NFL Mock Draft 2015: Some People Still Have Colts Taking an Offensive Lineman in First Round

One of the most popular positions that many in the media have predicted the Colts taking in the first round of the upcoming 2015 draft has been the offensive line.

And even now, in post-free agency mock drafts, there are still people predicting the Colts to draft an offensive lineman in the first round.  Take NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah, for example, who has them taking LSU tackle La'El Collins.

Collins would be an immediate upgrade at RT for the Colts.

NFL.com's Charley Casserly has the Colts taking Florida State center/tackle Cameron Erving:

Erving has the ability to play center and offensive tackle.

As you can see, people are still predicting the Colts to take offensive line help in the first round of the draft.  But it's not something that you should expect to happen.

As it currently stands, the Colts' line looks like this: Anthony Castonzo at left tackle, Jack Mewhort at left guard, Khaled Holmes at center, Todd Herremans at right guard, and Gosder Cherilus at right tackle.  As depth, they have Joe Reitz, Ben Heenan, Lance Louis, Hugh Thornton, Donald Thomas, David Arkin, Ulrick John, Matt Hall, Tyler Hoover, Jonotthan Harrison, and the recently signed Demarco Cox.  That unit won't be the best offensive line in the NFL, but if they can stay healthy they should have a pretty solid group in 2015.  They upgraded at right guard, their right tackle is (hopefully) coming back healthy, their center should (hopefully) improve, and they've improved their depth.

In other words, here's the reality of the situation for the Colts: they don't need an offensive lineman in the first round.  We can't completely rule out the Colts going that direction with the 29th overall pick because we really can't accurately predict how the first 28 picks will go, but entering the draft it shouldn't and won't be a top priority for the Colts.  Much more pressing are the needs at safety, defensive line, and linebacker, for example.  The team might even be more inclined to target a running back in the first round than an offensive lineman, though that shouldn't and likely won't be the pick for the Colts.

The Colts will need a replacement for Gosder Cherilus at some point.  But he won't be getting cut this offseason (the Colts would take on more dead cap than they would save if they parted ways with him), but after the 2015 season there's a very real chance that he could be cut.  When healthy, he's a solid lineman, and the Colts won't be moving on from him this year.  The re-signing of Joe Reitz might have been in part as insurance in case he doesn't come back healthy, but they won't be adding a right tackle to take over as the starter.  Therefore any tackle they add would be a developmental guy, and the Colts have one of those that they like a lot in Ulrick John (who spent his rookie season on injured reserve).

At center, they like both Khaled Holmes and Jonotthan Harrison, and Holmes will be their starter entering the season (barring injury).  That doesn't rule out the team adding another player, but the fact that they let A.Q. Shipley walk in free agency without even tendering him should be a good indication that the Colts have confidence in the centers that they have right now.

Really, the only position that was really up in the air for the Colts' along the offensive line in 2015 was the right guard position, and they still might address that.  But with the signing of Todd Herremans, it is very unlikely that they would spend a first round pick to address the position this year further when they have much bigger needs elsewhere.

Again, we can't completely rule out the Colts taking an offensive lineman in the first round simply because we don't know the course that the draft will take.  But understand that it's very unlikely to happen and that rather the Colts will aim to address their defense - such as their safety, defensive line, or linebacker positions.

People will continue to predict the Colts to take an offensive lineman in the first round because they didn't make a huge splash in free agency, but their defense is a much bigger need and is much more likely to be their target in the first round.