The Athletic’s NFL Draft guru, Dane Brugler released his latest mock draft last week, and he projected that the Indianapolis Colts would select Oklahoma edge rusher R Mason Thomas in the second round.

This early in the offseason, Brugler usually just focuses on each team’s first-round pick, but when a team like the Colts doesn’t have a first-round pick, he’ll choose a player that realistically coincides with that team’s needs and next available selection. In this case, Brugler was forced to make a second-round pick after Colts general manager Chris Ballard traded his team’s 2026 and 2027 first-round picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell to the New York Jets for two-time, first-team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.

We can argue about the reasoning for or against a trade of that magnitude, which some believe has hamstrung the Colts’ future. But the reality is that Ballard and Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, who said they have no regrets about the deal, can’t reverse it. So, Brugler predicts the Jets will select USC wideout Makai Lemon with the 16th pick via the Colts, while Indianapolis will select Thomas with the No. 47 pick.

Did Brugler get it right? Let’s discuss.

Thomas’ fit in Indy

Ballard offered a pragmatic assessment of the Colts’ defense in his end-of-season news conference.

“I think our age showed a little bit, and we’ve got to get younger,” Ballard said. “We’ve got to get faster.”

Thomas would address both needs by filling arguably the biggest hole on the Colts’ roster at edge rusher. The former Oklahoma star was named first-team All-SEC in 2025 after racking up 6.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss in 10 games.

Thomas pulled off one of the most impressive plays of the college season when he scooped up a fumble against Tennessee, stiff-armed a Volunteers player for several yards and ultimately rumbled to the end zone for a 71-yard score that proved to be the difference in the Sooners’ 33-27 victory. Thomas, however, injured his quad on that defensive TD and missed the final three games of the regular season. He returned for Oklahoma’s matchup with Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff, where he totaled three tackles in the Sooners’ 34-24 loss.

Can’t teach this level of effort by #Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas (#32). Guarantee you this makes the cutup when teams watch him pic.twitter.com/brn371BaVf

— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) January 20, 2026

“The Colts need more juice off the edge, which just happens to be Thomas’ specialty,” Brugler wrote in his mock draft. “Despite his lack of ideal size, his first-step burst and violent play style would be welcome additions as Indianapolis makes key changes on the defensive side of the ball.”

Thomas is listed at 6-foot-2 and 249 pounds on Oklahoma’s roster. His stature is less than ideal by NFL standards and raises questions about how productive he can be at the next level against bigger and more polished offensive linemen. But what Thomas lacks in size, he’s typically made up for with his quick get-off, violent hands and relentless motor. He has the potential to be a three-down edge rusher in the NFL, which is what any team would want in a second-round pick, though it’s fair to question if he can reach his ceiling in Indianapolis. The Colts just drafted a defensive end in the second round last year, former Ohio State star JT Tuimoloau, who had better measurables and a more impressive resume than Thomas, but Tuimoloau was far from a difference-maker as a rookie, hardly earning playing time.

Still, Brugler made a sensible selection by choosing a defensive end, given the Colts’ deficiencies in the trenches. Even if the Colts prefer a bigger edge rusher like Alabama’s LT Overton or Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton, it doesn’t change the fact that the Colts need serious help up front. Indianapolis had the fourth-highest QB hurry percentage (10.1) in 2025 but ranked 15th in sacks (39), per Pro Football Reference. A lot of the team’s defensive issues could be attributed to key players like defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and cornerbacks Gardner and Charvarius Ward missing multiple games. However, their absences don’t dismiss all of Indy’s shortcomings, especially at defensive end.

“I like where (Laiatu) Latu is at,” Ballard said of the Colts’ 2024 No. 15 pick, who was the first defensive player selected that year. “I did think Latu played really good football. He ended up with 8.5 sacks. There were some close-but-no-cigar plays that I think would’ve put him at about 14 that he needs to finish. (He also) ended up with three picks.”

The rest of the defensive ends, though? Not productive and, most of the time, not a factor.

After Indianapolis picked up Kwity Paye’s fifth-year option for a fully guaranteed $13.4 million in 2025, he played in all 17 games for the first time in his career. The result was an underwhelming four sacks that tied the career low he had as a rookie. Samson Ebukam, who returned from a torn left Achilles tendon in 2024, was a shell of himself in 2025 and tied his career low with two sacks in 14 games. Tyquan Lewis appeared in 13 games and had three sacks.

Paye, Ebukam and Lewis are all set to become unrestricted free agents, and given their lack of impact in 2025, none of them has a strong case to be retained. The Colts would probably be better served seeking their replacements in the draft or trying to add a proven veteran in free agency, though the latter avenue isn’t a flawless option either. Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson and Buffalo’s Joey Bosa are among the aging stars who will be unrestricted free agents, but it’s worth noting that these multi-time Pro Bowlers aren’t who they once were as edge rushers, hence why they’re available, and don’t exactly address the Colts’ need to “get younger” as Ballard mentioned.

Other potential second-round targets

The Colts also need to bolster their linebackers room, and one could argue that it needs a complete overhaul. Germaine Pratt, who joined the Colts midseason after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders, is set to become an unrestricted free agent. He was on a minimum contract and held his own after being reunited with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, whom he played under for six years with the Cincinnati Bengals, but it’s likely time to move on.

Indy’s other starting linebacker is Zaire Franklin. The 2024 second-team All-Pro regressed considerably in 2025 and struggled mightily in coverage, as did Pratt. Franklin is still under contract through the 2027 season, but the Colts could release him this offseason and create $5.8 million in cap space with just $2.5 million in dead money.

In this scenario, if the Colts were looking to restart at linebacker, a second-round pick would be a good place to begin. A few linebackers to keep in mind, via Brugler’s latest big board are Georgia’s CJ Allen and Ohio State’s Sonny Styles. Both are dynamic athletes with promising coverage skills that could turn them into every-down catalysts in the NFL.

Another position for the Colts to consider in the second is wide receiver. Assuming Indianapolis retains Alec Pierce in free agency, its wideout room could still see a big shakeup because of Michael Pittman Jr.’s $29 million cap hit in 2026. There’s no way the Colts will pay that because Pierce, who notched his first 1,000-yard receiving season, supplanted Pittman as the team’s No. 1 target in 2025 while Pittman continues to decline. If Indianapolis cuts Pittman, it would create $24 million in cap space with just $5 million in dead money.

Pittman’s departure, assuming he doesn’t restructure his deal to remain in Indianapolis, would really hurt the Colts’ wide receiver depth. The next two receivers behind Pierce on the depth chart would be 2023 third-round pick Josh Downs and veteran Ashton Dulin, who is primarily a special teamer. The Colts would need more firepower than that to uphold a formidable pass game, and perhaps they could acquire it by drafting another big-bodied receiver like USC’s Ja’Kobi Lane or Indiana’s Elijah Sarratt.

Final thought

The Colts obviously limited their ability to immediately improve their roster via the draft when they traded away their next two first-round picks, but that doesn’t give them a pass for 2026. The pressure is still on after a second-straight 8-9 finish and fifth straight season without a playoff berth, which is the franchise’s longest postseason drought since a seven-year stretch from 1988 to 1994. Irsay-Gordon said she still believes that Ballard, who has just two playoff appearances during his first nine years at the helm, is the man to right the ship and return Indianapolis to glory. But then again, that’s the same thing her later father and former team owner, Jim, said on a nearly annual basis when the Colts came up short.