Source: David Eulitt / Getty
With the 2023 NFL Draft now in the rearview, the task for teams around the league is to examine the needs they had going in and evaluate how they addressed them over the four day event in Kansas City.
The biggest goal for the Indianapolis Colts was to walk away with the next franchise quarterback, but it was still a mystery until moments before the pick was made who they would actually take. Regardless of how his career goes, the Colts made the selection that they feel will one day guide them back to contention when they drafted Florida’s Anthony Richardson. We can continue to argue (and we will) if he was the right choice, but at the end of the day the Colts addressed the most important position in football last week.
Anthony Richardson is ready to make big plays in Indy 💪 pic.twitter.com/7W5ozRG9oA
— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) April 28, 2023
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Outside of finding a quarterback of the future, the Colts had obvious needs at wide receiver, cornerback and along the offensive line. Answers arrived in the form of CB Julius Brents, WR Josh Downs, and OT Blake Freeland in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round respectively.
Julius Brents shined at the combine and is now heading to Indy for good 🔒#ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/54cMB8Do55
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) April 29, 2023
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YOU CAN’T CATCH JOSH DOWNS 💨
The @Colts select the @UNCFootball WR at No. 79 overall.
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 29, 2023
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YOU CAN’T CATCH JOSH DOWNS 💨
The @Colts select the @UNCFootball WR at No. 79 overall.
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 29, 2023
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They also made arguably the biggest steal of the entire draft when they took Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore a 6’2″ 280 freak of nature DT with a 4.49 40 time at the combine. (Just take a moment to imagine 6’2″ 280 coming at you that quick).
Tomi‼️ 🙌
The @Colts just picked Adetomiwa Adebawore (@tomiwabawore).#NFLDraft x @NUFBFamily pic.twitter.com/cpYYoBWHoK
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) April 29, 2023
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At a minimum, when looking at the Colts 2023 Draft Class they filled positions of need and put together a rookie group with out of this world athleticism.
But when we go up and down the roster, where do the biggest areas for improvement still reside and should Indy have been more aggressive about addressing some of those issues during the NFL Draft?
Tuesday on The Fan Midday Show The Dean Mike Chappell of Fox 59 and CBS 4 gave us his thoughts on the 2023 Colts rookie class.
Chap also spoke with us about:
- which position group the Colts needed to address more during the Draft
- how many of the selections will be playing Week 1
- if he could build any position player to place on the Colts which would he choose
- the need for the Colts O-Line to play closer to what they are being paid
- what tricks he feels Chris Ballard still has up his sleeve this offseason
Listen to our full chat with The Dean Mike Chappell of Fox 59 and CBS 4 below and don’t miss The Fan Midday Show, weekdays 12-3pm Eastern, on The Fan.
