Ranking Colts biggest NFL draft gems of the last decade

3. Jonathan Taylor

In the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Colts nabbed Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor who was coming off an incredible season with the Badgers where he rushed for over 2,000 yards. He immediately brought that kind of production to the Colts offense where he dashed for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie and then a whopping 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns the next year.

While Taylor hasn't hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark since that 2021 season, he's still been a big part of Indy's offense, notching over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 2022 despite missing six games and tallying eight total touchdowns in 2023 in 10 games.

Drafting running backs high in the draft can be risky but Taylor has proven that it can pay off. He belongs on this list.

2. Ryan Kelly

The biggest thing the Colts learned from the short-lived Andrew Luck era was that they have to value the offensive line to protect their quarterbacks from now on. That's led them to find some absolute gems on the o-line, one of which was Ryan Kelly, a first-round pick in 2016.

Sometimes teams take a chance on an offensive lineman in the first round and the player goes on to flame out. That has not been the case with Kelly, who has spent eight years with the Colts and only missed a handful of games each year.

Not only does Kelly stay relatively healthy for one of the more violent positions in the game, but he performs at a high level. In 2023, PFF gave Kelly an overall grade of 77.2 and he allowed just one sack in 882 snaps at center. He might have been a first-round pick but considering how hard it is to find reliable offensive linemen, Kelly is definitely a draft gem.