Colts' 2026 Draft Seen as Nearly Immaculate

Starting with CJ Allen, who fell straight into Indy's lap after the Colts traded back from 47th to 53rd with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Allen was a top linebacker prospect heading into the draft, but likely fell due to a meniscus procedure that took him away from measuring at the NFL Combine.

Regardless, he appears to be fully healthy and is a very capable defender who will start right away in Zaire Franklin's absence.

Next, we have safety A.J. Haulcy, who is a ball-hawking player that will likely start next to Cam Bynum at the strong position.

Haulcy had 10 picks, 19 pass breakups, and 347 tackles during his four-year college career. He's known for breaking on the ball effectively and forcing turnovers, which will never be turned down by an NFL defense.

The third pick was the monstrous guard from Kentucky, Jalen Farmer. Colts offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. loved the tape of Farmer, which ultimately helped lead to this selection.

Right away it can be assumed that Farmer is the OL6 for Indianapolis, and he gives the interior much-needed depth.

Linebacker Bryce Boettcher followed Farmer's drafting in the fourth round. Boettcher was a player I had as a sleeper selection for Indianapolis pre-draft.

He's great in coverage and will add more padding to the linebacker room. He might get deployed in coverage-heavy sets by Anarumo, but more likely, he will start his Colts career as a special teams ace.

After Boettcher, the Colts went with upside at the defensive end position by selecting George Gumbs, Jr. out of Florida.

Gumbs is more of a project at defensive end with high-level potential. He started his college career as a tight end for two years before transitioning to the edge rusher position.

He finished with 11.0 sacks, 21.0 tackles for loss, 98 tackles, and four fumbles forced through his five college years. It will be interesting to see how he's deployed in an edge room that may still need another veteran to round it out.

The Colts didn't stop with their defensive end picks with Gumbs, following immediately after, they selected Ohio State's Caden Curry.

Curry is a powerhouse who didn't see much meaningful action during his first three years with the Buckeyes. However, after the Colts took Jaylahn Tuimoloau last year, Curry's role vastly increased.

He finished with 11.0 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 46 quarterback pressures in 2025. Curry is more developed and proven than Gumbs and could have a better shot at playing time.

Indy kicked off their first of two seventh-rounders by taking Kentucky's running back, Seth McGowan. The big news around McGowan was his criminal record regarding a robbery in 2021. This took away his early college career.

McGowan returned to football in 2024 and finished his career with the Wildcats in 2025. He was a touchdown machine, securing 12 scores on the ground and a career yards per carry average of 5.1.

McGowan will press D.J. Giddens for the valuable RB2 role behind Jonathan Taylor, and has the capabilities to earn it.

To finish out the draft was arguably the biggest value pick for the Colts. They took wide receiver Deion Burks with the 254th-overall pick.

Burks was positioned as around a fourth-round talent, but fell drastically. The reasons are unclear as to why, but regardless, he's immediately the fastest player for Indy's wide receiver corps.

He's on the shorter and lighter side, but possesses game-breaking speed and is far stronger than his frame indicates. He primarily played on the outside at Oklahoma, but can also be placed in the slot.

The Colts may want a more proven talent to assume the WR3 role behind Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, but for now, Burks has a better shot at taking that spot than Ashton Dulin or Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

The Bottom Line

Ballard deserves plenty of criticism for his less-than-ideal tenure as the Colts' GM, but he was excellent this year at navigating the draft without a key first-rounder.

The Colts addressed linebacker, edge rushing depth, wide receiver, interior offensive line depth, strong safety, and a rotational back behind Taylor.

There's still more needed, and that could be handled through acquiring undrafted rookies or signing other free agents, but it couldn't have gone better for Indianapolis in the draft this year.

Now, the ultimate test for Ballard will be seeing if this pays off with competing for the AFC South crown and obtaining a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2020.