Feb. 4, 2026, 11:46 a.m. ET

In a recent mock draft from The Athletic, the Indianapolis Colts addressed the linebacker position in the second round.

Without a first-round pick in this year’s NFL draft, the Colts‘ first selection won’t come until Day 2 at pick No. 47 overall.

With that selection in the latest mock draft from Nick Baumgardner, the Colts selected Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday.

Listed at 6-4 – 240 pounds, Golday has played over 2,000 career defensive snaps at the college level. He’s been effective as a blitzer, and in 2025, he was one of PFF’s highest graded run defenders at the linebacker position.

In coverage, he held opponents to under 9.0 yards per catch, while forcing three pass breakups.

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For more on Golday, here is what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in his draft profile:

“Golday is a big, explosive linebacker with a game best suited for work near the line of scrimmage. He attacks climbing blockers with heavy, aggressive hands. He also shows the strength to stack, compress gaps and finish with authority. While his performance at the point of attack stands out, he can be a little late diagnosing play design and needs to work with a more preemptive downhill trigger at times. He’s more powerful than elusive as a blitzer and is average in coverage.”

It felt like linebacker was a fairly big need last offseason. However, it largely went unaddressed until the 2025 season began, when GM Chris Ballard then signed Germaine Pratt after he was released by Las Vegas.

Now this offseason, linebacker again appears to be a top priority. For one, depth is needed, but Ballard also mentioned the need to get younger and faster on defense as a whole. While he didn’t specifically mention linebacker when making those comments, that would seem to apply directly to this position.

As Zierlein notes, Golday is better when playing closer to the line of scrimmage and is “average” in coverage. With Zaire Franklin still under contract, the Colts have that closer to the line of scrimmage presence already, but need more coverage help at this position.