Grigson Sounds Satisfied With Five Draft Picks

[Adonai]

Here's a look at the Colts' five picks and Grigson's take on each:

 

 

Jack Mewhort, 6-6, 309, OL, Ohio State

59th pick (second round)

“(Mewhort) had really good film at multiple positions, in both guard spots. Heck, we just watched him play the other day as a sophomore against all those high picks at Florida, really played well at guard. Thought he played well at tackle as well. And at the Senior Bowl was the moment where we thought, 'Wow, this Mewhort guy, he might really rise after this' after that game. So we were really happy. We've really legitimately had him earmarked for a long time and we're really happy we have him. I think he brings versatility, toughness, strength, played at a high level at a high-level program where they're used to winning. So I think he fits our culture very well.”

 

 

Donte Moncrief, 6-2, 221, WR, Mississippi

90th pick (third round)

“Well there were other guys we were looking at that were electric that were much smaller, but he was just a guy that we thought fit a lot of the traits we were looking for. He's a very stable young man. He's from Raleigh, a little town in Mississippi. Football is his life and we're anxious to get him here and see his big body moving around because again, he can separate. Our scouts really like this guy even from his sophomore film and had very high grades on him. We had high, high grades across the board on this guy. We just felt like what was almost a fourth-round pick was tremendous value at that spot.”

 

 

Jonathan Newsome, 6-3, 247, DE, Ball State

166th pick (fifth round)

“Obviously he's pretty local being a Ball State guy. He helped them achieve a pretty good season this year. So you heard his name and you kept hearing about this pass rusher from Ball State early, even last year some hearing some whispers. Then the Combine, it was one of those things where everyone was a little bit in the doldrums and all of a sudden, he was out there moving around and everyone perked up and we all looked and said, 'Who's that?' That's when it all started pretty much.

“Then we start scrutinizing the tape. No one knew where he was going to go, no one knew that much about him. He's able to rush the passer, one. He can bend the edge. He's very athletic, and I think Chuck (Pagano) will tell you we feel he has really good position flexibility Rush or Sam because he can really drop, he can really rush, he throws his face in there, he can set the edge some. He's got to get a little stronger but this guy's a football player.”

 

 

Andrew Jackson, 6-1, 254, ILB, Western Kentucky

203rd pick (sixth round)

Andrew Jackson was actually a guy that was going to come out, he actually inquired with the league and was going to come out as a junior and decided to stay, so we knew about him for a couple of years. All the grades were really high and he's a really tough, hard-nosed football player. You just mention his name to anybody and they know he likes to hit. He's very physical and he's all about business on the football field. This guy plays with an edge. He's a 255-pound thumper. He's kind of that guy, even two years ago at first glance you look at him and say, 'This is what we're looking for.' You need to have some size in there, especially in our division and how this league is especially late in the year you know you've got to stop the run. He's tailor-made to stop the run. Very quick, quicker than fast type guy but he's cat-quick in a short area and plays a lot faster than he timed.”

 

 

Ulrick John, 6-5, 288, OT, Georgia State

232nd pick (seventh round)

“He's interesting. He played against Alabama, West Virginia this year and played pretty darn well. To me, he's a true left tackle prospect, he's a developmental guy. But he's also played center and guard, so he kind of goes along with the theme. He's a guy that has multi-position flexibility. He's competitive, but he's very athletic and he's got room to grow. I'd like to see how he looks a year from now with Roger Marandino and our weight program because we feel like he has some upside. He's got a really good athletic base. He's competitive, he was at our top 30 visit. He was kind of an unknown. It's going to be interesting to see how he develops because the athletic core and character, size and all those things are there, and he knows how to play the game. He actually was a center in high school as well, I think he was only like 240 pounds or something, he was a skinny guy.”

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

Ryan Grigson has a vision for building the monster & its building up the lines on both sides of the ball stopping the run & running the ball so I'm happy to see the added beef up front , the Colts went from 2-14 to 2 seasons of 10-5 I like that Grigson dances to his own tune .

 

Go Colts ..

[Danfish98]

Not saying these were bad picks, I don't mind any of them really, but obviously Grigson is going to sound satisfied with the guys he just picked.  No GM is going to have anything but positives to say about his draft picks and that has no bearing on their success at this level.

[dw49]

Not saying these were bad picks, I don't mind any of them really, but obviously Grigson is going to sound satisfied with the guys he just picked.  No GM is going to have anything but positives to say about his draft picks and that has no bearing on their success at this level.

 

 

 

So let me get this right. What you're saying is Grigson the next day is not going to say something like " I think I blew that pick in the 3rd round." "As I look again at who was available . I wish I could have a do over ." 

[chad72]

When I see the Texans value Andre Hal and Lonnie Ballentine for their 7th round picks despite having all those defensive pieces, I'm convinced they are building their D across the board.

 

But with the Colts, I agree, fans' expectations for beefing the secondary were met with management's philosophy of "not defending the pass was not what lost our playoff battle, it was the trenches and front 7 where we could not defend the run and could not run the ball well enough". So, I can see why the fans are disappointed, it was all about expectations.

 

But I would be a fool to suggest that our secondary is in any better shape after the draft, not when we have to get past Brady and Peyton in the AFC and having a few year long history of one of the most injured secondaries in the league.

[austriancolt]

Well what did you expect? Grigson complaining about the picks he made? Only time will tell how good or bad this draft class is... I hope we found some answers for our Offensive Line another big construction area for next year will be the secondary. I don't trust Tolers health and at the Safety positions we don't have very much...

[chad72]

Our number one issue is not secondary, it is health. Hopefully we can stay healthier this year better than next year.

[Nobody]

Well what did you expect? Grigson complaining about the picks he made? Only time will tell how good or bad this draft class is... I hope we found some answers for our Offensive Line another big construction area for next year will be the secondary. I don't trust Tolers health and at the Safety positions we don't have very much...

"Yeahhh, I really *#%ed up with this one guys, sorry! Next year everyone."

Hearing his specific thoughts was nice though!(:

[YOUR GM]

Our number one issue is not secondary, it is health. Hopefully we can stay healthier this year better than next year.

I think at a certain point, you have to look at the training staff and wonder are they effectively conditioning our guys to endure a 16 game schedule. Injuries happen to every team but we have to be towards to top in that category over the last 5 or so seasons. I would seriously look at Chip Kelly's training staff to model after. He has a sports science department that takes data/information and uses it to individualize their training for each player. I believe they had (if not, then close to) the fewest injuries in the league last year

[NewColtsFan]

I think at a certain point, you have to look at the training staff and wonder are they effectively conditioning our guys to endure a 16 game schedule. Injuries happen to every team but we have to be towards to top in that category over the last 5 or so seasons. I would seriously look at Chip Kelly's training staff to model after. He has a sports science department that takes data/information and uses it to individualize their training for each player. I believe they had (if not, then close to) the fewest injuries in the league last year

 

You and I may not agree on much,  but on this one, I think we agree.

 

We've been among the leaders in games lost due to injury for the two years I've been a fan.   If it's longer than that,  that just adds more info to the view....

 

I think we're too focused on size, and I'm not sure we're training our guys properly to help them deal with injuries.

 

And before anyone jumps on me....   for years, Stanford lost lots of guys to injuries....

 

But we changed our conditioning and strength training and I think we've led the nation for roughly 4-5 years now in the fewest games lost to injury.     Core training and specific training for specific positions.      Our S&C coach was just named the nation's best.     We now rarely lose guys to injury.    And it's been that way for years now so I don't think it's a coincidence or a fluke.

[Flash7]

You and I may not agree on much,  but on this one, I think we agree.

 

We've been among the leaders in games lost due to injury for the two years I've been a fan.   If it's longer than that,  that just adds more info to the view....

 

I think we're too focused on size, and I'm not sure we're training our guys properly to help them deal with injuries.

 

And before anyone jumps on me....   for years, Stanford lost lots of guys to injuries....

 

But we changed our conditioning and strength training and I think we've led the nation for roughly 4-5 years now in the fewest games lost to injury.     Core training and specific training for specific positions.      Our S&C coach was just named the nation's best.     We now rarely lose guys to injury.    And it's been that way for years now so I don't think it's a coincidence or a fluke.

The Colts for many, many years have faced the injury bug. We have made changes to our strength and conditioning program, all with similar results. We went from drafting small, fast players under Dungy to large and strong players under Grigson, but still face injury issues. For that reason, you will see many Colts fans saying that we are cursed. It seems that no matter what we try, we will face injury issues.

[BOTT]

I think at a certain point, you have to look at the training staff and wonder are they effectively conditioning our guys to endure a 16 game schedule. Injuries happen to every team but we have to be towards to top in that category over the last 5 or so seasons. I would seriously look at Chip Kelly's training staff to model after. He has a sports science department that takes data/information and uses it to individualize their training for each player. I believe they had (if not, then close to) the fewest injuries in the league last year

Some think it's the turf. Reportedly it's the hardest and stickiest in the league