Indianapolis Colts Draft Grade from ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. gave the Indianapolis Colts a 'B' for their draft class over the weekend, a solid mark considering the Colts were without a first-round draft pick.

Says Kiper of the Colts haul:

The Colts lost their first-round pick in a trade for Carson Wentz that didn't work out, but give credit to general manager Chris Ballard for crushing Day 2. I liked all four of their picks on Friday. Alec Pierce (53) has an exciting size-speed combo that could pair well with Michael Pittman Jr. Bernhard Raimann (77), who went a round later than I thought, has a chance to be a rookie starter at left tackle. Jelani Woods (73) is a 6-foot-7 tight end who couldn't stop catching touchdown passes last season. And Nick Cross (96) has blazing speed and could play as the third safety early in his career. - Mel Kiper Jr. - ESPN

Kiper dinged the Colts for not addressing the quarterback position with Matt Ryan turning 37 this year, saying "Maybe the organization just didn't like any of them in this class and prefers to wait for 2023, but it was still a little peculiar."

A little peculiar possibly, but not when taken with more context. It doesn't seem anyone really liked the quarterbacks in this class.

Kenny Pickens was the first off the board at No. 20 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the latest a quarterback was drafted since 1997.

The next quarterback didn't go off the board until the Atlanta Falcons took Desmond Ridder with pick No. 74.

Kiper Jr. had just six teams with a better grade than 'B', with the Baltimore Ravens and New York acing the draft as the only teams he gave an 'A'.

Indianapolis Colts 2022 NFL Draft Class:

Round/Pick, Name, POS, College
2/53 Alec Pierce WR Cincinnati
3/73 Jelani Woods TE Virginia
3/77 Bernhard Raimann OT Central Michigan
3/96 Nick Cross S Maryland
5/159 Eric Johnson DL Missouri State
6/192 Andrew Ogletree TE Youngstown State
6/216 Curtis Brooks DT Cincinnati
7/239 Rodney Thomas II S Yale