After last season's defensive struggles up until the playoffs combined with the exodus of key defensive players early in the off-season, it was easy for many to assume the Indianapolis Colts would use their first few draft picks for help on that side of the ball. However, if you endured the ridiculously long first few rounds of the draft, you would have been surprised to see that the first two picks the Colts made were not on defense, but instead boosted the high-powered offense.
Rather than trying to find the next Cato June, Jason David, or Nick Harper, the Colts decided to draft Anthony Gonzalez, a wide receiver from Ohio State, with the 32nd pick in the first round. Gonzalez will be a slot receiver that should fill the hole left by the departure of Brandon Stokley.
"We really think Anthony’s going to be a great fit for us," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy." He plays a position we needed with Brandon leaving. He’s a guy who has been a proficient inside receiver. He catches the ball well and he has played great football for Ohio State."
That was not the only surprising acquisition the Colts made throughout the first day of the draft. They traded a 2008 first round pick and a 2007 fourth round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the tenth pick in the second round. With this pick, they selected Tony Ugoh, an offensive tackle from Arkansas. Experts feel that Ugoh will be groomed to replace long-time left tackle Tarik Glenn, as his career winds down.
In the third round, the Colts finally added some depth to the defense by selecting cornerback Daymeion Hughes of California and defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock of Ohio State.
As the first round of this draft winded down, and the Colts' pick was near, I expected them to take a linebacker such as Paul Posluszny of Penn State or David Harris of Michigan. But something told me that the Colts could try to fill that Stokley role in the offense with their first pick. After thinking it through I feel like it was a smart move. The Colts feel like they have enough young talent that can fill some of the holes left on defense, as well as grabbing some quality depth in the later rounds.
After all, I'm not about to question Colts GM Bill Polian, considering he made franchise saving decisions drafting Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James over the potent combination of Ryan Leaf and Ricky Williams. Not to mention his quality picks of Bob Sanders, Dallas Clark, and Reggie Wayne in recent history.
Rather than trying to find the next Cato June, Jason David, or Nick Harper, the Colts decided to draft Anthony Gonzalez, a wide receiver from Ohio State, with the 32nd pick in the first round. Gonzalez will be a slot receiver that should fill the hole left by the departure of Brandon Stokley.
"We really think Anthony’s going to be a great fit for us," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy." He plays a position we needed with Brandon leaving. He’s a guy who has been a proficient inside receiver. He catches the ball well and he has played great football for Ohio State."
That was not the only surprising acquisition the Colts made throughout the first day of the draft. They traded a 2008 first round pick and a 2007 fourth round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the tenth pick in the second round. With this pick, they selected Tony Ugoh, an offensive tackle from Arkansas. Experts feel that Ugoh will be groomed to replace long-time left tackle Tarik Glenn, as his career winds down.
In the third round, the Colts finally added some depth to the defense by selecting cornerback Daymeion Hughes of California and defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock of Ohio State.
As the first round of this draft winded down, and the Colts' pick was near, I expected them to take a linebacker such as Paul Posluszny of Penn State or David Harris of Michigan. But something told me that the Colts could try to fill that Stokley role in the offense with their first pick. After thinking it through I feel like it was a smart move. The Colts feel like they have enough young talent that can fill some of the holes left on defense, as well as grabbing some quality depth in the later rounds.
After all, I'm not about to question Colts GM Bill Polian, considering he made franchise saving decisions drafting Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James over the potent combination of Ryan Leaf and Ricky Williams. Not to mention his quality picks of Bob Sanders, Dallas Clark, and Reggie Wayne in recent history.
3 comments:
Great pick for the Colts... Gonzalez will be a great receiver in the NFL, possibly better than Ginn
I have complete faith in Polian. We supposedly didn't need offense when we drafted Reggie and Dallas but that's worked out pretty well. I was shocked when we traded next year's first rounder but hey, it will probably be the 32nd pick again!!
I am very glad that we swiped up Gonzalez over Ginn. He is not only faster than Ginn, but I think he is a much better WR. The only advantage Ginn has over Gonzalez is that he can be used as a utility player as KR,PR, and WR
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