:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63190244/Screen_Shot_2019_03_05_at_10.26.20_PM.0.png)
Before we start, thank you to Mr. Too Proud for letting me utilize his mock draft. It’s much more realistic than a lot of the national ones as most insiders and analysts on a national level tend to sleep on the Colts.
The whole point of this mock draft is to get the fan base involved and see who you guys would like to see the Colts draft in different situations, plus providing some trades and realistic scenarios. This draft will cover the Colts’ first four picks.
Please shares your thoughts, picks and preferences in the comments and I’ll choose the one that I think makes the most sense. Note: The original draft has been slightly altered due to Combine production
Mock Draft
1. * Cincinnati Bengals
Kyler Murray QB
Cincinnati trades 2019 1st, 2nd and 4th
2020 1st
Cordy Glenn OT
FOR
Arizona Cardinals 1st round pick
Cincinnati hit the refresh button and gains a ton of cap. Andy Dalton can be traded or cut without any penalties. Murray steps into a division with a new QB at 2 out of the 3 other teams. As well as weapons in Green and Mixon.
2. 49ers
Joey Bosa DE
3. Jets
Jonah Williams OT/G
4. * Washington Redskins
Dwayne Haskins QB
Washington trades 2019 1st and 3rd
2020 1st
Josh Norman
FOR
Raiders trade 2019 1st round
Washington is in a tough position cap wise. They have a great line for Haskins to play behind.
Raiders gets 2 first rounds and Norman fits the veteran mold similar to Nelson being brought in last year.
5. Tampa Bay
Quinnen Williams DT
6. *Broncos
Drew Lock QB
Broncos trade this years 1st and 2nd
2020 2nd round
Jake Butt TE
FOR
Giants trade 2019 1st round pick
7. Jaguars
Rashan Gary DE/DT
8. Lions
Josh Allen DE
9. Buffalo
DK Metcalf WR
10. *Giants
Greedy Williams CB
11. * Arizona
Brian Burns OLB
12. Green Bay
Montez Sweat DE
13. Dolphins
Cody Ford OT
14. Atlanta
Ed Oliver DT
15. Raiders
Devin White LB
16. Carolina
Clelin Ferrell DE
17. Browns
Christian Wilkins DT
18. Vikings
Jawaan Taylor OT
19. Titans
Jachai Polite OLB
Deandre Baker CB
21. Seahawks
Marquise Brown WR
22. Ravens
Jaylen Ferguson OLB
23. Houston
Andre Dillard OT
24. Raiders
N’Keal Harry WR
25. Eagles
Devin Bush LB
26. COLTS on the clock
Other Trades
Pick 32 the Patriots trade to Giants
Patriots receive Janoris Jenkins, Giants 2nd and both 4th rounds this year
Giants picks: Daniel Jones QB
Niners trade draft pick 36 and swap 5th round picks for Antonio Brown
Players Available (Ranking by Matt Miller of Bleacher Report)
5. Josh Jacobs
9. Jeffery Simmons, DL, Miss. State
11. TJ Hockenson, TE Iowa
15. Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
18. Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson
22. Taylor Rapp, S, Washington
23. Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
24. Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama
29. Yodny Cajuste, OT, West Virginia
32. Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama
37. Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
38. Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State
39. Jerry Tillery, DL, Notre Dame
40. A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss
41. Elgton Jenkins, OC, Miss. State
42. Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware
43. Oshane Ximines, EDGE, Old Dominion
44. Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple
45. Johnathan Abram, S, Miss. State
46. Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama
48. Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia
49. Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
50. Devin Singletary, RB, FAU
Discussion
Do you see the Colts trading back in this scenario?
No, but they will certainly consider it. The draft could very well shake out like this, being very defensively skewed. If it were to play out this way, the Colts could find themselves picking and the best Defensive Line prospect would be Jerry Tillery, who I have a second round grade on. However, the positive of having many teams go a specific route causes other talented players to slide, and that’s why I think they stay put.
I understand the argument that could be made for TJ Hockenson, but I’m going to go with Byron Murphy. I like his length and athleticism, but what makes him my number 2 CB in the draft are his instincts and anticipation. The ability to understand routes and keep track of the QB as plays develop is something that truly cannot be taught. I think it would be a blessing that he slid this far, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were to happen.
He didn’t wow anyone at the combine, and his 4.55 40-dash was pretty pedestrian compared to some of the other CB. However, during the game drills he was fantastic and what I saw mainly were great hands and very fluid hips.
I think Murphy will be the 3rd corner picked in the draft around the late-teens to mid-twenties. Most teams in that range I think will take either DL or OL, but the Steelers will definitely take someone for their secondary. In this mock Deandre Baker fell to them, but that might not be the case come draft time. If Murphy makes it past Pitt, I think he’ll be there for the Colts.
Who would you stay away from at this pick?
Josh Jacobs, hands down. Anything you would want out of the backfield we already have in house right now. I’ve watched some of the limited tape he has, and the first thing that comes to mind is Sony Michel. They are similar in height, 5’10’’ to 5’11’’, and weight, 215 pounds to 216 pounds. They have playing styles that are alike, utilizing lateral quickness and speed to avoid defenders and the speed to beat them to the edge. Finally, their junior year stats are very similar in YPC (5.3 to 5.5) and YPR (12.4 to 10.7), it’s just that Sony Mithel had a larger workload.
Jacobs declined to participate in the combine due to a groin injury, and maybe the fact that he is the de facto RB1 in this draft. I do think he is one of the better players left, and while BPA is an important strategy, like everything, it’s not perfect. My personal preference for drafting, at least in the first few rounds, is having a list of positions you are weak at and doing BPA for the pool of players in those positions. If Kyler Murray is available at #26 you don’t take him, even though he would be the best player, because you are set at that position, same thing goes for Josh Jacobs.
Thoughts on the whole QB situations?
So the whole “Murray will go number one” buzz picked up pretty hard the last couple of days or so, and I was starting to believe it until I listened to Rich Einstein’s show where he said that sources tell him the Cardinals are letting Rosen know that he is “their guy”. This is further re-iterated by the fact that low level scouts for the Cardinals, who should have no access to this type of information, seem to be spreading rumors like wild fire, which tends to signal that this is a smoke screen.
I still think that the Cardinals take Murray. However, if they don’t, things are going to get interesting. Murray and Haskins are the only QBs I’d honestly give a 1st round grade to, but someone is going to reach for Lock.
So to bring it all together, I think that Murray goes No. 1 overall, no matter who holds the pick. Then someone is going to trade up for Haskins in the top 5 and finally I think good ol’ Elway realizes that getting old QBs doesn’t tend to work (except if it’s Manning), so he gives the draft one last try and gets the Midwestern guy with the big arm after trading up.
*Fun fact, in the last 3 drafts, every QB, except one, that was selected in the first round was chosen by a team that traded up to get him. Exception: Baker Mayfield (and he was the number one overall pick)
Who do you think is a player that teams will reach for?
I was going to go with Jaylen Ferguson here, just because I think he is this years Marcus Davenport (a developmental small school prospect), but to be brutally honest, I think Rashan Gary is a much bigger reach mainly due to the fact that he hasn’t really done much at the collegiate level and people have him as one of the best player in the draft.
He was the number one player coming out of high school, but I think Michigan should have played him in the interior instead of putting him out wide and that hurt his production. Explosiveness clearly isn’t a problem as he had a 40-dash of 4.58, a Vert of 38 inches (!) and a Broad jump of 10’. He also measured in at 6’4’’ and 277 pounds, so he has the size to play the 3-tech.
Most mocks have him going #4 to the Raiders, making a formidable interior with Maurice Hurst. I honestly think that the Jaguars makes a lot more sense just because they got some aging bodies on the interior and rumors are that they have already secured Nick Foles, so QB is no longer a worry.
Again, thanks to Mr. Too Proud for the mock and I’ll continue this series for the Colts next 3 picks. Please comment what the picks from 27-33 should be and I’ll either pick one specific comment or mix and match a couple of them.