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During this time of year, it can be hard to keep up with all of the different mock drafts. When it comes to a team like the Browns and the first overall pick, it should be easy: Myles Garrett. But when it comes to a team like the Colts and the 14th/15th overall pick, it’s much more diverse.
Each person seems to have a different opinion on what the Colts should do with the pick, but SB Nation’s Adam Stites has compiled a mock draft database that attempts to combine what numerous people are thinking about the pick. He has a pie chart for each team based on 35 different mock drafts surveyed, and for the Colts, the most common pick has been Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.
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In case it’s hard to tell which is which, here’s the most common picks for the Colts among the 35 mock drafts surveyed:
Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State - 34.3%
Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA - 14.3%
Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee - 11.4%
Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford - 8.6%
Tim Williams, LB, Alabama - 5.7%
Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin - 5.7%
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU - 5.7%
Others - 14.3%
So... yeah. That’s all over the place, and there’s plenty to comment on. There has been plenty of debate amongst Colts fans on whether Dalvin Cook should be the pick at number 14/15, as he’s a good player who would make a difference in the offense, but in a deep running back class there are far bigger needs on the defensive side of the football. It’s incredibly interesting - and honestly, surprising - to see that Cook is the most common pick for the Colts in these mock drafts.
But with that in mind, it’s important to realize that it still seems like a common opinion among the people putting out mock drafts is that the Colts will go defense, there’s just differing opinions about which defender it would be. The second, third, and fourth most common picks for the Colts are all defenders, as is one of the picks tied for fifth. And the Ryan Ramczyk and Leonard Fournette picks just seem like strange outliers in this evaluation.
Ultimately, there’s still a long, long way to go before the draft, and next week’s NFL Combine will help change or shape some people’s opinions. It’s likely we’ll continue to see debate and discussion about whether the Colts should take Cook all the way until draft day, but it’s also just as likely that defenders will continue to be heavily mocked to the Colts as well. We haven’t seen much of a universal agreement yet, and I doubt we’re going to.