Change Up for Colts in NFL.com's Latest Mock Draft
The Indianapolis Colts are near the halfway point in the first round of April's NFL Draft at No. 15. From early in the process, many draft pundits on the major networks have linked the Colts with a receiving threat including Jordan Reid of ESPN here and here, and Nate Tice of Yahoo.
Reid and Tice had the Colts taking Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman. Reid had the Colts going Georgia tight end Brock Bowers on version 2.0.
Daniel Jeremiah followed suit with his first mock draft in January with the Colts taking Bowers, but he's had a change of heart with his second attempt.
He changes things up with the Colts passing on Coleman and Bowers and selecting Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins.
"Wiggins is going to put on a show at the NFL Scouting Combine and might be drafted earlier than this slot," wrote Jeremiah on NFL.com. "The Colts have proven they value traits, and this Clemson product is the big-time-traits corner in this year’s draft."
The Colts could definitely use some help in the defensive backfield. 2023 second-round pick JuJu Brents struggled with injury his rookie season and was ranked 66th out of 127 cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Kenny Moore was the highest-ranked cornerback by PFF in 2023 at 18th, but he plays in the slot and is a pending free agent.
Despite finishing fifth in the NFL with 51 sacks, the Colts ranked just 17th in passing defense in 2023.
Jeremiah has Bowers going No. 18 to the Cincinnati Bengals and Coleman falling out of the first-round completely. That's always a good reminder to take mock drafts with a grain of salt.
The NFL Combine is next week, and that's the last-big chance for prospects to change their draft stock. After that, the mock drafts should be less volatile than they are before February.
Jeremiah thinks the player for Colts fans to watch at the combine next week is cornerback Nate Wiggins.
