Colts select Alabama center Ryan Kelly with 18th pick

The Indianapolis Colts used the 18th pick to shore up their offensive line and hopefully give their franchise QB some extra protection.

With the 18th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Colts selected Alabama center Ryan Kelly. The Colts have had a revolving door at the center position for the past four seasons and desperately need some consistency when it comes to hiking Andrew Luck the ball.

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Kelly was described as the “surest pick in the draft” meaning that he was the least likely to be a bust. The first round might be a bit high for a center, but more often than not centers taken in the first round go on to have great careers.

News about the Colts interest in Kelly peaked earlier in the week with many speculating that this was a done deal if Kelly was still available at 18. The Colts are hoping that Kelly will turn into the next Jeff Saturday and become an anchor on the line for the next decade.

The selection means that the Colts are done trying to start Khaled Holmes or Jonotthan Harrison. Neither player seemed to truly want the starting position and both dealt with injuries over the past two seasons.

The Colts passed over a number of intriguing defensive talents who were still available at 18. UCLA linebacker Myles Jack fell after reports about the severity of his knee injury led to reports of him possibly need microfracture surgery down the road. Pass rushers Shaw Lawson and Noah Spence were also available as was linebacker Darron Lee.

The Colts stuck with their big board and took the best player available here. Kelly is more of a sure thing than any of those defensive players in any case who were ranked highly based more on potential.

We’ll have more on Kelly tomorrow as well as coverage of the rest of the draft.

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