There are a lot of mock drafts out there. But when it comes to trying to gauge, especially in the early going, who the Indianapolis Colts might take or who might be available to them, there are a select few analysts that you take note of where they have certain prospects.
One of those analysts is NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, who is one of the best in the business. As Kyle Crabbs of the 33rd Football Team summed up well, when it comes to Jeremiah’s first mock draft of the year, you take note of which prospects went higher or lower than the consensus.
When it comes to the Colts, two of the most mocked players to them up to this point are Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and Georgia safety Malaki Starks. However, in Jeremiah’s mock draft, neither were taken anywhere near pick 14.
Jeremiah had Warren being taken in the top 10, going seventh overall to the New York Jets. For more on that specific selection, click here. But also noteworthy is that Jeremiah had Starks going to Minnesota at No. 24 overall.
Tight end and safety are two of the biggest needs that the Colts have, so with Warren and Starks generally considered the top two players at those position groups, it’s easy to see why they are popular picks for Indianapolis in mock drafts.
However, as we often learn, the outside consensus and the NFL consensus can be two different things, and what makes Jeremiah so good at this job is he is tapped in to league circles.
Now, having said all of that, Jeremiah’s first mock draft in late-January certainly doesn’t guarantee that Warren will be long gone before the Colts are on the clock or that Starks won’t be in play either. There is still a very long pre-draft process that has to unfold and big boards will change.
But as we all consume mock drafts this time of the year, and Warren and Starks continue to be taken by the Colts, I would at least keep Jeremiah’s mock draft in mind–or at least until version 2.0 comes out and we see if any changes have been made.
