Todd McShay Has Colts Drafting a Safety in 1st Round

ESPN’s Todd McShay recently released a new three-round mock draft that has the Indianapolis Colts selecting a safety first, followed by two offensive linemen in the 2016 NFL Draft.

In this most recent mock draft, McShay plays general manager for each team. With this mock draft, he made it very clear he is not trying to project what he thinks teams will do. Instead, he is saying what he would do if made the final decision for each team.

With that being said, here are the three players McShay would select if he were Colts’ GM Ryan Grigson.

Todd McShay’s Picks

• Round 1, 18th Overall: S Karl Joseph, West Virginia
• Round 2, 48th Overall: OG Cody Whitehair, Kansas State
• Round 3, 82nd Overall: OT Jerald Hawkins, LSU

In the first round, Todd McShay (acting as if he was the Colts’ GM) drafted Joseph, who was the best player available on his board. This is a very interesting pick because the Colts have pressing needs along the offensive line and at outside linebacker. However, McShay does not address either of those needs with his first round pick.

Even though McShay addresses the Colts’ ailing offensive line in the following two rounds, the first round pick is still perplexing. Here is his reasoning for why he would have taken these three players if he were the Colts’ GM.

"“I wanted to get the Colts and offensive lineman with their first-round pick, but the value just wasn’t there. So I went with the best player on the board (Joseph), who could be their next Bob Sanders. Joseph is one of the more violent and efficient tacklers we’ve studied recently at the safety position. Concerns about his 2015 knee injury aside, he’s one of the fastest-rising prospects in this draft. Whitehair shows exceptional awareness on tape and would provide the Colts with a versatile interior lineman. Hawkins has the frame, skill set and football character to develop into a solid right tackle starter in the NFL.”"

Before criticizing his mock draft, let’s look at the positives. Todd McShay did not reach for an offensive lineman in the first round, and opted to select one of the best defensive players of the draft:  Karl Joseph.

At West Virginia, Joseph started 42 games and recorded 208 tackles, nine interceptions and eight forced fumbles. Unfortunately, the one concern about him is he suffered a knee injury four games into his senior season. Joseph certainly has the qualities to be a starting NFL safety, and remember, the Colts need to replace 35-year-old, starting safety Mike Adams soon. Overall, Joseph is a solid first round pick barring any medial setbacks.

After the first round pick, McShay does a solid job addressing the Colts’ need for an offensive lineman. Whitehair is an NFL-ready guard. With the Colts, he could easily replace Hugh Thornton as the team’s starting left guard. Meanwhile, Hawkins would give the Colts more depth at offensive tackle.

The one negative about this mock draft is McShay does not address the Colts’ need for a pass rushing outside linebacker. The Colts could generate a consistent pass rush in 2015 and have done nothing to fix the problem in free agency. The draft is supposed to be where they had address the need, but McShay ignores it with their first three picks.

Todd McShay certainly had intriguing selections for Colts. He got them a defensive playmaker and two offensive linemen who can play immediately. Unfortunately, he does not draft an edge rusher in the first three rounds. Despite not addressing a glaring need, this is still a nice three-round mock draft for the Colts.