The Colts made the biggest blockbuster move of the offseason thus far by trading down to the sixth pick in the draft in a transaction with the Jets. What does that mean for the Colts’ draft strategy moving forward?
Trading down in the draft always seemed like the right move for general manager Chris Ballard and the Colts this offseason.
Indianapolis won’t be drafting a quarterback in the early rounds, and they could take advantage of a quarterback-needy team that wanted to move up to the third overall pick to take a QB. Ballard struck a fantastic deal with the Jets where they swapped first round picks and the Colts added two second round picks in this draft and another second-rounder in 2019.
Now that the Colts are picking sixth overall, what will they do with that pick?
Round 1: 6th Overall Pick
Chris Ballard has talked about the possibility of trading down again from the number six spot, and we will probably address that situation in a future mock draft. However, in our first mock draft since the trade with the Jets the Colts select Viriginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds with the sixth overall pick.
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We mentioned Edmunds in our article discussing the top prospects the Colts could target if they traded down.
Edmunds is a freak athlete who measured 6′ 5″ and 253 pounds at the Combine, and still managed to run a 4.54 40-yard dash. He is a fantastic linebacker in pass coverage and against the run, and he has the potential to develop into a pass rusher under the right tutelage.
Edmunds is a fairly raw prospect, but he was incredibly productive at Virginia Tech and he has one of the highest ceilings of any player in the draft. With a large hole at linebacker on the Colts’ depth chart, I think Edmunds would be a fantastic addition to Indianapolis’ defense.