Who would you have drafted at #18?

[Superman]

Let's put away the abstractions. You're on the clock with the Colts pick. For the sake of realism, Nkemdiche and Jack are not options. Who are you taking?

[Colts_Fan12]

Well was gonna say Jack but for some reason I can't so I'll go Spence or Lawson if possible if trade back and take Kelly if that is allowed 

[Traines]

I think I would stick with the Ryan Kelly pick...if it wasn't for Lawson's shoulder, I would have picked him. If trading back was an option I would likely go that route. None of the guys left on the board excited me enough to be too disappointed with our pick.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

Let's put away the abstractions. You're on the clock with the Colts pick. For the sake of realism, Nkemdiche and Jack are not options. Who are you taking?

 

I am happy with the Kelly pick.

 

I don't know why Jack isn't an option, but he is the other guy on the board who I would have considered taking over Kelly.  Had Conklin, Decker, or Tunsil fell to us, it'd be a different story.

[stitches]

I'm taking Lawson. But I'm OK with Kelly.

[GoColts8818]

I think it was between Lawson and Kelly.  Personally I would have probably drafted Lawson and then targeted Nick Martin round two or if Kelly started sliding look at trading up for him.

 

still I have no issue with the Kelly pick.  The Colts needed a center in the worst way and got the best one going into the draft. It's hard to get mad at them for protecting Luck.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

I would go with Kelly too. We have gone a bit back to a rebuilding phase, and keeping Luck alive and getting a center he can trust and get in sync with for years to come is for highest priority, IMO. Yes, we have other important needs, but this had to be done. 

[Lawrence Owen]

Grigs, and Pagano said the majority of ALL their Scouts came back with Kelly more than anyone else's name.  Frankly. how do you argue with the guys you pay to do their job?  Plus it is a MAJOR need.

Kelly.

[csmopar]

I think I'd stick with Kelly, had to argue against picking the best in the draft at a position of a major need for your team if he's available and no baggage. 

 

Only other I would have considered would be Lawson or trade back and grab Ragland. 

[TheRustonRifle#7]

Lawson

[Chucklez]

I would've preferred an edge rusher in round 1, but hard to argue with Kelly.

 

It wasn't a WR or RB though! 

[Knuckles79]

RYAN KELLY,  How can some of you say this pick has no value. It was our weakest link replaced with the best at the position in the draft how os that not value.

 

Trading back was maybe an option but you risk not getting the guy you wanted.I personally think Seattle was targeting Kelly and if we traded back it would've be a good chance we would have missed out on KELLY. 

[coltsfanatic24]

I would have drafted Lawson. He was BPA at a premium position. He reminds me of Tambi Hali. Kelly was a good pick but he wasn't the best pick. Also, Mathis and Cole are past their prime. We need better pass rushers and Lawson was one of the best in the draft. 

[CR91]

I'm fine with Kelly especially with so many options for the second round. Guys like myles dobbs Robinson ogbah Billings Alexander whitehair Bell still are available

[theanarchist]

I would have taken Kelly. It would have been tempting with Lawson still on the board but as several analysts said last night, the difference between Kelly and the next best C/G was huge. This offensive line just got its anchor for the next 10 years.

[Defjamz26]

5 hours ago, stitches said:

I'm taking Lawson. But I'm OK with Kelly.

This. No one can hate the Kelly pick because he's a good player and fills a huge need.

 

But Lawson was a lot of people's favorite here. But he belongs in a 4-3

[Moncrief]

I will say that our pick in the 2nd is going to have some talent there waiting.

[krunk]

I would have went with Big Shaq, or if we werent' so thin at ILB and could wait a little while maybe Myles Jack.  But Kelly is more than okay.

[Smonroe]

16 minutes ago, krunk said:

I would have went with Big Shaq, or if we werent' so thin at ILB and could wait a little while maybe Myles Jack.  But Kelly is more than okay.

 

This.  I'm happy now.  But if we could have Shaq (or Jack) AND got Martin tonight, I'd be elated. 

 

Those first three picks have to be starters, so we'll see.

[rockywoj]

Once I concluded that Conklin was not going to be around for us (a realization I came to a few weeks ago), I had been hoping that Ryan Kelly would last to us.   My pick at 18 is Ryan Kelly (though I admit to being temped by Myles Jack, but injury questions held sway).

[oldunclemark]

6 hours ago, ColtsFanMikeC said:

 

I am happy with the Kelly pick.

 

I don't know why Jack isn't an option, but he is the other guy on the board who I would have considered taking over Kelly.  Had Conklin, Decker, or Tunsil fell to us, it'd be a different story.

Kelly is a very solid pick....one we needed....

...Nobody's a sure thing but he's played at the elite level and been very good

[jskinnz]

2 hours ago, coltsfanatic24 said:

I would have drafted Lawson. He was BPA at a premium position. He reminds me of Tambi Hali. Kelly was a good pick but he wasn't the best pick. Also, Mathis and Cole are past their prime. We need better pass rushers and Lawson was one of the best in the draft. 

 

How do you know Lawson was the BPA on the Colts' board?

[Dustin]

Robert Nkemdiche

[B~Town]

2 hours ago, coltsfanatic24 said:

I would have drafted Lawson. He was BPA at a premium position. He reminds me of Tambi Hali. Kelly was a good pick but he wasn't the best pick. Also, Mathis and Cole are past their prime. We need better pass rushers and Lawson was one of the best in the draft. 

Eh the pass rushers in class just don't have that wow factor I don't believe any were worth a first . Shoot guys in later rds of previous drafts had better tape .

[krunk]

Going off subject here, I wish I had some decent tape of Matt Judon.  All of his measurables are very similar to Shaq Lawson.

[Derakynn]

Do you people really believe that a GM whose job depends on this draft was going to grab a person with significant health concerns with the first pick? This is the Colts we are talking about. That person would be injured for sure. And they definitely weren't going to grab someone who gets drugged up and somehow manages to fall out of a window. 

[SMITTY46953]

Kelly was the right choice ...

[Jackie Daytona]

I think a lot of folks may be underestimating Kelly's impact on other OL positions..... he has an extremely high football IQ and great leadership qualities.  He should be a much better anchor as far as not missing line calls, and getting guys in position to succeed along that line..... he's got great size, and footwork, and he's highly disciplined, he had ONE penalty all of last season.... that said, yeah I'd stick with taking Kelly

[Jackie Daytona]

5 minutes ago, krunk said:

Going off subject here, I wish I had some decent tape of Matt Judon.  All of his measurables are very similar to Shaq Lawson.

Judon dominated on tape..... I'd love him later, he projects well even though he played lesser competition..... so did Robert Mathis....

[MTC]

Shaq Lawson in round 1.

Nick Martin in round 2.

 

Like I mentioned before, I really like Ryan Kelly. He's going to be a pro bowl center, however, Shaq Lawson would have helped our defense a lot. 

[icf]

Given where they were prior to the pick, I have no issue with Kelly being the guy the chose.  They cant keep getting luck killed out there with a terrible OLine.

 

That said, if I were the GM -- I would have taken something other that a Round 1 WR last year -- so if you had taken an OLineman last year, the need might not have been so great for one last night and then you could have looked towards taking someone on D with the 18th pick.

[Archer]

I would have drafted Shaq Lawson, but I fully expected (and was happy with) Ryan Kelly.  We definitely took one of our top two needs and wiped it off the radar.  Don't even need to think about Center any more...

[Gavin]

Nkemdiche. Why isn't Nkemdiche an option? I'm happy with the Kelly pick however

[I Love C]

Ryan Kelly. 

[krunk]

Why do you think Nkemdiche wasn't an option?  The guy falls out of a window of a hotel smoking fake weed. And then he gets up in front of everybody during his interviews and tells us he was drunk?

 

That is just foretelling things.  It's obvious colts are looking for talented guys with great Character.   I can see why they went the other direction.

[weslo1812]

3 hours ago, coltsfanatic24 said:

I would have drafted Lawson. He was BPA at a premium position. He reminds me of Tambi Hali. Kelly was a good pick but he wasn't the best pick. Also, Mathis and Cole are past their prime. We need better pass rushers and Lawson was one of the best in the draft. 

Maybe Lawson was the best available in your eyes. But what is there to say he was in the Colts eyes? what is that says they didn't have Kelly rated higher? And in the end, that's what matters. And how can you determine what was the best pick??? Do you already know the future or what??? 

[DougDew]

6 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

I think it was between Lawson and Kelly.  Personally I would have probably drafted Lawson and then targeted Nick Martin round two or if Kelly started sliding look at trading up for him.

 

still I have no issue with the Kelly pick.  The Colts needed a center in the worst way and got the best one going into the draft. It's hard to get mad at them for protecting Luck.

There are going to be many, many, more impactful defensive players available at 48 than centers.  Targeting Martin doesn't work unless you are prepared to trade up a few slots to secure him, otherwise, you just pick him at 48.   I'd rather not give up 3 draft picks to get my C and defensive player.

 

There is a lot more risk that you will not be able to land a quality Center than a quality defensive player at 48 and below. 

[DougDew]

1 hour ago, B~Town said:

Eh the pass rushers in class just don't have that wow factor I don't believe any were worth a first . Shoot guys in later rds of previous drafts had better tape .

Exactly.  The only one was Floyd, and we all knew he was not lasting until 18.

[GoColts8818]

1 minute ago, DougDew said:

There are going to be many, many, more impactful defensive players available at 48 than centers.  Targeting Martin doesn't work unless you are prepared to trade up a few slots to secure him, otherwise, you just pick him at 48.   I'd rather not give up 3 draft picks to get my C and defensive player.

 

There is a lot more risk that you will not be able to land a quality Center than a quality defensive player at 48 and below. 

Which is why I am fine with the Kelly pick.  

 

Honestly I don't think the Colts could have gone wrong with Kelly or Lawson.

 

Passrushers are harder to find and the fact Lawson is a passrusher is why I said what I did.  There was a clear center in round two they could have targeted even if it means going up a few spots.  I am not sure a truly good pass rusher is going to be there in round two but there could be.

 

still I like the Kelly pick especially when you look at things like this who do you trust to produce more Mathis and Cole or Holmes and Harrison?  I know Mathis and Cole are older and their production isn't what it once was but I think the Colts can get one more year out of both before they truly need passrusher help.  I seriously doubt Holmes and Harrison were going to become good centers out of no where. The Colts had nothing at Center.  Now they have something, scratch one of if not the Colts biggest need off the board.

[HarryTheCat]

I'm pretty happy with Kelly. I've watched a lot of Alabama football, and this guy is a potential Pro Bowl center for years to come. He's a human bulldozer in the run game, and also a great pass blocker who just doesn't give up sacks (I think he only gave up one or two in the last two years). He's smart, a no-nonsense guy with a bit of a nasty streak in him and he makes the guys who play next to him all that much better. He's also the last guy that you'd expect to be caught with a bag of weed outside a strip club at 2:00 am. Center has been a gaping hole in the line ever since Jeff Saturday left, and I'll bet Andrew did a goofy little happy dance when this pick was announced.