3 UDFAs With the Best Chance to Make the Colts Roster

Even though there were 257 selected players in this year's draft, there is plenty of fringe late-round talent that was available immediately following the draft.

Once it gets to the middle of Day 3 (rounds 4-7) of the draft, teams begin monitoring the dwindling draft pool, locating key fits as they establish their priority undrafted free agent targets.

“So our scouts, like during the – starts about the fifth round, we’ll start kind of lining guys up and calling. Okay, here's our targets. And then of course, if there's somebody left on the board. But we prioritize, we start kind of recruiting, seeing who's going to be available," Colts general manager Chris Ballard explained his perspective on the transition from the end of the draft to undrafted free agency.

"Then once the draft ends, it's a frenzy. Now you're recruiting and trying to get guys in the boat. And the one thing we've seen over the last, I mean – I think you see it every year, but the tryout camp we have, like we'll find two or three guys in that camp every year that can help us.”

Sometimes, prospects and their agents will ask teams not to draft them late in the seventh round, providing them with their first wave of free agency as a pro. Though getting drafted is most certainly a dream come true, having the chance to not only choose where you're going to start your NFL career, but also possibly earn more guaranteed money as a highly sought-after UDFA prospect

With that being said, the Colts have a few standout names from their UDFA class that could compete for a roster spot.

Nolan Rucci

Rucci is a mountain of a man at 6'8" and 315 pounds. He started 18 games over his final two seasons at Penn State after transferring from Wisconsin after three uneventful years. Though he's viewed as more of a long-term project, the Colts' lack of depth across the offensive line could result in Rucci finding himself on the active roster at some point this season.

West Weeks

The 6'1", 230-pound LSUI linebacker is coming off his lone season as a starter in the college ranks, a campaign that resulted in 74 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Despite his average athleticism and inconsistencies in coverage and as a tackler, Weeks has found himself in an ideal situation with the Colts. Indianapolis' linebacker room could arguably use more depth even after doubling up at the position in the draft, and Weeks slots in as a potential winner of the summer.

Austin Brown

Brown may have the best path to an NFL roster spot out of anybody on this list. Outside of his reported $272k guaranteed at signing, Brown's ideal combination of athleticism and special teams upside makes for a promising roster candidate. Not to mention the undecided safety depth behind Cam Bynum back deep, which additionally bodes well for Brown.

He slowly but surely earned full-time starting duties throughout his four years at Wisconsin, culminating in 53 tackles, a tackle for loss, and three passes broken up in 12 starts as a senior.

These three UDFA signings were all among the best available following the NFL Draft, and even matched the Colts' recently established strategy of going after Power Conference prospects. More specifically, all three come from the country's top two conferences within said power structure, the SEC and Big Ten, strengthening Chris Ballard's notion that they've made a calculated effort to add the best competition the nation has to offer.

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