The Colts have been linked to tight ends a lot, but perhaps the team is looking for its next bookend at right tackle during late April’s NFL Draft?
According to SportsKeeda’s Tony Pauline, the Indianapolis Colts may be coyly eyeing an offensive tackle with the 14th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft:
“Speaking of the Colts, the belief from many outside the scouting community is that the team will take a tight end or safety in Round 1, as they tried to move up for Brock Bowers,” Pauline notes.
“Yet the overwhelming belief during the pro-day circuit is that Chris Ballard and team would prefer to select an offensive tackle with their first pick of the draft.”
To be fair, no one really knows that the Colts are going to do right now, and I imagine what they’ll do could very well depend on who slides and/or is available with their first round pick when they’re officially on the clock in late April. Their first pick remains entirely fluid.
There are a number of top offensive tackle prospects such as Missouri’s Armand Membou and LSU’s Will Campbell, but both are currently expected to go within the draft’s Top 10 picks.
That being said, Texas’s Kelvin Banks Jr. or Ohio State’s Josh Simmons could be a possibility near midway through Round 1—or perhaps through a trade down with another NFL team.
For what it’s worth, 29-year-old veteran offensive tackle Braden Smith recently restructured his deal and is entering the last year of his Colts’ contract. It’s possible that 2025 could very well be his last season in Indianapolis, having battled through a number of lingering injuries.
While the Colts have 2nd-year swing-tackle Matt Goncalves, who held his own last year as a rookie, it’s possible they could be looking for a long-term fixture at right tackle—especially with right guard still open, which Goncalves could very well fill going forward.
Still, to me, the Colts need to get more dynamic with their skill positions and on the outside, in addition to receiving more consistent and improved starting quarterback play.
They’ve already addressed cornerback with the CB1 addition of former NFL All-Pro Charvarius Ward, but I look at the tight end position—and if Penn State’s Tyler Warren is there, and they pass on him, I think that could prove to be a serious mistake in time.
