The Indianapolis Colts were forced to sit and watch as their AFC South division rivals (minus the Jacksonville Jaguars) made key additions to their teams through the NFL Draft Thursday night, as the Colts did not have a first-round pick.
Both the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans had their picks, but the Titans came out of the first round with two outstanding ones, grabbing the spotlight after drafting Ohio State standout wide receiver Carnell Tate and edge rusher Keldric Faulk out of Auburn.
While there is still a handful of edge rushers available to be taken, considering that edge is one position group the Colts are in desperate need of help, it must sting to see the Titans get a leg up on them, and that's on top of them nabbing one of the best wideouts in the draft. The Colts are already behind, making their second-round draft picks all the more crucial.
Indianapolis Colts' Daniel Jones and Sauce Gardner both have new enemies to deal with on the Tennessee Titans
Life just became a little more complicated for two of the Colts' biggest names as quarterback Daniel Jones and Sauce Gardner will have to worry about two of the Titans' newest weapons, one on defense and the other on offense.
Due to the Colts giving up their first-round pick for this year to the New York Jets for Gardner in return, the Titans just used their first-round pick, and the fourth pick overall, on the man Gardner could very well face off against one-on-one next season in Tate.
Tate was widely held as the draft's top wide receiver prospect, and the Titans may have hit a home run with him. Carnell just became the Titans' No. 1 option, meaning Gardner's job just became a little harder.
Gardner is an elite cornerback, but Tate has the potential to come into the league with a bang. Colts fans might be in for an exciting battle-within-the-battle if Tate can live up to his hype, and Gardner remains the shut-down defender that he is.
Gardner isn't the only Colts' player who will be facing a new heavy-hitter opponent, but things just got a little bit harder for Daniel Jones as well, now that the Titans have a new edge rusher in Faulk. This Titans move hurts more than Tate only because the Colts had Faulk as a player of interest leading up to the draft, given his position and the Colts' need to fill that position on their own team.
With Faulk going to the Titans, the Colts officially miss out on one of college football's top run defenders over the past two seasons, totaling 75 pressures with 11 sacks during that span as a pass rusher.
Faulk has the potential to be a massive problem for the Colts, whose 6-foot-5, 276-pound frame and physical playing style matched exactly what the Colts need on the defensive line. Instead of becoming a possible teammate, Jones will now have to prepare for Faulk as an incoming trainee.
Faulk could have been there for the Colts, but Gardner was worth the sacrifice of that first-round pick, or at least the Colts are banking on that being the case. Nevertheless, today the Titans got better and gave their division rivals two big problems to game-plan for next season.
This puts more pressure on Colts general manager Chris Ballard to come through big-time when Indianapolis uses its No. 47 overall pick Friday night in round two of the draft. There are still options available to match the Titans with an edge rusher pick of their own, and if they feel so inclined, the Colts can also match the Titans with a wide receiver pick in rounds three or four.
The Titans are winners today, but what the Colts do now will determine if they leave the draft as losers in their division or as winners.
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