Recent Draft History: What the Indianapolis Colts Can Expect in the 2012 Draft

Over the next few days, I'll be looking at the picks the teams in the AFC South have and comparing them to the players taken at that slot in recent years.

Too often, fans have unrealistic expectations of what draft picks turn out to be.

I expect the list of players selected at each spot to be a sobering wake-up call to the kind of talent each team can actually expect to add.

Next up is the Indianapolis Colts.

First Round: Pick No. 1

2011: Cam Newton

2010: Sam Bradford

2009: Matthew Stafford

2008: Jake Long

2007: JaMarcus Russell

Second Round: No.  34

2011: Aaron Williams

2010: Chris Cook

2009: Patrick Chung

2008: Devin Thomas

2007: Paul Posluzny

Third Round: No. 64

2011: Randall Cobb

2010: Charles Brown

2009: Richard Quinn

2008: Kevin Smith

2007: Sabby Piscitelli

Fourth Round: No. 97

2011: Terrell McClain

2010: Rennie Curran

2009: Tyrone McKenzie

2008: Andre Caldwell

2007: Ray McDonald

Fifth Round: No. 136

2011: Sherman Anthony

2010: Kendrick Lewis

2009: Terrance Taylor

2008: Kenneth Moore

2007: Clint Session

Fifth Round: No. 170

2011: Mistral Raymond

2010: Fendi Onobun

2009: George Bussey

2008: Barry Richardson

2007: William Gay

Sixth Round: No. 206

2011: Justin Rodgers

2010: Kyle Williams

2009: Dominique Edison

2008: Haruki Nakamura

2007: Ryan Smith

Seventh Round: No. 208

2011: Greg McElroy

2010: Thomas Welch

2009: John Phillips

2008: Ervin Baldwin

2007: Justise Hairston

Seventh Round: No. 214

2011: Derek Newton

2010: Mickey Shuler

2009: J.D. Folsom

2008: Larry Grant

2007: Chris Denman

Seventh Round: No. 253

2011: Chris Neild

2010: Eric Lorig

2009: Tiquan Underwood

2008: None. Draft ended with No. 252 (David Vobora)

2007: Nedu Ndukwe

This is a sobering list for Colts fans.

Outside of the No. 1 pick, there are some decent names mixed in with a lot of nothing.

Considering that there are 50 players on this list, and fewer than 10 of them have had any real NFL impact, Colts fans shouldn't expect too much from the draft.