Throughout the Bill Polian era, the Colts have usually had an embarrassment of riches when it has come to tight end depth. That's not too surprising, as the Colts play single-back formations more than any other team; and, when they do have a second back in there, it's often a tight end motioned in to play fullback. Colt tight ends can also be spotted shifting to the slot or even splitting wide. Not surprisingly, the Colts prize versatility at the position and expect a lot from whoever they sign.
But the Colts this year have (in order of importance): unrestricted free agent Dallas Clark, restricted free agents Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher, unrestricted free agent Mike Seidman and two other dudes (1). Clearly, decisions will have to be made, and quickly. No one will be surprised if the first is that Clark will be re-signed, even if it requires a franchise tag. While that takes care of one spot, it leaves a lot less money under the cap to deal with the others.
Coltplay will take a quick look at the in-house options, with an overall analysis to follow. We'll start with Utecht, because he's the established tight end-in-waiting after Clark, who was discussed in an earlier post.
Ben Utecht
2007 stats: 31-364-1 receiving
Combine numbers: 6061, 249, 4.80 in 2004
Who's he: You want versatile? Take look at Utecht. At high school in Hastings, Minn., he was a great punter and defensive end, the hockey team's goalie (2), a top long jumper, a member of the National Honor Society and the school's most recognized artist as an award-winning singer and guitar player. He went to the University of Minnesota as a wide receiver, but when the coaches looked at him in his redshirt 1999 season, they switched him to tight end. Utecht used his excellent hands and deceptive speed to become a major offensive weapon for the Golden Gophers, catching 83-1211-15 in 44 games (35 starts). As a senior, he was a finalist for the 2004 John Mackey Award, but lost to Miami's Kellen Winslow, who became a first-round pick by the Browns. The media consensus after his senior season was that Utecht would be a third-round pick, but a terrible hernia injury kept him from being selected. The Colts won a minor bidding war for his services as an undrafted free agent and they promptly put him on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He missed the entire 2004 regular season, but made a few brief appearances in the playoffs. He play sparingly in 2005 as a reserve tight end, but his first two catches (a 26-yarder against the Ravens on Sept. 11 and a 14-yarder against the Jaguars the following week) were both acrobatic touchdowns, giving fans an impression of his abilities. When starting tight end Clark was called on for slot duty in 2006 (3), Utecht took over at his old position and flourished, playing tight end, H-back, fullback and even wide receiver. In 40 of 64 possible regular-season games (30 starts) with the Colts, Utecht has caught 71-800-3 and returned one kick for seven yards.
As a player: With the Golden Gophers, Utecht was a feared weapon, regularly splitting the middle to freak out unsuspecting safeties or embarrassing linebackers with razor-sharp cuts and surprising burst. But you won't see him do that often with the Colts. That's not his job in Indy. Although Utecht plays much faster than his 4.80 combine time, he's not the deep threat Clark is, and must be satisfied with the short patterns, blitz hot reads and endless blocking a tight end/fullback has to put up with. If you're reading this and you're not a Colts fan, the Clark-Utecht situation is roughly analogous to how Chris Cooley and Mike Sellers (4) divide up opportunities in Washington. Utecht is the reliable second banana, running the dump-off routes, using his awareness to recognize when his quarterback is in trouble and adjusting his routes and throwing his shoulders into more and more blocking. There are good and bad sides to this. Utecht is blessed with extraordinary hands and concentration and usually comes down with what he went up for. He'll fight for every reception and won't be easily outwrestled. Utecht is very good at adjusting to the ball and is aware enough to change routes when need be, understanding not just how to counter a blitz with a hot read, but where the first-down marker is. He runs precise routes and can be moderately creative after the catch. That said, he isn't very fast and will be caught from behind. And, for a big guy, he can be bumped off his route fairly easily. Which brings up his blocking. As an inline blocker, Utecht uses good leverage and has decent footwork, but shows minimal power. While he can lay a blow on the move, he's really more of a wall-off guy at this level. No conversation about Utecht would be complete, however, without mentioning his durability. Not including his lost rookie season, Utecht has missed eight regular-season games due to injury and played hurt in many others. Critics have said that Tom Moore's offensive system exposes the tight end to more than his fair share of hits, but those frequent ailments have to be taken into account when assessing Utecht's value in Indy. For example, Utecht is a very good long snapper, but you won't see the Colts try him at the position because they don't want to jeopardize his time on offense.
Notes:
1. Actually Gijon Robinson and Zac Herold. Robinson is a stumpy fullback type, who can catch the ball, but needs to learn how to play tight end (ie. block). Herold's a small-school phenom who has all the tools and very little idea of what to do with them.
2. Very meaningful in Minnesota, ya.
3. See, in 2005, the Colts had the best slot receiver ever in Brandon Stokley, but when he was injured the following year the team needed a replacement. They first tried wideout Aaron Moorehead, but he was awful. They moved Clark (who really is something else as a receiver) to slot and plugged Utecht in at tight end. The Clark/Utecht pairing wasn't quite as good as Stokley/Clark, but it was effective, light years better than Moorehead/Clark. The Colts thought they had found the slot man they needed in 2007 when they drafted Ohio State's Anthony Gonzalez in the first round, but when Marvin Harrison got hurt just as Gonzalez had adjusted to the NFL game, the Colts found themselves leaning heavily on Clark and Utecht once again.
4. Two players who have impressed me time and time again. The addition of either would upgrade any NFL team.
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