30 Days of Colts Fits: LB Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia

The 2025 NFL Draft is officially a month away. In order to help you all along until draft day, I decided to start a daily prospect spotlight series to talk about some players that the Indianapolis Colts could target next month.

The players mentioned in this series will be players that I have either heard that the team is really high on or are players that just make way too much sense for the team based on fit/past draft history.

The next player up on this countdown to draft day is Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr.

Background

Mondon is a former five-star recruit who chose to attend Georgia out of high school. A gifted athlete, Mondon was a standout track star as well, hitting 11.46 seconds in the 100-meter dash and a 46-foot triple jump. He began his career with the Bulldogs as a reserve defensive back/special teams player back in 2021.

Mondon moved to linebacker ahead of the 2022 season, starting 13 games at the position. He led the team with 76 total tackles, along with eight tackles for a loss and 23 hurries. He went on to win a national championship that season as the Bulldogs trounced TCU in the final game of the season.

Mondon emerged as a consistent starter in his final two seasons with the program, even earning Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2023. He combined for over 100 total tackles, nine tackles for a loss, six sacks, and four pass deflections in his final two seasons with Georgia. He finished his collegiate career with 51 games played and two national championship victories.

Mondon was invited to participate in the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl this offseason, where his coverage prowess was among the best of the linebackers in attendance.

Georgia LB Smael Mondon Jr has been excellent through two days of work.

Physical downhill presence & a smooth athlete in space. His 1-1 reps in coverage today⤵️ pic.twitter.com/eiXRNoeoxf
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) January 29, 2025

Size/Testing

Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon (LB20) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 224 pounds

Arm Length: 31.75 inches

Testing Numbers: 40 Time: 4.58 seconds / 10-Yard Split: 1.52 / Bench: 25 Reps / Broad Jump: 130 inches

Smael Mondon was floating on this 10’10 broad jump pic.twitter.com/nevhDFyyri
— Brooks Austin (@BrooksAustinBA) February 28, 2025

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Standout Traits on Film

Mondon's best trait on film is his versatility. Beginning his career as a defensive back, Mondon plays the linebacker position with a different level of speed and explosion than most players. He triggers downhill with excellent burst, and he is a better coverage player than his raw stats suggest. He finished his college career allowing just 74 receptions in 774 coverage snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Mondon can line up as a blitzer off of the edge on passing downs, as a WILL linebacker on base downs, and even out as a nickel defender in three-linebacker looks. His size and speed give a defense a ton of versatility, and he showcased the ability to step up to the plate when asked to perform different roles.

Georgia LB Smael Mondon is a fun watch. Played all over the Georgia defense, lining up at WILL, edge, and even out in the nickel as a Star defender.

Strong coverage player with good eyes and feel. Think he can be a solid sub package player on day one pic.twitter.com/69BeBKAwCq
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) March 29, 2025

The Colts are likely to deploy a defense that asks more of the linebackers in coverage. Rather than just sinking back into hook zones over the middle, Lou Anarumo wants his linebackers to be fast, deceptive, and capable of keeping up in man coverage. The Colts already have Jaylon Carlies on the roster, but another athletic coverage player in the mix would do wonders for the team on third down.

The Colts could even get wild with it and make Carlies and Mondon the primary third-down 'backers, allowing Zaire Franklin to get a breather every now and then on obvious passing plays. Mondon's reliability as a tackler and his eyes in coverage would drastically improve the Colts' pitiful third-down defense from a season ago.

Smael Mondon Jr. gets Georgia’s first sack of the day.#GoDawgs | #RatedProspect

pic.twitter.com/9imMAZ1V1x
— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) January 2, 2025

Colts' Interest

The Colts are obviously interested in the top two linebackers (Jihaad Campbell and Carson Schwesinger) in this draft, but if they miss out on both players, Mondon makes a ton of sense. His ability in coverage, combined with his winning pedigree, could be exactly what the Colts are looking for in the late day two to early day three range.

The Colts have been doing their homework on Mondon this draft season and even spoke to him at the Senior Bowl. If the Colts elect to wait on the linebacker position this offseason, Mondon could be their guy later in the draft.

OTHER ENTRIES

The 2025 Indy Draft Guide is officially available for pre-orders! 225+ in-depth scouting reports, plus how each player fits the Indianapolis Colts.

IT IS BAAAACK!

The Indy Draft Guide is officially available for pre-order this draft season. 225+ write-ups on the 2025 NFL Draft class plus how each player fits the Colts (along with some Build-A-Ballard features).

Pre-order this beauty today: https://t.co/FKsiIvr8u8
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) February 18, 2025