The 2018 NFL draft helped put the Indianapolis Colts back on the map for a few seasons as a contending team in the AFC, but how different might it look if the class underwent a re-draft?
Bleacher Report conducted the exercise of re-drafting the first round of the 2018 draft. The Colts held the No. 3 overall pick and then traded it to the New York Jets for the No. 6 overall pick and several other selections.
Though the Colts took three-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson in 2018, he was taken one spot ahead of them in this re-draft. Instead, they pivot to finding their left tackle of the future.
The Pick Then: Quenton Nelson, OG, Notre Dame
The Pick Now: Orlando Brown Jr., OT, Oklahoma
The Indianapolis Colts don’t have an opportunity to select Quenton Nelson in this re-draft. But they still have an opportunity here to bolster the offensive line at what most would argue is a more valuable position.
Brown hasn’t quite had the career Nelson has, but he’s not exactly cat food, either. In five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and now the Cincinnati Bengals, Brown has been named to the Pro Bowl four times. PFF’s Gordon McGuinness recently slotted him as the NFL’s 14th-best offensive tackle.
“Brown has developed into a high-floor NFL player, with his PFF grade sitting between 73.0 and 78.0 in each of the past four seasons,” McGuinness wrote. “Five seasons into his NFL career, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever be a top-10 tackle. But at the very worst, he is a more-than-capable starting player on the left side.”
That may not sound like the most glowing of recommendations. But in today’s NFL, a “more-than-capable” left tackle is absolutely worth a top-10 pick.
Brown would be an interesting choice for the Colts. It certainly would have answered the question as to who the successor to Anthony Castonzo would be considering the latter eventually would retire following the 2020 season. But it also is fair to question whether Brown would have sat for three seasons behind Castonzo.
Another current Colts player selected in the 2018 draft was taken in this re-draft. Linebacker Shaquille Leonard was originally the No. 36 overall pick in this draft, but he went No. 12 overall to the Buffalo Bills.
Other players the Colts could have considered in this re-draft would be safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, cornerback Denzel Ward, offensive tackle Jordan Mailata and safety Derwin James, to name a few.
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