NFL Draft 2017: Haason Reddick emerging as the common pick for Colts in mock drafts

The NFL Draft is next week!

As we get closer and closer to the first round actually taking place next Thursday, we’re seeing a lot of mock drafts that continue to be released. As he has been doing for the past couple of months, SB Nation’s Adam Stites is keeping a compilation of a large number of those mock drafts to show what the common thinking is about each first round pick.

For the Colts, the most common pick is once again Temple linebacker Haason Reddick.

Since it can be difficult to tell which is which in that pie chart, here’s a list of the most common picks across the 75 mock drafts surveyed:

1. Haason Reddick, LB, Temple - 28%

2. Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama - 13.3%

3. Takkarist McKinley, EDGE, UCLA - 8%

3. Derek Barnett, EDGE, Tennessee - 8%

3. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State - 8%

6. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford - 8%

7. Ryan Ramczky, OL, Wisconsin - 5.3%

7. Forrest Lamp, OL, Western Kentucky - 5.3%

The category of “others” made up 17.3% of the pie chart, and this consists of players selected in less than five percent of the mock drafts surveyed.

There really shouldn’t be any surprise that Haason Reddick is the clear favorite for the Colts among mock drafts, as we’ve been seeing that more and more. It also shouldn’t be a surprise that Reuben Foster is second, or that four of the top five are defensive players. It seems like the people doing these mock drafts have slowly but surely begun to realize that the Colts need defensive help. There are still mock drafts that have them taking an offensive lineman, and some that have them taking a running back, but it seems the most common opinion is that the Colts should and will address the defensive side of the football in the first round.

That’s exactly what the emphasis should be going into the draft, as while it doesn’t neccessarily rule out a running back or a lineman in the first round the focus should absolutely be on the defensive side of the ball, whether that be an edge rusher, a linebacker, or a defensive back. Along those lines, it’s interesting that one of the Colts’ biggest needs - cornerback - isn’t hinted at whatsoever on this pie chart, meaning that people doing mock drafts really don’t see the Colts taking a corner in the first round. Coming away with Reddick or Foster would be a great addition to the defense, as would a dynamic pass rusher or a good cornerback. Basically, they need defense. And the mock drafts are finally starting to reflect that too.

One more interesting thing to point out is the comparison to previous weeks of this pie chart. We’ve been taking a look at this pie chart for a while. Consider: when we took a look on February 24, Haason Reddick didn’t even make the cut to appear on it. A month later, on March 27, Reddick was tied for the most common pick while making up 13.6% of the chart. The next week, on April 3, he was second with 9.5%. The following week, April 11, he was clearly in first with 21.1%. And then this week, he’s pulling away with first place with 28%. So it’s been quite a rise for him being selected by the Colts in mock drafts, and as that has been happening we’ve also seen the prevalence of offensive players selected decrease significantly too.