Experts predict a draft trade for the Colts but not to No. 1
Draft experts believe the Indianapolis Colts will trade out of the fourth-overall pick but Indy won’t end up picking first in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The NFL is approaching the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs but the majority of the league is already preparing for next season. With free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft right around the corner, experts have already started doing mock drafts. The Indianapolis Colts currently have the No. 4 pick in the draft and they desperately need a quarterback. Indy needs a quarterback so badly that general manager Chris Ballard has already declared that he would do whatever it takes to land their QB of the future, even if it means trading up to the No. 1 pick.
Well, in a recent mock draft, experts predicted that Indianapolis would make a trade, however, Indy didn’t end up with the top overall pick. In The 33rd Team’s 2.1 mock draft, their scouting department predicted that the Colts would trade up to the No. 2 pick. Why No. 2 instead of No. 1? The 33rd Team predicted that the Houston Texans would have the winning bid for the No. 1 overall pick and the Chicago Bears would trade back to No. 2. Then, the Bears would trade back again to No. 4, allowing Indy to come up to No. 2 so they could still get a top quarterback.
Colts select quarterback at No. 2 in latest mock draft
Which quarterback do the Texans take off the board before Indianapolis? The 33rd Team predicts Houston selects Bryce Young first and then the Colts take Kentucky quarterback Will Levis as No. 2. That leaves CJ Stroud on the board. While it’s too early to know which prospective quarterback Indianapolis likes more, fans will certainly have a strong reaction if Indy selects Levis with Stroud still available.
Some argue that Levis is QB1 of this draft class and others make the case that he is QB3 at best. He’s a very polarizing prospect that scouts are far higher on than fans. At 6-foot-3, 232 pounds, Levis has impressive size that scouts will certainly be a fan of. Additionally, he has a really big arm and is also a powerful runner. However, he doesn’t have the film or collegiate success that Young and Stroud have. There’s a debate if that’s because Levis is not as good as those two or because his circumstances at Kentucky weren’t as good as Young’s and Stroud’s were at Alabama and Ohio State.
That’s what teams like the Indianapolis Colts will have to figure out during the pre-draft evaluation process. Regardless of if it’s Levis, Stroud, or Young, Indy will likely have to move up to go get its next quarterback.
