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.

The Colts have signed 26-year old WR Darrius Heyward-Bey to 1 -year deal.  He played in 15 games for the Raiders last year and he caught 41 passes for 606 yards (14.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc).  Heyward-Bey has now played in 56 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 140 passes for 2,071 yards (14.8 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Heyward-Bey has also carried the ball 8 times for 83 yards (10.4 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  Heyward-Bey has big time speed, but he also has a couple of hands made of concrete.  That being said, he will make some big plays for the Colts in 2013 due to his elite speed.

The Colts have acquired 25-year old fullback Stanley Havili from the Philadelphia Eagles for 25-year old DE Clifton Geathers.  Havili played in 15 games as a rookie for the Colts last year in which he carried the ball 6 times for 22 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 43 yards (6.1 avg).  He also returned 2 kickoffs for 18 yards (9.0 avg) and he had 7 tackles.  Geathers played in 8 games for the Colts last year and he had 5 tackles and 1 sack.  Havili should help the Colts both offensively and on special teams in 2013, so I like this deal for them.

The Colts have re-signed 25-year old NT Martin Tevaseu.  He played in 13 games for the Colts last year and he had 12 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Tevaseu has now played in 18 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 13 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  This was a good depth signing for the Colts for the interior of the D-Line in 2013.

The Colts have re-signed 27-year old offensive guard Joe Reitz.  He played in 9 games (8 starts) for the Colts last year.  He has now played in 20 games (17 starts) in his first three years with the Colts.  The Colts were smart to bring back Reitz for the 2013 season, as they have to protect Andrew Luck.

The Colts have signed 32-year old DT Aubrayo Franklin.  Franklin played in 12 games for the Chargers last year and he had 20 tackles.  He has now played in 126 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has 224 tackles, 4 sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and 8 passes defensed.  This was a good move for the Colts as they need some help on the interior of the D-Line for 2013.

The Colts have signed 37-year old QB Matt Hasselbeck to a 2-year deal.  He played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Titans last year and he completed 138 of 221 passes (62.4%) for 1,367 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 INTs (81.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 38 yards (2.9 ypc) for the Titans last year.  Hasselbeck has now played in 194 games (152 starts) in his first 14 years in the NFL and he has completed 3,029 of 5,018 passes (60.4%) for 34,517 yards with 201 TD passes and 147 INTs (82.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 339 times for 1,229 yards (3.6 ypc) with 8 TD runs so far in his career.  Hasselbeck is 80-72 (52.6%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.  This is a very nice pickup for the Colts as Hasselbeck will be able to help mentor Andrew Luck.  It also doesn’t hurt that he can still play well in case something happens to Luck.

The Colts have re-signed 25-year old CB Cassius Vaughn to a 1-year deal.  Vaughn played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he had 68 tackles, 1 interception (he returned it for a TD) and 9 passes defensed.  He also returned 10 kickoffs for 209 yards (20.9 avg) for the Colts last year.  Vaughn has now played in 38 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 94 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 tackle for a loss and 3 fumble recoveries.  He also has returned 19 kickoffs for 544 yards (28.6 avg) with 1 TD return so far in his career.  The Colts will likely have Vaughn focus on playing defense in 2013.

The Colts have released 27-year old safety Tom Zbikowski.  He played in 11 games for the Colts last year and he had 38 tackles, 5 passes defensed, 1 interception and 1 sack.  He also returned 6 kickoffs for 123 yards (20.5 avg) last year.  He has now played in 64 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 126 tackles, 2 sacks, 9 passes defensed, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 sacks.  The Colts should be o.k. without Zbikowski.