According to ESPN’s Field Yates, New York Giants defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins visited the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.
The 6’2″, 320 pound defensive lineman is arguably the top remaining free agent in this year’s class:
Source: DT Johnathan Hankins visited the Colts today. Arguably the top free agent still available.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 11, 2017
While the 25 year old Hankins is coming off a down season–having 43 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and a forced fumble in all 16 starts, he was miscast from his accustomed nose tackle position due to the arrival of Damon Harrison.
Originally a 2013 2nd round pick of the New York Giants, the 5th-year veteran has 89 tackles, 10.0 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles in 52 career games (41 starts).
Per Pro Football Focus, he was their 6th best ‘interior defender’ set to hit free agency, finishing just one spot behind new Atlanta Falcons nose tackle Dontari Poe–who the Colts also showed significant interest in:
"6. Johnathan Hankins, New York Giants (47.1)Hankins played out of position with the Giants adding Damon Harrison last offseason and his production took an understandable drop. After seeing almost 37 percent of his snaps at nose tackle in 2015, Hankins lined up over the center just 15 percent of the time. At 320 pounds, Hankins was asking to penetrate from the 3T position far more often than previously and he doesn’t possess the athleticism to do so. That said, if used correctly, Hankins will be a productive player, defend the run well and be a solid bargain veteran free agent."
Obviously, the Colts could clearly use an upgrade at starting nose tackle, where incumbent starter David Parry has been nothing more than serviceable at best. The fact that Parry also was arrested earlier this offseason certainly doesn’t help the current state of the position either.
It’s worth noting that the Colts did sign veteran Al Woods as insurance at nose tackle, but he ideally appears to be a rotational defensive lineman more so than a starter on a truly exceptional defense.
It was recently reported that the Colts still have $30.7 million of cap space, so the team appears to have more than enough financial flexibility to sign Hankins to a multi-year deal.
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The bigger question is Hankins’ actual asking price, as the defensive tackle has already been offered a deal to re-sign with the Giants, but is apparently seeking a lucrative deal in the $8 million plus per year range.
However, if the Colts and Hankins can meet somewhere in the middle, there’s no question that he can help anchor the middle of their defense at starting nose tackle and become an immediate upgrade at the position–solidifying the unit against the run in the trenches.