2011 NFL Draft: Colts Visit With Defensive Linemen Brooks Reed And Kenrick Ellis

The Colts used the No. 31 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft on TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes. So far, the pick has been a disaster. Hughes had six total tackles last season, and was a healthy scratch in six games. The pick was so bad Colts personnel head Bill Polian admitted on his radio show that he should have taken Indiana left tackle Rodger Saffold instead of Hughes. Recently, Polian said the admission of error was 'construed very differently' than what he intended to say.

Regardless of what Polian said or wanted to say, it's clear that Jerry Hughes was a terrible rookie, and Rodger Saffold was a very good one.

What is also clear is that the Colts are not simply going to sit and wait for Hughes to 'get good.' Recently, the Colts held a workout for Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, who is considered a late-first round, early second round prospect. They also had a visit with Arizona State defensive end Brooks Reed and Hampton defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis, according to our friends at National Football Post.

From NFP:

Reed has been drawing comparisons to Packers star linebacker Clay Matthews for reasons beyond having long blond hair.

Reed had the top 10-yard split among all defensive linemen with a 1.54 clocking. Like Matthews, he's also regarded as a former Pac-10 player who moved up considerably as a senior.

Reed had a sprained ankle during his junior season.

An AFC West scout said he significantly upgraded his grade on Reed after watching him play against Iowa in person.

The nearly 6-foot-3, 263-pounder recorded 47 tackles, 6 1/2 sacks and 10 tackles for losses last season.

For his career, the All-Pac 10 Conference selection registered 17 sacks.

Reed would project as a DE in the Colts Tampa-2 system. At 263 pounds, he's about the same weight as Dwight Freeney, though he is two inches taller. For those that don't know, Hughes is 255 pounds, and one of his major problems during preseason last year was him getting manhandled at the line of scrimmage.

Reed, like Bowers, is projected as a late-first round pick.

Meanwhile, Kenrick Ellis is most certainly not 255 pounds. The Jamaican born kid who played his college ball at South Carolina and Hampton is listed at 6'5, 346 pounds. Mocking the Draft's Dan Kadar ranks him as the 92nd best overall player in the NFL Draft. In 2010, he had 94 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries for Hampton.

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