It's Monday, which means another Mock Draft from Brain Galliford at SB Nation:
22. Indianapolis Colts: Nate Solder, OT, Colorado. There's little question that Solder is the most talented lineman available this year; his lack of physicality would be masked in Indy's pass-first offense.
Once again, Galliford has Indy taking an offensive lineman. If it's not Gabe Carimi from Wisconsin, or Anthony Castonzo of Boston College, or Derek Sherrod of Mississippi State, then it's some other offensive lineman that should still be lingering down near pick no. 22.
The bottom line is everyone and their mother thinks the Colts should, and will, take a lineman in the first round. The build-up question between now and late April is will Bill Polian do what others expect him to do, or will he do something different just to spite his critics?
Should Bill and the Colts walk away from the 2011 NFL Draft without a high quality o-lineman, how will they deal with the criticism? Simply ignoring it won't work this year.
After the jump, Galliford's Colts pick for Round Two.
53. Indianapolis Colts: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina. No, this isn't your typical Indy character fit, but the need and the talent converge to make this one of the best value picks in this scenario.
Once again, another lineman, only side time on the defensive side of the ball.
I don't see Polian taking a player like Austin. Polian will sign undrafted rookies with character issues, like he did in 2007 with Ed Johnson. But, he never drafts them, especially high on the board.
Knowing that Mike Pollak is a bust (whether Polian wants to admit it or not), it makes more sense to go with DeMarcus Love at pick no. 53. Love can play both tackle and guard, and versatility is a trademark of Colts linemen. If the Colts took two quality linemen out of the first two rounds, I'm smiling. Offensive line is a massive weakness with this team right now. Hell, it was a weakness last year, and the Colts did little to fix it. If anything, by needlessly cutting Ryan Lilja, they made it worse. This year, the margin for error is smaller, as is the fuse for many fans impatient with the Colts utter refusal (or incompetence) to adequately address the offensive and defensive lines.
I mean, last season, without a running game and without a lot of time to throw the ball, Peyton Manning had 33 TDs and 17 INTs. For many, that was a 'down' year for Big P. Imagine his numbers if he actually had, you know, a quality o-line protecting him.
Thoughts on this pre-Combine Mock Draft?