four sacks as a rookie, but his pass rush win rate of 14 percent (per Pro Football Focus) ranked among the NFL's top 25 regularly-playing defensive ends last year.
"He does it the right way," Steichen said. "The way he works, his work ethic is tremendous. I think you'll see a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. I think he had four (sacks) his rookie year, if we can get into double digits in Year 2 that'd be tremendous."
The Colts for years have aimed to have a defensive line rotation with a minimum eight players. Adding Gallimore, a five-year veteran of the Dallas Cowboys (2020-2023) and Los Angeles Rams (2024), was a step toward building that depth on the interior, but as Ballard sees it, there's always more work to be done within this unit.
"Signing Gallimore is going to be a good piece for us inside," Ballard said. "I think another year for growth for Latu is going to be a major plus for our team, (and) getting Samson back, plus what we can add going forward. But that's an already we don't ever want to go short."
Linebacker
- Additions: None
- Moving on: E.J. Speed (signed with Houston Texans), Grant Stuard (signed with Detroit Lions)
- Re-signed: Segun Olubi
- Currently on the roster: Liam Anderson, Jaylon Carlies, Zaire Franklin, Cameron McGrone, Segun Olubi
The Colts will be replacing Speed, their starting weakside linebacker next to Franklin at the MIKE in 2024, this season. Carlies is a leading internal candidate after starting six games as a rookie in 2024; the converted Mizzou safety totaled 36 tackles with a pass break-up and a sack last year.
Carlies, like Speed, Franklin and a few others before him, was a Day 3 draft pick who the Colts believe they can develop.
"We think a lot of JC," Ballard said. "We've had a lot of success at linebacker, I believe, with drafting and players we've brought in that we think can ascend. We think JC can really ascend. We have some young players that we like and then we got the draft. We'll work through it."
