The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 28. As a lead-up to the draft, we’ll be giving a team-by-team breakdown for positional needs. For each team, we’ll give an overview of the current depth chart and how big of a need each position is in the upcoming draft. You can find the rest of the team needs (as they’re updated) and the rest of our draft content in the 2022 NFL Draft hub.

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What Picks do the Indianapolis Colts have in 2022

The Indianapolis Colts have seven picks.

Round 2 (42)
Round 3 (73)
Round 4 (122)
Round 5 (159)
Round 5 (179)
Round 6 (216)
Round 7 (239)

Indianapolis Colts Top POSITIONS OF NEED

  1. WR
  2. OT
  3. RG
  4. CB
  5. TE

Indianapolis Colts Strength of Schedule, 2022

The Indianapolis Colts have the fourth easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2022 NFL season.

2022 NFL strength of schedule ranked by team

Indianapolis Colts Offense

By Rich Hribar

QUARTERBACK

Matt Ryan
Sam Ehlinger
James Morgan

The Colts moved on from Carson Wentz after just one season in a trade to Washington. After Atlanta failed to land Deshaun Watson, the writing was on the wall that Matt Ryan was available and Indianapolis made their move.

Ryan is at the tail end of his career and is not the long-term answer for the franchise, but Ryan was a better player in 2021 than Wentz was in a far worse climate to bridge the gap to the next quarterback, which will not come in this draft.

Ryan will turn 37 years old in May with dead cap hits of $24.7 million and $35.2 million over the remainder of his deal. 

RUNNING BACK

Jonathan Taylor
Nyheim Hines
Deon Jackson

Jonathan Taylor paced all running backs in 2021, accruing 2,171 yards and 20 touchdowns, both of which led the league.  

Taylor also tacked on 40 receptions (averaging 9.0 yards per catch), giving him 76 catches through two NFL seasons after 42 receptions in college. 

Taylor ran a pass route on 50.8% of the Indy dropbacks this season, which was fifth in the league among running backs. We don’t need to go too heavy here as Taylor will enter next season 23 years old, has elite pedigree in collegiate production and athleticism while his team is built around him being the catalyst for the offense. 

Nyheim Hines played just 32% of the offensive snaps (matching a career-low) with Taylor ascending and expanding his role into the passing game. Hines matched a career-low with 96 touches, but his 6.1 yards per touch were a career-high.  Hines is under contract through 2024. 

Hines is a capable pass catcher, but a limited interior back should anything happen to Taylor. The Colts only have one other option on the roster to tote the rock currently in Deon Jackson, who is only signed for this upcoming season.

Indianapolis could use more bodies here, but with Taylor locked in at the top, they should add an undrafted rookie or veteran after the draft over using any of their limited draft capital at the position. 

WIDE RECEIVER

Michael Pittman
Parris Campbell
Ashton Dulin
Keke Coutee
Dezmon Patmon
Mike Strachan
De’Michael Harris

Things are thin here for an already limited receiving corps in terms of counting stats. Indianapolis wideouts ranked 27th in collective catches (10.4) and yards (128.5) in 2021. 

The lone bright spot was Michael Pittman. Pittman more than doubled his rookie season production in 2021, catching 88-of-129 targets for 1,082 yards and six touchdowns.

Pittman had 129 targets in his second season, 60 more than any other Colts player. That player was Zach Pascal, who is no longer with the team after signing with the Eagles in free agency, while veteran T.Y. Hilton still remains a free agent. 

After Pittman, the next closest wideout currently on the roster in targets from 2021 is Ashton Dulin with just 22. 

The team is still holding out hope for Parris Campbell. Campbell has been snakebit, playing just 15 games through three NFL seasons. He enters 2022 in the final year of his rookie contract. 

After Pittman, only Dezmon Patmon and Mike Strachan are signed beyond this season with no pending free agents being restricted. 

The Colts do not have a first-round pick due to the trade for Wentz last season but will be pressed to look at the wide receiver position when they immediately come on the clock.  

TIGHT END

Mo Alie-Cox
Kylen Granson
Farrod Green
Michael Jacobson
Nikola Kalinic
Eli Wolf

The Colts’ tight ends were about as productive as the wideouts in 2021, producing 3.8 receptions (27th) and 42.6 yards per game (21st). 

Long-time member of the organization Jack Doyle announced his retirement.

The team inked Mo Alie-Cox to a three-year extension. Alie-Cox has flashed when used (13.4 yards per grab over his career) but has yet to find consistent playing time. Last season, Alie-Cox played a career-high in snaps, but it was just 55% of the team total. 

With signing his own extension and Doyle retiring, Alie-Cox has a runway to build on that career-high in 2022.

Indianapolis also still has last season’s fourth-round pick Kylen Granson on the roster to step into a larger role. Granson played just 21% of the snaps as a rookie, catching 11-of-15 targets for 106 yards. 

The Colts do not have a talent here that suggests they should ignore the position and they could pursue another dynamic pass catching option in the offense.  

OFFENSIVE LINE

LT: Matt Pryor/Shon Coleman
LG: Quenton Nelson
C: Ryan Kelly
RG: Danny Pinter/Will Fries/Carter O’Donnell
RT: Braden Smith/Jordan Murray

You can never have enough viable offensive linemen and the Colts felt that a year ago. 

The most often used offensive line in 2021 played just 190 snaps together, which was just 18.1% of the season total. No Colts lineman reached 1,000 snaps played on the season while starters Eric Fisher (two games missed), Quenton Nelson (four), Ryan Kelly (three), Mark Glowinski (three), and Braden Smith (six) combined to miss 18 games. 

As a byproduct, the Colts ended 20th in the ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate (60%) and 23rd in collective pass blocking grade per Pro Football Focus. They ranked 23rd in pressure rate allowed (36.6%). 

Both Smith and Kelly are locked into extensions for multiple seasons while the team undoubtedly will be working to extend Nelson, who is currently under the fifth-year option. 

Those three starters are written in pen, but the team currently has holes at left tackle and right guard with Eric Fisher still a free agent and Glowinski leaving via free agency. 

Matt Pryor has started just 15 games through three NFL seasons and is only signed for the upcoming season. Pryor did play well in 2021 on his limited use filling in, allowing just eight pressures (3.7%) and no sacks over his 218 snaps in pass protection.

At right guard, the Colts have a pair of day three draft picks in Danny Pinter (fifth-rounder in 2020) and Will Fries (seventh-rounder a year ago). Pinter logged just 72 pass blocking snaps in 2021 while Fries tallied just six. 

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Indianapolis Colts Defense

By Dan Pizzuta

Interior Defensive Line

DeForest Buckner
Grover Stewart
RJ McIntosh
Chris Williams

Few players are more of a force on the interior than DeForest Buckner. In his second year with the Colts, Bucker ranked 12th among interior defenders in pressure rate. Buckner has been one of the league’s best pass rushing defensive tackles and that has continued in Indianapolis.

The Colts had the fourth-best run defense in the league by EPA per rush. Grover Stewart was a big piece of that run defense, playing 59% of the defensive snaps. Stewart has two more years on his contract.

Depth here is a little thin, which could lead to some additions at the position.

EDGE

Kwity Paye
Yannick Ngakoue
Dayo Odeyinngbo
Tyquan Lewis
Ben Banogu
Kameron Kline

Kwity Paye, Indianapolis’s 2021 first-round pick, didn’t completely click in his first NFL season. The rookie pass rush ranked just 62nd in pressure rate among edge rushers last season as he played 59% of the defensive snaps.

Yannick Ngakoue was a trade acquisition this offseason and the Colts will hope he can build off his performance from last season. Ngakoue ranked 33rd among edge rushers in pressure rate and had his highest total of quarterback hits and sacks since 2018 and 2017, respectively. Ngakoue will play under Gus Bradley, who was defensive coordinator with the Raiders last season (and Jacksonville’s head coach when Ngaokue was drafted).

The Colts drafted Dayo Odeynnigbo in the second round of last year’s draft as he recovered from an Achilles injury. Odeynnigbo played 16% of the defensive snaps as a rookie but now with a full healthy offseason, Odenynnigbo could be ready to have a bigger impact in Year 2.

Off-ball Linebacker

Darius Leonard
Bobby Okereke
Zaire Franklin
EJ Speed
Jordan Glasgow
Malik Jefferson

Darius Leonard is one of the most impactful linebackers in the league. Leonard had eight passes defensed and forced eight fumbles in 2021 in a first-team All-Pro season. He also played 91% of the defensive snaps while he missed a game.

Bobby Okereke played 98% of the snaps while he was all over the field. Okereke took over the role as a tackle monster and had the 19th-lowest average depth of tackle among linebackers. He was also 31st among 85 qualified linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap.

Indianapolis played nickel on 77.4% of snaps last season, the third-highest rate in the league, so two linebackers will always be on the field. The Raiders, under Gus Bradley, played dime on 20.5% of snaps, which is significantly more than the Colts (0.6%), but it seems unlikely Indianapolis would take one of those players off the field that often.

Cornerback

Kenny Moore
Brandon Facyson
Isaiah Rodgers
Marvel Tell
Anthony Chesley
Chris Wilcox
Tony Brown
Alexander Myres

Kenny Moore was 26th among cornerbacks in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap as one of the top slot corners in the league. Moore has two years left on his contract.

Isaiah Rodgers was a sixth-round pick in 2020 and he played 48% of the defensive snaps in Year 2. Rodgers was a more than serviceable outside corner when he was on the field, ranked 53rd among 93 corners in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap.

Brandon Facyson is now penciled in as the other starter after he spent last season with the Raiders. However, he ranked 92nd among those 93 corners in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap.

Marvell Tell has athletic upside after being a fifth-round pick in 2019, but he opted out of 2020 and didn’t get into a game in 2021. He also has the versatility to play safety.

Safety

Khari Willis
Julian Blackmon
Rodney McLeod
Will Redmond
Armani Watts

The Colts dealt with some injuries at safety last season, but at full health, Khari Willis and Julian Blackmon should be a plus duo. Willis only played 52% of the defensive snaps and Blackmon played 35%. There were only 248 snaps with those two on the field together in 2021.

As an added veteran presence, the Colts signed Rodney McLeod. McLeod will turn 32 years old in June, but can still be a versatile safety. He played 70% of his snaps as a deep safety for the Eagles last season and he provides way more than what Andrew Sendejo did in a similar role last year.

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