Now that the season is over, the Colts need to look at improving their roster. But how much should they spend in free agency vs. building through the draft?
The Colts have a lot of holes on their current roster. They need help at a lot of positions. But how the Colts fill those holes is a big question. In the past they have built through the draft, but in the Ryan Grigson era they spent a lot of money in free agency.
Indianapolis has a fair amount of money to play with in free agency. They have over $84 million in cap space to use. But how they use that money is going to be key. Spending money on the right players in the right positions is going to be paramount.
When Grigson was GM, he tried to make splashy free agent signings. But a lot of them failed to produce in a Colts uniform. Players like Andre Johnson, LaRon Landry, and Todd Heremans never were able to play well while in Indianapolis. And in all of their cases, they were actually detrimental to the team when they were on the field.
The Colts have 7 picks in the upcoming draft. Some young talent is imperative to every team. Some teams have spent their draft picks on players in the trenches. Having young talent along the offensive and defensive line allow them to grow together. Some teams spend picks on skill players. It’s all personal preference.
Based on the Colts recent history, it might be better to use free agency money on positions like linebacker and defensive back as opposed to offensive line. It might be better if they drafted young lineman instead of over-paying for older players.
Next: Colts need to Improve Inside Linebacker
Chris Ballard needs think about how he is going to spend his loot this off-season, and he needs to make sure he makes good decisions. As we saw with Grigson, bad free agent signings can haunt a team for years to come.