Only because I didn’t expect much to begin with. I have to say (and as a Cal fan this is hard to admit) that Mark is actually fairly impressive in terms of his maturity and ease of being in the spotlight. However all the analysts seemed to be warning that underclassmen QBs seldomly do well on the field in the NFL.

He had 1 starting year. And to be honest, I wasn’t impressed with him at all this past season. Should have stayed 1 more year. I have no doubt he declared precisely because this year’s QB draft class is not good. Easier to compete with the guys this year than next : Bradford, Tebow, etc.

of the SC backers!! Those 3 can all play ball and I would be thrilled with any of them. I am a little worried that Polian is looking at WR. I would rather focus on the defense early on…however, I really do like Nicks!! But better yet I think someone like Robiskie (sp) would be perfect in the Colts system.

Vontae Davis pretty much ran past Malcolm Jenkins like he stole his lunch money. The corners definitely didn’t show up, but Jenkins would be one of the top potential cover 2 CBs in the league. If he dropped to us, he’d probably be considered best player available. I don’t see him going past Chicago or definitely Tampa Bay. TB has a huge need at CB if Buchanan (who basically said peace) leaves. Barber would be their only legit CB at 34. And if Jenkins happens to get past them, which he may because his 40 was 4.59, there’s a couple other teams that might take a shot. But there definitely is a chance he could drop to us and I definitely wouldn’t be freaking out if we took him. The biggest plus is that it might cause some teams looking at positions we definitely could use might take him and have a trickle down effect that could open up numerous options. If the Jets, Bears, Bucs, Lions, Patriots etc… take a look at him, that’ll make our pick at 27 that much better. Especially if he falls all the way down to Baltimore. They’d probably jump all over him and have them thinking WR is deep enough they can’t pass up on him and we could be looking at Maclin at 27 as an example. Some teams might even look to convert him to a FS or use him as a CB/FS tweener. Atlanta could be rubbing their hands together.

Either way, we definitely have options with guys dropping from the high second to bottom second or even lower.

I forgot who else said it, but I love the combine. You always get those great players who run slower than projected 40s that end up dropping to us so we’re “forced” to take them. For some reason that seems to have worked for us to a certain degree.

And I don’t want to burst your bubble BBS, but Everette Brown pretty much solidified the #2 DE or potentially the #1 after Orakpo pulled his hamstring. Those guys are going to be primo with everyone going to a 3-4.

I’m seriously digging a couple LBs though. Brinkley, who you guys have probably seen me salivating over but noted he probably had to drop some weight, came in at 252 and ran a nice 40 (4.72). And Jason Phillips had a great workout. Follet, McRath, and Ellerbe all did well too. And Laurinaitis will probably be projected right around our pick or the 2nd round now with his slower 40. I’m not too scared of that though.

Not to mention Hood was showing some serious speed for a 300 lb DT. 4.91 second 40 AND 34 reps? He might be a legit bottom first rounder now. Too bad Jerry didn’t participate.

Overall this draft is shaping up to be extremely Colts oriented. The LBs, DTs, and WRs all showed there is a TON of depth. I’m not as worried about not getting Jerry if Hood’s still around. Or there’s quite a few other options later. The top tier RBs (Moreno, McCoy, Wells) all performed fantastically craptastic (I actually think Wells had a great combine) so there’s a legit chance of having a shot at one if they Colts choose to go that route. As for receivers….yeah, it pretty much shaped up so there’s pretty much very high potential in every round. They really showed up. You basically have your option for any style receiver. Slot guys, possession guys, deep threat, and big guys. And guys that could be a few of those in one. Just look at the size and times of some of the guys. Robiskie (6’3 4.49 with a 37.5" vert), Kenny Britt (6’3 4.52 37" vert and a 10’4" broad jump), Aaron Kelly (6’5 4.49 and a 38" vert – although his 225 rep of 11 might mean he could be exposed to physical corners), and holy crap Ramses Barden (6’6 4.57 40 – call that slow but 6’6 is crazy; and I heard an interview on Sirius, he’s got a really good head on his shoulders, very intelligent).

Anyway, I don’t think I could’ve predicted a better set of circumstances for the Colts going into the draft. With the depth at the positions we need, and where we are in the draft, I think there’s someone there that will be a great pick no matter which route we take.