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Regardless of your opinion on him, the Monday Morning Quarterback's Peter King is one of the most well-connected guys in the media, having a wide range of contacts throughout the NFL. And, while he says his is an "informed opinion" based on tidbits he has heard, when it comes to a mock draft King is often left guessing like the rest of us.
With that said, however, people are still paying attention to mock drafts from all around the internet, including Peter King's latest mock draft that was released today. King predicts trades in his mock draft, and that impacts the Colts quite a bit, as he has the Colts trading out of the first round.
King has the St. Louis Rams jumping back into the first round to grab the Colts' 29th overall pick to take Pittsburgh offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings, and in exchange the Colts get the Rams' 41st overall (2nd round) and 119th overall (4th round) picks. The second round pick would be the ninth overall pick in the second round, while the fourth round pick would be the 20th overall pick in the fourth round.
Consulting the NFL Draft Trade Value chart, we see that the 29th overall pick has a value of 640 points, while the 41st pick has a value of 490 and the 119th pick has a value of 56. In other words, the Rams would get a pick valued at 640 points while the compensation for the Colts would equal just 546 points. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad trade and it doesn't mean that the Colts couldn't nail those picks and get some great players, but it does give reason for pause and should make them hesitant to accept such a trade. While the team does need to be building for the future, it has been clear this offseason that they are also definitely going for a Super Bowl this year. You never want to reach in the first round for a player you don't consider to be worth taking there, but at the same time, the Colts need talent. Trading down might be an intriguing option for the Colts depending on the talent there, but I can't help but think that they could get a better deal than the one that Peter King has them taking.
Oh, and one last note: I don't take this as a "report" or anything more substantial than any of these other mock drafts. I don't think that Peter King here is saying that the Colts will trade down or even that they're actively looking to, rather I think it's just the way he had his mock draft going and that he knows that Ryan Grigson will likely be open to doing so if things don't turn out as he'd hoped in the draft. That's all - at the end of the day, it's just another mock draft that's sure to be wrong. With that said, though, it's certainly fun to talk about.
What are your thoughts on Peter King predicting the Colts to trade down out of the first round when the Draft rolls around?