NFL Draft Wishlist: Indianapolis Colts
By Josh Carter
The Colts are in a great position to return to dominating their division. Andrew Luck and co got to playoffs with a team with many holes. The Colts need to focus on building their defense. Gaining a feature back that can be an 1,000+ yards/season would also be ideal being that the Colts haven’t had that since Joseph Addai’s second year in the league.
Feb 22, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama running back Eddie Lacy speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Round 1: Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama– The Colts can really use a back like Eddie Lacy to show support to Andrew Luck. Eddie Lacy is a strong, smart back who is used to winning on the collegiate level (2x national champion, All-SEC 1st team RB in 2012). The top rated running back in the draft and the only one whose across the board expected to go first round. He is exactly what the Colts have been looking for in their backfield the past few years and will likely be available for them in the for them as long as Cincinatti doesn’t snag him first.
Jan 26, 2013; Mobile, AL, USA; Senior Bowl south squad defensive back Bacarri Rambo of Georgia (18) returns an interception against the Senior Bowl north squad during the first half of the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Late Round Sleeper: Bacarri Rambo, S, Georgia – Every year there are great players with “character concerns” that dramatically plummet their draft stock (see Janoris Jenkins). This year, that is likely to happen to Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo who was suspended the first 2 games of his senior season for “accidentally” ingesting pot brownies. We’ve all been there right? However, the man is a playmaker making 73 tackles and causing 6 turnovers (3 INTs, 3 FFs) in the 10 games he played in 2012. The year before, he made 8 interceptions, was named an AP All American and was on the All-SEC first team defense. Any other year even with the character concerns, a player like this should go in round 2 at the latest. This year is a bad year for safeties because of the enormous supply of both free agents and the strong safety class headlined by Texas’ Kenny Vaccaro and Florida’s Matt Elam. Smarter teams like the Colts may wait until day 2 to snag a gem like Rambo who may even turn out to be the crown jewel of this safety class.