The Indianapolis Colts are picking early in the 2023 NFL Draft. Here’s a look at several mock drafts to see which prospects are landing in Indy.
With the 2023 Scouting Combine starting in a couple of days, it’s officially draft season for the NFL. All of the recent discourse in the NFL world has been about top prospects and what teams should try to draft them. Since the Indianapolis Colts have the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they have been a big part of all the conversations. It’s pretty evident the Colts will be targeting a quarterback, experts have just been trying to figure out which quarterback and if Indy will sit at No. 4 or trade up.
Plenty of predictions have already been made in the form of mock drafts. Draft season is all about the combine, pro days, and mock drafts. It’s not even March yet and there’s probably already well over 100 mock drafts out there. Who are the Colts ending up with in these mock drafts? Here’s a roundup of a few mock drafts showing who Indianapolis is taking.
Colts mock draft roundup
ESPN (Todd McShay)
In Todd McShay’s first official mock draft, he projects Indianapolis trading up to the No. 1 spot. To get the deal done, McShay sees Indy sending the Chicago Bears “something in the ballpark of the No. 4 pick, a second-rounder (No. 35), a fifth-rounder and maybe even an additional Round 1 selection in 2024.”
With the first pick, McShay believes the Colts will select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. McShay of course talks about the size concerns but expresses that Young is his top quarterback and would be the perfect QB for Shane Steichen to start building around.
CBS Sports (Kyle Stackpole)
In Kyle Stackpole’s mock draft, the Bears make a trade but they didn’t send away the No. 1 pick. Instead, Chicago sends away Justin Fields and selects Bryce Young. That takes Young off the board for Indy and then CJ Stroud is selected by the Houston Texans. So at No. 4, Stackpole had the Colts drafting Will Levis.
Stackpole admits that Levis isn’t as exciting of a prospect as Bryce Young and CJ Stroud but points out that he has promising traits that Steichen can help develop and build off.
NFL (Cynthia Frelund)
Cynthia Frelund’s mock draft was different from most. Instead of just predicting what team takes which players, Frelund uses a model to “identify which individuals increase teams' projected win total the most.” That’s how Frelund determines which prospects land where.
Based on that model, three defensive players went off the board in the first three picks. That led to the Colts selecting Bryce Young as the first offensive player at No. 4. If Indianapolis can land Young without having to move any assets, that would be the best-case scenario.
READ MORE: What’s next after Colts draft a quarterback?