The Colts didn’t go for flash in the 2013 NFL Draft.  They went for glue type players.  Here is who they got:

1st round (#24 overall) – Bjoern Werner, OLB/DE, Florida State

3rd round (#86 overall) – Hugh Thornton, OG, Illinois

4th round (#121 overall) – Khaled Holmes, C, USC

5th round (#139 overall) – Montori Hughes, DT, Tennessee-Martin

6th round (#192 overall) – John Boyett, S, Oregon

7th round (#230 overall) – Kerwynn Williams, RB, Utah State

7th round (#254 overall) – Justice Cunningham, TE, South Carolina

I really like the first three picks the Colts made in the 2013 NFL Draft.  Bjoern Werner should be able to help the Colts amp up the pass rush a little bit in 2013 and beyond.  G Hugh Thornton and C Khaled Holmes were smart picks as the Colts need to start protecting Andrew Luck better.

FIRST IMPRESSION:  B

The Colts selected 22-year old TE Justice Cunningham out of South Carolina with the 254th overall pick (7th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  He is 6’4″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  Cunningham is a really solid run blocker as he can get to the second level and hit moving targets.  That is his strength on the football field.  He does not have much speed or moves, as he runs straight after he catches the football.  Cunningham played in 13 games for South Carolina last year and he caught 23 passes for 324 yards (14.1 avg).  He played in 54 games in college and he caught 50 passes for 581 yards (11.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Cunningham will try to stick with the Colts as their #3 TE in 2013 and beyond.

The Colts selected 22-year old RB Kerwynn Williams out of Utah State with the 230th overall pick (7th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Williams is 5’7″, 196 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Williams runs hard for a player his size and he can break arm tackles.  He is fast enough to get to the corner and get downfield.  But, he’s not much of a pass blocker due to his size and he was only a 1-year starter at Utah State.  Williams played in 13 games (all starts) at Utah State last year and he carried the ball 218 times for 1,512 yards (6.9 ypc) with 15 TD runs and he also caught 45 passes for 697 yards (15.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Williams played in 49 games (18 starts) in his four years at Utah State and he carried the ball 382 times for 2,515 yards (6.6 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He also caught 64 passes for 870 yards (13.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs in college.  Williams could be an outstanding 3rd down back in 2013 and he could return some kickoffs or punts.  Williams has the ability to have a much bigger role down the road for the Colts.  I really like this pick for them.

The Colts selected 23-year old safety John Boyett out of Oregon with the 192nd overall pick (6th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  He is 5’9″, 205 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Boyett is solid against the run and he plays faster than his timed speed on the field.  He has good ball skills, but he can’t handle covering NFL type WRs and TEs man to man.  Boyett played in 1 game (1 start) last year for Oregon (due to surgery on both knees) and he had 2 tackles and 1 interception.  Boyett played in 40 games (36 starts) in his four years in college and he had 278 tackles, 23 passes broken up and 10 interceptions.  Boyett will likely have to earn his P.T. on special teams before he gets a shot at playing any D for the Colts.

The Colts selected 23-year old DT Montori Hughes out of Tennessee-Martin with the 139th overall pick (5th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Hughes is 6’4″, 322 pounds and he runs a 5.0 40.  Hughes is a big man that can push the pocket back towards the QB.  He is a good tackler and he is solid against the run.  But, he has issues off the field that led to him leaving Tennessee for Tennessee-Martin after two years.  It will also be interesting to see how Hughes handles the huge step up in competition in 2013 and beyond.  Hughes played in 11 games (all starts) at Tennessee-Martin last year and he had 42 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks and 1 batted ball.  Hughes played in 47 games (23 starts) at Tennessee and Tennessee-Martin in which he had 109 tackles, 20.5 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 5 batted balls, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  This is a boom or bust pick for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts selected 23-year old center Khaled Holmes out of USC with the 121st overall pick (4th round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Holmes is 6’3″, 308 pounds and he runs a 5.15 40.  Holmes is a solid blocker when on the move as he can hit moving targets in the run game.  He is also a solid pass blocker, but his game is quite a bit on the finesse side.  Holmes will need to get a tad meaner to excel in the NFL and it will be up to the Colts’ coaches to bring that out in him.  Holmes played in 11 games (all starts) for USC last year.  He played in 39 games (36 starts) in his four years with the Trojans.  This was a solid pick for the Colts as Holmes should be a starter for them in the near future.

The Indianapolis Colts selected 22-year old OG Hugh Thornton out of Illinois with the #86 overall pick (3rd round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Thornton is 6’3″, 313 pounds and he runs a 5.25 40.  Look up nasty in the dictionary and you might very well see Thornton’s picture there.  He plays mean and he drives to drive defensive players into the ground.  Sometimes he gets too amped up, which causes him to miss some blocks.  He played in 11 games (10 starts) for Illinois last year.  He played in 42 games (35 starts) in his four years with the Illini.  Thornton will likely be a starter in the very near future….as early as opening day 2013.

The Indianapolis Colts selected 23-year old DE Bjoern Werner out of Florida State with the #24 overall pick (1st round) of the 2013 NFL Draft.  Werner is 6’4″, 275 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  Werner has a high motor and he always seems to be moving towards the QB.  He isn’t a very agile guy, but he gets by with heart and grit.  Werner hasn’t played football that long, so he could really improve with some solid coaching up from the Colts.  Werner played in 14 games (all starts) for Florida State last year and he had 42 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, 8 batted balls, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Werner played in 41 games (27 starts) in his three years with the Seminoles and he had 99 tackles, 35 tackles for a loss, 23.5 sacks, 17 batted balls, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.  This was a good pickup for the Colts as Werner will help them amp up the pass rush in 2013 and down the road.

The Colts loaded up offensively in last April’s NFL Draft.  Look for them to shift to the defensive side of the ball later this month in the 2013 NFL Draft.  I have conducted a complete 7-round mock draft that can be found on bloglockers.com and here is a look at the players I saw the Colts taking:

1. (24) Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina

3. (86) Alvin Bailey, G, Arkansas

4. (121) Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State

6. (192) Damion Square, DE, Alabama

7. (230) Chris Thompson, RB, Florida State

7. (254) Sio Moore, OLB, Connecticut

The Colts only have six picks in this month’s NFL Draft.  The biggest needs are for them to find some more guys to protect Andrew Luck.  OG Chance Warmack, OG Jonathan Cooper and OT Menelik Watson will likely be the players the Colts consider picking in the first round.  I think the Colts will also be looking for a speed back to catch some passes out of the backfield in 2013 and I think that a late pick on RB Kenyon Barner of Oregon would be a solid move for the Colts.  The Colts will also likely look at add a couple of depth type players for the D later this month.