The New "Sauce" Lands in Indy

After a couple of weeks off, it is time for another installment into my 2024 Mock drafts, and I am starting to fall in love with Pick 15, with every day. The Colts have a lot of holes to solve, and should try to trade back to get more picks in rounds 2-4, but if this player is available at pick 15, stay where you are, take him, and run the ticket to the commissioner yourself, because a top 5 player in the draft is coming from Toledo.

There are 4 players, I would not move out of 15 to get: Brock Bowers, Rome Odunze, Byron Murphy II, and most importantly, Quinyon Mitchell.

Pick 15 - Quinyon Mitchell: Mark my words now, Quinyon Mitchell will be a top 5 CB within his first 3 years in the NFL. He has an absolute nose for the ball and is excellent at separating the receivers from the ball and had 45 passes defensed in the last 3 seasons. His tackling is his biggest weakness, but he pairs well with a Colts' secondary that is already physical. Anticipate Mitchell to be the first defensive back taken in this draft, and the Colts to be S.O.L. on acquiring him.

Pick 46 - Keon Coleman: Florida state has created a plethora of good Wide Receivers including Anquan Boldin, Javon Carter, Chris Davis, and future Jets' Ring of honor member, Lavarenues Coles. Keon Coleman has the tools to be better than all of them. At 6'4"-220 his frame allows his ability to win 50-50 throws, while he has 4.4- speed to get down the field in a hurry. After the Jordan Travis injury, his productivity dipped, and he did skip his bowl game, but I anticipate his combine numbers to push him right back up into the first round.

Let's Make some trades:

Colts Receive - 114, 122, 131, 134, 2025 R4 Pick From Denver

Broncos Receive - Pick 93 (From Baltimore)

Ravens Receive - Pick 82 (From Indianapolis)

The 3rd round of the 2024 draft is where there is a large talent plateau, which means players in the 4th and 5th rounds are closer to the talent in the 3rd round. Chris Ballard also loves the middle round picks. I anticipate pick 82 to be moved.

Pick 114 - Cade Stover: The Ohio State product would be about the 400th tight end drafted by Chris Ballard in the last 5 seasons, but Stover has the opportunity to be the most impactful. The 5th year senior caught 41 passes for 576 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was a matchup nightmare for Big Ten linebackers, and he often drew over the top help with decent speed.

Pick 118 - Leonard Taylor III: A raw, athletic interior defensive lineman, allows the Colts to take a pretty big swing on a player coming off an injury ridden season in 2023. He has a quick burst, and has great ball recognition. The injury concerns are there, but the shining moments are there.

Pick 122 - Jordan Travis: The Colts are in an interesting predicament at backup quarterback. Minshew's contract is up and Sam Ehlinger has not shown any promise as a backup, so they take FSU's Jordan Travis. If Travis remained healthy, he would have been a second round pick, and could've made a push to get into the late first round, but the leg injury suffered in November potentially pushes Travis into later rounds.

The rest of the picks I made were value picks, just grabbing the best player available. I believe the Colts have a lot of cool opportunities to make some powerful upgrades to the roster, but I would not be shocked to see a lot of trades and free agency moves from Chris Ballard to go all in on the main man Anthony Richardson.

If you have any questions, comment below or message me!

Also check my thoughts out on twitter: twitter.com/zlfbarnett