Future Colts

For ColtPlay’s triumphantly quiet return and 2010 debut, let’s take a quick look at the players signed to future contracts.

Gerald Cadogan OT (6051/309/4.99c): Lots of Colts fans are excited by this guy, but you’ll forgive me if I am, at best, reserved. I’ve just been around too long to get really heated up over this sort of thing. Every year, there’s some guy the draft guides predict as a middle rounder, and he slips from the draft and winds up with the Colts as a UDFA or after being cut by some other team. And I can’t recall a one of them ever working out. There’s a reason NFL GMs get paid more than draft guide writers. And there’s often a reason those guys don’t get selected. I prefer those guys out of the blue, the ones you’ve never or only barely heard of – the Gary Bracketts of the world, not the Dale Robinsons. So you can understand why I’m a bit wary of Cadogan. That’s not to say I don’t have a great deal of respect for him. He’s a fine, intelligent young man who did some great work at Penn State. But he’s not always the first (second or third) guy off the snap, he lacks real upper body strength and has only so-so footwork. The same guys who wrote that he’d be selected in the fourth round in those draft guides also say he’d be better off if he was converted to guard. I’m not sure I agree with that either. I see him coming to camp and competing for a backup tackle spot, but I think he’s a long shot.

John Chick DE (6032/265/4.62pd): Chick is a very interesting signing. He played very well at Utah State, and impressed at his Pro Day, but went undrafted. He signed with the Texans, who cut him and he, like Guice, went to the CFL. But unlike Guice, he stayed; and in 2009, he won the league’s award for Outstanding Defensive player on the Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders. He’s very quick, a good athlete who could well translate his CFL success in the NFL with a touch more strength and technique. Throw away the 265-pound Pro Day weight, he plays at around 250. Chick arrives at a a valuable time. The Colts’ defense depends a great deal on its ends for its total pass rush, and although their primary ends are very effective, they are getting older (Dwight Freeney is 30, and Robert Mathis has a lot of wear and tear on his slight 29-year-old frame). The Colts have tried and failed to develop a reliable backup for years. Chick has diabetes and is an active and vocal advocate for people affected with it.

Dudley Guice Jr. WR (6024/209/4.40pd): If you’ve read ColtPlay even a little, you know we’re big fans of Guice’s. He’s a big receiver who was really productive in a small-school environment. Cut by the Titans after they invited a million receivers to camp, he had a short stay in the CFL. Guice is an undeniably talented guy, but he is competing for a spot on a team with four starting-quality receivers – Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzalez – but almost never plays four wide. It would definitely help Guice’s position if he can show Kassim Osgood-like ability on special teams. I know he’s willing.

Mitch King DT (6014/280/4.83c4.89pd): King’s a lot like Cadogan, a big name at a big-time college who just doesn’t look all that much like an NFL player to me now that his weaknesses have been exposed. In fact, while draft guides had him going as early as the second round (!), he went undrafted, and wound up with the Titans. He spent the season on their practice squad and after his contract expired, chose to switch to the Colts. I think King is a better pro prospect than Cadogan, but I also think he’s with the wrong team. King lacks the quick acceleration and agility of a 4-3 end and the size and strength of a 4-3 tackle. I honestly think he’d be better off – perhaps even an NFL starter – as a 3-4 end. I know what you’re thinking: The Colts have used lots of undersized DTs over the years. While that’s true, it hasn’t exactly worked out for them, has it? But let’s give King the benefit of the doubt because of his college production. He’ll be thrown into the expected-to-be-vicious battle for a DT spot, and will have to scrap like he’s never scrapped to make the final roster. If he does, he’ll be used as a situational player, like Keyunta Dawson.

Devin Moore RB (5095/187/4.34pd): Moore’s an interesting guy, a local Indy kid who is blazing fast and fairly productive at Wyoming. But there are a few caveats. Moore’s small for any position and has appeared to be relatively easy to bring down. And while he is very fast, he’s a long strider who lacks the jitterbug stutter step needed to return punts or make people miss as a halfback or slot receiver. His hands are good, but his routes less so. And he’s a speed bump as a pass blocker. Unless I’m very much mistaken, his only chance at a job with the Colts would be if he wins the kick return job outright. To do that, he’d have to have an extraordinary camp and preseason.