CHICAGO - Following a busy free agency period the Colts hit Chicago with a long list of needs, but luckily for new GM Phil Emery he came in with a few extra picks. The draft opened with a little bit of drama, two teams traded into the Top 3 (Cincinnati and Dallas) while Oakland took the concensus #1 pick.
Oakland made Texas OT Julian Branch the #1 overall pick, a definite need for the struggling Raiders. They spent well in free agency and don't seem set to pick high again in 2015. The Bengals traded up to #2 to take Alabama FS Kadeem Orr, an Indianapolis target, and Dallas jumped to #3 to take LSU DT Dan Estes.
| 2015 NFL Draft - Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Pick | Player | College | Pos | Ht | Wt |
| 1 (17) | Branch Daniels | LSU | FS | 6'-1" | 207 |
| 2 (49) | Donavon Browning | Pitt | LE | 6'-5" | 306 |
| 3 (65) | Erik Looney | Wisconsin | RG | 6'-3" | 309 |
| 3 (81) | Landon Stone | Delaware State | LE | 6'-5" | 250 |
| 4 (113) | Don Walters | Florida | ROLB | 6'-2" | 235 |
| 4 (120) | Artez Kilgore | California | CB | 6'-1" | 183 |
| 5 (145) | Daryll Odom | Northern Illinois | CB | 6'-2" | 186 |
| 7 (203) | Venson Patterson | Eastern Michigan | DT | 6'-3" | 275 |
| 7 (209) | Rasheem Duncan | Baylor | LE | 6'-3" | 280 |
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Best Pick(s) : FS Branch Daniels, DE Donavon Browning.
Daniels and Browning fill some serious needs and represented the best player available. The Colts were trying to trade up, having additional picks, and get FS Kadeem Orr so having Daniels fall to them was a real blessing. Daniels was a two-year starter at LSU and showed good coverage skills with loose hips and a fluid backpedal, but his biggest strength is his ability to make tackles in the open field. Daniels has a shot at making the starting roster, but it's more likely he will learn behind fellow LSU grad LaRon Landry. Browning went under the radar a little, but he's a solid 3-4 DE with a good frame who holds up well against the run. He didn't register too many sacks at Pitt, but film seems to indicate he was double teamed regularly as the Panthers' best defensive lineman.
Worst Pick(s) : OLB Don Walters, DE Rasheem Duncan.
Walters entered the draft process with a 1st round grade but found himself plummeting as the draft went on. Walters didn't run well at the combine, showed up overweight, and struggled to bench press anywhere near his peers. He interviewed well and looked good on tape, showed the production teams want at OLB, but teams were seriously turned off by his combine performance. The Colts didn't seem to care and saw a bargain, but they needed an immediate starter and he will be a long term project. It's hard to say the 209th pick in the draft is a "bad" pick, but Duncan came out of nowhere. Duncan came into the draft essentially unranked, only started 10 games for Baylor in 2014, and didn't really impress scouts. Maybe the Colts coaching staff saw something, hard to tell.
Sleeper Pick(s) : CB Artez Kilgore, CB Daryll Odom
Both Kilgore and Odom went a little under the radar, unless it's a radar gun. Kilgore and Odom both ran 4.29 40-yard dashes at the combine, showed loose hips and impressive acceleration. Neither of them show much in terms of zone coverage, but they have the speed to develop into decent man-coverage corners. They will definitely see some work on special teams, and both might prove to be decent additions to Indianapolis' ailing Dime and Quarters coverage.
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