2011 NFL Mock Draft: More Linemen To The Colts

I think he likes it!

That would be outstanding and shocking at the sametime.

I love project players with lots of upside. There is typically less risk with them, as you can normally draft them on the second day with much less of an investment than you get in first round draft picks.

However, I am not interested in drafting any project players at this point. You never know how long they will take to develop, and I feel like the door is shutting on the colts. I would love to see Peyton get at least one more ring, hopefully two, before he retires as the greatest quarterback of all time.

Of course if someone falls to a point where their value NOW is too much to resist picking them, and they can contribute now or in the near future, I say go for it. But while I think players like OT Tryon Smith may have lots of upside, we can’t afford to whiff on anymore players.

I say this year, more than any year, we need to really delve into the free agent pool and fill some of the holes that we have on our roster. I love building through the draft, and I want to do this as well, but I want our players to contribute. If you look at the 2010 draft, you have to say it was a royal failure. Jerry Hughes and Kevin Thomas were both a waste of picks for 2010, and our best player was probably Pat Angerer, and I wouldn’t say that he was 63rd best player drafted. There is some potential in some of the later round draft picks, but nothing that I am resoundingly excited about for the future.

…everywhere except Oline and Dline.

I’d be thrilled if this draft was dedicated to developing a solid core in those two areas. I’m just scared that Polian, yet again, will try to prove he’s smarter than all of us fans and all of the mock drafts that think that’s what we should take.

When was the last time he took a player that was regularly mocked? Maybe ‘98? That’s kinda scary.

I usually disagree with what the national “experts” think we’re going to do, and I’m usually right. However, I thoroughly expect us to take an OL in round 1. We’ve missed on our attempts to get a LT-of-the-future (Ugoh) and a center-of-the-future (Pollack). The only long-term solution we have in place on the whole line is McClendon, and he was rarely even active last year. With Carimi and Sherrod worth the pick and liable to be there for us, it’s hard to imagine us waiting on the OT. Heck – I’m not a big Costanzo fan, but he could be worth it too. If there’s a run on tackles, I could see us going with Pouncey or Wisniewski (probably the latter) and trying to pick up a tackle in the 2nd or 3rd. Not much else makes sense for the 1st round to me. RB? First things first: the reason we can’t run is we can’t run-block. WR? We have question marks with our receivers, but we seem to have ample good options for the moment. WR seems more like a mid-round need. DT? I agree we need to replace Muir or Mookie, but the 2nd and 3rd round posibilities are much better values than anyone in the 1st. (Wilkerson, Casey, Jenkins, Fua, Ian Williams, Austin, Nevis, Liuget). S? More of a 4th/5th round depth issue to me.

Colts at 22 select Sherrod ,then because some draft experts project Carimi as a RT in the pros he falls to the 2nd round. The Colts get bookend tackles for their offense for the rest of Manning’s career. The line-up next year could be Sherrod-LT, DeVan/C. Johnson- LG, Saturday-C, McClendon/ Pollack- RG, Carimi- RT. Then if the Colts don’t lockup a stud DT in the draft, they opt for one in free agency. You’d need to pinch me so I wouldn’t think it was a dream come true.