INDIANAPOLIS – Anytime a Division II player gets drafted, there’s usually some head-turning production and quite the story to go with it.
That’s the case for new Colts wide receiver Mike Strachan.
The numbers for Strachan had him averaging 105.7 receiving yards per game in college. In his final two seasons at Charleston (West Virginia), he had 2,326 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns. At 6-5 and 226 pounds, Strachan also ran 4.54 in the 40-yard dash.
Strachan’s story had him arriving to the United States just before his sophomore from the Bahamas. With his dad knowing Michael Irvin from his own playing days (Strachan’s dad played at Bethune Cookman), Strachan has had some Hall of Fame tutelage during the draft process.
Add all that up and it has the Colts taking a chance, which is a wise move in Round 7 of a draft.
“Mike is a big target who needs some developmental work, but he has a really unique skillset at wideout,” Chris Ballard said following the draft.
Strachan has also not played football in more than a year and a half.
The 2020 season for Strachan and Charleston was postponed to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he continued to train with his teammates and put up a very impressive pro day at West Virginia University, who invited the small school talent to their Big 12 pro day.
The Colts were there at West Virginia and that cemented Strachan’s spot on their draft board.
“I’m just an overall playmaker,” Strachan says when asked to describe his own game. “I’m going to come in and be coachable. I’m going to give championship effort. I feel like I’m that special player that the Colts need. I just feel like I can come in and with the tools I have adding up to what we already have, that we could really be in the run for a Super Bowl. That’s really what I want to get to is a Super Bowl and I feel like we can definitely do that especially with the tools that we have right now.”
Without much of a special teams background, which is understandable given how much Charleston needed Strachan as a receiver, it is difficult to see a great opportunity for Strachan to make the 53-man roster as a rookie.
As Ballard notes, development is obviously needed. But following the team’s rookie minicamp, Ballard also said Strachan isn’t as raw as the Colts originally thought and you notice his talent pretty quickly.
Strachan his bullish on his talent, telling ‘Voice of the Colts’ Matt Taylor that he’s the ‘steal of the draft.’
But it still would be a surprise to see his 2021 impact be anything other than a spot on the practice squad.
