NFL Mock Draft 2015: Colts Projected to Take Defensive Lineman Arik Armstead

If there's one common thread that we've seen in a number of mock drafts for the Colts (because they're typically all over the place), it's that a lot of people have the team drafting help in the trenches.  General manager Ryan Grigson again highlighted the importance of winning in the trenches in his Combine press conference, and the Colts have needs along both the offensive and defensive lines.

Therefore, in his most recent mock draft, NFL.com's Bucky Brooks has the team addressing the defensive line with their first round pick (number 29 overall), selecting Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead.

The Colts must improve their defense to seriously compete with the elite teams in the AFC. Armstead is a long, rangy defensive end capable of occupying multiple blockers at the point of attack.

Brooks is hardly the first one to project Armstead to the Colts, joining a number of others (including Mocking the Draft's Dan Kadar).  Armstead is a 6-7, 292 pound defensive end from Oregon who is raw but very talented and with a very high ceiling.  He played in 39 games over three years for the Ducks, recording 87 tackles (10 for loss), four sacks, one forced fumble, two fumbles recovered, and two passes defensed.  Also, he was formerly a member of Oregon's basketball team before quitting to focus on football.

The Colts certainly need help along the defensive line, and we looked at that earlier today in showing that the team will likely have a number of intriguing options in free agency to pursue if they want to.  Of course, they also could opt to target the position in the draft and if they do that Armstead would seem to be a prime candidate to both still be there at 29 and be a contributor and good player for the Colts.

What are your thoughts on this mock draft prediction for the Colts?