BGN 2010 Mock Draft Pick #31 - The Indianapolis Colts

With the 31st pick in the 2010 BGN Draft, Udalango selects...

Devin McCourty - CB, Rutgers

The Colts most pressing need this offseason is help on their offensive line.  When your quarterback is of the caliber of Peyton Manning, you do everything you can to protect him.  However, the four highest ranked tackles in the draft have already been taken. I do not see the Colts wasting a first round pick for the fifth best tackle when other areas could be addressed.

In this day's NFL you have to do two things. You have to:

 

• Pass the Ball
• Stop the Pass 

This is the main reason that I am taking Devin McCourty, the CB out of Rutgers.  At 5’11", 190, he may be a little small, but he will fit well into the Colts defensive scheme. At Rutgers he played terrific run support, and he plays the short zone well. This makes him the perfect nickel CB, which would allow him to take over for Marlin Jackson. He is capable of playing some man-to-man as well, and also showed promise as a special teamer, so he could help out the team in a number of areas.

McCourty would have an immediate impact starting over Jacob Lacey, which would push Lacey to dime CB. Cornerbacks are something you can never have too many of and competition will only make them better.

The other two cornerbacks I considered were Kareem Jackson, and Patrick Robinson.  Robinson was taken by the Vikings; however he does not return kicks as well as Jackson or McCourty.  This took him out of my consideration.  As for Kareem in my opinion McCourty fits the defensive scheme of the Colts better than Jackson does.  One of the concerns about Jackson is that he lacks an elite second gear to recover if beaten initially.  While McCourty “Baits quarterbacks into throwing in his direction, closing very well when the ball is in front of him. Good plant and drive with body control. Takes the proper angle to the receiver. Lacks elite speed, but can recover quickly enough when picked on crossing or drag routes to make the tackle.” (Courtesy of CBS)  He has drawn comparisons to Ronde Barber in many respects, and if he comes out being anything like Ronde was in his prime the Colts would have fixed up a good but not great secondary.

Next on the clock will be justyn725 with the New Orleans Saints.

UPDATE: justyn725 has missed the deadline for his pick. Anyone may now submit their pick for the Saints to me via email. Please enter your pick soon so we can get back on schedule and have everyone in before the draft. Thanks! -Bob_Q

Previous picks: #1 Ndamukong Suh, #2 Russell Okung, #3 Gerald McCoy, #4 Sam Bradford, #5 Eric Berry, #6 Trent Williams, #7 Jimmy Clausen, #8 Bruce Campbell, #9 Bryan Bulaga, #10 Derrick Morgan, #11 Rolando McClain, #12 Sergio Kindle, #13 Joe Haden, #14 C.J. Spiller, #15 Mike Iupati, #16 Jason Pierre-Paul, #17 Anthony Davis, #18 Kyle Wilson, #19 Brandon Graham, #20 Dan Williams, #21 Dez Bryant, #22 Tim Tebow, #23 Charles Brown, #24 Sean Weatherspoon, #25 Earl Thomas, #26 Terrence Cody, #27 Maurkice Pouncey, #28 Ryan Matthews, #29 Jared Odrick, #30 Patrick Robinson