Source: Ryan Kang / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – As we inch closer to the always important NFL Combine, the draft pundits are quiet on the wide receiver front for the Colts.
The Colts hold the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Conversations about this year’s draft class will ramp up surrounding the Combine coming up in two weeks and how that’ll look after teams attack free agency.
Here is our second Mock Draft look for 2024:
1. ESPN.com’s Matt Miller: Pick No. 15: DE-Jared Verse (Florida State)
Source:Getty
Miller’s Analysis: I’m going off the assumption the Colts will franchise tag wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., and that would open the door for a pass-rusher here. The Colts have used recent draft picks on defensive ends in the first and second rounds with mixed results, and despite posting 51 sacks in 2023 (ranking fifth), they still lack a premier player at the position. Verse is a true 4-3 defensive end at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, and he posted nine sacks in 2023. With Verse opposite Kwity Paye and flanking DeForest Buckner, the front four could be a handful in Indy.
2. CBS Sports’ Chris Trepasso: Pick No. 15: CB-Nate Wiggins (Clemson)
Source:Getty
Trepasso’s Analysis: Wiggins is a sleek athlete on the perimeter who was around the football often in the air for the Tigers in 2023.
3. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: Pick No. 15: TE-Brock Bowers (Georgia)
Source:Getty
Zierlein’s Analysis: Colts GM Chris Ballard can find receivers, cornerbacks, pass rushers and offensive linemen later in the draft. He will have to act now to land a guy like Bowers, who can become a safety blanket for Anthony Richardson.
4. The Ringer’s Danny Kelly: Pick No. 15: CB-Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama)
Source:Getty
Kelly’s Analysis: The Colts need to add talent to the cornerback group, and McKinstry brings the type of length and size that general manager Chris Ballard tends to target. The former Crimson Tide corner brings football IQ and physicality to the position.
5. MOCK DRAFT TOTALS
Source:Getty
MOCK DRAFT TOTALS
In each installment of the mock draft looks we will total up all the positions pundits have pegged for the Colts throughout the draft process:
–1st Mock Draft Look (February 8th)
Totals:
CB-Kool-Aid McKinstry (4)
CB-Nate Wiggins (2)
TE-Brock Bowers (2)
WR-Keon Coleman (1)
WR-Brian Thomas (1)
DE-Jared Verse (1)
Bowen’s Analysis: It is currently quiet on the mock draft front for the Colts when it comes to wide receivers. That’s a slight change from our first mock draft look. The debate with wideout in recent drafts has turned into a more interesting one, as the depth continues to grow and grow in that position annually. Another change from our first mock draft look is a defensive end being pegged for the Colts. Again, unlike wideout, the depth in edge rushers is not immense, so weighing the scarcity at that position is something that should not be totally overlooked. Personally, I like seeing defensive end as an option at No. 15. To me it’s a position that should rank high on the needs list, and it’s a position that is much more difficult to find later in the draft than others.
