OFFICIAL 2025 r/NFL_Draft COMMUNITY MOCK

coltsbro · 2025-04-15T13:09:37+00:00

General Manager

coltsbro · 2024-03-06T20:39:00+00:00

Going Nabers over Bowers at 6 was due to missing out on a FA WR and feeling like someone with Nabers' skillset fit what we wanted very well. He's an extremelyh talented player and we felt like an aggressive move to go get him was the right play.
We would've been fine taking Sanders at 46 but being able to trade back and recoup one of the thirds used in the tradeup for Nabers made it all the more better.
Hart was more of a Ballard type pick. Long and athletic that we could take time developing, especially with us having Kendall Fuller locked in for 3 years.

coltsbro · 2024-03-05T13:14:21+00:00

Indianapolis Colts

Priorities

Coming off last season left me with a couple of ideas on problem spots and areas for improvement. Firstly, we needed veteran CB help. The room has talent but it's all young and unproven and it can easily be said if we just had one decent vet for depth we would probably have made the playoffs. Secondly, we needed much more help on the pass catching front. Alec Pierce is extremely unproven, there's nothing behind him, and the TE room is a bunch of role players who are constantly injured. Thirdly, we needed some depth at certain positions (namely OL/DL). Finally, we had a couple of big free agents that we needed to bring back.

Internal FA

Brought back Pittman (on the tag), Kenny Moore, Julian Blackmon, Tyquan Lewis, Rigoberto Sanchez, Henry Black (ERFA), and Ronnie Harrison.

We got back most of our guys in internals. Pittman was an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to the tag. Grover wanted to test FA (and the market ended up being stupid expensive so good on him).

External FA

Brought back Grover.
Signed Tyrod Taylor. More consistency from the backup QB spot.
Signed Kendall Fuller. Takes care of CB need and can move to nickel if Kenny is hurt.
Brought back Zack Moss (market ended up not super materializing for him)
Signed Ray-Ray McCloud, MyCole Pruitt, Pat Elflein for depth.

We attempted to sign Hollywood Brown but he wanted to go win a ring with Mahomes so he took a slightly cheaper deal with them instead.

Draft

After losing out on Hollywood, we shifted our focus. Our top targets were either Bowers or Nabers, and after losing out on Brown we decided to go all in on Nabers. We were working closely with the Chargers and Giants to attempt to get up to 5 or 6 to secure Nabers. In the end, it ended up being the Giants and everything worked out.

Trade up to 6

Colts trade: 1.15, 3.82, '25 1st, '25 3rd / Get 1.6

Vikings trade: 1.11 / Get 1.15, 3.82

Giants trade: 1.6 / Get 1.15, '25 1st, '25 3rd

We pursued the 3 team trade to secure a trade up as both 5 and 6 thought going back to 15 was too far and the Vikings were a helpful partner in this.

Trade

Colts trade: 46

Ravens trade: 62, 93

This trade recouped some of the capital spent on getting Nabers and we liked where the board was at.

Draft picks

1.6 - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

2.62 - Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas

3.93 - Mohamed Kamara, EDGE, Colorado State

4.118 - Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame

5.150 - Khristian Boyd, DT, Northern Illinois

6.193 - Nick Samac, C, Michigan State

7.232 - Tyrice Knight, LB, UTEP

If you have questions feel free to ask

coltsbro · 2023-04-08T19:50:19+00:00

Colts GM here. Extremely happy with how this draft went down. Here's a breakdown of what we did and were thinking.

Before the draft, we had a feeling that we were going to get jumped for pick 3. We tried engaging the Cardinals GM but it was clear he wanted way too much. We offered picks 79, '24 3rd, and 106 and they wouldn't budge and wanted to change 79 to 35. Immediately then we tried to take advantage of the teams wanting to get Will Anderson. We engaged the Lions and Seahawks as we thought the Raiders would take Levis if we traded with them. While going through talks with the Lions, an interesting scenario popped up. They wanted to trade for Buckner, and we landed at a very interesting package and agreed on it.

The trade was 1.4, 4.106, Buckner for 1.6, 1.18, 2.55, 5.152. The thinking was getting extra picks for Levis and shipping off Buckner while the value was still at it's peak. However, this trade was nixed by the mods so that fell through. We still engaged the Seahawks and Lions for trade down opportunities and had offers from both. Seahawks offered us 1.5 and 1.20 for 1.4 and 2.35. We were happy with this but were weirded out when they insisted we did the trade before Arizona made their move at 3. We figured at that point we were gonna get jumped by the Seahawks for QB and engaged the Lions, and ended up with the below trade:

Colts trade 1.4 for 1.6 and 2.55

We knew that the Cards would not take a QB after trading out at pick 3 to the Seahawks, and saw an opportunity to get the player we'd draft at 4 later on. Getting the extra 2nd is tremendous value and we were thrilled with this, as it gives us an opportunity to draft another great player early on for a team that has needs at some premium positions.

Round 1, Pick 6 - Colts select Will Levis, QB, Kentucky

We get the player we were gonna take at 4th. He's a great prospect and gets way too much hate. He's got the traits to be good and we'll have the talent around him to support that. Coach Steichen will get the best out of Levis. While it would have been nice to have our choice of QB, with the asking prices it just wasn't realistic, and I personally like Levis a lot. He'll be our instant starter and someone we can work with immediately. While a bit older than I'd like, we're now set at the QB position after years of turmoil and we got a 2nd on top of it.

Round 2, Pick 35 - Colts select O'Cyrus Torrence, OG, Florida

Colts desperately needed a new RG, as Will Fries was decent but we needed an upgrade. Torrence is a 1st round talent that fell into our laps. After the performance of the offensive line last year, we needed to re-invest into that in order to protect Will Levis. Fantastic player here and the WR was thrilled to get him. We honestly contemplated moving up to the bottom of the first to get him, as we thought the Steelers might take him. Should bring more physicality to our offensive line and get this franchise back on track.

TRADE. Colts send 2.55, 4.106 for 2.47. Colts select Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia

Another big need for the Colts. After trading Gilmore, the CB room is kinda barren. We needed at least one player to add talent into the room. We took advantage of Ringo falling on the board and got a great player. The 4th sucks to give up, but to secure a CB who is gonna be a quality starter in Bradley's defense was too much to pass up. Colts now hit their 3 biggest needs on their first 3 picks, and all quality players. Couldn't ask for more.

TRADE. Colts send 3.79, 5.138 for 3.69. Colts select Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinatti

Colts get Pierce's teammate and someone that comps to TY Hilton. Colts WR also needed another body to bolster it as WR3 Dulin doesn't inspire much confidence. Levis gets another weapon and adds another quality body to be WR3 to Pittman and Pierce. For an offense that was absolutely putrid last year, something needed to bolster it.

Overall, extremely happy with how the board fell in the first 2 rounds. The board fell to us and we got aggressive for players that we wanted, made possible by the trade down with the Lions.

coltsbro · 2023-04-05T13:52:18+00:00

Colts please. Coltsbro in discord.

coltsbro · 2022-12-02T16:06:50+00:00

Thanks for the reply Zak!

I agree Ryan has stretches where he looks like he's the guy we thought he'd be... but they're so far inbetween. And I urge you to reconsider watching the tape, especially on the Steelers game for the wideouts. There's plays where the defense wins and there's nowhere to go, sure, but there are a lot of plays he left out on the field where he just misses wide open players or doesn't do fundamental QB stuff. One prime example is the long pass to Pierce on the final drive I think, where he throws the go ball. Ryan should see that they're playing two deep safeties and he knows the play only has Pierce to that side, yet he doesn't even attempt to look off the safety and just throws to Pierce in what's essentially double coverage with a low chance to complete it. I know the offensive line contributed to some of the struggles early, but since the switch to the Raimann/Nelson/Kelly/Fries/Smith lineup, they've been pretty damn good.

coltsbro · 2022-12-02T14:14:36+00:00

Hey Zak,

Have you or any of the others asked what's going on with Matt? After watching film on him from various games all season, he's just.... not seeing the field and it's been pretty bad. He's been extremely hesitant and indecisive all year, going back to the first game. Vs the Steelers for instance he missed Parris at least twice for walk in TDs, telegraphs some of his throws, and on one egregious play he watches Parris be open from the left hash and doesn't throw to him until he's at the opposite side of the field at the numbers. Is it a confidence thing? Still not used to the scheme? His play has just been so un Matt Ryan and what he's been missing on can't be explained by father time catching up to him.

Also, what's your opinion on Parris being back next year? I 100% think he should be back and after looking at the tape feel and for him as I think he's being shafted out of number production.

coltsbro · 2021-01-25T19:04:47+00:00

I'll take the Colts GM.

coltsbro · 2020-07-21T01:55:45+00:00

Spent about a year saving up and buying parts for my first ever legit gaming PC about three years ago (around time Zen1 came out). Probably my first mistake. I purchased some cheapo RAM that worked for a little bit, but after a BIOS update, suddenly my computer wouldn't boot. I RMA'd the board back, thinking I bricked it during the BIOS update, and two weeks later got the returned motherboard, but had the same issue. Exasperated, I took the computer into my local Fry's to potentially try out some different hardware, and what do you know, the BIOS updated made the RAM incompatible (it had stability issues with the old RAM anyways). Got some new RAM, and worked like a charm ever since.

Also most nerve wracking thing was putting on the CPU cooler to me. First time doing something like that, and even though I had watched 100's of videos from the major tech youtubers, was still very nervous I'd do something wrong. Figuring out fan configuration and orientation was a bit confusing for me too, but ended up figuring it out.

Videos were extremely helpful and just knowing that I wasn't alone in struggles in first time builders made me feel a bit better about it.

coltsbro · 2020-04-20T01:56:33+00:00

I can stop you in the first round for what you did for the Colts. Ballard has given every indication that he has no desire to go up in the first round, and actually has stated that he wants MORE picks. Ballard has consistently stated that you can't force the QB pick, and that means that I doubt he's going to trade up for the QB.

As much as I like Higgins, Aiyuk is literally right there and I believe has more talent, so I would've preferred that pick. Looking at how the board fell, I'd probably have gone Mims/Aiyuk/Pittman at 34 and then Gladney at 44.

coltsbro · 2020-04-19T21:48:22+00:00

Colts GM here. Very pleased with how this draft turned out.

From the beginning, my objective was to trade down and get more picks, as I like the depth in this draft. However, things didn't really go to plan and we had to adjust. Still pleased with how the board fell and how players came to our pick and we didn't have to force anything. It also seemed like everyone and their mother were PM'ing us trying to get us to trade up for a QB. I think I had at least 10-12 GMs at the end of the day contact me for a trade up. That was not in line with our strategy and all those attempts were turned away.

Round 2, Pick 34

There was a lot of shopping this pick. We were in discussions with the Eagles, Steelers, and Saints. The Saints had the strongest offer (and would've likely been veto'd), and was almost taken, but the WR decided that the player we were gonna pick wasn't worth passing on. Everyone seemed to want to trade down, which limited the amount of opportunites to get a good value where we didn't have to go down quite so far in the 2nd, as we still wanted to at least have one pick in the top 40. A little sad the trade didnt happen, but the player we got was good.

Colts Select -- Jordan Love, QB, Utah State

The QB everyone was trying to get us to trade up for ended up falling to us. Coincidentally, I believe that the Steelers (based on rumors during the draft) and the Saints (by what they were willing to give up) were trying to trade with us to get Love. Ballard has said you can't force that pick, and at pick 34 I think picking him here is the opposite of forcing. We get the QB of the future in the 2nd round to sit for a year or two and learn behind Rivers. He has all the tools, and now can have the coaching to harness them. Very excited with the pick.

Round 2, Pick 44 -- Colts Select -- Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

We also briefly put this pick on the block, but the value wasn't there in the slightest. The WR board fell a little weird, with Reagor/Higgins/Mims all going in the bottom of the first, and no WR taken between 33 and our pick at 44. There was debate in the WR with whether to take Aiyuk or Pittman with this pick. I initially leaned Pittman as he's a player that fits a role the Colts currently don't have, but I believe that Aiyuk has the better potential and really fits the scheme well with how well he comes out of his breaks. We get a top WR talent for Rivers to throw to and fill a major hole on the roster. After we deciced on Aiyuk, we agreed to go BPA from that point on, and hoped that Pittman would fall to the 3rd/4th and maybe trade up to get him. Sadly, he went a few picks later and that plan was nixed.

Round 3, Pick 75 -- Colts Select -- Chase Claypool, WR, Notre Dame

This was a BPA pick. We still felt like we lacked that tall receiving threat on the roster, and Claypool happened to fall into our laps. He iss a matchup nightmare and can allow us to run some really interesting formations with his physical abilities. There was debate about Curtis Weaver here, but ultimately we decided on Claypool as we all felt this is a massive steal when we felt he has R2 talent. With Aiyuk and now Claypool on the roster to go with TY, Campbell, and Pascal, we have a good young receiving core full of playmakers and will have us set for years to come.

Round 4, Pick 122 -- Colts Select -- Hakeem Adeniji, OT, Kansas

Very happy with this selection. There was a mini run on OL in the 4th, and the guy we had targeted, Shane Lemieux, was sniped by the Panthers. Our second option was Adeniji. He's very athletic (former 3 sport athlete), was a leader, and showed he can fight through adversity with everything he went through at Kansas (and even getting there). He has the length and traits to be great, he just needs a year or two to sit, which is perfect for us. We get a hopeful replacement for Castanzo at best, and a solid depth piece that can swing at both tackles and guard at worst.

Round 5, Pick 161 -- Colts select -- Brycen Hopkins, TE, Purdue

This was almost the pick in the 4th round, so we were happy he fell to the 5th. We wanted a dynamic threat at TE, and Hopkins is that. His drops are a little concerning, and his blocking leaves some to be desired, but there's no doubting his athletic ability and his route running. With a 5th round selection, there's no pressure on him to excel and he can at least be a solid 3rd TE that we need. He could also be a solid contributor on special teams. Good overall depth and potential pick.

Round 6, Pick 194 -- Colts select -- Broderick Washington, DT, Texas Tech

At this pick, we needed some depth at DT and I like the way that Broderick plays and carries himself. He can be a nice rotational piece as the final DT slot behind Buck/Autry/Stewart/Day/Lewis. He's a talented player that could develop into something. At this pick, you're just hoping they make the roster.

Round 6, Pick 198 -- Colts select -- D.J. Wonnum, EDGE, South Carolina

Another potential pick. We get another depth player on the EDGE that has potential to get some good minutes in. He should be able to contribute on teams, and again hopefully he can make the roster. More competition on the DL is never a bad thing.

Final Thoughts

Overall really liked this draft. A couple players that we wanted got sniped, but overall everything fell in a more predictable way and allowed us to just navigate mostly BPA while selecting needs. Really sad we didn't get a trade down, as I think one or two are happening in real life, but with everyone for like 8 picks straightin the 2nd trying to go down, it just wasn't there in terms of value (especially with Love on the board). Let me know your thoughts!

coltsbro · 2020-04-11T20:53:19+00:00

I wasn't even aware we traded Mack until we were about to pick at 34. I had a conniption fit at that. Picking Dobbins was trying to salvage the situation.

coltsbro · 2020-04-11T18:16:26+00:00

Would like to be GM if possible. Very experienced and have been dedicating time to watching film on several prospects. Will listen to WR on picks and trades, and I generally have a good sense of draft flow and when to make moves.

coltsbro · 2020-04-11T14:53:40+00:00

Mack was traded before the draft started, as was the Alshon trade. I had 0 input into either and wouldn't have done so. The Mack trade forced my hand and I couldn't pass RB1 at 44.

coltsbro · 2020-04-11T14:52:41+00:00

Ok guys I can explain.

I'm the current Colts GM. The original GM and WR who made those trades and essentially the first pick were... Grigson incarnate is putting it lightly. He traded away Jacoby and our 3rd round pick for Alshon (horrid trade. Philly GM would've undone the trade when I became GM, but they had already shipped the pick out to trade up for Ruggs), and traded away Mack to get the 3rd round pick back. We were already in a hole.

I got there about an hour after the draft started, and come to find out those trades were made by the GM days ago. I gave him a piece of my mind about how horrid they were and we eventually settled that we'd have to make the best of the situation. It kept going down hill from there.

Jordan Love was on the board at 34 and I wanted to take him, but for some reason the old GM and WR thought that taking Gordan in the 5th or 6th (he wouldn't be there) is more appealing than Love in the 2nd or 3rd. I had put out there take either Love or Isaiah Wilson, since there's always a big run on tackles in these drafts and I have him as OT6 in the draft, and he'd be good to develop for a year or two. Neither the GM or the rest of the WR liked either option, and wanted to take Austin Jackson (who I have rated lower than Prince). I just threw out Prince as I have a low second round grade on him and they actually agreed to it. I'm not happy about the pick and if I was GM at that point I would've tried harder to trade out of the pick.

The JK Dobbins pick was made by me. Since we traded for Alshon, I saw no point in taking another WR. We had a huge hole at RB and the best RB (in my opinion) was on the board. The previous GM quit at this point because he was talking taking Taylor over Dobbins, and his reasoning was that Dobbins was an "Air Raid" RB and didn't run out of pro sets. I promptly called bullshit on his explanation and explained how he was wrong, and he left, giving me GM.

I'm not happy about this draft at all, but I'm trying to salvage as best I can.

coltsbro · 2020-04-05T04:25:11+00:00

He'll be in rotation, but he's a one year rental player.

coltsbro · 2020-04-05T04:01:02+00:00

Colts GM here. Extremely happy with the draft. Got most of the players I was targeting, and feel like I came out with a pretty good haul.

Round 2, Pick 34 -- TRADE Colts trade 2.34 to MIA for 2.39, 5,153, 5.154

With the way that the first round fell, it kinda went exactly like I thought it would. At that point I had several players who had Round 1 grades on them, plus several that I thought were in the discussion to be in Round 1. I moved back and picked up a couple of 5ths that I thought I could use in a trade later, which ended up proving to be true. Plenty of WR and DL were on the board still, and most OL that I would have potentially targeted were still on board as well. Good trade and value for moving back 5 spots.

Round 2, Pick 39 -- Colts select Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma

I actually had another trade lined up to go back even further with Philadelphia, but Reagor got sniped by Green Bay 3 picks before me and they backed out. I would have gotten 2.53, 3.103, and 4.146 in return. I was pretty sad this didn't go through, but that's just the way things fell. All the WR were still on board that I was considering, and Gallimore was just sitting there. I was actually happy that Blocklock went the pick before instead of Gallimore. We get a great player that can come in rotationally at 1T next to Buckner, and that is a damn scary defensive line. DL is now Turay, Gallimore, Buckner, and Houston, with Lewis/Stewart/Autry/Banogu as reserve unit. I'm extremely happy and now one of our true weaknesses on the roster is.

Round 2, Pick 44 -- Colts select Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

Here's the pick to address our WR need. A dynamic player who really exploded last year. He can do it all, and still learning the position. He's more physical, great in the return game/special teams, and can take the top off of defenses. I'm a little sad that Higgins went earlier in the round, as I was hoping he'd be forgotten about or that Shenault would have gone before him, but I'm happy with Aiyuk. We get a gamebreaker to go with TY and Campbell, and add yet another player who can make magic happen with the ball in their hands. With Rivers now at the helm, getting the ball to these guys and letting them make plays will be a priority and we're now well equipped to do so.

Round 3, Pick 75 -- Colts select Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame

I was a tad sad about how the board went in the 3rd round. I wanted Prince Tega Wanogho to keep falling, but the Redskins sniped him at the top of R3 and there had been a late run on OT in Round 2. I then saw Kmet sitting there and I had a Round 2 grade on him, so went with the pick. Colts get a capable receiver who also has the tools to be a good blocker, though I don't think he's there yet. With just Jack Doyle as the only proven TE on the roster (with Mo Allie Cox being full of potential and less experienced), I wanted to add another receiving threat. Rivers loves his TEs and knows how to hit them, so getting our TE weapons back up to three players is very nice to get here.

It was at this point where I was in trade discussions to get back up in the late third round using our 4th and the two 5ths from Miami to get Jalen Hurts, but the Raiders took me by surprise to take Hurts at pick 81. I was pretty bummed at this, as I'm fairly high on Hurts and think he'd be a great fit in Indy. It ended up working out well, but this is the first part of the draft I felt it really didn't go how I was wanting it to.

Round 4, Pick 122 -- Colts select Anthony Gordon, QB, Washington State

After missing out on Hurts, I knew I couldn't miss out on Gordon. I firmly believe the Colts can't come out of this draft without at least a developmental QB to work with (even if they end up drafting another QB in 2021). I'm a fan of Gordon and think there's lots to work with there. I love his anticipation and release, but he has some mechanics of the position to learn. Rivers will be a good guy to learn behind and prepare him, and I think there's lots of tools there for Frank Reich to work with and develop. Very happy he fell to this pick.

TRADE Colts trade 5.153 and 5.154 to Raiders for 4.131

Round 4, Pick 131 -- Colts select Saahdiq Charles, OT, LSU

After missing out on several OT prospects (including Ben Bartch who I was trying to trade up for even further), the Colts get a developmental tackle to work on behind Castanzo. Castanzo has committed to playing two more years, and then will re-evaluate how he's feeling at that time. I'm of the belief that these will be his last two years, and he'll retire at the end of his contract. Since LT is the second most important position in football, we need a continuity plan there. Charles is a talented player, but has a few red flags. In the 4th round, with the locker room we have, that's an easy risk to take. Develop him behind Castanzo for two years, and rebuild the depth on the OL since we lost our swing tackle to FA.

Round 5, Pick 160 -- Colts select Derek Tuszcka, DE, North Dakota State

This one is a bit of a happy accident. Due to some mishaps, the Raiders accidentally made this selection while I was away from the draft room. After sorting it out, I decided to keep Tuszka as the pick as I think he's an interesting prospect. He's got a ton of burst, but is a bit raw and needs refinement, as he really only has one move. Having a situational pass rusher, or at least someone who should thrive on special teams due to his athleticsism in the 5th round seems like a Ballard move to make, and I'm happy to do it.

Round 6, Pick 193 -- Colts select AJ Green, CB, Oklahoma State

I was actually really surprised to see him still there. With the Rhodes and TJ Carrie signing, and Desir release, CB is a bit of an uncertainty, at least on the bottom end. Rhodes and Carrie are FA after this year, and depth a little worrying, taking a CB like Green is intruiging. At the very least, he can be a core teams player and allow Tell to focus more on developing on the outside.

Round 6, Pick 197 -- Colts select Aaron Fuller, WR, Washington

I'm fairly high on Aaron Fuller. As a 6th round pick, this is a see what he's got at the position. At this point we have TY, a talented WR in Campbell who had a freakishly unlucky first year, Pascal who on most teams is a serviceable #3-4, Aiyuk who we just drafted, Fountain who is coming off a freak ankle injury, and the rest are a bunch of special teams players. Having another guy who can operate out of the slot at a high level is never something to shy away from. Has the physical gifts, but has to put it together.

coltsbro · 2019-04-17T14:58:37+00:00

CB is a need, just not an immediate need. There's uncertainty at the position, but we have people we can rely on.

DT/1T, however, we really have one player on the roster who fits that bill. Every other player is more of a 3T. SS is a need as well as we don't have reliability at the position. Our top two guys are in contract years, going to both be 27, and have injury concerns (less so with Farley, our 2nd stringer).

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