![\"Jake](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2263783781-e1775761458582.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Jake Golday of the University of Cincinnati<\/p>\n
The Indianapolis Colts<\/a>\u2018 linebacker room is looking a bit thin a few weeks before the start of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n Indy traded Zaire Franklin<\/a> to the Green Bay Packers<\/a> to create cap space. Germaine Pratt<\/a> was on a one-year deal, with no signs of the team wanting to keep Pratt for another season. The Colts signed<\/a> former Arizona Cardinals<\/a> linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither<\/a>, who logged 117 tackles last season.<\/p>\n The depth at the linebacker spot still needs some work, leading an NFL<\/a> insider to believe the Colts will address it in the upcoming draft.<\/p>\n Adding Reinforcement In the Linebacker Room GettyThe Colts may address the linebacker group in the upcoming draft<\/p>\n Indianapolis will make its first selection on Day 2 with the 47th overall pick after trading away this year\u2019s (and next year\u2019s) first-round draft picks.<\/p>\n The first option for the Colts should be addressing the linebacker room, as Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt both recorded more than 100 tackles each in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n ESPN draft analysts Jordan Reid and Matt Miller released their latest rumor buzz<\/a>, revealing what an anonymous source had to say about the Colts ahead of the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be stunned if they didn\u2019t have linebacker at the top of their priority list in the second round,\u201d one league source told Reid.<\/p>\n It was also revealed that the University of Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday is a fit for Indianapolis. The defender was described as a player who \u201cfits the prototype and qualities that the team has targeted at the position in past drafts.\u201d<\/p>\n Golday, who played the last two seasons at Cincinnati, has logged 163 tackles in his two collegiate seasons (103 in his final season in the NCAA). Pro Football Focus<\/a> graded the linebacker with an 82.4 overall defense grade, 90.6 run defense grade and a 77.5 coverage grade in the 2025 season. Golday was a member of the\u00a0All-Big 12 first team.<\/p>\n The linebacker would help in two phases of the game, as Franklin and Pratt, while reliable at tackling, were not great at covering receiving threats.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler reports<\/a> that Golday is also set to have visits with the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>, Minnesota Vikings<\/a> and the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> ahead of the draft.<\/p>\n Without a first-round pick, the Indianapolis Colts will have to wait before getting an opportunity to make their first selection of the draft. If Jake Golday remains available on Day 2 and at the 47th pick, the Colts appear likely to take the linebacker.<\/p>\n Colts Linked to Pass Rusher GettyUCF EDGE rusher Malachi Lawrence<\/p>\n Jake Golday isn\u2019t the only defensive prospect the Indianapolis Colts are meeting with ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, as the team is also planning to meet with UCF EDGE rusher Malachi Lawrence<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Colts appear to be making the defensive side of the ball younger, after adding some older pieces to the defense this free agency.<\/p>\n Still, not having a first-round pick will hurt the Colts in the long run. If they had the first round pick, they would have been able to select both defenders. But having their first selection at the 47th spot, Indy will have to decide which spot is a priority.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJason Garcia<\/a> Jason Garcia is a sports contributor for Heavy Sports who joined the team in 2025, covering the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. More about Jason Garcia<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Colts\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Jake Golday of the University of Cincinnati The Indianapolis Colts\u2018 linebacker room is looking a bit thin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-862560","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\/116376637946873513","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862560","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=862560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jake](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2232628158.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Malachi](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775766443_817_GettyImages-2265883447-e1775165922745.jpg\")
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