The Colts took 22-year old DT Drake Nevis out of LSU with the 87th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Nevis is a tad on the light side at 6’0″, 291 pounds for a tackle.  He makes up for his lack of size with speed off the snap and good effort.  Nevis played in 13 games (all starts) for LSU last season and he had 56 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, batted down 1 ball, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Nevis played in 45 games (17 starts) in his four years at LSU and he had 139 tackles, 31.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, batted down 5 balls, forced 4 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Nevis will likely get onto the field right away for the Colts as this was a solid pick.

The Indianapolis Colts have picked 22-year old G/T Ben Ijalana out of Villanova with the 49th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Ijalana is a huge man at 6’3″, 319 pounds was like a man against boys in college but that’s because he played at Villanova.  He will likely be a guard with the Colts.  He played in 14 games (all starts) last year for the Wildcats and he played in 53 games (all starts) in his four years with the team.  If Ijalana can handle the jump in competition, he could start for the Colts as early as the 2011 season.  This was another pick that has to make Peyton Manning happy.

The Indianapolis Colts got the player they likely wanted all along when they took 23-year old OT Anthony Castonzo out of Boston College with the 22nd pick of the first round.  Castanzo is a big guy at 6’7″, 315 pounds and he has good feet.  He’s a much better pass blocker than a run blocker at this point in his development.  Castonzo played in 13 games (all starts) for Boston College last year.  He played in 54 games (all starts) in his four years with the Eagles.  Castanzo will likely get a chance to be a starter from Day #1 for the Colts and this pick has to have Peyton Manning smiling.

With Peyton Manning getting older, it’s imperative that the Colts protect him because they would be an awful team if he were to get injured.  With that in mind, I think the Colts are going to go O-Line heavy early in next weekend’s NFL Draft.  Here is who I saw the Colts getting in my own mock draft:

1st round (#22 overall) – Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

2nd round (#53 overall) – Benjamin Ijalama, OG, Villanova

3rd round (#87 overall) – John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin

4th round (#119 overall) – Sione Fua, DT, Stanford

5th round (#152 overall) – Casey Matthews, ILB, Oregon

6th round (#188 overall) – Stevan Ridley, RB, LSU

This would be a very nice haul for the Colts as Castonzo, Ijalama and Moffitt would improve the offensive line right away which would make Peyton Manning happy.