One last position before we kick things off here in Indianapolis, and that's on the back end of the Secondary at Strong Safety. Antoine Bethea has seen a revolving door back there as his sidekick, and it's about time the Colts find a player that won't miss entire seasons any more.
Melvin Bullitt is still on the roster, but I'm not trusting that injured shoulder of his, as it continually gets hurt year after year, which is unfortunate, as I think Bullitt is a pretty good player. Joe Lefeged, undrafted last year, played admirably in his place, but he's not the long-term answer. Colts need to look a little higher in the draft to fill the role once filled, some of the time, by Bob Sanders.
This year's crop, much like last years, isn't terribly strong up top, but there are quite a few middle round guys the Colts could potentially be looking at. Nobody is off the board here, but also nobody will be a great value pick at #34, so it's doubtful we see one of the early guys coming to the Colts. But we'll profile them just in case.
After the jump I'll show you the entire group of Strong Safeties, and give you my favorites in the group.
List of Strong Safeties to watch at the Scouting Combine for the Colts:
| Strong Safeties |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jr | Player | School | Camp # |
| ANTONIO ALLEN | SOUTH CAROLINA | DB01 | |
| MARK BARRON | ALABAMA | DB02 | |
| SEAN CATTOUSE | CALIFORNIA | DB10 | |
| WINSTON GUY | KENTUCKY | DB17 | |
| DUKE IHENACHO | SAN JOSE ST | DB23 | |
| GEORGE ILOKA | BOISE ST | DB24 | |
| KELCIE MCCRAY | ARKANSAS ST | DB35 | |
| CHARLES MITCHELL | MISSISSIPPI ST | DB39 | |
| SEAN RICHARDSON | VANDERBILT | DB48 | |
| HARRISON SMITH | NOTRE DAME | DB52 | |
A couple of my favorites:
- George Iloka, Boise St. - Would be a steal in Round 3, tall and athletic, and a converted CB, which when one of his jobs will be covering very good TEs, it's a big plus.
- Harrison Smith, Notre Dame - I like him, but he's shooting up draft boards into the top of round 2, but I don't think he should be drafted there. Great leader, pretty good in coverage, and became a sure tackler as he got older. Like Iloka, ok in Round 3, not before.
Who else you have for me?