Indianapolis Colts Mock Draft: B/R Community Top 100 and 7-Round Results

After months of preparation, the 2015 NFL draft is almost here.

Indianapolis Colts fans understand just how important this year's draft is for the team's Super Bowl chances this coming season. After adding players like Frank Gore and Andre Johnson via free agency to bolster the offense, Colts general manager Ryan Grigson now has a chance to add even more talent to make his team a legitimate contender in the AFC.

Grigson and the rest of the team will likely be looking for talented defensive prospects heading into Thursday. The Colts gave up 23.1 points per game last year, including three regular-season games where they gave up at least 40 points.

Bleacher Report writers for all 32 teams joined together for a mock draft of the first 100 picks. As I made selections for the Colts, I kept the team's need for defensive talent in mind and came away with a couple of guys that could be future stars. 

Having said that, let's take a look at the results from Bleacher Report's community mock draft along with my selections for all seven rounds.

Round 1

The Pick: Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1	Buccaneers	Jameis Winston	QB	Florida State
2	Titans	Marcus Mariota	QB	Oregon
3	Jaguars	Dante Fowler, Jr.	DE	Florida
4	Raiders	Leonard Williams	DT	USC
5	Redskins	Brandon Scherff	OL	Iowa
6	Jets	Vic Beasley	OLB	Clemson
7	Bears	Amari Cooper	WR	Alabama
8	Falcons	Bud Dupree	DE	Kentucky
9	Giants	Kevin White	WR	West Virginia
10	Rams	Andrus Peat	OT	Stanford
11	Vikings	Marcus Peters	CB	Washington
12	Browns	DeVante Parker	WR	Louisville
13	Saints	Shane Ray	DE	Missouri
14	Dolphins	La'el Collins	OL	LSU
15	49ers	Trae Waynes	CB	Michigan State
16	Texans	Breshad Perriman	WR	UCF
17	Chargers	Danny Shelton	DT	Washington
18	Chiefs	Randy Gregory	LB	Nebraska
19	Browns	Todd Gurley	RB	Georgia
20	Eagles	Jake Fisher	OL	Oregon
21	Bengals	Landon Collins	S	Alabama
22	Steelers	Kevin Johnson	CB	Wake Forest
23	Lions	Malcom Brown	DT	Texas
24	Cardinals	Cameron Erving	OC	Florida State
25	Panthers	Ereck Flowers	OT	Miami (FL)
26	Ravens	Jaelen Strong	WR	Arizona State
27	Cowboys	Byron Jones	CB	Connecticut
28	Broncos	T.J. Clemmings	OT	Pittsburgh
29	Colts	Arik Armstead	DE	Oregon
30	Packers	Owamagbe Odighizuwa	OLB	UCLA
31	Saints	Eric Kendricks	LB	UCLA
32	Patriots	Melvin Gordon	RB	Wisconsin

Drafting this late in the first round can be a blessing in disguise for some teams. Instead of being pressured into taking someone because of all the hype, teams can hold back and take the best player on their board.

With the No. 29 pick, I was hoping for a guy like Landon Collins or Malcom Brown to still be on the board. When the pick came out, I was tempted to reach for an inside linebacker like Eric Kendricks, but couldn't pass up an athlete like Arik Armstead.

Kendall Langford isn't going to be the answer to replace Cory Redding in the long run for the Colts, but Armstead might be. At 6'7'' and 292 pounds, Armstead has the size and explosiveness to be a dominant player against the run. He certainly has some work to do when rushing the passer, but there is so much potential with Armstead that I didn't hesitate to pick him when I saw he was still on the board.

Round 2

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Pick: Paul Dawson, LB, TCU

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
33	Titans	Jalen Collins	CB	LSU
34	Buccaneers	Ty Sambrailo	OL	Colorado State
35	Raiders	Nelson Agholor	WR	USC
36	Jaguars	Dorial Green-Beckham	WR	Oklahoma
37	Jets	Laken Tomlinson	OG	Duke
38	Redskins	Ameer Abdullah	RB	Nebraska
39	Bears	Eli Harold	OLB	Virginia
40	Giants	Damarious Randall	S	Arizona State
41	Rams	D.J. Humphries	OL	Florida
42	Falcons	Eric Rowe	S	Utah
43	Browns	Donovan Smith	OT	Penn State
44	Saints	Phillip Dorsett	WR	Miami (FL)
45	Vikings	Stephone Anthony	LB	Clemson
46	49ers	Preston Smith	DE	Mississippi State
47	Dolphins	Devin Funchess	WR/TE	Michigan
48	Chargers	Tevin Coleman	RB	Indiana
49	Chiefs	Eddie Goldman	DL	Florida State
50	Bills	A.J. Cann	OG	South Carolina
51	Texans	Benardrick McKinney	OLB	Mississippi State
52	Eagles	Devin Smith	WR	Ohio State
53	Bengals	Maxx Williams	TE	Minnesota
54	Lions	Duke Johnson	RB	Miami (FL)
55	Cardinals	Ronald Darby	CB	Florida State
56	Steelers	Nate Orchard	DE/LB	Utah
57	Panthers	Jay Ajayi	RB	Boise State
58	Ravens	Clive Walford	TE	Miami (FL)
59	Broncos	Grady Jarrett	DT	Clemson
60	Cowboys	T.J. Yeldon	RB	Alabama
61	Colts	Paul Dawson	LB	TCU
62	Packers	P.J. Williams	CB	Florida State
63	Seahawks	Carl Davis	DL	Iowa
64	Patriots	Tre' Jackson	OG	Florida State

As the community mock draft continued, I was beginning to entertain the idea of drafting a running back if the right one was there in the second round. However, once Tevin Coleman and Jay Ajayi came off the board, I began to look elsewhere.

Passing on Kendricks in the first round turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I still came away with an inside linebacker that I consider to be just as talented in TCU's Paul Dawson. There were few linebackers as productive as Dawson this past season, as he racked up 136 total tackles with 20 tackles for loss, six sacks and four interceptions.

There are few prospects with the instincts that Dawson possesses, and that can't be taught. Along with his ability to get to the ball-carrier, Dawson is terrific in pass coverage, consistently sticking with his man. Colts linebackers struggled in pass coverage last year, making Dawson that much more appealing.

However, there are concerns with Dawson's tackling technique and size, coming in at just 6'0'' and 235 pounds. Still, with his eye-opening production in college, it's hard to not like Dawson as a future starter for the Colts.

Round 3

April L Brown/Associated Press

The Pick: Mike Davis, RB, South Carolina

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
65	Buccaneers	Rashad Greene	WR	Florida State
66	Titans	Cedric Ogbuehi	OT	Texas A&M
67	Jaguars	Jeremy Langford	RB	Michigan State
68	Raiders	Ali Marpet	OG	Hobart College
69	Redskins	Danielle Hunter	DE	LSU
70	Jets	Tre McBride	WR	William & Mary
71	Bears	Jaquiski Tartt	S	Samford
72	Rams	Sammie Coates	WR	Auburn
73	Falcons	Mitch Morse	OG	Missouri
74	Giants	Rob Havenstein	OT	Wisconsin
75	Saints	D'Joun Smith	CB	Florida Atlantic
76	Vikings	Shaq Thompson	OLB	Washington
77	Browns	Jordan Phillips	DT	Oklahoma
78	Saints	John Miller	OG	Louisville
79	49ers	Denzel Perryman	ILB	Miami (FL)
80	Chiefs	Tyler Lockett	WR	Kansas State
81	Bills	Bryce Petty	QB	Baylor
82	Texans	Doran Grant	CB	Ohio State
83	Chargers	Hau'oli Kikaha	OLB	Washington
84	Eagles	Quinten Rollins	CB	Miami (OH)
85	Bengals	Za'Darius Smith	DE	Kentucky
86	Cardinals	David Cobb	RB	Minnesota
87	Steelers	Jeff Heuerman	TE	Ohio State
88	Lions	Josh Shaw	CB	USC
89	Panthers	Michael Bennett	DT	Ohio State
90	Ravens	Derron Smith	SS	Fresno State
91	Cowboys	Trey Flowers	DE	Arkansas
92	Broncos	Henry Anderson	DE	Stanford
93	Colts	Mike Davis	RB	South Carolina
94	Packers	Brett Hundley	QB	UCLA
95	Seahawks	Alex Carter	CB	Stanford
96	Patriots	Kenny Bell	WR	Nebraska
97	Patriots	Ifo Ekpre-Olomu	CB	Oregon
98	Chiefs	Senquez Golson	CB	Mississippi
99	Bengals	Steven Nelson	CB	Oregon St.
*100	Titans	Nick O'Leary	TE	Florida St.

*First pick of Round 4

This year's class of running backs is one of the deepest in some time, with a number of prospects looking like future starters in the NFL. Frank Gore is a good short-term option in the Colts backfield, but looking ahead, they should consider drafting a running back early who could learn behind Gore before one day taking over as the starter.

Ideally, I would have liked Minnesota's David Cobb here, but he was taken off the board a few picks before I was on the clock. Fortunately, there was still another prospect out there that I'm a fan of in South Carolina's Mike Davis.

Davis isn't the kind of running back that likes to get cute when he gets the ball. He's an aggressive north-south runner with the balance and leg movement to stay upright and pick up extra yards. In open space, Davis can turn on the jets and get by the secondary, although he won't make a lot of defenders miss.

Although he wasn't the same player last year as he was in 2013, Davis still looks like he'd fit well with the Colts offense. He's a versatile back that can make catches out of the backfield or stay in the pocket to protect the quarterback. He'll have to prove that he can return to his 2013 form, but Davis could be a long-term player in this league if we see that version again.

Round 4

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

The Pick: Jake Ryan, LB, Michigan

Even after taking Dawson in the second round, I don't think it would be the worst decision in the world for the Colts to take another inside linebacker early on. Jerrell Freeman's future in Indianapolis is unclear, and D'Qwell Jackson is nearing the end of his career.

Michigan's Jake Ryan made the transition from outside to inside linebacker this past season after missing all of 2013 with a torn ACL. Ryan seemed comfortable making the switch, becoming a productive tackler with underrated gap discipline.

There will be questions about Ryan's effectiveness at the next level due to his tendency to miss tackles in open space and struggles disengaging from offensive linemen, but Ryan doesn't give up on plays and was a defensive leader for the Wolverines despite a tough senior season.

The Colts need as much help as they can get with their front seven, and Ryan has the versatility to be plugged in at any linebacker position and hold his own.

Round 5

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The Pick: Kyshoen Jarrett, SS, Virginia Tech

Safety is perhaps the biggest need for the Colts in this year's draft. However, outside of Landon Collins, this is an extremely thin class for the position. The Colts can focus on adding talent at other positions early on in this year's draft before looking at bringing in a safety.

One prospect that caught my eye as a potential third-day selection was Virginia Tech's Kyshoen Jarrett. While not the most athletic strong safety in his class, Jarrett has a nose for the ball and isn't intimidated by anyone. That aggressiveness helps him when lined up against tight ends, staying close with them despite coming in at just 5'10'' and 200 pounds.

Jarrett doesn't look like an instant starter in the NFL due to his struggles in pass coverage. He looks uncomfortable when dropping back, struggling to quickly turn his hips and sometimes letting receivers get behind him. Jarrett could still see snaps in 2015 because of his aggressiveness at the line of scrimmage, but defensive coordinator Greg Manusky would need to make sure he doesn't play in coverage too often.

Round 6

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

The Picks: Jake Rodgers, OT, Eastern Washington; James Castleman, NT, Oklahoma State

This late in the draft, the Colts will start looking for depth players that must earn their spots on the final 53-man roster. However, the right picks may give them prospects that could make an impact one day. 

With all of the injuries to the Colts offensive line over the years, drafting another offensive tackle wouldn't be the worst idea. Jake Rodgers came to Eastern Washington with the intention of playing tight end, but at 6'6'' and 320 pounds, he made the switch to offensive tackle. He's an impressive athlete with quick feet, but will need to focus on staying upright and driving through defenders before he can make an impact.

On the other side of the ball, the Colts could use another nose tackle to try to shake things up. James Castleman is only 6'2'' and 300 pounds, but he has some impressive upper-body strength and is quick off the snap, helping him get leverage on offensive linemen. He's not going to wow anyone with his pass-rushing ability, but Castleman could be a good run-stopper coming off the bench for Indianapolis.

Round 7

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

The Picks: Josh Robinson, RB, Mississippi State; Ryan Russell, DE, Purdue

Expectations are generally low for seventh-round picks, but that doesn't mean all of them fade away into obscurity after hearing their names called. Players like Donald Driver, Shannon Sharpe and Marques Colston were all seventh-round selections, and they went on to have successful NFL careers.

The Colts might not necessarily need another running back, but they might be interested in giving Josh Robinson a chance to prove himself. Robinson reminds me of guys like Michael Turner and Mike Tolbert in the backfield, relying on strength more than speed. 

Robinson is only 5'8'' and 217 pounds, but his thick frame and determination to keep his legs moving helps him consistently pick up yards after contact. At the same time, Robinson has the vision and patience to find rushing lanes when they open up. He doesn't have the burst and acceleration that most NFL-caliber backs have, but he should at least get a shot at an NFL roster because of his experience.

With their final selection, the Colts can bring in an in-state prospect with Purdue's Ryan Russell. Russell is a bit of an anomaly at 6'4'' and 269 pounds because he has yet to develop into a true pass-rusher. The physical traits are there, however, and the Colts might be tempted to bring him in and see how he would fair by switching to 3-4 outside linebacker.