{"id":850183,"date":"2026-04-02T22:44:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850183\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T22:44:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T22:44:27","slug":"mock-draft-starts-strong-before-halting-with-colts-second-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850183\/","title":{"rendered":"Mock Draft Starts Strong Before Halting with Colts’ Second Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re three weeks out from the start of the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>, and mock drafts are flying fast and furious across the landscape.<\/p>\n

This week, ESPN tasked its four NFL Draft analysts, Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid, and Field Yates, with a three-round mock draft<\/a> in which they take turns making selections.<\/p>\n

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Without a first-round pick, which they traded to the New York Jets last season, the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> have only two selections: one each in the second and third rounds.<\/p>\n

Reid picked UCF edge defender Malachi Lawrence for the Colts in the second round with the 47th overall pick, filling arguably their biggest need at edge rusher.<\/p>\n

“Edge rusher is one of the Colts’ top needs,” Reid wrote. “And despite not picking in Round 1, they can check a box here. Lawrence is a long and physical edge setter with excellent bend and closing speed.”<\/p>\n

The Colts tied for 15th in the NFL in sacks last year with 39, and they’ve yet to replace starting defensive end Kwity Paye, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.<\/p>\n

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Lawrence offers more upside as a pass rusher, showing ideal size, explosive traits, and enough play strength to contribute right away. While Lawrence is a terrific fit for Indianapolis, the Colts’ next pick is a different story.<\/p>\n

Not to continue piling on Miller (I disagreed with some of the picks<\/a>\u00a0in his recent seven-round mock draft), but I’ve got issues with the logic behind his third-round pick for the Colts in this mock as well. With the 78th overall pick, Miller gave the Colts Kansas State center Sam Hecht.<\/p>\n

\"Sep<\/p>\n

Sep 27, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) takes the snap from center Sam Hecht (75) during the second quarter against the UCF Knights at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

“There’s a hole in the middle of Indianapolis’ offensive line, and I think Hecht is the best center in the class,” Miller said.<\/p>\n

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In his previous mock, Miller sent Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge to the Colts in the third round to replace right guard Matt Goncalves. In this one, he attempts to replace center Tanor Bortolini with Hecht.<\/p>\n

Hecht is a fine player and is rightfully considered by many to be the top center in the draft. Although a little undersized, he’s got above-average athleticism, plays with impeccable mechanics, and has a never-say-die approach to blocking.<\/p>\n

However, the Colts should not be looking to replace either Bortolini or Goncalves as early as the third round, especially given the real needs elsewhere on the roster.<\/p>\n

Bortolini is one of the best young centers in the game\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Pro Football Focus<\/a> graded him as the third-best center in the entire NFL last year \u2014 so the logic ceases to exist with Hecht replacing him in Round 3. Plus, while Goncalves isn’t a Pro Bowler, he’s also not a player you’re quickly looking to replace either.<\/p>\n

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The Colts’ starting offensive line is in relatively good shape, with the lone question mark being second-year player Jalen Travis stepping into the starting lineup after veteran right tackle Braden Smith left in free agency.<\/p>\n

In this mock, wide receivers Malachi Fields, Antonio Williams, Ja’Kobi Lane, Bryce Lance, and De’Zhaun Stribling, and defensive tackles Gracen Halton and Darrell Jackson Jr. were all picked in the third round after Hecht and would have been better fits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We’re three weeks out from the start of the 2026 NFL Draft, and mock drafts are flying fast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[4955,6959,4973,2005,48922,7,1802,2004,392,2381,1989,8427,4722,4996,393,27002,34104,4977,7337,1771,4002,28960,255,6,15,109817,2788,4708],"class_list":{"0":"post-850183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-antonio-williams","10":"tag-braden-smith","11":"tag-colts","12":"tag-darrell-jackson-jr","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-garrett-nussmeier","15":"tag-indianapolis","16":"tag-indianapolis-colts","17":"tag-indianapoliscolts","18":"tag-jalen-travis","19":"tag-jordan-reid","20":"tag-kansas-state-wildcats","21":"tag-kwity-paye","22":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","23":"tag-malachi-fields","24":"tag-malachi-lawrence","25":"tag-matt-goncalves","26":"tag-matt-miller","27":"tag-mel-kiper-jr","28":"tag-mock-draft","29":"tag-mock-drafts","30":"tag-new-york-jets","31":"tag-nfl","32":"tag-nfl-draft","33":"tag-sam-hecht","34":"tag-tanor-bortolini","35":"tag-ucf-knights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116337540632355093","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850183","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=850183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}