With the Reese’s Senior Bowl behind us, Pro Football Focus has put together a new 2025 NFL mock draft, taking into account what happened over the last week. So, how did that impact things for the Indianapolis Colts?
Well, in Mason Cameron’s mock draft, things played out quite differently for the Colts than it has in many other mock drafts, where tight end, cornerback, and safety are the popular first-round picks.
Cameron, instead, had the Colts bolstering their defensive front, taking Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce. Of note, Tyler Warren and Malaki Starks–two popular picks for the Colts in most mock drafts– were top 10 selections in this one.
Listed at 6-5 – 243 pounds, Pearce has played fewer than 1,000 career college snaps, but what you can’t deny is the production he’s had.
Between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Pearce has totaled 107 pressures and 21 sacks, according to PFF’s metrics. This past year specifically, Pearce was 13th among edge rushers in pressures and also graded out as one of the better run defenders as well.
“Enter Pearce,” wrote Cameron, “a twitchy edge rusher with fast hands and an impressive speed-to-power transition for his size. His 89.9 pass-rush grade reflects his disruptive ability, which could immediately boost a Colts defense that ranked 28th in pressure rate last season.”
From the sounds of it, added competition throughout the roster will be at the top of the to-do list for GM Chris Ballard this offseason. And after an 8-9 season, there are a lot of positions that the Colts could justify adding to.
Although the defensive front is one that Ballard has invested in heavily, it could still be a sneaky need this offseason. Improved depth behind Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner is still a must and the need at defensive end could grow if free agent Dayo Odeyingbo ends up elsewhere and if the team were to move on from Sameson Ebukam in favor of salary cap savings.
However, with Stewart, Buckner, Laiatu Latu, and Kwity Paye all still under contract, there are certainly more pressing needs that the Colts have than at this position. So that is going to be a big challenge for Ballard–how does he distribute the cap space and draft picks that the Colts have?
