Without a first-round pick, the Indianapolis Colts will have to find impactful players on Days 2 and 3 in the 2022 NFL Draft. Draft analyst Todd McShay of ESPN has the Colts doing just that in his latest two-round NFL mock draft.
McShay projected the Colts to select Georgia wide receiver George Pickens when the team first selects a player with the No. 42 overall pick in the second round.
“The Colts don’t have a first-rounder, but Pickens has first-round traits,” McShay wrote. “A torn ACL last March pushed him into the Day 2 conversation, which means this could be a steal of Indy.
“He is really good at getting off press coverage, and his ability to track the deep ball might be his best skill.”
After tearing his right ACL on March 23, Pickens recovered from surgery in less than nine months. He returned to play for the Georgia Bulldogs on the team’s way to its first national championship since 1980.
In four games this past season, Pickens posted five receptions for 107 yards.
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Colts Need for Wide Receivers
The Colts drafting Pickens or any wideout in the second round would fill one of the team’s biggest roster holes remaining.
Michael Pittman emerged as a playmaker during his second NFL season last year, but Indianapolis lost Zach Pascal in free agency. Behind Pittman on the wide receiver depth chart, the Colts have Parris Campbell, Keke Coutee, Ashton Dulin, Dezmon Patmon and Michael Strachan.
None of those five receivers have a season with more than 400 receiving yards. Actually, Campbell, Dulin, Patmon and Strachan have fewer than 600 career receiving yards combined.
The Colts could still add a wide receiver in free agency, but the organization is determined not to overpay.
“You can’t force things that aren’t there,” Colts owner Jim Irsay told Zak Keefer of The Athletic. “We have no problem spending money — that’s not the issue iota. The issue is trying to wisely plan on winning and paying the players you have and bringing in the right people.
“We wouldn’t hesitate to be aggressive if the right situation was there.”
If the right situation doesn’t arise in free agency, the Colts will very likely draft a wide receiver at some point on Day 2 or 3.
Adding Pickens would give new quarterback Matt Ryan another outside weapon, particularly on deep routes.
“Pickens possesses borderline elite ball skills with in-air adjustments, strong hands and an enormous catch radius,” NFL analyst Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote. “However, he fails to put defenders on his hip and command the catch space to make his work less cluttered.
“The routes need more polish and physicality, but he has the athletic ability to become a viable target on all three levels as a likely Day 2 draft pick with a little wider gap between ceiling and floor than NFL teams might like.”
Pickens recorded 90 catches, 1,347 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in his college career. He caught a 52-yard pass against Alabama in the National Championship Game.
Other Needs For Colts to Consider
While wide receiver may be the team’s biggest need, the Colts won’t really be all set if they fill just that hole.
Indianapolis has depth concerns all over the roster.
I’m not panicked but the Colts’ current needs with the draft less than a month away:
– RB3
– WR 2 and 3
– TE competition/depth
– OT depth
– IOL depth
– DL depth
– CB competition/depth
– Able bodies at safety
At least linebacker is good!
Including Pascal, the Colts have lost six players in free agency this offseason. Two of those six players are offensive linemen who made at least six starts last year.
Other key veteran free agents — left tackle Eric Fisher, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and Xavier Rhodes — also remain unsigned.
After picking 42nd overall, the Colts will have one other selection on Day 2 in the third round and then five picks on Day 3 to address those depth concerns.
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NFL Mock Draft Sends Colts National Champion Wide Receiver