With the calendar now turned to April, it is time for the NFL Draft. All the preparation and training for the prospects will all result in getting drafted in late-April and will fulfill their dream of making it to the NFL.
For the Indianapolis Colts, they currently have seven picks in this year’s draft. After trading their first-round pick for Deforest Buckner back in March, their first pick won’t be until the 34th overall pick, the second pick in the second round. The Colts also have two sixth-round picks and none in the seventh round.
With the draft fast approaching, I jumped on the Draft Network mock draft machine to go through the Colts’ 2020 draft. These are my results:
No. 34 (from WAS) | Jordan Love | QB | Utah State
I was lucky enough to have Love fall to me after he slipped by the Patriots and Saints, two teams that could take Love in the late first round. Everyone has heard about Love coming out—high ceiling and low floor. There is no question he has the talent to be a franchise quarterback, the question is can he land in the right place and make the most of it.
Love will be able to sit a year behind Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett and learn from those guys as well as Frank Reich as they look to improve his decision-making at the next level. With Rivers being a year-to-year decision, the Colts need to find the answer long-term and at 34 with Love on the board, he’s too hard to pass up.
Other players available at 34: WR Laviska Shenault Jr., Colorado | DT Ross Blacklock, TCU | OT Austin Jackson, USC
No. 44 | Tee Higgins | WR | Clemson
In any other year, Higgins would arguably be a late-first round pick and one of the top five receivers in the draft, but this is a very deep receiver class so Higgins could fall as he did here. At 44, the Colts could go a lot of ways but they desperately need play-making outside at receiver with the Funchess experiment failing, and with T.Y. Hilton getting up there in age.
The Higgins pick would be an immediate impact Day 1 for the Colts. Rivers has thrived his whole career with big-body receivers, Mike Williams, Kennan Allen, Vincent Jackson, so the Colts should go for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver out of Clemson here. Higgins isn’t the most explosive or dynamic athlete, but he has a huge catch radius and can high point the ball better than any other receiver in this draft.
Other players available: WR KJ Hamler, Penn State | IDL Marlon Davidson Auburn | Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama
No. 75 | Cole Kmet | TE | Notre Dame
Chris Ballard taps back into the Notre Dame pipeline here to take the athletic tight end, Cole Kmet. With the Colts not re-signing Eric Ebron in free agency, that leaves a big hole in the roster at tight end. Now we all love Jack Doyle, but we also all know he isn’t the vertical threat that Ebron was. Getting a player like Kmet here at 75 would give the Colts that vertical threat at tight end that they need in this Reich offense.
Kmet’s release off the line of scrimmage is smooth. He looks very comfortable getting out of a three-point stance in-line and into a route. This makes him a threat as an in-line player who can both block and go out for passes. He’s a decent help blocker if he gets his hands on the defender and in the right place he can move that defender when blocking, but you certainly notice Kmet’s inexperience in this area, as he is often off-target with his hands and thus not very reliable right now.
Other players available: WR Michael Pittman Jr., USC | CB Bryce Hall, Virginia | TE Brycen Hopkins, Purdue
*No. 122 | Trade with the Minnesota Vikings*
There wasn’t much on the board at 122 for me I was looking at maybe a defensive back or offensive tackle and there wasn’t much there. I made a trade with the Vikings to get their 155th overall pick, plus the 253rd pick. With this trade, I did move down 30 spots but added a 7th round pick to my arsenal.
No. 155 (from MIN) | Jack Driscoll | OT | Auburn
Whether it’s an immediate need or not, the Colts must address left tackle in the next year or two with Anthony Castonzo getting up there in age. Ballard has already tapped into the Auburn offensive line when he took Braden Smith in the second round in the 2018 draft, and he could do it again here.
Driscoll is a bit of a project, but what he brings now could have the Colts intrigued come draft time. A two-year starter at Auburn, Driscoll, took over for Smith when he left for the NFL at right tackle and performed well. He has the size at 6-5, 294 pounds to play left tackle in the NFL, and he could fit the scheme easily. Scouts rave about Driscoll’s athleticism, mobility, and technique at right tackle, all things that Reich wants in his lineman. Even if Driscoll doesn’t add size to his frame, he could be a good interior lineman or a solid backup that can play four spots on the offensive line.
Other available players: WR Devin Duvernay, Texas | IDL McTelvin Agim, Arkansas | CB Josiah Scott, Michigan State
No. 160 | J.R. Reed | S | Georgia
The Colts let go Clayton Geathers in free agency, and currently have three safeties on the roster, so the need is there. With having multiple late-round picks this pick of Reed is to fill the depth and get a guy that can play special teams.
Reed is more of a “strong safety,” a guy that will play in the box and be good against the run, so if he had any role with the Colts it would be that subpackage safety like what Geathers played a lot last year in sub packages. Reed also brings high value as a special teams player and could be a solid depth rotational safety for the Colts in the fifth round.
No. 193 | Lamar Jackson | CB | Nebraska
There have been a lot of changes to the cornerback room this offseason for the Colts. Releasing Pierre Desir, and signing Xavier Rhodes and T.J. Carrie in free agency, Ballard might not be done there. The Colts currently have six corners on the roster but with Quincy Wilson not panning out, the Colts will have to add depth in the secondary again here.
Jackson has the size that Ballard and Matt Eberflus love in a corner, 6-2, 206 pounds, and has very good length to him. Another thing they will love about Jackson is he’s a very good tackler, and in college played a lot of man coverage like Rock Ya-Sin. Jackson could be a dart throw here in the sixth round who could end up playing key snaps late in the season for the Colts.
No. 197 | Jauan Jennings | WR | Tennessee
I use to live in Tennessee for a few years and got to watch Jennings play for the Volunteers, and I really like him. Jennings isn’t the most athletically gifted, but as Ballard said in his end-of-season presser, “We need to get guys that can get the ball and freaking score.” And Jennings can do that.
This pick won’t have Colts fans jumping out of their seats, but Jennings will come into camp with a chance to take that fourth receiver spot on the depth chart. With his 6-2 size, he can also play special teams, which will be important for these late-round guys.
No. 253 (from MIN) | Oluwole Betiku Jr. | EDGE | Illinois
Betiku Jr. is raw from a pass rush and hand counter perspective, with a lack of playing experience, but he’s got workable physical tools and has the ceiling with some time on the practice squad to be potential rotational EDGE defender. Another shot in the dark as Ballard takes a high upside, low risk pick to conclude the draft.
