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In his latest mock draft, SB Nation's Dan Kadar is keeping things the same as the past few weeks for the Indianapolis Colts, as Kadar has the team taking Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd in the first round with the 18th overall pick.
The Colts have tried and failed with a few different pass rushers over the past few years. Floyd can be the answer. He has a good first step, can play all over the field and has shown he can bend the edge against left tackles.
Floyd would definitely address an area of need for the Colts, as arguably their biggest need is at pass rush. They have Robert Mathis, but ideally he wouldn't be counted on as the team's main pass rush option. The Colts kept Trent Cole, hoping that he can play better than he did a year ago. Other moves, like the drafting of Bjoern Werner, didn't work out, and the Colts also recently released Jonathan Newsome. In other words, the team doesn't really have any good answers on the roster currently to improve their pass rush, which has been one of their biggest weaknesses in recent years.
It wouldn't at all be a surprise to see the team target a pass rusher in the upcoming draft, then, and Floyd could be an option available for them with the 18th overall pick. Some people seem to have differing opinions on Floyd, but NFL Media's Mike Mayock recently bumped Floyd up to his number two edge rusher in his NFL Draft position rankings, behind only Eastern Kentucky's Noah Spence. Floyd has said that he wants to model his game after veteran pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, and the Indianapolis Colts have shown interest - they're scheduled to have dinner with him this Friday.
A finalist for the Butkus Award in 2015 (given annually to the nation's top linebacker), Floyd declared for the NFL draft after his junior season. During his playing career at Georgia, Floyd played in 38 games and started 32 of them, recording 184 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, four passes defensed, and 54 quarterback pressures. In 2014, he was named Georgia's Defensive MVP, while in 2013 he was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. Interestingly enough, in each of his three seasons at the school he led the team in sacks. For a team like the Colts in desperate need of pass rush help, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them target a rusher early on in the draft.