Ranking 5 realistic cornerbacks Colts could draft to immediately contribute

After trading away Rock Ya-Sin, the Indianapolis Colts are looking a little thin at the cornerback position. 

There are many holes in the current Indianapolis Colts roster and not nearly enough draft picks to cover every one of them. This draft is going to be about finding the right talent at the right time to fill in the roster.

With about 30 players on the current roster likely to make the final 53-man roster, the Colts have a lot of room to add pieces before training camp. Some will come from the draft, but many will need to come after.

We are just a few weeks out from the NFL Draft at the end of April, and we’ve covered both the wide receiver position and the tight end positions. But another focus the Colts will need to have is on the cornerback position.

Ideally, the Colts still sign another veteran to put in the secondary. If they choose to stay young, they’ll need to draft that talent to create depth at a position where there is no depth at all.

Colts should be looking in the mid-rounds for CB depth

Indy currently lacks a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Anyone that watched last year’s games could tell that the Colts lost most of their games due to lack of execution.

Offensive skill positions will be a key focus early on and it should be expected that Chris Ballard will double-dip at the wide receiver position.

That leaves us to rounds three through seven to find skill players for the Colts’ secondary. Luckily, it’s been proven that you don’t need to be a first-round pick to be an excellent cornerback in the NFL.

There has historically been some really great talent that comes out of the later rounds for secondary players. Josh Norman (5th round), J.C. Jackson (UDFA), Justin Simmons (3rd round), Kenny Moore (UDFA), and Kevin Byard (3rd round) are just a few names out there that aren’t first or second-round picks.

There is talent in the later rounds and it’s all about evaluating that talent and drafting the ones that will best work for the Colts’ defense.

Colts find good slot depth in the fifth-round

Jack Jones is a player that might need to be heavily targeted by the Colts, but he will certainly be available in the fifth round.

There are currently a lot of talks that Jones is meeting with the New England Patriots this week for a Top-30 visit. If Bill Belichick is looking at him after having players like Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson, then Jones should not be overlooked so easily.

Jones is a little smaller of a cornerback, but that would be a great fill-in depth piece for the slot corner to sit behind Moore if Moore isn’t moved over to an outside role.

Colts find a stud really late in the draft

Next week, the Colts will meet with Christian Holmes in a Top-30 visit. This is a good sign that the Colts are expecting to look his way in the draft this year.

Ballard is not known for reaching for players and will let Holmes fall to him where he can get him. At the moment, Holmes ranks in the 600s on draft boards, so he could fall to either the seventh round or even be undrafted.

But that’s not what the metrics show. Since 1987, Holmes ranks as the 181st best cornerback in the draft according to the RAS.

Holmes has the ability to be a shut-down corner and could easily be an improvement in the Colts’ secondary.

Colts go the easy route and draft Flott

Anyone that has done a mock draft this year for Indianapolis will find that Cordalle Flott will always fall to them in the fourth round. Nine times out of ten, Flott is there on the board to draft.

Does this mean it makes the most sense to draft him if you are Ballard? Maybe.

Ballard has proven time and time again to draft players that no one is really talking about. Flott is one of those guys this draft season that isn’t getting a lot of hype at the moment.

This could be a good thing for the Colts in a few weeks on day three when it’s time to take the cornerback.

Flott would add needed depth at the position and slide right into a special teams role that Isaiah Rodgers likely will relinquish for the starting role in the secondary.

Colts find a stud on day two

If the Colts want to focus early, they will draft Tariq Woolen in the third round. Woolen has been a shut-down corner for the UTSA Roadrunners.

His comparison with others in the draft process is by far one of the better picks in this draft. He ranks 62 according to RAS since 1987.

His size is the key factor here. He’s tall and the right size for a corner that could really bully the outside. Want to talk about speed as well, because he ran a 4.26 40-yard dash.

This is the perfect build for the Colts’ defense and he’d make a lot of sense to draft early in the third round.

Colts find the star cornerback of the draft late

Alontae Taylor is probably not a name that you’ve heard recently and if it is, you’ve been paying attention.

Taylor has the ability to be the best cornerback in the draft outside of the first round. Pairing him with Julian Blackmon in the secondary will be dangerous.

Taylor is six feet even and weighs just under 200 at 199 pounds. He played four seasons in the SEC at Tennessee and was impressive since his freshman year.

He’s got the ability to be a day one starter and a leader on the defense. There should be no question as to whether the Colts should be looking his way when they see his name available, in the fifth round.

With Isaiah Rodgers and Brandon Facyson being Indy’s projected starters at the moment, Taylor should be able to come in and provide immediate depth while also competing for a starting spot.

I talked about how great players are often found late and Taylor is going to be that player in this year’s draft.

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