Jared's post-college mock draft V1

[Yoshinator]

I told a few posters that I would do my first official Colts NFL mock draft after the national championship game. That game has happened, and I have a mock draft ready to go. This draft includes the Jets 2nd rounder, and assumes we have a compensatory 4th from Moncrief (as it was reported by overthecap recently). Here's the mock.

 

Round 1.) Christian Wilkins DT Clemson: Starting off with a player who played in the national title game and had a great performance. I believe he is NFL ready. The only downfall is he is a bit older as he just turned 23 last month, but he looked great against NFL caliber competition as he dominated Tua, shut down the run, and got lots of pressure. Perfect DT for our D-Line

 

Round 2a.) Zach Allen DE Boston College: A kid I've been intrigued by for a long time. Trained by Luke Keuchly, he has the work ethic and the consistent production to be a major star on the field. Very high motor and physical player that has ball presence like Darius Leonard. Love him here.

 

Round 2b.) Deebo Samuel WR South Carolina: A very good, and underrated WR that is also a fantastic return man. High character guy that is a solid team player, injuries have hampered his stats and probably are a reason he fell in the draft. Would solve a lot of our problems at WR. 

 

Round 3.) Christian Miller OLB Alabama: Very smart football player who is always near the ball. Great against the run, and has long arms to tackle the offense. Very high motor, and never gives up on a play. Can chase players down from anywhere on the field. His downside is his burst and inability to get through some contact, but a great potential player to be good.

 

Round 4a.) Khalil Hodge ILB Buffalo: I get we have Leonard, Walker, and Adams, but I like this guy a lot. He's only going to fall because of the school he went too. Great technique, no wasted movement. Double-digit tackles in 24 of his 33 games, very consistent. Very intelligent as well, as he finds the ball regularly and tackles whoever has it. Not the best pass-rusher, but it doesn't hurt him much. My favorite backup option at ILB in this draft.

 

Round 4b.) Jamaal Peters CB Mississippi State: At 6'2, I love his height as a new-age CB. He's very physical, keeps up with his receiver, and is also a good run-stopper. His ball-skills aren't great, but he's a 4th rounder IMO, and if he can improve upon those, his athletic profile will allow him to be a very good CB.

 

Round 5.) Julian Blackmon CB Utah: I'm doubling down on CBs here. Blackmon is also tall at 6'1. Very explosive and fast player that is great in pursuit. Not afraid to be physical and has high awareness to locate the ball and disengage it. Needs to put on weight thought as he's only 190 pounds. He's very raw and is prone to getting burned by better receivers, but he can learn with time IMO.

 

Round 6.) Paul Adams OT Missouri: We're digging deeper here, but I do like Paul Adams a lot in the 6th round. He's a team captain, and he's responsible for one of the best offense in the nation. 6'6 315 pounds, he has a chance to make an impact in the league. 

 

Round 7.) Jacques Patrick RB Florida State: Very good power back that is very physical and runs downhill on every play. Unfortunately, he's pretty useless in the passing game, but he wouldn't be needed for that. Mostly a 3-5 yard runner, he doesn't get negative yards and doesn't have great burst, but he will be an awesome 3rd and short, or 4th and short yard runner should we draft him.

 

This is my first mock draft, and obviously it is and will be changed as we go through the process of the pro days and combines. Let me know what you think as I did put some decent work into it. Comments below would be great!

[richard pallo]

Just curious.  Are there any more team captains beside Adams?  Ballard put a high priority on that last year. 

[Yoshinator]

9 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Just curious.  Are there any more team captains beside Adams?  Ballard put a high priority on that last year. 

Wilkins is a team co-captain on Clemson, Allen was a captain his senior year, Samuel was a team captain, Miller is a team captain, lodge has been a captain since high school, Utah has a leadership council, and Blackmon was on that, and I'm not sure about Patrick.

 

Most of these guys were or are captains at one point or another though.

[BProland85]

Love your 4th and 5th round picks but I feel Hodge will be a 3rd rounder at worst. He is a guy I’ve been high on for awhile to pair with Leonard and Walker. 

[twfish]

Very Ballard like, taking players on the line back too back. I dont think wilkins falls back too 32 but another defensive talent will

[MPStack]

Pretty solid top to bottom. One of the better mocks so far IMO.

[chad72]

Nice draft.

 

Still thinking a team from top of round 2 trades back into Round 1 with Colts for Drew Lock, QB, Missouri giving us a 2nd and a 3rd and possibly a future 2nd. 

[MikeCurtis]

I like the picks

 

I believe that if we are going to get Zach Allen, we probably need to pull the trigger with round 1 pick. He seems like a PERFECT, meat and potatoes DE, with some ability to rush the QB

 

He can also very much set the edge, and stomp the run

 

I think Wilkens would improve our line with ability and size to play anywhere on the line

 

Some folks believe he will be long gone by then 10-20.

 

If Wilkens is gone.....  we would (could) have a choice of 3 other UTs with that early 2nd pick

 

One of the very talented, Willis, Tremont Jones, or Tillary  SHOULD be available at that pick

 

 I sound like a broken record, but the last 2nd round pick should go to Hakeem Butler, OR Lil Jordan Humphry

 

Both are BIG, physical, speedsters that can be a nightmare to cover

 

I believe that Hodges will go a round earlier, AND.... I believe he would be an immediate upgrade over a good player, in Walker

 

I believe Deebo will still be available in 4th

 

I love the CB choices, but may want to use one of these on a develomental OL

 

Good read

 

Thanks for posting

[NewColtsFan]

4 hours ago, Jared Cisneros said:

I told a few posters that I would do my first official Colts NFL mock draft after the national championship game. That game has happened, and I have a mock draft ready to go. This draft includes the Jets 2nd rounder, and assumes we have a compensatory 4th from Moncrief (as it was reported by overthecap recently). Here's the mock.

 

Round 1.) Christian Wilkins DT Clemson: Starting off with a player who played in the national title game and had a great performance. I believe he is NFL ready. The only downfall is he is a bit older as he just turned 23 last month, but he looked great against NFL caliber competition as he dominated Tua, shut down the run, and got lots of pressure. Perfect DT for our D-Line

 

Round 2a.) Zach Allen DE Boston College: A kid I've been intrigued by for a long time. Trained by Luke Keuchly, he has the work ethic and the consistent production to be a major star on the field. Very high motor and physical player that has ball presence like Darius Leonard. Love him here.

 

Round 2b.) Deebo Samuel WR South Carolina: A very good, and underrated WR that is also a fantastic return man. High character guy that is a solid team player, injuries have hampered his stats and probably are a reason he fell in the draft. Would solve a lot of our problems at WR. 

 

Round 3.) Christian Miller OLB Alabama: Very smart football player who is always near the ball. Great against the run, and has long arms to tackle the offense. Very high motor, and never gives up on a play. Can chase players down from anywhere on the field. His downside is his burst and inability to get through some contact, but a great potential player to be good.

 

Round 4a.) Khalil Hodge ILB Buffalo: I get we have Leonard, Walker, and Adams, but I like this guy a lot. He's only going to fall because of the school he went too. Great technique, no wasted movement. Double-digit tackles in 24 of his 33 games, very consistent. Very intelligent as well, as he finds the ball regularly and tackles whoever has it. Not the best pass-rusher, but it doesn't hurt him much. My favorite backup option at ILB in this draft.

 

Round 4b.) Jamaal Peters CB Mississippi State: At 6'2, I love his height as a new-age CB. He's very physical, keeps up with his receiver, and is also a good run-stopper. His ball-skills aren't great, but he's a 4th rounder IMO, and if he can improve upon those, his athletic profile will allow him to be a very good CB.

 

Round 5.) Julian Blackmon CB Utah: I'm doubling down on CBs here. Blackmon is also tall at 6'1. Very explosive and fast player that is great in pursuit. Not afraid to be physical and has high awareness to locate the ball and disengage it. Needs to put on weight thought as he's only 190 pounds. He's very raw and is prone to getting burned by better receivers, but he can learn with time IMO.

 

Round 6.) Paul Adams OT Missouri: We're digging deeper here, but I do like Paul Adams a lot in the 6th round. He's a team captain, and he's responsible for one of the best offense in the nation. 6'6 315 pounds, he has a chance to make an impact in the league. 

 

Round 7.) Jacques Patrick RB Florida State: Very good power back that is very physical and runs downhill on every play. Unfortunately, he's pretty useless in the passing game, but he wouldn't be needed for that. Mostly a 3-5 yard runner, he doesn't get negative yards and doesn't have great burst, but he will be an awesome 3rd and short, or 4th and short yard runner should we draft him.

 

This is my first mock draft, and obviously it is and will be changed as we go through the process of the pro days and combines. Let me know what you think as I did put some decent work into it. Comments below would be great!

 

Nice job....      one of your better efforts...

 

Personally,  I'd be taking DB's where you have us taking LB's....    and I'd be drafting LB's where you have us taking DB's....    but that just my hunch...     Linebacker is a more important position in this defense,  but with what we already have at that group combined with what have have and need in the defensive backfield,  I'd be more interested in grabbing a corner and a safety in the mid-rounds and more LB help in the later rounds....

 

Be confident that some of this will change....   No doubt Ballard will trade down somewhere and collect more picks....   my hunch is he trades down with our second 2nd round pick to get more....

 

Good job....

 

p.s. --- now that we're picking no higher than 26, we will have to trade up in order to get Wilkins....    As others have noted here,  he likely will be long gone by the time our pick comes around.    No way to know now if Ballard loves him enough to trade up...    that would cost a Day 2 pick.   Do we want to do that?    Dunno?

 

 

 

[Hoose]

I don't see Ballard trading away a top draft pick to move up in the 1st. I think he'll let the draft come to him. The quality D line talent runs well into the 2nd round; Ballard will have the chance to pick two solid D linemen early---without making a trade--- if he decides to pull that trigger. 

 

Jared, very nice job here. I do agree with NCF that the Colts need to focus on the CB and Safety position, and will likely do so before your choices in the late 4th and 5th rounds. 6-7 DBs on the field at the same time is becoming more and more common in the NFL, especially when you can employ a couple of strong safeties together. You can use them like great coverage LBs with the ability to stop the run as well. The Colts need a few more players like that. 

[Defjamz26]

Allen I’m not a fan of. Unathletic and no bend. Has a non stop motor and heart but there’s “that” guy in every draft. I think Ferguson would be a better pick, but that’s just me.

 

I like everything else though.