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The NFL Draft is exactly two weeks away.
That might seem crazy to you, but it’s true: the first round begins two weeks from tonight. The Colts will have the 15th overall pick in the first round, and that’s an incredibly valuable resource. So far there has been plenty of debate and discussion about what the Colts should do with that pick, and there doesn’t seem to be much consensus yet.
Some suggest the Colts should take one of the running backs. Others suggest an edge rusher. Others think it should be a linebacker. Still others think it should be a cornerback. And then there’s those people who think it must be an offensive lineman.
Well while one of those position groups is not like the others when it comes to the level of need for the Colts, there are plenty of good players that should be available to the Colts. Yesterday, NFL Media’s Mike Mayock updated his position rankings for each position, ranking the top five prospects in the draft at each spot. You can check out his full rankings here, but let’s take a look at his rankings for a couple of the Colts’ positions of need (not ranked in order).
Running Back:
Mayock’s rankings:
1. Leonard Fournette, LSU
2. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
3. Dalvin Cook, Florida State
4. Alvin Kamara, Tennessee
T-5. Joe Mixon, Oklahoma
T-5. Curtis Samuel, Ohio State
The Colts certainly need a running back, though they might not neccessarily be in play in the first round. That remains to be seen about whether they really love a prospect at the position, but more likely they’ll look to address the running back spot later on. For the Colts, though, I think Christian McCaffrey might be the most intriguing first round option, though Dalvin Cook would come into play too. But considering the other (bigger) needs on the roster, I would expect the Colts to pass on a back in the first round to target someone later on, whether that be on day two or day three (or both).
EDGE Rushers:
Mayock’s rankings:
1. Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
2. Solomon Thomas, Stanford
3. Derek Barnett, Tennessee
4. Takkarist McKinley, UCLA
5. Charles Harris, Missouri
There’s no doubt about the top guy at this spot in Myles Garrett, and it seems pretty widely accepted now that Solomon Thomas isn’t just number two at this position but could go number two overall in the draft as well. So we shouldn’t expect either of those guys to be around when the Colts pick, but the other three might be. There are a number of varying opinions about Derek Barnett and how he will translate to the NFL, but Mayock seems to think very highly of him, while another NFL Media analyst, Daniel Jeremiah, said yesterday on a conference call that Barnett is his 13th overall player in this draft class. Tak McKinley is another player that we’ve seen the Colts taking in some mock drafts, and they’ve been reported to have interest in Charles Harris too. The bottom line is that we should absolutely expect to see the Colts target an edge rusher early in the draft - and perhaps they’ll take multiple edge guys throughout the course of the draft too.
Linebacker:
Mayock’s rankings:
1. Reuben Foster, Alabama
2. Haason Reddick, Temple
3. Jarrad Davis, Florida
4. Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt
5. Alex Anzalone, Florida
The inside linebacker position features two of the most common picks for the Colts in mock drafts so far, Reuben Foster and Haason Reddick. Both guys are expected to go in the first round and probably within the top 15-20, but there’s a real chance the Colts could have the chance to take one of them. There are some who seem to have Reddick ranked higher than Foster, though I’d still have Foster as the top guy for the Colts at the inside linebacker position, and Mayock has Foster number one as well. For the Colts, it will really boil down to whether they want to take Foster or Reddick in the first round, as I don’t see them taking any of the other inside linebackers that early. If they don’t grab either Foster or Reddick, though, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them grab a linebacker at some point later on.
Cornerback:
Mayock’s rankings:
1. Marshon Lattimore, Ohio State
2. Gareon Conley, Ohio State
3. Marlon Humphrey, Alabama
4. Tre'Davious White, LSU
T-5. Adoree' Jackson, USC
T-5. Kevin King, Washington
One last position of need that we’ll look at for the Colts is the cornerback position, and there are several good ones in this draft class. Like with edge rushers, we could see quite a few cornerbacks coming off the board early on in this year’s draft, and it’s possible the Colts will target one of them with their first round pick. The Colts need help at cornerback, so it would be a surprise for them to not come away with at least one corner from this draft class.