Indianapolis Colts' 2014 Draft Class Is Shining for Ryan Grigson

There is plenty to criticize in Ryan Grigson's first three years as an NFL general manager. 

There's some poor free-agent signings, such as safety LaRon Landry. There are some missed opportunities in the free-agent market, like missing out on guard Louis Vasquez in 2013 or safety T.J. Ward in 2014. There are some ineffective trades, with the trading of a first-round pick for running back Trent Richardson being the glaring mistake in Grigson's short career. 

But thus far, it's safe to call Ryan Grigson's drafting incredibly productive. While the 2013 class has been largely disappointing, both the 2012 and 2014 classes have outperformed expectations, especially this season. 

The 2012 class is obvious. Quarterback Andrew Luck has led the league in passing yards throughout the season and is just two touchdowns behind Peyton Manning for the league lead. Luck's rate stats are there too. While it's a different league now than it was when Manning entered the NFL, it's worth noting that Luck's 6.9 percent touchdown percentage and 8.2 yards-per-attempt average are better than anything Manning put together before his record-breaking 2004 season. 

Then there is T.Y. Hilton, who has emerged as a true No. 1 receiver and a game-breaker. Both of the Colts tight ends from the class, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, have had their own successes and rank among the league's best tight end duos. The Colts have also gotten rotational nose tackle play from Josh Chapman. 

If Luck and Hilton continue on their current paths to greatness while Fleener and Allen produce as they can in this offense, the 2012 Colts draft class could go down as one of the best ever. 

But that's been evident for the last two years. What's been an enormous boost for the Colts, and Grigson's reputation, over the last few months has been the performance of the 2014 rookies, a class that had very little fanfare coming into the season. 

Without a first-round pick, the Colts' 2014 draft came and went without much attention. 

But the Colts rookies have produced more and more as the season has gone on, and it's a huge reason why Indianapolis has been as successful as they have been. 

We'll start on offense, where Donte Moncrief has been the talk of the town in recent weeks. When Reggie Wayne went down earlier in the year, Moncrief came in and had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh. Since Moncrief has been getting snaps over Hakeem Nicks (started in Week 12), he's amassed seven catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns in two games. 

The former Ole Miss Rebel's baseline projections by Colts Authority's Nate Dunlevy at the beginning of the season were 25 catches, 350 yards and two touchdowns. With four games left in the season, Moncrief has reached those expectations, currently standing with 24 catches, 390 yards and three touchdowns. If he continues to get snaps over Nicks (and occasionally Reggie Wayne), he should obliterate the expectations. 

It was a loaded wide receiver class in 2014, and grabbing Moncrief at the end of the third round was a steal, both then and now.

But the Colts' second-round pick, lineman Jack Mewhort, has been productive as well. Mewhort wasn't nearly as well-received as Moncrief at the time, due to the Colts' need for safety help and Mewhort's under-the-radar draft stock. 

Despite low expectations, Mewhort has played well, starting in 10 games and playing reasonably well in almost all of them. Mewhort has allowed just one sack on the season, and his pass-blocking efficiency score of 97.2 is tied for 15th in the league among guards, both according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). 

Player	Draft Spot	Snaps	PFF Grade	Pass Blocking Grade	Pass Blocking Efficiency	Run Blocking Grade
Joel Bitonio	35	852	+21.1	+10.1	98.4	+11.6
Zack Martin	16	804	+15.5	+10.6	98.7	+2.2
Brandon Linder	93	675	+12.9	+7.0	97.9	+4.7
Jack Mewhort	59	730	+0.6	+2.8	97.2	-1.1
Andrew Norwell	UDFA	406	-0.1	+0.9	96.7	-2.6
Gabe Jackson	81	554	-0.8	+5.8	97.5	-5.5
Trai Turner	92	383	-2.1	-1.1	96.5	-1.1
Travis Swanson	76	273	-9.5	-3.7	95.0	-6.5
Cyril Richardson	153	291	-12.4	-10.8	93.7	+0.1
Weston Richburg	43	768	-13.4	-1.5	97.0	-9.0
Zach Fulton	193	766	-15.6	-3.9	95.6	-13.3

While Mewhort could stand to work on his run blocking, his experience at left tackle and general reliability has allowed the left side of the line to flourish in pass protection, as left tackle Anthony Castonzo has had his best year yet. 

Then there is Jonathan Newsome, who has been a pleasant surprise rushing the passer as he's gotten more reps this season. As a fifth-round pick, expectations for Newsome were very low. It was most likely that he would have to pay his dues with special team duty this year and work his way up the rotation. But due to injuries and a lack of talent at outside linebacker, the rookie has played 270 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Not only has Newsome played a decent amount, but he's been effective, racking up 4.5 sacks so far this season. Newsome's 4.5 sacks is second only to Erik Walden's five. When Newsome rushes from the right side, he has a pass rushing productivity rate of 12.2, which is the highest of any Colts pass-rusher, per Pro Football Focus. In context: A 12.2 PRP would rank in the top five among starting 3-4 OLBs. 

While none of the Colts' current rookies are superstars just yet, that's part of the nature of the beast when you don't have a first-round pick, and that discussion is a whole different issue in and of itself. 

But overall, while Grigson has made his mistakes that have cost the Colts, drafting is one area where there seems to be more good than bad at this early stage in his career. When a team's three earliest picks outperform their draft slots, that's a very good sign. 

It's too early to analyze the picks completely, but right now, the 2014 draft looks to be a feather in Grigson's cap.