Stampede Blue Writers Roundtable: Colts Mock Draft Round 1

The 2024 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and officially kicks off Thursday 25th April at 8pm Eastern Time. The Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to have 7 draft picks this year (unless they decide to trade up or down). The team is armed with 3 of their 7 draft picks in the top 100, so they will likely be able to grab some talented prospects similar to last year’s haul.

The Stampede Blue staff sat down around the round table and spoke about their round 1 Colts picks. Each Stampede Blue writer gave a selection they would take at number 15 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Chris Shepherd: Xavier Worthy- Wide Receiver, Texas

Look, I’m not telling you what I would do or what they should do, I’m telling you what they’re going to do. It’s either Worthy or Brian Thomas Jr. and I’m going with Worthy here because he was the dude at Texas as soon as he stepped on campus. At 18 years old in the Big 12, he broke out as Texas’ WR1 and he never looked back. Three years of high level production, out producing a freak like Ad Mitchell and catching passes from a future, very successful, Texas-based insurance salesman. You might like another WR more and that’s fine, I get it. Worthy has his flaws for sure. But Ballard and the Colts want speed on the outside and Ballard has been building a team of athletic freaks. It doesn’t get much freakier than 4.21.

Andrew Thomison: Brock Bowers — TE, Georgia (via trade-up)

The last few drafts have been fairly easy to predict for the Colts based on their needs at the time. This year, however, not so much. With needs at edge, cornerback and wide receiver, the Colts could realistically select the best player available at either of those positions when they’re on the clock at No. 15. However, I’m taking a completely different approach and taking Ballard at his word when he’s said repeatedly this offseason that the team needs to get more explosive on the offensive side of the ball. What better way to do that than trading into the top ten and grabbing perhaps the most unique tight end prospect since the Atlanta Falcons selected Kyle Pitts out of Florida? Colts’ head coach Shane Steichen has thrived with dynamic tight ends in his systems in previous seasons, and Brock Bowers could very quickly become the ultimate security blanket for second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Trading up in the draft isn’t something we’ve seen the Colts do often under Ballard, but in this scenario, Indianapolis gives up only a third-round pick to move up five spots with the New York Jets to grab Bowers. Both teams walk away happy on Day 1. The Jets can still grab a tackle at No. 15, and the Colts end up with the one of the NFL’s most athletic and unique tight end rooms in 2024 with Bowers, Jelani Woods, and others.

Elliot Denton-Singh: Brian Thomas Jr – WR, LSU *Trade back

With the 15th overall pick in the 2024 the Colts take a phone call and trade back. It is Chris Ballard’s bread and butter to stock pile picks especially when this draft is so deep at the Colts positions of need. Teams are going to want to trade up this year maybe more than ever before and Ballard will capitalise on that with a jump back into the 20’s.

Now Brian Thomas Jr is everything the Colts need at wide receiver and for this offense. He has elite speed which makes him a huge vertical threat from both the slot and outside. He not only can beat a defense deep he can win quickly at the line of scrimmage too. Add in the fact that he is 6’4” and 209lbs whilst running a 4.3 forty yard dash and you have a juiced up wide receiver with serious dept great and yards after the catch potential. Adding Thomas Jr to the Colts wide receiver group of Pittman, Pierce and Downs would be great, he adds a much needed speed option on the outside as well as inside.

Jay Robins: Quinyon Mitchell – cornerback (Toledo)

Arguably the best Corner in this draft class, Quinyon Mitchell is a phenomenal fit for the Colts. Elite Ball production (Power 5 leading 27 Pass Breakups in the last 2 seasons + 6 INTs), extreme comfort in Zone Schemes, effective in Man Coverage, good run defense, paired with high end athleticism?

Someone pinch Ballard, because if a defender of this caliber at a need position like Corner falls to 15 he must feel like he is dreaming. Admittedly, there is a very good chance Quinyon isn’t there at 15 after a sensational pre-draft process. However with so many Quarterback and Offensive tackle needy teams in the top 14 and a strong class in both, there is a chance some of the best defenders in this rookie class fall farther than they should in normal years.

I had the privilege to talk to and see Mitchell earlier this year at the Senior Bowl, and I was very impressed by him. If he makes it to 15, don’t expect the Colts to wait long to get the card to the podium.

Andrew Aziz: Chop Robinson — Edge Defender (Penn State) *Trade Back

The obvious pick is never the right one, especially with the Colts. With Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell or Brock Bowers potentially being on the board, you would think that that’s the best option for the Colts, and you might be right. However, we know Chris Ballard is anything but conventional. We know how much he values the big athletic guys on both sides of the ball, but the offensive line is set up nicely in the short and long-term so they won’t need someone in that spot early on. The groups at cornerback and receiver are deep so I can see Ballard passing on those spots early for value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. That leaves tight end as the next biggest need; Bowers’ chances of being available at 15 are 50% at best so best to look at a position where there is more supply: defensive end. With that being said, I could see Ballard trading back as he normally does and taking a defensive lineman with his first pick and then load up on the other positions of needs with the next few picks.

Chop Robinson is one of the most athletic and explosive defensive ends in the draft. The Colts have some good players on the end, but they lack a true star game-changer. Robinson could be that guy and pretty early on. He checks off all the athletic boxes too, especially in the explosiveness categories (broad jump, vertical jump and 10 yard split). With a weak secondary, you might be inclined to think that they should take a secondary, but strengthening the defensive line will have a positive effect on the secondary as a whole.

Mateo Caliz: Cooper DeJean – defensive back (Iowa)

What position will Cooper DeJean play in the NFL? How high will he go in the NFL Draft? Those are the two question marks surrounding the talented defensive back out of Iowa. I think of him as a sort of Christian McCaffrey, because he is a player that could make an impact anywhere on the field. DeJean would come in and challenge for either the starting safety or starting cornerback spots, while also being the backup to Kenny Moore on the slot. With the amount of question marks in the Colts’ defensive backfield, DeJean could prove to be an answer to several of those.

DeJean has the size and willingness to become and above-average run defender in the NFL, has plenty of experience playing special teams which provides day one value, and his biggest weakness is the lack of experience playing press coverage, something Bradley’s defense does very little of.

The main issue with DeJean’s fit with the Colts is that his arms were the 40th longest out of 67 cornerbacks, and Ballard loves long arms on his outside cornerbacks. That would raise the question: Do the Colts view DeJean as an outside cornerback or as a safety/slot cornerbacks? Ballard has proved that #15 is not too high for him to draft a safety, and DeJean has the potential to be much more than that.

Stephen Reed: Rome Odunze – WR – Washington (via Trade Up with Atlanta or Chicago)

This may seem controversial because the Colts have not been linked to Odunze all draft season. However, that’s kind of the point. They very publicly sent Reggie Wayne, among others, to both LSU’s and Texas’s Pro Days. They very quietly only sent Jim Bob Cooter to Washington’s Pro Day.

Odunze is a perfect prospect for Shane Steichen’s system. He’s a big physical receiver who can separate. He’s almost assuredly a blue card guy for the Colts. A team leader with elite ball skills. He does need to work on consistency in his route running but has speed to run away from NFL defenders. Odunze is a guy I think the Colts have been eying all offseason as a perfect compliment to Michael Pittman Jr and would be a phenomenal pick in this draft.

Trade details would likely be 15 and 82 to move up to the 8/9 range so it wouldn’t be completely cost prohibitive. Ballard will likely move back in round 2 in order to recoup a pick in round 3 or round 4.

Thomas Butler-Guerrero: Terrion Arnold – cornerback (Alabama)

With the 15th overall pick, the Indianapolis Colts should address its biggest flaw and draft AP First-Team All-American cornerback Terrion Arnold. He finished third in the nation with five interceptions, tied for fifth with 13 pass breakups and was penalized just once in the final 12 games of his Alabama career. According to Pro Football Focus, Arnold allowed just 41 receptions on 79 targets (51%), which was tied for the lowest percentage allowed among the top-15 cornerbacks who defended the most targets. As a dozen offensive players get drafted early in the first round, the Colts can select the best defender on their big board.