INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Round 2 (No. 53 overall, from Raiders through Packers and Vikings) – Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati: GM Chris Ballard gives new QB Matt Ryan a nice alternative to WR Michael Pittman Jr. Pierce provides tremendous size (6-3, 211 pounds), speed (4.4-second 40-yard dash) and intelligence – he studied mechanical engineering – a combination that should earn him immediate snaps if not Indy’s WR2 post.
Round 3 (73, from Commanders) – Jelani Woods, TE, Virginia: He is 6-7, 259 pounds and has 4.6 speed. Woods had 44 grabs for 598 yards last season but will also block. Could take over for retired Jack Doyle.
Round 3 (77, from Vikings) – Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan: Indianapolis turns to the Austrian exchange student as its new blind-side protector for Ryan.
Round 3 (96, from Rams through Broncos) – Nick Cross, S, Maryland: Big guy (6-0, 212 pounds), big-time speed (4.3-second 40-yard dash time), big hitter. Could compete for a starting job as a rookie.
Round 5 (159) – Eric Johnson, DT, Missouri State
Round 6 (192, from Vikings) – Andrew Ogletree, TE, Youngstown State
Round 6 (216, compensatory) – Curtis Brooks, DT, Cincinnati
Round 7 (239) – Rodney Thomas II, S, Yale
Grade: B
Good odds Ballard found four starters on Day 2, when he picked Pierce in the second round and Woods, Raimann and Cross in the third. Of course, any enthusiasm must be somewhat tempered by the loss of Indy’s first-round pick amid the failed Carson Wentz experiment. Still, given the path the Titans took in the draft, the Colts may have closed the gap in the AFC South.