Colts Interested in Purdue Running Back Akeem Hunt

According to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun, the Indianapolis Colts are one of a handful of teams that have shown significant interest in Purdue running back Akeem Hunt. Other teams like like the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, and Kansas City Chiefs have also expressed interest.

Nov 23, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers running back Akeem Hunt (1) runs the ball during the third quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Ross Ade Stadium. Illinois won 20-16. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

The 5’10”, 183 pound Hunt previously impressed at Purdue’s pro day, where a running backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts was present. He had forty-yard dash times of 4.40 and 4.36 and boasted a 37-inch vertical. Perhaps most impressive; however, was his ability to catch the football out of the backfield where he reportedly looked very fluid in positional drills.

While Hunt was originally projected to be a late round pick, he could see himself as a mid-round selection following an impressive pro day and his solid production at the collegiate level. As a senior for the Boilermakers, Hunt rushed for 949 yards on 173 carries (5.5 ypc average) and 6 touchdowns. He was named last season’s Offensive MVP by the Purdue Boilermakers football team.

Hunt joins what is a loaded draft class of running backs, but a team like the Colts could be actively looking for a long-term answer at the running back behind Frank Gore if it makes sense. The team arguably has bigger holes right now on the defensive side of the football at least early on, but drafting a young running back like Hunt could make quite a great deal of sense in the mid-late rounds of this year’s NFL Draft.

It’s worth noting that Hunt was also a standout special teams returnman for the Boilermakers, which should certainly help his cause with many NFL teams. The Colts could certainly use quality competition in their special teams return game going forward. Hunt ranks 3rd in Purdue football history in career kick return yards with 1,747 total kick return yards.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Colts like Hunt enough to make him one of their selections in this year’s NFL Draft. One thing is for certain, the team will assuredly perform their due diligence and leave no stone unturned as it relates to scouting local products like Hunt, who played just up north on I-65 in West Lafayette, Indiana. At least, according to their General Manager Ryan Grigson at this year’s NFL Combine:

"“We will exhaust you know every player, especially I always tell the guys we better not miss in our backyard, better not miss in our backyard,” said Grigson."

More from Horseshoe Heroes

Home/Colts Draft