In this series, we’ll look at 3 draft prospects who would be great fits for the Colts in any round.
We’re back for another season of the “3 prospects to watch for” series. This season, every position will be evaluated as the Colts can justify using a high draft pick on pretty much any spot on the team. Here are the three candidates for this week’s series:
Ashton Jeanty — Running Back — Boise State
I didn’t think I’d be doing a write-up on Ashton Jeanty, but the Colts scheduled an interview with him, so here we are. Jeanty is the best running back in the class and was my pick for the Heisman this past season.
The big thing with him is his shiftiness and his ability to make defenders miss. You would think with those traits he would lack some power, but he definitely has that as well. He might have the fewest weaknesses of any running back I’ve ever scouted. He has the quickness to cut on a dime and make defenders miss in space; he has the power to run over guys or power through a muddy area and he has the speed to run away from defenders. On top of all the physical tools, he has great vision and knows exactly when to hit the hole or bounce it outside. He also has very good size and is a 3-down back who can block and receive at a high level for a running back.
The only real negative I have for him is that he has a lot of mileage on him already. With 830 college career touches, that will leave him around 2200 carries in the NFL before he hits the running back wall. That should be good for 6-7 seasons of strong play, which is more than good enough for any team.
I’m almost always opposed to taking running backs in the first round, due to their replaceability and short shelf life, but Jeanty might be a 1-of-1 and if the Colts took him with their first round pick, depending on who is on the board, I might be for it.
Mason Taylor — Tight End — LSU
I’m a sucker for players with NFL blood and pedigree and Mason Taylor, who is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, has that. Taylor impressed at the Senior Bowl and had a very good Combine, and it’s worth noting he would be in the conversation for TE1 in many classes.
Taylor is a big bodied catch-first tight end who is great with the ball in his hands. LSU liked to utilize him on quick hitting passes and Taylor would do the rest, often forcing a missed tackle and getting some good YAC yards. He is athletic and has an unofficial RAS score of 9.88 out of 10, which is extremely high. What I especially love about him is his experience, with 3 years as a starter and with two different quarterbacks.
Taylor needs to improve as a blocker, which could hurt his value, especially with a team like the Colts who like to run the ball more than 50% of the time. The effort is there, but the technique isn’t. I’d also like to see him expand the amount of routes he runs, since he likes to run a bunch of crossers, drags and hooks; some versatility would be beneficial.
The routes he runs further emphasize how good he is in space and with the ball in his hands. He’s worth a 2nd round pick and if he’s there in the 3rd round, the Colts should jump on him right away.
Malaki Starks — Safety — Georgia
The Colts hired a bunch of defensive back minded defensive coaches, which should lead to an investment in the secondary. The Colts have some pieces in Nick Cross, Kenny Moore and Juju Brents, but they don’t have much more after that. A Lou Anarumo defense thrives with a star safety, which was proven when Jessie Bates was roaming the defensive backfield in Cincinnati. The Colts will need to find their star in the secondary and that could very well be Malaki Starks.
Starks is a stud, there’s no other way about it. He is a versatile player who can cover receivers in the slot, play in the box to defend the run and be a centerfield ballhawk safety who can make spectacular interceptions. He is as well rounded a safety as there is in this class and one of the better ones of any of the recent safety classes. His missed tackle rate of 8.1% puts him amongst the elite tackles in the country. Finally, as mentioned with other athletes in this series, he has experience and was the captain of the secondary this past season, and experience is a massive positive for me.
His play recognition and reaction time can be a little delayed/slow at times and I don’t see the instincts that I see from the best safety prospects of the last 15 years. The other recent knocks on him have had to do with his athleticism and his poor testing at the combine. I’ve never been a big fan of the combine, save for a few drills for specific positions, so frankly I don’t care for what Starks scored. The tape is the tape and Starks has proven to be an incredible coverage safety who can make plays all over the field.
Starks should be in the conversation for the 14th pick and could be a transformative player with a day 1 impact.