Although it’s certainly too early in the process to worry about accurately projecting who the Colts will select next April, it’s not too early to put together some prospect watch lists for the 2024 college football season and discuss potential early-round needs they might have.
Pro Football Focus has recently done some of the heavy lifting, going through all 11 positions and picking the top 10 draft prospects from each. Here is who they chose at edge rusher. For more details on each player, click here.
James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
Even after the Colts utilized their first-round pick in this year’s draft on the edge rusher position, selecting Laiatu Latu, there is a fairly realistic scenario where they spend another draft pick – although perhaps not a first-rounder – on the position again in 2025.
For starters, we know that building through the trenches is a priority for GM Chris Ballard, and this is a unit he’s routinely invested heavily into. That in itself makes drafting a defensive end a possibility each April.
But beyond that, Dayo Odeyingbo is set to be a free agent next offseason, and with the Colts picking up Kwity Paye’s fifth-year option and the potential that he will receive an extension at some point, Odeyingbo could be playing elsewhere in 2025.
Colts’ assistant GM Ed Dodds recently said that the team wants a hockey-like rotation along the defensive front with eight or nine players they can lean on, which could make replacing Odeyingbo’s production if he ends up elsewhere a priority.
In addition to that, the draft is about planning ahead, and the Colts defensive end depth takes a hit once again in 2026 with Samson Ebukam and Tyquan Lewis both free agents that offseason. Adding to this position group next offseason could lessen the sting of potentially losing one or both of those players the following year.
With that said, it’s not as if adding to the defensive end position in the upcoming draft will be a must for the Colts, either. Still under contract next season are Latu, Paye, Ebukam, and Lewis.
As of now, if the Colts do add to this position, it seems more likely that they do so in the middle to later portion of the draft with a developmental prospect rather than again using a premium pick. Of course, everything is subject to change over the next 10 months.
