Colts draft: A closer look at where the roster is

INDIANAPOLIS -- In five days the Indianapolis Colts will commence their most significant draft in six years, a middling team grossly lacking in talent desperate to find some. The good news for them: There is ample opportunity.

Nine picks beginning Thursday. Three inside the first 37. Four inside the top 49. It starts with sixth overall selection, a spot a few QB-needy AFC East franchises – hello, Buffalo or Miami – could covet just enough to ship a king's ransom in exchange for.

Yeah, for the Colts, this week is big. Really big.

It also remains difficult to project. The Colts don't need help here or there; they need it everywhere. No position group, outside maybe the quarterbacks and specialists, is truly solidified. The harsh reality: they're a 4-12 team, the star QB hasn't seen the field in a year and they're playing under a first-time head coach and a pair of first-time coordinators. And the roster is average at best.

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The lumps will come. That's how this works.

What figures to further the Colts' climb is the fact they're going young – really young. Second-year General Manager Chris Ballard largely eschewed the allure of free agency this spring, instead fixating on the draft, the means to which he's constructing his roster of the present and future. Ballard's shrewdest move came in mid-March, when he shipped the third overall pick to the New York Jets in exchange for No. 6, plus three second-rounders over the next two years. Throw in a compensatory pick Ballard expects the Colts to receive next spring, and the total balloons to 18 picks across two drafts.

Or more simply: The backbone of the Colts' future.

"That's 18 picks over two years to really replenish the young players (on our roster)," Ballard said this spring. "Are we trying to win? Damn right. Yeah, we're trying to win. But who says you can't do it with young players?

"We don't think we have a good, young nucleus of players," he continued, "that has really built the culture in the locker room to just take in free agent guys."

Thus the aim: Find that young, nucleus of players. Develop it. Win with it. That pursuit climaxes this week, a pivotal one in the reshaping of this franchise. Entering this vitally-important draft, here are the position groups at their current state, ranked in descending order of need:

9. Specialists

Starters: Adam Vinatieri, Rigoberto Sanchez, Luke Rhodes.

Don't take this for granted: Vinatieri has afforded the Colts stability at the kicking position for over a decade. That's not normal. Neither is he. The GOAT will be setting some NFL records this fall.

Level of need: Nonexistant.

8. Quarterbacks

Starter: Andrew Luck. Reserves: Jacoby Brissett, Brad Kayaa, Phillip Walker.

While there remains plenty of uncertainty (see: Luck's right shoulder) there is stability. While the Colts fully expect Luck under center in Week 1, if he's delayed once more, they'll move to Brissett. New coach Frank Reich is high on Brissett, and Ballard turned down at least two trade offers for the backup QB this spring. Kayaa and Walker will offer depth during training camp and preseason.

Level of need: Minimal. (We think.)

7. Tight ends

Starters: Jack Doyle, Eric Ebron. Reserves: Erik Swoope, Travis Ross, Darrell Daniels, Mo Alie-Cox, Jason Vander Laan.

The Colts actually have to feel good about this spot. In Doyle they've got a Pro Bowler who's good for 60-plus catches – and with Luck back, maybe more. They hope new signee Ebron can become a wide receiver/tight end hybrid that'll create mismatches, allowing Doyle and T.Y. Hilton room to roam. And don't forget about two players who could work their way into the equation: Swoope, coming off a lost season due to injury, and Travis, a player who flashed late last year.

Level of need: Minimal.

6. Running back

Starter: Marlon Mack. Reserves: Robert Turbin, Matt Jones, Christine Michael, Josh Ferguson, George Winn.

Another position the Colts are expected to address in the draft – Ballard has hinted at as much – but one that remains less muddied than the receivers. Indianapolis figures to give Marlon Mack a heftier load for his sophomore season, now that Frank Gore is in Miami with the Dolphins. Turbin, the valuable short-yardage weapon, will return, and so will Michael, who was injured last summer and lost for the year. Don't ignore the likes of Matt Jones, either, whom the front office remains high on and could work his way into a regular role if he can hold onto the football.

Adding a talent like Saquon Barkley to this group, of course, would change everything. In a good way.

Level of need: Moderate.

5. Defensive backs

Starters: Pierre Desir, Quincy Wilson (cornerback); Clayton Geathers, Malik Hooker (safety). Reserves: Kenneth Acker, Nate Hairston, Chris Milton, Kenny Moore, D.J. White (CBs); Matthias Farley, T.J. Green, Ronald Martin (safeties).

This group has as much young talent as anywhere on the defense, perhaps the entire team. One can picture a bruising safety tandem of Geathers and Hooker, a cornerback room that features Desir, Wilson and Hairston. The future could be bright.

The present is a little more shaky. The Colts remain largely unproven on the back end, yet intent on letting the young players develop in the coming years. It'll take time to grow. Adding a few more playmakers in the secondary is never a bad thing, certainly not in today's pass-happy NFL, especially when you're entering a season having lost your top two corners from last year (Vontae Davis and Rashaan Melvin). The fate of third-year safety T.J. Green remains in limbo. The former second-round pick will face a critical camp come late summer.

Level of need: Moderate.

4. Defensive line

Starters: Jabaal Sheard, John Simon (defensive ends), Al Woods (nose tackle), Hassan Ridgeway (defensive tackle). Reserves: Henry Anderson, Tarell Basham, Denico Autry, Margus Hunt, Grover Stewart, Joey Mbu, Caraun Reid, Anthony Johnson, Johnathan Calvin.

The defense's strongest unit in 2017 will undergo a major shift this year, trading out Chuck Pagano's underperforming 3-4 scheme with new coordinator Matt Eberflus' 4-3. The emphasis: Speed. Hulking lineman Jon Hankins is gone, victim of the switch. Nose tackle Al Woods remains, as does end Henry Anderson, but both will have to adjust. The unit adds some pop on the edges in linebacker converts Jabaal Sheard, John Simon and Tarell Basham, plus new signee Denico Autry. Is that enough to help the Colts in the pass-rushing department? Time will tell.

"The defensive line is going to be one of the engines that drives us going forward," Ballard said. "You need seven or eight guys that can get it done."

As of right now, the Colts aren't there yet. But adding the likes of Sheard, Simon and Basham makes this an intriguing group entering training camp.

Level of need: High.

3. Offensive line

Starters: Anthony Castonzo, Denzelle Good (tackles), Matt Slauson, Jeremy Vujnovich (guards), Ryan Kelly (center). Reserves: Jack Mewhort, Joe Haeg, Deyshawn Bond, Le’Raven Clark, Tyreek Burwell, Isaiah Williams, Mark Glowinski, Anthony Fabiano.

Here we go again. At this juncture, it seems the Colts only have two solidified starters: Castonzo at left tackle and Kelly at center. Most figure newcomer Slauson will command one of the guard spots, but as the past has taught us, there are no guarantees with this group.

The Colts still don't have a sure-bet right tackle, and they'd be wise to upgrade from Jeremy Vujnovich at left guard. "I don't know how many guys I've played (next to) at this point," Castonzo said last week, reflecting on the revolving door along the line the past six years. The turnover hasn't netted results: The Colts have been in the bottom six in QB hits allowed every year since 2012.

Jack Mewhort is back, but hasn't been able to stay on the field the last two seasons. Questions. Uncertainties. Concerns. It's the Colt's offensive line. What else is new?

Level of need: High. Always high.

2. Linebacker

Starters: Antonio Morrison (strongside), Najee Goode (MIKE), Anthony Walker (weakside). Reserves: Jeremiah George, Jermaine Grace, Josh Perry, Darnell Sankey, Tyrell Adams, Arthur Miley.

They're as thin here as perhaps any spot on the roster, and the Colts must address this need in the draft. They will. The question is when. Virginia Tech's Tremaine Edmunds and Georgia's Roquan Smith figure to be the first two off the board at the position; if the Colts miss out on their presumed top three (Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson and Saquon Barkley) will they shift their focus to the heart of the defense?

Ballard has hinted, time and again, at his affection for inside linebackers this spring. He's brought up Brian Urlacher's name what seems like a dozen times.

A potential lynchpin on that side of the ball could prove worth the Colts' lofty pick. Bottom line: First round, second round, whenever – the Colts desperately need to upgrade the talent here, and in a big way.

Level of need: Very high.

1. Wide receiver

Starters: T.Y. Hilton, Chester Rogers. Reserves: Ryan Grant, Krishawn Hogan, K.J. Brent, Dres Anderson, Seantavius Jones, Justice Liggins, Kolby Listenbee, DeAndre Smelter, James Wright.

This unit is downright scary – and not in a good way. Alarmingly thin and stunningly unproven, no position group on this team is more of a concern, and it's a unit Ballard must address in this week's draft, perhaps with as many as three selections. It's T.Y. Hilton and ... what exactly? Hilton owns 431 career catches; no one besides new signing Ryan Grant has more than 42. Seven of the 11 wideouts combined for all of one NFL catch.

This doesn't mean Chester Rogers can't develop into a steady starter – he's shown flashes – or that one of those unknowns could turn some heads come camp. But as of today, with Donte Moncrief's departure, the Colts have one of the weakest wide receiving units in the league.

Level of need: Exceptionally high.

Total: 72 players under contract. With nine draftees (barring any trades), that leaves room for nine undrafted free agents. As always, these numbers are fluid.

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.