At this point in the offseason, the Indianapolis Colts’ dire need for a tight end has been well documented.
They’ve struggled to find stability at the position ever since franchise legend Dallas Clark left the team in 2011.
The team has been able to find stopgaps for short periods of time but they haven’t been able to find anything permanent.
The Colts have been heavily linked to a tight end in the draft and with some of the pre-draft meetings they scheduled, it seems like a real possibility.
However, if they follow a recent trade proposal from Bleacher Report, they’d be able to address another position in the first round.
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has been one of their best players for about a half decade now, but he’s finally starting to see a decline.
With the emergence of young stud Isaiah Likely and aging, Andrews took a backseat this year and his numbers reflected it.
His future in Baltimore reached an inflection point when he dropped two critical passes in the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Since then, his presence in Baltimore next season has been murky at best.
Head coach John Harbaugh said he expects the former third-round pick to be back with the team, but general manager Eric DeCosta gave was noncommittal when asked if Andrews would return.
Of course, this sent shockwaves around the league, and every tight end needy team is being linked to the former All-Pro.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton gave a list of teams that could acquire the star and the Colts made the list.
Moton predicted that Indianapolis would trade away this year’s fourth and seventh-round pick for Andrews.
This would be extraordinary value for a player who just last season was viewed as the clear second best tight end in football.
The only concern with the trade is that the Colts only have one pick in each round this year, so they’d be trading away two of their only seven picks.
Thankfully, they’d be late picks, and if Andrews returns to form then his value would be far superior to anyone Indianapolis acquires in the fourth or seventh round.
The Colts still have some alternatives if they’re unable to land Andrews, or if he stays put, but he would be the best case scenario.