Colts’ latest draft class once again boasts ‘elite athleticism and upside’—with a few exceptions

It was largely the same status quo for the Colts under GM Chris Ballard, who values physical traits in his draft classes.

The Indianapolis Colts completed their 2024 NFL Draft Class with a total of 9 draft selections—headlined by both UCLA edge Laiatu Latu and and Texas wideout AD Mitchell.

The Colts’ recent 9 total selections were as follows:

First round, No. 15 overall: UCLA Edge Laiatu Latu

Second round, No. 52 overall: Texas WR Adonai Mitchell

Third round, No. 79 overall: Pitt OT Matt Goncalves

Fourth round, No. 117 overall: Wisconsin G Tanor Bortolini

Fifth round, No. 142 overall: Oregon State WR Anthony Gould

Fifth round, No. 151 overall: Missouri LB Jaylon Carlies

Fifth round, No. 164 overall: Auburn CB Jaylin Simpson

Sixth round, No. 201 overall: Marshall CB Micah Abraham

Seventh round, No. 234 overall: Oklahoma DT Jonah Laulu

Colts general manager Chris Ballard has typically valued elite athleticism and immense physical traits (*I mean, look no further than last year’s selection of Anthony Richardson at 4th overall)—only selecting prospects at each position that meet a certain baseline of required measurables respectively.

For the most part, that held true once again this year, with a few noted exceptions:

While the mainstream ‘RAS’ that draft analysts, nerds, and whoever else use publicly presumably isn’t the same internal metric that Ballard and his scouting department actually evaluate prospects on, it looks like it’s at least relatively close.

The Colts once again had a Top 10 draft class in RAS—although they’re usually at or near the top each year—having slid a handful of spots in 2024 due to the selections of Pitt offensive lineman Matt Goncalves, Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson, and most notably lowering their collective average team RAS, Marshall cornerback Micah Abraham:

(The Colts’ 2024 draft class RAS is significant, especially when in comparison to say their AFC South rival, Tennessee Titans, who had an average draft class RAS of just 5.765—which is ranked dead last in the NFL).

While none of that trio of Goncalves, Simpson, and Abraham features elite athleticism per se, it’s easy to see why the Colts liked each as a prospect nevertheless. Goncalves for his experience, versatility, toughness, and technique in the trenches—even if he does have shorter arms (hey, so did Braden Smith and Bernhard Raimann!). While Simpson’s RAS is really negated by his lack of playing weight, but otherwise looks like a pretty good athlete at safety. Lastly, Abraham lacks ideal corner size, but the instincts, ball skills, production, and NFL bloodlines speak for themselves—especially as a late round dart throw.

All-in-all, it was another Colts’ ‘high athleticism, high upside’ draft class.

While many draft followers do not think that Latu is an elite athlete because of his relatively shorter arms as a pass rusher, he actually had a RAS of 9.37 out of a maximum of 10.0. The top prospect picked by the Colts right after him, AD Mitchell, may be one of this year’s ‘poster boys’ for athleticism and upside with a nearly pristine RAS of 9.99.

So while it wasn’t quite Ballard’s totally ‘uber-athletic’ draft classes of recent years past, with the exception of a few prospects, it was largely more of the same usual status quo for the Colts under this current scouting regime—which isn’t a bad thing. After all, if you’re going to die on a hill, elite athletic traits in the incredibly physical sport of football isn’t a bad one.