We are onto the Round 5 prospects as we continue to churn though some draft prospects. With the Colts essentially eliminated from playoff contention, there is no better time to continue our draft series. Two weeks ago we finished the Round 4 candidates with Kansas RB Devin Neal. While you can argue the Colts can continue to go down the RB path, this week’s game against Denver revealed another weakness that they will need to fix.
The offensive line did not have their best performance, and the depth is getting thin as the season is progressing -- specifically on the interior of the offensive line. The injury to Will Fries (impending free agent) has shown a true weakness on this football team. Training camp hopeful Dalton Tucker has proven to still need some work, and the Colts have turned to veteran Mark Glowinski with mixed results. On the left side of the line, Quenton Nelson rarely misses a game, but regardless, they need some depth and insurance. By round five, these prospects are all projects, and that’s just fine at this point of the draft.
Current Tankathon Draft Order
Round 5/Pick 149
The Indianapolis Colts Select….
Giovanni El-Hadi/OL- Michigan
As mentioned above, at this point of the draft (and going forward) most of these prospects are projects. El-Hadi is no different. What he does have in his favor is terrific coaching to this point. He comes from the NFL factory that the Michigan program has become, and was coached by Jim Harbaugh and now-head coach Sherrone Moore. The staff prides themselves on pumping out NFL talent, and have been since 2021.
El-Hadi is a raw product, but he has many traits that Ballard (and NFL scouts) look for. He is 6’5 and 310 pounds and has terrific footwork. He appeared in 31 games on the offensive line with 14 starts. He was a part of the 2022 Michigan offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award for best offensive line in the country. He does struggle against much larger defensive lineman, but it’s always something they can improve on.
Drafting El-Hadi would be a dream pick for Colts offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. Like his dad, he is a hard-nosed and gritty coach. He wants to groom the offensive line prospects to his liking and put his stamp on them. He has been coached hard at Michigan, and the continuation of that coaching style would fit right into the scheme and belief of this football team for years to come, whether Ballard is here or not after this season.