What if the Colts had drafted based on new NFL GM Mike Mayock’s last 8 mocks?

You can bet that orangutan wouldn’t have made the picks.

By Chris Blystone@chrisblystone Jan 3, 2019, 9:00am EST

Now that the leader of the NFL Network’s draft arm Mike Mayock has moved into a real actual general manager job working with Jon Gruden for the Raiders, it seemed like as good a time as any to take a look back at Mayock’s last 8 mock drafts and ask the question: What would the Colts be like if Mike Mayock had been our GM?

2018 - Mayock’s Pick: Trade back for S Minkah Fitzpatrick, G Isaiah Wynn

In this year’s draft, Mayock had the Colts trading back with the Bills and taking safety Minkah Fitzpatrick at 12 and guard Isaiah Wynn at 22. It is pretty tough to imagine being without Quenton Nelson, and Isaiah Wynn has spent the season on IR. Is he a player who could be as good as Nelson at some point? Perhaps. But he wouldn’t have helped the Colts this season.

2017 – Mayock’s Pick: DE Derek Barnett

Defensive end Derek Barnett was Mayock’s pick for the Colts at 15^th overall. Barnett has talent and could certainly continue to develop, but he has also been a part of a ridiculous defensive line group in Philly, so it is tough to know how good he would be as the go-to guy. He has just 7.5 sacks in his two years in the league though, which I would argue is less than you’d hope from a top 15 pick. Missing out on Malik Hooker and his upside seems like a miss here, but not a complete failure.

2016 – Mayock’s Pick: C Ryan Kelly

Mayock nailed the pick right on the money for the Colts here, selecting center Ryan Kelly, who has had an incredible season in his 3^rd year as a Colt. Behind Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton, Kelly is the best pick Ryan Grigson made. Good work Mike.

2015 – Mayock’s Pick: OT Cedric Ogbuehi

We all remember 2015 right? That’s the year that the Colts selected Phillip Dorsett, everyone’s favorite receiver. Yeah. That wasn’t great. What is worse than that? Well, the fact that Mike Mayock would have taken offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi with that 29^th pick. Ogbuehi plays for the Bengals and is a likely prospect to be cut and never heard from again in the NFL. At least Dorsett got us Jacoby Brissett right?

2014 – Mayock’s Pick: No one. Because reasons.

Who did Mike Mayock have headed to the Colts in the first round in 2014? No one. Because Grigson traded that pick for Trent Richardson. While I’m sure local Indy restaurants benefitted, it didn’t do much for the running game.

2013 – Mayock’s Pick: D.J. Hayden

If you can’t remember who the Colts selected in 2013, that can be forgiven. Mainly because no one from that draft is currently on an NFL roster. The pick Ryan Grigson made was to draft Bjorn Werner at defensive end. Mayock’s pick for the Colts was cornerback D.J. Hayden who plays for the Jaguars. He is a definitively more valuable player than Werner, because he plays for a real NFL team and is actually capable of doing his job. He obviously would have made a nice addition to the Colts secondary rather than wasting the pick on Werner.

2012 – Mayock’s Pick: QB Andrew Luck

Was there any doubt really? Of course Andrew Luck was the pick. Anyone who tried to say differently was just kidding themselves. Luck has been a franchise altering player, and it is nice to know that Mike could see that like everyone else.

2011 – Mayock’s Pick: OT Nate Solder

In the 2011 draft, Mike Mayock had the Colts taking a left tackle. He just didn’t have them taking the right one. He had them drafting Nate Solder with the 22^nd pick overall instead of Anthony Castonzo. Castonzo has been one of the most reliable and underrated tackles in the league for a long time, and I’d take him over Solder any day.

Despite the Colts having drafted pretty poorly in the last several years, I am not sure this team is even marginally better with Mayock’s draft picks than they are already. It is tough to give him credit for Andrew Luck, who was a no-brainer, but at least he hit on Ryan Kelly.

The real miss is in this year’s draft. The Colts took Nelson, a better prospect, and were able to add to their pick total rather than give up picks. The result fixed both the offensive line problem, and their issue at linebacker for the foreseeable future. There is no way I’d take his trade over what the Colts got.

In short, I’m glad Mike will be working for the Raiders, and Chris Ballard will be holding it down in Indianapolis. What do you think?