INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Ballard’s deepest position in this draft had the Colts jumping into that pool in Round 5.
With the 162nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Colts took Miami tight end Will Mallory in Round Five.
Here are 3 takeaways on Mallory:
1. Fast Tight End
Will Mallory was the fastest tight end at the Combine with a 4.54 40-yard dash. Mallory had 40 career starts at Miami, catching 115 balls for 1,544 yards (13.4 average) and 14 touchdowns. For a local connection, Mallory is the grandson of former IU football coach Bill Mallory. Will’s father, Mike, has been a 15-year special teams assistant in the NFL. Per usual, Mallory was a Senior Bowl participant and a team captain at Miami.
2. Not The Blocking Strength?
It doesn’t sound like Will Mallory’s strength is as an in-line blocker, which seems to be the missing ingredient in this tight end room. Mallory is more of a Kylen Granson-type of tight end. It’s going to be very interesting to see who makes the team at tight end. Will it be 6 guys for 4 spots among Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletree, Pharaoh Brown and Will Mallory? This is going to be a very interesting to see them pair TE down.
3. Deepest Draft Position Gets Attention
The Colts have dipped into some nice draft depth at tight end with this selection. It continues a recent run of drafting tight ends (now 4 in the last 3 drafts). This is a position we know Shane Steichen has a strong history with and it can be a nice safety blanket for a young quarterback. Adding some sort of pass catcher made sense in this draft given the QB situation and the realization that it can’t be a guarantee the rest of the room develops as you’d hope it does on paper.
