NFL Draft Grades 2022: Re-grading the Indianapolis Colts draft one year later
As the Indianapolis Colts prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft, let’s take a look back at Indy’s 2022 Draft class and re-grade them now that they’ve played a season.
Soon, there will be a new group of rookies heading to the Indianapolis Colts. With the 2023 NFL Draft scheduled to start on April 27, the weekend where hundreds of players’ dreams come true is right around the corner. Before we welcome a new class, let’s look back at last year’s draftees.
Unlike this year, the Colts didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, Indianapolis still put together a pretty good draft class of eight players. The class consisted of four offensives players and four defensive players. Although their rookie season was a poor year for the Colts, the class as a whole appears to be very promising and the future is bright for these young players.
When they were first drafted, all eight received initial draft grades. Now that they have a season under their belts, let’s see if those grades improved, remained the same, or dropped.
WR Alec Pierce, Round 2, No. 53
Original grade: B+
Current grade: A-
Wide receiver Alec Pierce was Indy’s first selection of the 2022 Draft and he was a good one. Everyone knew that the Colts were selecting a receiver with their first pick, it just wasn’t clear which. Indy decided on Pierce, and his initial grade was a B+. The reason why he didn’t initially receive an A was that Pierce was stylistically really similar to Michael Pittman Jr., and at the time, it seemed like it would’ve been a good idea to pair Pittman with one of the fast and shifty receivers that was available.
However, Pittman came in and immediately made a big impact with his jump ball-catching ability. As a rookie, he played in 16 games and caught 41 passes for 593 yards and two touchdowns. Averaging 14.5 yards a reception, he provided Indy with several big plays.
Now, he’ll step into the WR2 role for the Colts during his second season, and if Pierce progresses like he’s supposed to, he should be a 1000-yard receiver next season.