Many Colts fans are wondering about the future of the franchise, and while we wait to see who will be leading the team moving forward, we know where the Colts will be picking in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Colts finished the season at 8-8, which ties them with the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens this year record-wise. They won the strength of schedule tiebreaker with the Ravens and therefore will draft ahead of them, but they have the exact same strength of schedule as the Vikings. That means that a coin flip at the NFL Scouting Combine will determine whether the Colts pick 14th or 15th, with the Philadelphia Eagles (who have the Vikings’ first round pick) getting the other pick.
So though we don’t know exactly where the Colts will be picking, we know that it will be either 14th or 15th overall. Outside of 2012 when they drafted first overall and selected Andrew Luck, it will be the highest they have drafted since 2001, when they selected Dwight Freeney 11th overall.
We’ll have to wait for the Combine to see how the coin flip turns out, but that won’t stop the draft talk from heating up. The Colts need a lot of help, and they’ll have a pick midway through the first round to begin addressing it.
Here’s the full draft order that has been determined so far (not including the playoff teams), according to CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler:
- Cleveland Browns
- San Francisco 49ers
- Chicago Bears
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Tennessee Titans (from Los Angeles Rams)
- New York Jets
- San Diego Chargers
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Buffalo Bills
- New Orleans Saints
- Cleveland Browns (from Philadelphia Eagles)
- Arizona Cardinals
- Indianapolis Colts*
- Philadelphia Eagles* (from Minnesota Vikings)
- Baltimore Ravens
- Washington Redskins
- Tennessee Titans
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Denver Broncos
* coin flip will determine tiebreaker