Both Braden Smith and Bernhard Raimann are currently scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in 2026 as well, so offensive tackle is a possibility here. But if the Colts are picking top eight, across-the-board changes could be coming for the Colts including quarterback. What a difference a year made for Klubnik, who took a major step forward in his second season as a starter as he threw for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 463 yards and seven scores.

(Programming alert: Klubnik (Clemson) and Nussmeier (LSU) will meet in Week 1 of the college football season on August 30th.)

Indianapolis went tight end in the first round as expected, but it is important to identify pieces to that interior defensive line in the coming years. The hope is that Woods continues on his upward trajectory.

The Colts have recently used their first-round picks on edge rushers Kwity Paye (2021) and Laiatu Latu (2024), so we know they're not afraid to invest draft capital at the position. Paye doesn't have a long-term contract and is currently set to play 2025 on the fifth-year option. Parker had a breakout season in 2024, with 11 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss and 4 forced fumbles. He is a versatile player capable of playing from multiple pre-snap alignments and stances, using his length as a run defender and closing speed in the pass rush.

The Colts didn't pick in Round 1, a product of their deadline deal with the Jets to land Sauce Gardner in November. They were 7-2 at that point with Daniel Jones playing great ball, but after an overtime win the following week in Berlin, they became the first NFL team to ever be six games over .500 and still finish with a losing record (per ESPN Research). Jones tore an Achilles in Week 14, and 44-year-old Phillip Rivers, signed out of retirement, was unsurprisingly unable to right the ship.

The CJ Allen pick is going to be huge for the defense. He was a steal at No. 53 -- I had him 28th on the board. He has three-down attributes that allow him to impact the game in coverage, as a run stopper and as a blitzer. Just look at his stat line from 2025: 97 tackles, seven tackles for loss, nine run stops, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks. Paired with free agent signing Akeem Davis-Gaither and Day 3 pick Bryce Boettcher, the linebacker unit should take a step forward.

Despite tying for 14th with 39 sacks, this team was 30th in pass rush win rate (29.1%) last season. George Gumbs Jr. and Caden Curry chip in with Laiatu Latu (who is looking like a promising young pro after 8.5 sacks in 2025) to get after more AFC South quarterbacks, but Indy could have used a little more here. A.J. Haulcy enters as a potential Nick Cross replacement next to Cam Bynum, with eight interceptions and 12 pass breakups over the past two seasons. And Jalen Farmer was a strong value in Round 4, as I ranked the 6-foot-5, 312-pound guard at No. 81 overall. He didn't allow any sacks last season.

Without the first-round pick, the Colts did pretty well here overall, getting a borderline first-round talent on Day 2.

Second-round LB CJ Allen (53rd overall pick) and third-round S A.J. Haulcy (78th) seem like sweet value picks given where these talented defenders were selected — and both could start as rookies. They're also the secondary story of this draft. In a win-now move made at least year's trade deadline, Indy surrendered this year's first-rounder (and next year's even more valuable one) to the Jets for CB Sauce Gardner, who — through no fault of his own really — wasn't able to help the cratering Colts win now in 2025. But if Gardner, who hasn't been the same player the past few years that he was earlier in his career, doesn't revert to All-Pro form — maybe even Deion Sanders form — history is not going to look kindly upon GM Chris Ballard's very expensive gambit.