Colts 2015 Player Preview: Offensive Lineman Ulrick John

When the Indianapolis Colts drafted offensive lineman Ulrick John in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft, nobody really knew who he was.  NFL Network listed his name as "John Ulrick."  NFL.com, CBS.com, and other sites didn't have a scouting report on him.  Draft Breakdown didn't have any video on him.  There really wasn't much information to be found on him whatsoever, but the Colts and general manager Ryan Grigson seemed to like their project offensive lineman.

John (6-5, 311 pounds) played collegiately at Georgia State, where he appeared in 36 career games (starting 25).  He was a two-year starter at left tackle to finish his career, but he also saw time playing at guard and center earlier in his career at Georgia State.  He is a guy with good size and has talent, though he's clearly a project player.  The Colts don't really need to find a left tackle of the future, but he is an interesting guy for the Colts to work with.  His rookie season ended before it really begun, however, as he suffered a broken ankle in the team's first preseason game, causing him to miss the entire season.  With that said, John likely wouldn't have made the 53-man roster anyway but instead have landed on the practice squad to continue to develop and continue to work and learn the NFL game.

The Colts have depth along the offensive line in players like Joe Reitz, Lance Louis, Donald Thomas, Ben Heenan, Jonotthan Harrison (or Khaled Holmes, depending on who wins the center battle), and that will make it pretty hard for Ulrick John to make the roster out of training camp this year.  Ryan Grigson does like him, however, and I would expect the Colts to continue to work with him regardless of whether it is on the active roster (unlikely) or the practice squad (more likely).  The Colts also drafted Denzelle Good in the seventh round of the draft this year as a developmental tackle, but I don't think that will take away from their focus on developing John as well.  While he might not make the 53-man roster, don't expect the Colts to give up working on him yet as a project offensive lineman.