Over the weekend, SB Nation's NFL draft blog, Mocking The Draft, hosted another marathon seven round mock, complete with trades and the signing of rookie free agents.
Sheesh. And I thought doing a first round mock was tough.
The event was managed by MtD's seton hall and steelers, and Stampede Blue reader TrueBlue87 was the Colts representative. TrueBlue did a write-up on his draft selections, and I recommend going there and offering your opinions. He deserves a ton of praise for working on this event event while and the organizers at MtD deserve a stiff drink and a cigar.
We also have longtime reader oldecoltsfan offering version 3.0 of his mock draft. It is recommended viewing as well.
After the jump, a few comments on the mocks.
Notes:
- Both mocks selected Andrew Luck No. 1 overall, which is expected. Luck will be the first pick.
- The Colts have so many avenues to go down with the No. 34 pick. TrueBlue went with Coby Fleener, which I cannot disagree with because I went with Fleener in the 2012 SB Nation Writers Mock Draft. The oldecoltsfan mock went with strong safety Harrison Smith from Notre Dame, which is a very interesting selection. I disagree with the selection, but I agree with the rationalization: "Tom Zbikowski is a quality backup and excellent special teams ace who also provides leadership and experience in Pagano's defense. However, we need a true starting caliber strong safety to allow Bethea to play center field and make big plays. Mike Mayock really has taken to this kid, and so have I."
- For me personally, nose tackle is a position the Colts must fill in rounds two or three. Anything later, you risk getting nothing at all. A lot is made of teams finding "the best player available," but I can tell you right now most teams factor "need" into that equation. It's not just "best player available regardless of position and what our team is lacking."
- TrueBlue seemed to take a lot of heat for, effectively, trade Josh Chapman to Pittsburgh. For the briefest of moments, TrueBlue knew what it was like to be Dolphins G.M. Jeff Ireland.
- I like the Asa Jackson pick in round five of TrueBlue's mock. Interesting prospect.
- Getting Orson Charles in round three would be a nice little steal for Indy. It might be a good reason for passing on Fleener even if he is there at No. 34.
Finally, my ideal five round mock draft (because I'm not intelligent enough to do a seven rounder like these two guys) using players available in Walter Football's most recent mock:
1: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2: Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
3: Alameda Ta'amu, NT, Washington
4: Chase Minnifield, CB-KR, Virigina
5: Dan Herron, RB, OSU
5: Gino Gradkowski, OC, Delaware