Some rumblings that NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah is hearing with the draft now just a day away include that the Colts could be a team looking to trade up for Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.
Here is what Jeremiah had to say about this while on Twitter Spaces with Tom Pelissero:
“The latest stuff I had heard this evening was don’t sleep on the Colts moving up for Quinyon Mitchell. That they were a Quinyon Mitchell team. So I had already turned in my mock draft, so I did not have that, but that’s some of the intel that came in this (Tuesday) evening.”
If Mitchell were to make it to pick No. 15, selecting him would be a no-brainer for the Colts. However, as this pre-draft process has continued to unfold and Mitchell’s stock continues to rise, the big question going into Round 1 is whether he would make it that far.
According to ESPN’s Draft Day Predictor model, there is only about a 30 percent chance that Mitchell falls to No. 15. He has the highest chance to come off the board in the Nos. 11 to 13 range, per the model.
Using the Rich Hill trade value chart as our guide, if the Colts were to move up to No. 11, for example, they may have to part with their third-round pick. If the Colts moved up to No. 13, they could have to trade away their fourth-round selection.
“I think it would depend,” GM Chris Ballard said about trading up when meeting with reporters last week. “There would have to be someone within striking distance we felt was really unique and a difference-maker for us.”
Cornerback needs to be a top priority for the Colts early in this draft. The Colts relied heavily on rookies in 2023, and experienced very up-and-down play from this position group. Overall, the Colts’ secondary surrendered way too many explosive plays and didn’t have enough on-ball production.
At his pre-draft press conference, Ballard was optimistic about improved play from this unit in 2024, saying that Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents were no longer rookies and that getting Dallis Flowers back would be important.
However, with that said, banking on that happening comes with obvious risks.
The addition of Mitchell to this group would provide an immediate upgrade. He has good size and terrific athleticism. Mitchell can handle both man and zone coverage schemes; he brings physicality to the position and had excellent ball production at Toledo.
