Getty Former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.
If the Indianapolis Colts want to add to their wide receiver room early during the 2024 NFL Draft, they will likely need to trade up to get one of the top prospects.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put together a trade package that could help Indy move up into the top 10 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Knox has the Colts trading a 2024 first-round pick, third-round pick, fourth-round pick, and a 2025 third-round pick to the Chicago Bears in exchange for Chicago’s 2024 first-round pick, which is the ninth overall selection.
Though Knox doesn’t get into detail about which receiver, in particular, he thinks the Colts could take with the ninth overall pick, he believes getting inside the top 10 will allow Indy to select one of the top 3 receiver prospects: Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, and Malik Nabers. He also notes TE Brock Bowers as a potential option.
“It feels unlikely that all four of the top pass-catchers will fall out of the top 10, even if four quarterbacks are in that range,” Knox wrote on March 29. “The Patriots and Giants should be interested in receivers if they don’t take signal-callers. The Atlanta Falcons could also seek another playmaker to put around Kirk Cousins.”
Colts Need Another Consistent Playmaker Opposite Michael Pittman Jr.
Knox’s trade scenario could happen simply because the Colts need to add a consistent playmaker opposite receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the passing game.
Alec Pierce — a 2022 second-round pick — can provide a spark downfield occasionally for Indy’s offense. But he’s too inconsistent a player at this point in his career to be playing 95% of the team’s offensive snaps, which is how much he was on the field during the 2023 season.
Providing second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson with as many playmakers as possible in the passing game will give him the best chance to succeed. But getting a receiver on Day 1 of the draft based on where the team currently sits in the draft order will be tricky.
Many of the top receiver prospects are projected to either go in the top 10 picks or the bottom 12 picks of the first round. So, the Colts — who currently have the 15th overall pick — are in a spot where selecting a receiver not named Harrison, Odunze, or Nabers with the 15th overall pick would be considered a reach by many. The same goes for selecting any tight end not named Bowers.
Moving up in the draft to select one of the top 3 receiver prospects is worth whatever it takes to make it happen. Harrison, Odunze, and Nabers are some of the best receiver prospects we’ve seen in recent memory, and the same for Bowers among TEs.
Pairing one of those prospects with Pittman will make Richardson’s potential sky-high.
Michael Pittman Jr. Gifts Parents New Cars
One of the first big purchases Pittman made after signing a three-year, $70 million extension with the Colts was for his parents.
Pittman gifted a Cadillac to his mother and a Porsche to his father, according to an Instagram post by the Colts WR.
The caption of Pittman’s post reads, “I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since I started playing football. Beyond grateful to these two.”
Looks like #Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. made his first big purchases after inking a three-year, $70 million extension earlier this month.
A Porsche for his dad and a Cadillac for his mom.
Via IG: “I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since I started playing football.”
