Indianapolis Colts Hope to Duplicate Patriots' Success with 2 TE Draft

The Indianapolis Colts did what everyone expected them to do with the No. 1 overall pick, selecting Andrew Luck. But it’s what they did on Day 2 that could be equally as important in setting them up for success in the future.

The Colts drafted the two highest rated TEs in the 2012 draft class, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen. Fleener was taken with the 34th pick in the second round and Allen was taken with the 64th overall pick in Round 3.

Maybe they drafted Fleener because he was one of Luck's favorite targets at Stanford.

Or perhaps they were just taking who they thought were the best players available.

Or they could have been looking at a model of success set forth by one of their biggest rivals in the 2000s, the New England Patriots.

The Patriots drafted two highly rated TEs in 2010, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, who have become the far-and-away best TE-tandem in the league in just two seasons.

In 2012, Gronkowski was the 42nd overall pick in the second round by the Patriots. Hernandez was selected in Round 4 with the 113th overall pick. After combining for an impressive 16 TDs and 1,109 receiving yards in their rookie seasons of 2010, the Patriots dynamic duo at TE accounted for 25 TDs and 2,237 receiving yards in 2011—simply amazing.

While Gronkowski and Hernandez have set the bar incredibly high, the new Colts TEs will look to make an immediate impact as well, although the situation they will enter with the Colts franchise is quite different than what Gronk and Hernandez encountered with the Pats.

Gronkowski and Hernandez joined a Patriots team that was coming off a 10-6 season. However, they had lost to the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs. Still, the Patriots offense was already well established as one of the top in the league with All-Pro QB Tom Brady and established veteran receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss.

Of course, the Colts are in a much different situation as they had what they hope will be a throwaway year between the Peyton Manning era and the Andrew Luck era. They finished 2-14, ending their streak of nine consecutive trips to the NFL playoffs. The rookie TEs will be joining the rookie QB Luck and possible slot receiver T.Y. Hilton (another rookie and a 2012 third-round selection) in an offense with a lot of youth at the skill positions.

The Patriots struck gold with both their TE picks in 2010—a rare accomplishment. For the Colts, if both TEs turn into top-tier players, their return to AFC contenders will be fast-tracked and they just might meet the Patriots once again in the playoffs.