B-
Indianapolis Colts
Grand theft in No. 78: the Colts steal Ponds and grade out a B-.
by jzaNe1949 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Colts were there to profit. D'Angelo Ponds, the No. 48 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 78th pick.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The Ponds pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with quarterback, offensive lineman and other spots still on the board. If Elliott pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Brandon Cisse in slot 47 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, D'Angelo Ponds adds a cornerback and leaves quarterback, offensive lineman and other spots untouched.
Keyshaun Elliott in the 113th overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Amare Thomas slipping to pick 156 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Dallen Bentley at the 214th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the tight end. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jaydn Ott at pick No. 249 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Isaiah Nwokobia at No. 254. It adds depth where they could use a little.