The Indianapolis Colts elected to largely disregard the exterior free agent market last offseason, only sealing the deal on two newcomers, both of whom were backups. However, this year, they almost have no choice but to get more active. General manager Chris Ballard has vowed to, at least.
The Colts have several in-house free agents who make more sense to leave this year rather than return, and some of the holes will likely need to be plugged with outside players on the market.
The big NFL free agency boom begins next week, and Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports decided to make a cool exercise out of it, applying the ever-popular NFL mock draft model to that of free agency. “(We) imagined where some of the best available veterans would end up if all 32 teams were allowed to ‘sign’ them — not in order of lowest NFL standing, like the draft, but rather in projected salary cap space,” Benjamin explained.
In this mock, Colts’ starting right guard Will Fries comes off the board to the Minnesota Vikings with the seventh overall pick. While Fries is arguably the Colts’ top free agent this year, he is expected to garner plenty of attention on the market
Because the draft order in this projection is based on salary cap space, the Colts picked 18th, and Benjamin gave them Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman.
“A new center won’t fix their clear lack of reliability at quarterback,” Benjamin wrote. “But Dalman has flashed rock-steady stuff, and at 26, he could be a long-term replacement for the aging Ryan Kelly.”
Dalman (6’3″, 305, 26 years old) is one of the top interior linemen in the free agent market and is said to be a priority for Atlanta to bring back.
Since being drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he has steadily improved into an above-average NFL center. Dalman became a starter in 2022 and has since has started the last 40 games he’s appeared in. He has graded well, ranking 15th among NFL centers in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, third in 2023, and tied for 13th in 2024.
While Dalman — the son of former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Chris Dalman — seems like a low-risk signing, there is an issue to note, as Drew Dalman missed 11 games the last two years due to ankle injuries.
The need for a player like Dalman opens up as Colts free-agent center Ryan Kelly is set to potentially leave next week. Backups Danny Pinter and Wesley French are free agents as well. The Colts do have 2024 rookie Tanor Bortolini to fall back on as the starter if they choose, but Benjamin slates a direct veteran-for-veteran replacement in this scenario.
The new league year and subsequent “beginning” to free agency arrives next week. NFL teams may begin negotiating contracts with outside players beginning at 12:00 p.m. E.T. on Monday, March 10 until 3:59 p.m. E.T. on Wednesday, March 12. At 4:00 p.m. E.T., teams can officially begin signing new players