Horseshoe Huddle

Colts Get Risky, Abandon Personality in New Mock Draft

The Indianapolis Colts make a move for them very out of character with their first-round pick in this new 2025 NFL mock draft.
Jake Arthur|
Mar 2, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker (OL03) during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Mar 2, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker (OL03) during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Indianapolis Colts

It's hard to know what the expect from the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.

General manager Chris Ballard has vowed to become more aggressive in free agency and to build more competition throughout the roster, which would be a change from recent years. However, one thing that seems unlikely to change is Ballard's philosophy in the draft, which is to invest in players with elite physical and athletic traits, especially early.

In his most recent NFL mock draft, NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein has the Colts making the surprising move of taking Alabama guard Tyler Booker.

"I wanted to put tight end Tyler Warren here," Zierlein wrote. "But the opportunity to pair Booker with Quenton Nelson might be too enticing for Chris Ballard to pass up."

It's not the fact that Booker is a guard being taken by the Colts at 14 that's surprising. It's that it's Booker himself, who just put together a rather disappointing Scouting Combine performance that registered a staggering 3.93 Relative Athletic Score (RAS). RAS is, in short, a measurement of how much of an athletic physical specimen a player is based on their height, weight, and athletic testing numbers.

Booker's score is not exactly on board with how the Colts draft, with it almost coming as a surprise when they select someone with a RAS below 9.0, especially early in the draft. The Colts' exceptions are normally for if a player scores a little lower based on a lack of height or weight.

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Perhaps the thing that would floor fans most about this selection is that players like Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, Will Johnson, and Jihaad Campbell were available and seemed much more realistic (and necessary). However, this is the time of year to throw different scenarios into the mix to see what sticks.

Athletic testing aside, the tape does show a top-15 player in Booker (6'5", 321, 20 years old), the First-Team All-American whose mentality and mauling style of play do fit well within the culture that the Colts offensive line has built over the last seven years.

The Colts may also need offensive line help early in the draft with the uncertain futures of Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and Braden Smith

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Jake Arthur
JAKE ARTHUR

Jake Arthur is the co-deputy editor of Indianapolis Colts on SI and has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for a decade. He is a member of the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA), and his works have been featured on SBNation, MSN, Yahoo, and Bleacher Report. He has also contributed to multiple NFL Draft guides and co-hosts the Locked On Colts podcast.

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