NFL Draft 2026 Review: Indianapolis Colts

During the first half of the season, the Indianapolis Colts (8-9) seemed like they were going to be the favorite to win the AFC with an 8-2 record at the bye week. However, the Colts were unable to win a game after the bye week. Losing seven straight games and losing new QB Daniel Jones during that stretch for the season was heartbreaking for the franchise.

Indianapolis needs to find some new players that can help the team break out of that late-season funk so that things can turn around. Here are the eight players that the Colts selected in this year's NFL Draft.

Round 2, Pick 21: CJ Allen - LB - Georgia. 6'0", 230 lbs (88 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 4 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery).

Allen made plays all over the field as an All-American inside linebacker last season. He will be called upon to make even more plays as an eventual starter this season because starting LB Zaire Franklin was traded to the Green Bay Packers during the offseason.

Round 3, Pick 14: A.J. Haulcy - S - LSU. 5'11", 215 lbs (88 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, 3 INT, 4 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble).

Haulcy made many plays against the run last season and could possibly see some time on the field at strong safety.

Round 4, Pick 13: Jalen Farmer - OG - Kentucky. 6'5", 312 lbs.

Farmer started at guard for the past two seasons at Kentucky. He will add depth to the Colts offensive line.

Round 4, Pick 35: Bryce Boettcher - LB - Oregon. 6'1", 233 lbs (136 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT, 6 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles).

Boettcher adds depth at inside linebacker. He could possibly see some time as well if he does well in camp.

Round 5, Pick 16: George Gumbs, Jr. - DE - Florida. 6'4", 245 lbs (31 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery).

Gumbs, Jr. adds depth at defensive end. He more than likely could see some time in the DE rotation because Laiatu Latu was the only defensive end that had more than five sacks last season. He dropped in this draft due to him missing three games due to injury last season. Plus, he is a tweener between outside linebacker and defensive end.

Round 6, Pick 33: Caden Curry - DE - Ohio State. 6'3", 257 lbs (66 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 2 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries).

If you look at his statistics, then you would think that Curry should have went higher than the sixth round. Teams were concerned about the fact that he only started one year at defensive end along with his arms deemed to be too short by NFL scouts. However, his production shows that he will more than likely has a good chance of starting since Latu was the only person on the team that had more than five sacks last season.

Round 7, Pick 21: Seth McGowan - RB - Kentucky. 6'0", 223 lbs (725 rush yds, 4.4 yds/rush, 12 TD, 19 rec, 126 rec yds, 6.6 yds/rec).

McGowan has a chance to end up being the backup running back because all of the other backup RB's last season ran for less than 200 yards. Plus, RB Jonathan Taylor had over 300 carries last season. Hopefully, McGowan can cut into that workload for the Colts.

Overview: Although Indianapolis did not have a first round pick, they were able to select Allen who will be a guaranteed starter and were able to select some diamonds in the rough later in the Draft in Curry and McGowan, who could potentially see plenty of playing time this season. Grade: B-.

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