NFL Mock Draft 2017: There’s really no consensus about what the Colts should do in the first round

For some teams, mock drafts are pretty easy. For example, this year it’s easy to have the Browns taking Myles Garrett first overall. But for other teams, mock drafts are much harder, especially the later into the first round you get.

So far in the draft process, there is a lot of differing opinions on what the Colts should do with the 15th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and there’s clearly no consensus. I would expect that disagreement to continue all the way up to the draft, too, which takes place exactly one month from today.

To give us a better idea of what analysts are saying, however, SB Nation’s Adam Stites keeps a mock draft database updated. The most updated version includes 66 different mock drafts, and here’s how those mocks look for the Colts:

Since it can be hard to keep track of which piece of the pie represents which player, here’s the results in a list format:

1. Haason Reddick, LB, Temple - 13.6%

1. Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama - 13.6%

3. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State - 12.1%

4. Derek Barnett, EDGE, Tennessee - 9.1%

4. Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky - 9.1%

6. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford - 7.6%

6. Ryan Ramczyk, T, Wisconsin - 7.6%

8. Others - 27.3%

The category marked “others” includes any player who was selected by the Colts in a mock draft but who was selected in less than five percent of them. So there are surely plenty of players who make up this portion, but none of them were among the most common picks for the Colts.

Part of what contributes to the lack of consensus for the Colts in mock drafts is their many needs. As you’ll notice, of the eight players listed, there are three linebackers, two running backs, and two offensive linemen. So not only is there no consensus on what player the Colts should take, there’s also no consensus on what position the Colts should take.

A lot of these players would help the Colts in significant ways, but the trick is figuring out who would be the best pick. That’s where things get tricky, and here’s why (let’s use Reuben Foster as an example). That would be a tremendous pick for the Colts and he’s tied for the most-frequent pick right now, but I’d imagine most of the mocks that don’t have the Colts taking him have Foster being selected earlier in the draft. So there’s a lot that goes into mock drafts that can’t be represented here, but nonetheless I think it gives a pretty good idea of what others are saying about the team.

Who do you most want to see the Colts take in the first round?