2012 Rookie Class Helped the Indianapolis Colts Rise

As the Indianapolis Colts move past the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine, the time has come to move forward towards April’s NFL Draft. This year, drafting will be much different for the Colts than it was in 2012. Due to their successes last season, the Colts find themselves draft late in each round, as opposed to have early picks in each round last season. Still, taking a look back at the rookie class of 2012, it shows that the Colts did one of the best jobs of drafting in the league.

Indianapolis began the 2012 NFL Draft with the number one overall selection, following a dreadful 2-14 campaign in the 2011 season. That pick obviously became Andrew Luck, who did nothing more than break Indianapolis and NFL rookie records left and right. Luck led his team to one of the best turnarounds in NFL history, helping the Colts to a 11-5 record. Luck did not win rookie of the year, but still had one of the best rookie seasons ever for a quarterback.

Several other rookies from the class of 2012 were called upon to pay big dividends for this young team. Tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen were taken at the top of the second and third rounds, and gave Luck big targets and decent blocking. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton was also taken in the third round, and along with fifth-round running back Vick Ballard, became dynamic and necessary in this reloaded offense. Ballard finished the last half of the season as the starting running back for the Colts. Hilton and Allen were named to the NFL All-Rookie Team.

It will be hard for the Colts to improve from last season’s draft, especially since they are picking in the latter-half of each round. Still, there will be quality players available, if Indianapolis can find them. Based on how well this regime did in last season’s draft, there’s every reason to think that they will do equally as well in the years to come.