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Elliot’s 7 Round Indianapolis Colts Mock Draft 1.0"Chris Ballard and the Colts have done a fantastic job this offseason re-signing their own guys and bring in new players to strengthen the team. Ballard has done such a good job that there aren’t really any glaring holes/needs. He’s managed to keep together 21 out of 22 starters (electing not to re-sign Al Woods) while adding a wide receiver to help the offense out in Devin Funchess and adding a pass rusher to help the defense out in Justin Houston. All while still having around $60 million in cap space left and 9 draft picks. Speaking of those 9 draft picks 3 are in the top 60 of the draft. So with only two weeks until the draft Devin Funchess Jersey 2019 , using knowledge of the team and the upcoming draft prospects here is the mock draft. Let’s Go! Round 1 (Pick 26) - Safety - Chauncey Gardner-Johnson- Florida Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty ImagesAnalysisColts hit the ground running grabbing a versatile do it all safety in Gardner-Johnson. I’ve previously mocked him to the Colts in the second round but the closer we get to the draft the higher Gardner-Johnson seems to be rising. Grabbing a versatile safety in the first round ticks off the need for a future starting safety alongside Hooker and gives the Colts a dynamic safety tandem for years to come. Round 2 (Pick 34) - IDL - Dexter Lawrence - Clemson Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesAnalysisThe Colts continue on the defensive side of the ball in selecting Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence is a big, big man weighing in at around 340 lbs but you wouldn’t guess that by how he plays. He plays a lot faster and nimbler than his 340 lbs suggests. Lawrence isn’t your traditional nose tackle who is becoming extinct in the league. He is a new breed. He can two gap, one gap, stop the run, open it up for fellow teammates and, most importantly, he can get after the quarterback himself! Round 2 (Pick 59) - Wide Receiver - Deebo Samuel - South Carolina Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImagesAnalysisNow we turn our attention to the offensive side of the ball with Deebo Samuel. Samuel was let down in college by poor quarterback play but still managed to show off just what he can bring to the NFL. Samuel also showed off at the senior bowl showcasing his great route running, catching ability and overall talent. Adding Samuel to the Colts wide receiver corps will only help take this offense to the next level! Round 3 (Pick 89) - Tight End - Dax Raymond - Utah State Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesAnalysisStaying on offense the Colts take Dax Raymond. Raymond is a name many will not have heard about but really should. He’s the prototypical modern tight end in that he’s a strong receiver who feeds off throws to the middle of the field in which he can dominate over linebackers trying to cover him. He has great run after the catch ability and is a big, fast target. He will only add another target and dimension for the Colts and Luck to work with.Round 4 (Pick 129) - Edge - Maxx Crosby - Eastern Michigan Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesAnalysisThe Colts go back to defense with this pick but this time to the defensive line to take edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Crosby is a smaller school pass rusher who lit up the combine posting impressive numbers in both 40 yard dash (4.66 secs) and 3 cone (6.95 secs) all at 6’5” and 255 lbs. As mentioned, he is a smaller school prospect and did flash potential but needs to be taken with a pinch of salt as he did beat up on some lesser talent. He is a perfect developmental pass rusher who could begin his NFL career backing up the Colts current defensive ends and providing situational pass rush when needed. Round 4 (Pick 135) - Cornerback - Isaiah Johnson - Houston Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty ImagesAnalysis Staying on the defensive side of the ball, but this time heading back to the secondary White Joe Haeg Jersey , to select corner Isaiah Johnson. Johnson, a former wide receiver, possesses exactly what Chris Ballard likes in his corners, length, physicality and ball skills. Johnson is 6’2”, snagged 4 interceptions and 12 PBUs in his two years playing corner and can lay a nice hit when necessary. Johnson has the ability to play a variety of coverages, he can play man and zone but also press and off coverage too. His speed (4.4 secs at the combine) allows him to run step for step with wide receivers but also come down hill and tackle to reduce YAC. Round 5 (Pick 164)- Linebacker - Bobby Okereke - StanfordPhoto by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesAnalysisOn face value the Colts don’t really have a huge need at linebacker after drafting three last year, two of which will likely be starters this year in Darius Leonard at WILL Linebacker and Matthew Adams at SAM Linebacker. Anthony Walker who was drafted in 2017 will man the MIKE Linebacker position. So why a Linebacker? Because depth is how teams win and keep winning and Bobby Okereke provides quality depth. He’s a smaller, athletic linebacker built in the mold of linebackers that Chris Ballard likes. Okereke is an athletic, rangy linebacker who attacks aggressively down hill. He holds up well enough in the run but really shines in coverage. He will be solid depth at the WILL linebacker position for the Colts. Round 6 (Pick 199) - Offensive Tackle - Paul Adams - Missouri Photo by Donald Page/Getty ImagesAnalysis The Colts need to start thinking about the future at tackle, whether it’s Anthony Castonzo’s eventual heir at left tackle or whether the team believes Braden Smith is the future at right tackle or was just a one year stop gap. Also Joe Haeg Jersey 2019 , as of now, the Colts have a need at depth along the offensive line. Enter Paul Adams a three year starter at tackle for Missouri. He has the off field traits Ballard likes in prospects being a two year captain in 2017 and 2018. On the field Adams has the size and foundation needed to be able to develop into a NFL tackle or even being kicked inside to guard.Round 7 (Pick 240) -Edge - Malik Reed - NevadaRon Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsAnalysisThe 7th round is where teams look to grab contributors on special teams, where questionable characters slide to or where developmental prospects are taken. Malik Reed is the latter, he has all the off field traits a team looks for: team captain, workout warrior and an academic. He also has a lot of on field traits that teams look out for: bend, hand usage and versatility. Reed is an intriguing prospect as he’s played full time edge rusher but also off the ball linebacker too. He’s clearly talented but needs refining and developing by an NFL coaching staff. INDIANAPOLIS 鈥?The Indianapolis Colts‘ season looked lost in early October.At 1-5, they were better positioned for the draft than the playoffs. A defense that showed so much promise in the first three weeks gave up 37 or more points over the next three. Andrew Luck‘s short, quick throws created debate over whether his surgically repaired right shoulder was 鈥?or ever would be 鈥?back to full strength.Three straight wins have changed a lot.Suddenly, the Colts trail division leader Houston by just two games, have slowly moved back into the wild-card chase, and will face only one more team with more than five wins: a home matchup against聽Houston (6-3) on Dec. 9. With momentum and hope restored in Indy Youth Darius Leonard Jersey , there’s no telling how this might end.“That’s not a good question to ask a perfectionist,” coach Frank Reich said Monday when asked if the offense could play more efficiently.“It’s never good enough. But it’s been pretty good. It’s funny how we’re wired in this business. This business can humble you in a second and the moment we think we can throw it out there and score 30 points in a minute is the time we get embarrassed.”Reich’s comments explain why he refused to panic when many things 鈥?including his decision to go for the win in an overtime loss to Houston 鈥?seemed to backfire.It’s also the reason he views Sunday’s 29-26 victory over Jacksonville with mixed feelings.He was thrilled to see Luck finding open receivers throughout the first half as Indy scored on four its first six possessions and excited to look at a stat sheet that showed the Colts’ defense limited the Jaguars’ usually strong ground game to just 91 yards and 2.7 yards per carry.Still, he understands Indy (4-5) must continue improving to continue winning.The offense only produced two first downs in the second half, preventing the Colts from sealing the victory until finally forcing a fumble after Jacksonville had moved into position for a potentially tying field goal with 90 seconds left in the game. They only got the ball back after a booth review barely beat Jacksonville’s next snap and the replay review overturned the call on the field.130View Gallery Gallery:Sideline view: College football cheerleaders 2018Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports | Amber Searls“It’s sort of like a mixed bag of emotions,” Luck said after joining Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the only players with six consecutive games of three or more touchdowns in one season. “A win, excited, but also a little bit angry on the mistakes I know that I felt like I made and that our offense made.”There are plenty of encouraging signs.Luck has thrown 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in the past six games with a reduced workload on his shoulder. He’s increasingly exploited the mismatches between Indy’s versatile tight ends, hooking up with them on five TD passes over the past two weeks.Perhaps most important: Indy’s rebuilt offensive line has kept Luck upright. He’s been sacked 10 times in nine starts after going down 156 times in his first 70 games, and Luck’s streak of four straight games and 184 consecutive sacks are the longest of his pro career.They’ve played well enough that Reich is expanding the play calls.“It gives us a lot of confidence to call anything we want, to call stuff down the field,” he said. “There’s not a play that gets called that we don’t think protection first.”Defensively Darius Leonard Jersey Stitched , things look better, too.The Colts generally have created a pass rush though they failed to even hit Blake Bortles on his 38 attempts Sunday, and they’ve proved stouter against the run than in previous seasons.If they keep it up, Reich knows anything is possible. Another home win next Sunday against Tennessee would give the Colts a four-game winning streak, a share of second place in the AFC South and perhaps even better odds in the playoff race.“It’s not easy, obviously, to win three in a row, especially coming off of a bye,” Reich said. “But we really want to make a statement in these games we have at home. We want to get the excitement back in the building.”