Colts notes: Answering tight end questions and gauging pass rush potential

Stephen Holder | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – We’re two weeks into Colts OTAs, and we’ve reached a point where a clearer picture of this team is starting to emerge. With free agency and the draft behind us, we have a better idea of what we’re dealing with when it comes to the 2017 Colts.

With that, here are a few evolving issues I think are worth a closer look:

Questions remain at tight end

It’s become something of a sport to bemoan how ineffective a player Dwayne Allen was in 2016, his last with the Colts before his trade earlier this year to the Patriots.

I’m not here to defend Allen and his 35 catches, untold number of drops and constant nagging injuries. But what must be confronted is the fact that Allen was, by far, the best blocking tight end on the Colts’ roster the past few seasons. And for a team that leans on a power running game and uses a two-tight end lineup as its base offense, that’s not something that can be dismissed.

Jack Doyle, for all his great contributions and amazing reliability, is not Allen’s equal as a blocker. Do not make the mistake of assuming otherwise. Erik Swoope, a player who definitely should prompt much excitement, is not a polished blocker, either.

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In both cases — with Doyle and Swoope — effort is no issue. Both are very willing to engage defenders in run blocking and in pass protection. But it’s not the strength of their game. Doyle is Andrew Luck’s third-down savior, able to craftily sit down in zone coverages or make tough catches in traffic against man-to-man. Swoope has Coby Fleener-like potential to stretch the field and create mismatches that defenses must prepare for.

But what happens when the Colts just need their tight ends to do some good, old-fashioned blocking? How reliable will this pair be?

The Colts would be mistaken to lean too heavily on either as a blocker. Enter Brandon Williams. The free agent and former Seattle Seahawk, signed in March to a one-year minimum-salary contract, didn’t make many headlines in comparison to the team’s bigger offseason acquisitions. But there might come a time when his addition looms large.

You might not hear his name often in 2017, but that doesn’t mean Williams won’t be a key asset for the Colts. He’s expected to be more or less a blocking tight end, which is all he’s ever really been. Williams has six receptions in his four previous seasons. So, don’t expect him to keep defenses awake at night.

But don’t look past his potential importance, either.

The pass rush has real potential

I’m going to go on record as saying the Colts’ pass rush is going to be vastly improved in 2017.

Perhaps that’s not the most audacious thing you’ve heard today. In fact, given the Colts’ meager pass rush in recent seasons, maybe it’s not a bold statement at all.

But there is real justification to feel the pass rush is going to be much more productive.

The most obvious reason is the addition of outside linebacker Jabaal Sheard. We should not confuse him for Robert Mathis in his prime, a gifted athlete with incomparable speed. But Sheard might be the best athlete the Colts have had on the edge since Mathis’ 19.5-sack 2013 season. That means he’ll win some matchups on athleticism alone. At other times, Sheard will get to the quarterback through pure effort, which he is sure to bring.

I continue to espouse the idea of making third-round pick Tarell Basham a third-down specialist. If it were up to me, I’d play John Simon as the strong-side linebacker on early downs but replace him with Basham on passing downs. Let the rookie put his hand in the dirt, put his head down and come off the edge.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano on defensive interior 'We're ahead of where we've ever been' Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said talks about the interior defensive line during a press conference at the Colts Complex on Wednesday.

There’s plenty of time to determine whether Basham can become a full-package outside linebacker who drops into coverage and plays the run effectively. But leave that for later. Rookie pass rushers have enough to contend with in trying to learn how to beat offensive tackles. Now’s not the time to overwhelm Basham and, perhaps, prevent him from doing what he does best. There’s a reason this kid had 29.5 career sacks at Ohio University.

Finally, another reason — and one of the biggest — the pass rush should be more effective is the Colts’ defensive line. This looks like a group that will create some interior pressure, which is often the worst kind for quarterbacks. No passer likes pressure in his passing lanes. Interior pressure also prevents quarterbacks from stepping up in the pocket.

The Colts have lots of potential here, between defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, a healthy Henry Anderson and even veteran nose tackle/defensive tackle Al Woods. If Kendall Langford — who is still slowed by a knee injury — returns to form, the Colts will have quite the rotation on their defensive line. That’s a potential lineup with a great blend of quickness and power, too.

And that’s the kind of group that can really create some heat on quarterbacks.

Offensive line experiments to come?

Coach Chuck Pagano said this week that the Colts are considering some movement along the offensive line. Not necessarily permanent moves, but moves nonetheless.

The idea, he said, is to learn just how much position flexibility the Colts have in players like guard Denzelle Good and tackle Le’Raven Clark. They want to see those players, and perhaps others, at other spots to see how they perform.

But coaches are also wrestling with the need for these young players to have some consistency at their current spots.

“We’re trying to evaluate these guys and we need to do some moving around,” Pagano said. “We’ve got to play with the line a little bit. That’s easier said than done. Le’Raven has some position flexibility. (But) if we start moving him too early — it’s the fourth day of OTAs — mentally he may go haywire and we won’t get a real evaluation of him at right tackle or left guard or left tackle, for that matter if he’s going to be that swing guy. Denzelle is the same way. Denzelle has got more experience and more playing time, so we could probably play him some at right tackle if need be but at some point, in the next five, six or seven OTAs we’ve got to start doing some of that stuff.”

Knowing you have flexibility is never a bad thing. But whether this is a prudent idea isn’t exactly a slam dunk, either. In the end, now’s the time to do this stuff, as opposed to training camp.

Ideally the Colts identify their preferred five-man line early in camp and let the members of that group work together, because they need it.

A couple roster moves to note

The Colts signed free agent running back Christine Michael and waived running back Brandon Radcliff.

Michael has played in 37 career NFL games for the Green Bay Packers (2016), Seattle (2013-16) and Dallas Cowboys (2015). Last season, he racked up 114 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries.

Radcliff, out of Louisville, was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent May 4.

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