Five Colts Items To Watch At NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS – For the 37^th straight year, the NFL Combine is about to begin in Indianapolis. NFL personnel is starting to head to Indy, with 321 draft prospects scheduled to report later this week. Both Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen are scheduled to meet the media coming up on Wednesday afternoon, the first conversations with them since their respective end of season pressers. What other Colts related items should we monitor this week?

1. Michael Pittman Jr. Decision

As of Monday morning, the Colts are 6 days into a 14-day window to use their franchise tag, if they want to.

So far, as expected, nothing on that front, which means Michael Pittman Jr.’s future remains up in the air. The Bengals have already gone ahead and informed WR-Tee Higgins (who was drafted the spot ahead of MPJ in 2020) that he will be tagged, with that wide receiver price tag at $21.8 million.

Now, the Colts have until March 5^th (next Tuesday) to use that franchise tag, if they’d like. If not, Pittman Jr., and all the in-house free agents will be free agents on March 13^th, unless long-term deals can be figured out with any of those guys.

Chris Ballard has not shied away from expressing his public love for Pittman Jr.

Will Ballard provide any concrete updates this week on where things stand with the team’s top wideout?

2. Where Is Draft Depth?

With underclassmen having declared for the 2024 Draft, the Combine is always a good barometer to see where the draft depth is in a given year.

The Colts are sitting with 7 picks, one in the middle of each round, come late April.

Draft depth is always something to watch and it impacts how teams handle free agency.

Early returns indicate minimal high-end defensive talent, with a good amount of depth at wide receiver and offensive tackle in this 2024 class.

3. Any In-House Free Agent News?

While Michael Pittman Jr. has drawn the most attention of the free agency class, he’s one of several notable guys potentially heading to the open market.

A major part of Combine week is the influx of agents to Indianapolis as they meet with representatives from teams to gauge the market.

For the Colts, does that lead to any early re-signings?

That is not something we’ve seen too often with Chris Ballard, but you have several guys that the Colts have expressed public desire to bring back.

As March inches closer, this is a prominent storyline to continue to watch.

4. Next Step For Anthony Richardson

On the February docket for Anthony Richardson was a return to throwing.

This marked the 16-week point from his right shoulder surgery.

Updates on Richardson will be something asked about at the Combine.

In about a month and a half, the Colts will reconvene for the start of their offseason program. Throwing in bigger team activities (7-on-7 and then 11-on-11) will ramp up as May moves along.

5. Shane Steichen On Coaching Changes

Honestly, as expected, the Colts have had one of the quietest offseasons of any NFL team.

Shane Steichen did decide to make two defensive staff changes in not retaining defensive line coach Nate Ollie and assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell.

With Ollie specifically, what was about the Colts defensive line which led to Steichen (and Gus Bradley) thinking a change was needed?

Steichen and Ballard are scheduled to meet the media on Wednesday, along with making radio appearances on 1075 The Fan this week.