After going 7-9 last season, the Indianapolis Colts hold the No. 13 overall pick in the upcoming draft and with a roster featuring many holes, there are plenty of options for Chris Ballard and company to explore.
A lot of draft experts believe this draft class coming in is deep at the quarterback, wide receiver, tight end and defensive line positions. Thankfully for the Colts, they have some question marks at really all these positions.
So what should the Colts do at No. 13? Should they trade back and possibly acquire another draft pick, should they trade up or should they stay at 13 and take the best available player or take a position of need?
If they stay at No. 13, here are the positions they should prioritize:
Quarterback
In a few mock drafts, there seems to be a consensus that there will be at least two or three quarterbacks (Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert) taken before Indianapolis gets on the clock at 13.
There is also the possibility a team could move up in front of the Colts to get a quarterback. With Jordan Love playing well at the Senior Bowl, it should not be surprising if a team like the Raiders, Buccaneers or Patriots could move into the top 10 to take the kid out of Utah State.
Now, if Love is available at 13, Ballard should sprint to the podium and make the selection. But with each waking day, it seems Love is moving up the draft board more and more.
Wide Reciever
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network said this receiver class is the best he’s ever seen since he started scouting in 2003. Jeremiah has nine receivers in his first installment of his Top 50: 2020 NFL Draft prospect rankings.
Probably the most unpredictable position to guess who goes where, there could be three receivers taken before the Colts select or there could only be one.
With how deep of a position class this is, the Colts could very much get a lot of value in the second or third rounds of the draft with guys like Denzel Mims, Chase Claypool or Collin Johnson.
Defensive line
While the defensive line position is deep this year, the talent has a significant dropoff after the first round. Plus with the Colts’ lack of ability to generate pressure from the interior, this should be the route to go in the draft.
Ballard always mentions having to build in the trenches, and he has done that on the offensive side since taking over, but the defense hasn’t got as much attention.
Since 2017, Ballard has drafted one true interior defensive lineman, that was in 2017 in the fourth round when he took Grover Stewart. While Ballard has spent high capital on the offensive line, he hasn’t done so on the defensive line.
There are two immediate impacts defensive lineman at the top of this draft that the Colts could very much get at 13. Derrick Brown is projected to go in the top 10, but if teams go after quarterbacks early on, Brown could fall.
The other option is South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw. Projections have him going around 10-15 so he is very in play for the Colts, and Kinlaw has traits that fit what Ballard likes in a prospect: superb athleticism, smart and instinctive, can play multiple positions and is charismatic.
With the lack of true talent in the later rounds, the Colts should go in the trenches this draft at 13 and try to get one of the two interior forces that are coming out in this draft.
