2026 Draft thread

[Puck]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

well that sucks

you spelled awesome wrong

[Oldcolt]

I have never been as apathetic about this team as I am now and from the amount of traffic on this board it seems a ton of you feel the same way. The entire off season seems to be predicated on the first 8 games we played last year, completely forgetting the last half of the season. We haven't improved in any area of the team I can see. No depth pieces ready to step in and change the course. Talking about trading back to get more of them picks we love so much again. It's freaking depressing beyond words.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I have never been as apathetic about this team as I am now, and from the amount of traffic on this board it seems that a ton of you feel the same way. The entire off-season seems to be predicated on the first 10 games that we played last year, completely forgetting the last 7 games of the season. We haven't improved in any area of the team I can see. No depth pieces are ready to step in and change the course. Talking about trading back to get more of those picks that we love so much again ...... it's freaking depressing beyond words.

o


I am very excited about the upcoming season, and about the fact that the Colts started last season at 8-2 in the first 10 games before Daniel Jones broke his leg in the Chiefs game in the 11th game.

I don't post a lot in the off-season, even on the eve of the draft. For me, that's not necessarily a sign of apathy. For others, maybe it is ...... I will concede that I find it a bit odd that I haven't gotten a single thumbs-up for displaying the content of an extensive l Athletic l article that Dam posted that is hidden behind a paywall.

o

[YDFL Commish]

I would call myself cautiously optimistic toward the Colts in 2026. I swear that we have more injuries to DB's than any team in the league, and that has to to stop. We are probably at the NFL average for injuries overall. But, you can't field a winning team when all of your injuries are at a very important position group, like DB, OL or DL.

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

I would call myself cautiously optimistic toward the Colts in 2026. I swear that we have more injuries to DB's than any team in the league, and that has to to stop. We are probably at the NFL average for injuries overall. But, you can't field a winning team when all of your injuries are at a very important position group, like DB, OL or DL.

Jones won’t replicate what he did last season, if for no other reason than he’s coming off of a career altering injury. Most guys have a subpar season their first one back from something like that.

I also think he played out of his mind that first half and would have came back to earth somewhat even without the injury.

I’m not real optimistic about next season, in case it isn’t obvious.

A whole lot needs to fall in place for the Colts to be successful.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I have never been as apathetic about this team as I am now, and from the amount of traffic on this board it seems that a ton of you feel the same way. The entire off-season seems to be predicated on the first 10 games that we played last year, completely forgetting the last 7 games of the season. We haven't improved in any area of the team I can see. No depth pieces are ready to step in and change the course. Talking about trading back to get more of those picks that we love so much again ...... it's freaking depressing beyond words.

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


I am very excited about the upcoming season, and about the fact that the Colts started last season at 8-2 in the first 10 games before Daniel Jones broke his leg in the Chiefs game in the 11th game.

I don't post a lot in the off-season, even on the eve of the draft. For me, that's not necessarily a sign of apathy. For others, maybe it is ...... I will concede that I find it a bit odd that I haven't gotten a single thumbs-up for displaying the content of an extensive l Athletic l article that Dam posted that is hidden behind a paywall.

o

o


Based on the posting/number of posts since April 22nd (the eve of the 2026 NFL Draft), I see considerably less apathy here on the ColtFreaks website.

o

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

Jones won’t replicate what he did last season, if for no other reason than he’s coming off of a career altering injury. Most guys have a subpar season their first one back from something like that.

I also think he played out of his mind that first half and would have came back to earth somewhat even without the injury.

I’m not real optimistic about next season, in case it isn’t obvious.

A whole lot needs to fall in place for the Colts to be successful.

I agree about Jones, and I disagree.

I can’t help but wonder about the consequences of the injury, and how long it takes for him to return to form.

On the other hand, I’m not sure that he “ comes back to earth.” That’s simply because he wasn’t playing out of this world to begin with. He wasn’t doing extraordinary things. There was nothing about his performance you’d look at and ask yourself how did he do that. There were no Patrick Mahomes moments, no series of heroic, come from behind performances.

He simply took the snap, dropped back, waited for a receiver to come free, and delivered the ball. He wasn’t completing 70% on his passes or anything outrageous like that.

When he wasn’t throwing the ball, he was handing it off to Jonathan Taylor.

Don’t get me wrong, the quality of opponents was getting better. Houston and Jacksonville were pretty good. But, even without Jones, with quarterback play best described as marginal, they weren’t getting blown out. They might not have finished 6-1, but they didn’t have to.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


2026 NFL Draft Grades for 32 Teams: Winners, Losers, Steals

(By Mel Kiper, Jr.)

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2026/s...-picks-classes




**********************************



Indianapolis Colts ) Grade: B+


Top needs entering the draft: l Edge Rusher, Wide Receiver, Linebacker, Safety, Offensive Tackle


The Colts didn't pick in Round 1, a product of their deadline deal with the Jets to land Sauce Gardner in November. They were 7-2 at that point with Daniel Jones playing great ball, but after an overtime win the following week in Berlin, they became the first NFL team to ever be six games over .500 and still finish with a losing record (per ESPN Research). Jones tore an Achilles in Week 14, and 44-year-old Phillip Rivers, signed out of retirement, was unsurprisingly unable to right the ship.

The CJ Allen pick is going to be huge for the defense. He was a steal at No. 53 -- I had him 28th on the board. He has three-down attributes that allow him to impact the game in coverage, as a run stopper and as a blitzer. Just look at his stat line from 2025: 97 tackles, seven tackles for loss, nine run stops, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks. Paired with free agent signing Akeem Davis-Gaither and Day 3 pick Bryce Boettcher, the linebacker unit should take a step forward.

Despite tying for 14th with 39 sacks, this team was 30th in pass rush win rate (29.1%) last season. George Gumbs Jr. and Caden Curry chip in with Laiatu Latu (who is looking like a promising young pro after 8.5 sacks in 2025) to get after more AFC South quarterbacks, but Indy could have used a little more here. A.J. Haulcy enters as a potential Nick Cross replacement next to Cam Bynum, with eight interceptions and 12 pass breakups over the past two seasons. And Jalen Farmer was a strong value in Round 4, as I ranked the 6-foot-5, 312-pound guard at No. 81 overall. He didn't allow any sacks last season.

Without the 1st-round pick, the Colts did pretty well here overall, getting a borderline first-round talent on Day 2.

o

[HoosierinFL]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I have never been as apathetic about this team as I am now and from the amount of traffic on this board it seems a ton of you feel the same way. The entire off season seems to be predicated on the first 8 games we played last year, completely forgetting the last half of the season. We haven't improved in any area of the team I can see. No depth pieces ready to step in and change the course. Talking about trading back to get more of them picks we love so much again. It's freaking depressing beyond words.

I was starting to get apathetic during the 2024 season. Once it was clear we were going with Daniel Jones last year, my enthusiasm dropped another notch.

After the loss to Pittsburgh, I thought the team just looked awful in that game. I thought the team looked even worse the next week vs Atlanta, and they only won because Atlanta was even worse. After losing to KC, I said "we're going to lose out this season" and i was right. I probably have a post somewhere in this forum where I said exactly that somewhere in mid to late November. That's when my enthusiasm bottomed out and so far that's where it still sits.

[HoosierinFL]

Originally Posted by HoosierinFL

I was starting to get apathetic during the 2024 season. Once it was clear we were going with Daniel Jones last year, my enthusiasm dropped another notch.

After the loss to Pittsburgh, I thought the team just looked awful in that game. I thought the team looked even worse the next week vs Atlanta, and they only won because Atlanta was even worse. After losing to KC, I said "we're going to lose out this season" and i was right. I probably have a post somewhere in this forum where I said exactly that somewhere in mid to late November. That's when my enthusiasm bottomed out and so far that's where it still sits.

Here it is from 11/24, the post game thread after the Chiefs:

This team is cooked. Done. Can easily end up 10-7 and playing as a wildcard in the playoffs, or even out of the playoffs in a logjam for the final wildcard spot.

Can't handle the blitz and now its on film against multiple teams. We have a coach that won't scheme away from it, refuses to run the ball, repeatedly says "its on me" but never changes anything. Forget JT in the conversation for MVP. He'll average 12 touches a game from here on out. Everything that succeeded early season is on tape and isn't working anymore, and Steichen will continue to panic in the 2nd half and forget about the run game.

The secondary is better but with Defo out, the pass rush and run D are not getting home, and covering the short middle is terrible. Mahomes had the middle open all game. LBs are terrible in coverage.