Evaluating the Value: Colts Select Dayo Odeyingbo in Round 2, Pick 54 Overall

Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts surprised a lot of people Friday night, grabbing Vanderbilt EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo at 54 overall one night after going EDGE in the first round.

To hear Chris Ballard talk, the Indianapolis Colts were not concerned with Vanderbilt EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo's Achilles injury ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Ballard could have let his decision to draft the Commodore star at No. 54 overall do the talking, going back-to-back at EDGE in the draft, shoring up a major need on the current roster.

Odeyingbo brings versatility and explosiveness to the table on the defensive line, and has insanely long arms for the position.

For each pick the rest of the draft for the Colts, I'll take a look at where the player was listed on the following three draft boards (in terms of overall ranking): Pro Football Focus, The Draft Network, and The Athletic's Dane Brugler.

By comparing all three rankings, I will try and determine if the Colts' selection was a steal, ideal value, or a reach for the Colts.

Make sense? Let's get into it.

Dayo Odeyningbo pre-draft big board rankings

The Draft Network — No. 101 overall player, No. 14 EDGE

Pro Football Focus — No. 80 overall player, No. 12 EDGE

The Athletic's Dane Brugler — No. 86 overall player, No. 11 EDGE

Considering where Odeyingbo came off the board, this feels like a reach for the Colts, just based on the three rankings above.

On Day 2, Odeyingbo was the second EDGE off the board, going four picks after Georgia's Azeez Ojulari to the Giants. With freakishly long arms and some short-area explosion, Odeyingbo makes a ton of sense for the Colts, but he feels like a guy that could have been had following a trade down.

Instead, the Colts stayed pat and grabbed a guy who likely won't be ready for the start of the season, and could wind up taking a redshirt year as he recovers from the torn Achilles.

It's hard to look at this as nothing more than a reach, especially with EDGE defenders like Boogie Basham and Joseph Ossai on the board, as well as tackles Jalen Mayfield and Brady Christensen.

Knowing that, the Colts should have moved down and accumulated some draft picks rather than reaching on a guy dealing with a significant lower-body injury suffered four months ago.

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