{"id":745227,"date":"2026-02-11T17:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/745227\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T17:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:13:17","slug":"colts-fill-crucial-roster-holes-in-post-super-bowl-nfl-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/745227\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts fill crucial roster holes in post-Super Bowl NFL Mock Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5d\">The Indianapolis Colts began the 2025 NFL Season at 7-1 and were very much in contention for the AFC South title and the AFC&#8217;s top playoff seed, but injuries began to pile up, and <a href=\"https:\/\/horseshoeheroes.com\/colts-collapse-ended-up-hurting-jonathan-taylor-most\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the season was effectively over<\/a> when Daniel Jones went down with a torn Achilles.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5g\">However, the 7-1 start should still give fans some optimism that the team can return to something like that in 2026. It&#8217;s hard to win consistently in the NFL, so if nothing else, Indy does have the infrastructure in place to be a playoff team in 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5j\">But without a first-round pick in 2026, the front office has to be careful to ensure the biggest roster needs are taken care of. This <a href=\"https:\/\/horseshoeheroes.com\/nfl-draft-guru-drops-perfect-pick-replace-longtime-indianapolis-colts-starter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">post-Super Bowl mock draft<\/a> could set the stage for the Colts to put the entire AFC on notice in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Indianapolis Colts go all-out to fill roster holes in updated NFL Mock Draft47. Chris Brazzell II, WR, Tennessee<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5s\">With Alec Pierce being in a position to likely price his way out of Indianapolis, the Colts could use their first selection in the 2026 NFL Draft on a replacement in Chris Brazzell II. The Colts obviously do not have a first-round pick due to the Sauce Gardner trade, so each selection here for the front office is that much more important.<\/p>\n<p>78. Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5y\">Indianapolis has some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/free-agents\/_\/year\/2026\/team\/ind\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">notable free agent linebackers<\/a> this offseason, so this position figures to be one of need in the offseason. Jacob Rodriguez is a bit undersized, but he&#8217;s got high-end collegiate production and a ton of experience, which are two things teams absolutely look for when trying to find linebacker help in the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>113. Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, UCF<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"64\">It&#8217;s possible that the Colts could sign Trey Hendrickson in the offseason, as he and current defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo overlapped in Cincinnati for a few years, and the Colts need more pass-rush help, but if Super Bowl 60 told us anything, it&#8217;s that a team can never have too many defensive linemen. Indy adds to the unit with Malachi Lawrence from UCF.<\/p>\n<p>154. Lander Barton, LB, Utah<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6a\">Drafting two linebackers might be a bit odd since it&#8217;s a position that teams can fill in free agency, but the Colts have never really had high-end linebacker play in recent memory. Looking to fill this position with developmental prospects who have future starter potential is a wide idea. Lander Barton had 207 total tackles in 46 games for Utah in college.<\/p>\n<p>216. Drew Allar, QB, Penn State<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">This could be a fun pick. Drew Allar has all the tools to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL, but he needs to be rebuilt from the ground up with his mechanics. Being the second or third-string quarterback for the Colts could do him a ton of good, especially with Shane Steichen running the show.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">The very optimistic scenario here is that the Colts eventually develop Allar into a future starter, as he does genuinely have that upside, and it&#8217;s a worthwhile shot to take at pick 216.<\/p>\n<p>230. Jakobe Thomas, S, Miami (FL)<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">Nick Cross, George Odum, and Rodney Thomas are all free agents at safety this offseason. General Manager Chris Ballard invested big-time in the secondary last year and with the Gardner trade, so there&#8217;s reason to believe he&#8217;ll do what it takes to at least bring Cross back, but adding some depth to the room is a wise idea.<\/p>\n<p>253. Aaron Hall, DT, Duke<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6v\">Aaron Hall had 11 tackles for loss for Duke in 2025 and could be a rotational lineman on pass-rushing downs for the Colts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Indianapolis Colts began the 2025 NFL Season at 7-1 and were very much in contention for the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-745227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116053121709575538","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}