Quick Hits: Mike Strachan Feels He's 'Special Player the Colts Need'
In true Indianapolis Colts fashion, they used the 2021 NFL Draft as an opportunity to select a large, highly athletic prospect from a small school to try and unearth as a gem.
In the seventh round with the 229th-overall pick, the Colts drafted Charleston wide receiver Mike Strachan.
At 6'5", 226 with an 85-inch wingspan and 10-inch hands, Strachan truly has special size for the receiver position. On top of that, he ran a 4.52 40-yard dash, a 6.96-second three-cone, posted a 35-inch vertical leap and 10'7" broad, and put up 20 reps on the bench press.
Without being a widely-known prospect, reporters learned quite a bit about Strachan after speaking with him following his selection on Saturday.
Strachan has a Hall-of-Fame mentor: Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin is a family friend of Strachan's and has been a mentor to the 2021 draft pick.
Him and my dad were pretty good friends in their earlier years and my dad also played receiver, so him and Michael Irvin, they are both great receivers. They both really taught me and mentored me through the process of the game and gave me a lot of tips on how I can get better in the receiving play.
He comes from a unique, athletic background: Strachan's family moved to the United State from The Bahamas during his adolescence, but his football journey had already begun before moving stateside. It also wasn't the only sport in which he excelled.
I was born in the Bahamas, born and raised. I moved over here to finish high school at Liberty Christian Academy under Coach Frank Rocco. My 10th, 11th and 12th grade year. My parents and I made that big sacrifice sending me over here to finish high school, so I gained that exposure for football moving forward to the next level....
My first love is definitely football. I love football. Track is something that I use to help football with my speed, my athleticism. I use the speed from track to help me on the football field. Just growing up coming under my dad who played receiver for Bethune Cookman, he was able to teach me football at such a young age. Football just came so natural for me and I really fell in love with it right away. But like I said, track is just a second hobby of mine. I use it for my speed with football.
His size and athleticism are appealing, but he may be capable of even more: It's clear to see with his size and athleticism that Strachan is an offensive asset, but his pre-draft profile shows he may be capable of even more. Strachan's 40-time at his pro day was a little slower than what he felt he could achieve.
I’m just an overall playmaker. I’m going to come in and be coachable. I’m going to give championship effort. I feel like I’m that special player that the Colts need. I just feel like I can come in and with the tools I have adding up to what we already have, that we could really be in the run for a Super Bowl. That’s really what I want to get to is a Super Bowl and I feel like we can definitely do that especially with the tools that we have right now...
Yeah, I was definitely disappointed. I knew I could have put up a faster time. I really had to bench press right before going into a 40-yard dash and after putting 20 reps on the bench and coming back and trying to run a full-speed 40-yard dash is just hard to do especially with me being a bigger frame, a bigger target. I got a bit tight coming into my 40-yard dash, but I knew for sure I could run faster because I did it before.
Strachan already has (brief) experience in a critical area that could help him make the Colts' roster: Whether or not a bubble player participates in special teams can be a deciding factor in if he makes the roster. If the Colts feel they can rekindle his special teams background, that will help him make the team.
Not much. I played special teams in 2017, so I have some background in special teams but the more I got closer to starting my coach decided he wanted to take me off special teams and use me strictly for wide receiver. But I do have some special teams background. I played it more in 2017.
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