Colts draft grades: Grading Indianapolis' selections in the 2023 NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts finished with a miserable 4-12-1 record. They struggled with a bad quarterback rotation, porous offensive line and injuries to RB Jonathan Taylor. Indy ended up with 12 draft picks this year and has to be hoping it will be enough to contend in the AFC South. We break down this draft class for the Colts and look forward to the 2023 season.

Indianapolis Colts picks

Round 1: No. 4 overall: Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
Round 2: No. 44 (from Falcons): Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State
Round 3: No. 79 (from Commanders) – Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina
Round 4: No. 106 – Blake Freeland, OT, BYU
Round 4: No. 110 (from Falcons via Titans) – Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE, Northwestern
Round 5: No. 138 – Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina
Round 5: No. 158 (from Vikings) – Daniel Scott, S, California
Round 5: No. 162 (from Bills) – Will Mallory, TE, Miami
Round 5: No. 176 (from Cowboys) – Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern
Round 7: No. 211 (through Vikings) – Titus Leo, ILB, Wagner
Round 7: No. 221 – Jaylon Jones, CB, Texas A&M
Round 7: 236 (from Bucs): Jake Witt, OT, Northern Michigan University

Grade: A-

With 12 picks, it would have been impressive if they didn't address team needs. The most important draft pick was their first as they selected their hopeful quarterback of the future in Richardson. He will likely become the sixth different season-opening quarterback for the Colts in the last six seasons.

When looking at their selections, it feels like the first head-scratching one was Mallory in the fifth. It isn't a bad time to select a depth tight end, but when you roster four depth tight ends already, it just felt needless. Overall, they had a really solid draft from top to bottom, picking up future starters and necessary depth.

Richardson has huge fantasy upside in dynasty leagues. Rookie quarterbacks typically struggle in fantasy during their rookie years, so Richardson likely doesn't retain any fantasy value in redraft. He may be a solid streamer if your starter is on a bye week, but a lot would have to go right in a run-heavy offense for him to be a top-12 fantasy quarterback in 2023.

For the sanity of Colts' fans everywhere, I hope that Richardson is the best pick from their draft class. Brents, Freeland, Adebawore and Downs have a lot of upside, but Richardson is hopefully going to be their solution at quarterback for years to come.

  
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