ColtsSpeak: Justin Henson

PhilB: Are you encouraged by the moves the Colts have made in the offseason?

Justin: Oh yeah, I think trading the first-round pick for (DeForest) Buckner, that might be a little crazy to some people, but you weren’t going to find a player like that guy at the 13th pick because the quarterbacks that I think they would even want are going to be gone, there’s no defensive lineman there that would hold a win to what Buckner brings to the defense. And then bringing in (Sheldon) Day was awesome. That was a great move. I think bringing him back to Indy where he’s from is going to help. He’s played OK so far since he left Notre Dame, but I think bringing him home is just going to add more juice to him. He’s going to really want to show out as much as possible, adding him in there with (Denico) Autry, hopefully Autry bounces back because last year wasn’t so great, and (Kemoko) Turay heals up well, (Ben) Banogu continues to grow, and (Justin) Houston has another great year, I think adding those guys in is awesome. I don’t really know much about the cornerback (T.J. Carrie) they brought in from Cleveland. Any secondary help should be welcomed at this point.

PhilB: Yeah, it’s kind of patchwork right now in the secondary. Carrie is on a one-year deal, he’s cheap and kind of a depth nickel-type guy. He’s started some, but I don’t get the feeling he’s a full-fledged starter. Then Xavier Rhodes is on a one-year, prove-it deal. Even though he’s had really, really good seasons, been a Pro Bowl and All-Pro player, he wasn’t the last two years, so the Colts didn’t marry themselves to him for long.

Justin: I like Rhodes. I think if you match him up, I think (Rock) Ya-Sin is going to have a really good sophomore year. I don’t know, I think sometimes he tried too hard last year, which is kind of why so many people are down on him. Putting him with Rhodes and Kenny Moore coming back, then I’m assuming (Khari) Willis will be the starting safety with (Malik) Hooker, I just think that’s a so exciting secondary. It would be to me like growing up watching (Ray) Buchanan and (Ashley) Ambrose playing together. I loved it. And having (Jason) Belser there. I loved watching those guys play. And that’s the vibe I get from these guys. The biggest offseason move is bringing in (quarterback Philip) Rivers in, which I think is fantastic.

PhilB: I was going to ask you about quarterback. There’s definitely two viewpoints on Rivers. You like him?

Justin: I do. I like Rivers. I like the gunslinger-type quarterback, which is what I equate him to. He’s just old school, rip and roar, no apologies for how he plays. I even dig some of the trash talk he gives on the field. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Even though he’s older and some of his skill sets have declined, I still think he’s an upgrade to (Jacoby) Brissett. And I hate to say that because I was one of the people who was holding Brissett up last year. (Andrew) Luck leaves and we’re like, ‘Oh my God, what the hell are we going to do?’ Jacoby showed he could play, so let’s get behind him. He had an awesome seven-game start, then Pittsburgh happened. As soon as he got hurt, I don’t know what it was, I don’t know if it was playing with fear of getting hurt again or just played so damn timid that the last half of the season was so bad and kind of showed that maybe he’s not mentally tough enough for the rigors of being a starter every week. Maybe he’s just a spot starter and a solid backup. So they bring in Rivers. I’m not going to sit here and say like some people that Rivers is going to take us to the Super Bowl, but I think he can definitely help bring the AFC South Division title back and at least get us to the playoffs, then we’ll see what happens. That’s when defenses kick in and is the reason you make runs in the playoffs.

PhilB: Yeah, very few teams get by on just offense.

Justin: You’ve got a young, jacked-up defense in Indy which now, it seems on paper, that they’ve really shored up the pass rush. That’s been a problem since (Robert) Mathis retired. They shored that up by bringing Buckner in. And Buckner and Day having the relationship they have, they’re going to be able to play off each other. I think Autry is going to find new like, like, ‘Oh my God, these guys are so exciting to be around.’ Houston is just a beast, year in and year out. Even though he’s getting older, he’s still showing that he’s got it. I really like Turay and Banogu. I hated that Turay got hurt, but I’m really glad they got Banogu because he showed he’s got what it takes, it’s just going to take some seasoning. So I think the defense that they’ve built, if they can get to the playoffs and Rivers can be just status quo as a game manager, and let the defense carrying ‘em, and you’ve got guys like (Marlon) Mack who are young and hungry, I think this is going to be a fun season. A lot of people who don’t like Rivers, I think after the first couple of weeks, they’re going to like what they see. Yeah, he’s going to throw interceptions, but he’s going to make some spectacular plays that Jacoby won’t or can’t make.

PhilB: Do you have some specific ideas on what the Colts should do in the draft?

Justin: I think they should focus on offense with at least the first three picks. They’ve got such a young defense. They’ve got decent depth at all the positions. I think safety they could probably get a little deeper. But in the front seven, they’ve got a lot of depth there. The secondary you may want to take a flyer, like if (GM Chris) Ballard doesn’t think Hooker is going to amount what we all thought he was going to be. I hate to say what somebody said about calling him the next Ed Reid. If Hooker can take another big step this year, he’s going to solidify himself, so taking a safety early in the draft isn’t going to be really beneficial to the team. If they maybe look at wide receiver at 34, I love Tee Higgins. I watched Clemson just because I liked Trevor Lawrence. What I see out of Higgins is great. I like his size. I like his physicality. This past year, when they were in the national championship game, he got hurt and I really like that he didn’t decide, ‘I’m going to get drafted, I’m not going to put myself back on the field and hurt myself any further and hurt my draft status.’ He went to the locker room and did everything he could to get himself back on the field. He didn’t do a whole lot in that game, but it still showed me that he’s got toughness and grit to at least put his team in front of himself and what he’s got coming in the future.

PhilB: I put Higgins at the top of my wide receiver list, of guys that might be there. I’m worried someone might take him earlier. That’s why you look at other wide receivers. I’m sure you have, too.

Justin: Oh yeah, I like Laviska Shenault. He’s good, he’s got great hands. Brandon Aiyuk from Arizona State, I like him. I just saw that he’s having surgery on a core muscle. I’m thinking that’s going to hurt him. I don’t think he’s going to fall out of the second round, but if he does, he’ll go early third. If the Colts take a stab at him, I think he’s really good. They really need to focus on a big receiver. They’ve got T.Y. (Hilton), they’ve got Parris (Campbell), they’ve got (Zach) Pascal. And (Daurice) Fountain, you can’t really count on him because you don’t know what you’re going to get.

PhilB: Even though they have Hilton, they haven’t had a guy like Reggie Wayne since Reggie retired, that bigger, stronger, great hands, tough receiver. I know you know about the Notre Dame kid, Chase Claypool. I looked at his pictures and I’m thinking, ‘This guy is built like a Mack truck.’ He’s like 6-3 and 238 pounds.

Justin: I’ve watched him because I grew up with Notre Dame. I’ve watched him play since he got on the field in South Bend. As that kid has improved every year. As he’s got more responsibility, he took it and ran with it. And Notre Dame, as much as I love ‘em, they don’t have spectacular quarterback play. But (Claypool) has just shined the whole time he was there. His catch radius is huge. And I saw the speed he ran at the NFL Scouting Combine, but watching him play on Saturdays, I really didn’t notice he was that fast playing at Notre Dame. He’s so strong, he fights for every ball, he made some spectacular sideline catches. He’s just so aware of everything around him. If he’s available in the second round, I don’t think many people including me would be upset if they snatched him at 34. I wouldn’t mind taking him a little earlier than everybody expected and get a guy who has shown the ability to just grow and grow as his level of responsibility has stepped up.

(If you’re a diehard Colts fan and want to sound off about anything and everything, send an email to phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com. The response has been overwhelming, but your name will be added to the list.)

Add us as a preferred source on Google