NFL Mock Draft 2017: Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft has Colts taking Reuben Foster

There isn’t really any consensus among mock drafts about who the Indianapolis Colts should take in the first round, and that’s probably at least in part due to the fact that the Colts have a lot of needs.

One of the needs that hasn’t been discussed as much, at least in mock drafts, is inside linebacker. But in his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has the Colts taking Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster with the 15th overall pick:

Let's be clear here: I don't have Foster, a top-five talent, dropping because of his bizarre combine ejection. He's dropping here because not many teams above the Colts at No. 15 need a true inside linebacker. The Bengals and Saints, for instance, have both signed inside linebackers in free agency. Whichever team takes Foster, though, is getting a big-time, sideline-to-sideline defender with All-Pro potential. Indianapolis has done a solid job of upgrading its roster this offseason, and picking Foster (6-0, 229) is another step toward defensive respectability.

Whatever the reason for Foster’s drop in this mock draft, the Colts surely wouldn’t be complaining about the teams ahead of them passing on him. Foster is one of the very best overall prospects in this year’s draft class, and he just so happens to fit a big position of need for the Colts as well.

Foster won the Butkus Award in 2016 as the top linebacker in the country and was also a unanimous All-American, starting 15 games and recording 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, eight quarterback hits, and two passes defensed.

His talent on the field is undeniable, but there are questions about his maturity - something that apparently has led to one team picking in the top 15 to remove him from their draft board, according to the MMQB, while some teams apparently have concerns about his ability to learn a playbook too. It’s entirely possible that some of these ‘concerns,’ however, are teams trying to drive Foster’s stock down so that he might fall to certain teams.

He would be a terrific addition for the Colts’ defense, as he would give them a legitimate playmaking inside linebacker. They already added Sean Spence in free agency and they had Edwin Jackson and Antonio Morrison in house already, but none of the possible starting inside linebacker combinations so far should prevent the Colts from adding one in the draft if there’s someone they like - such as Reuben Foster in the first round.