FB: How does Utah's Julian Blackmon fit with the Indianapolis Colts

Taken in the NFL Draft sooner rather than later, it may still be a while before Utah's Julian Blackmon sees the field for Indianapolis. But when he does, what does he bring and how does he fit in?

The Indianapolis Colts knew that patience was going to be needed with their third round draft pick — Utah safety Julian Blackmon.

There's no doubt that Blackmon's play and the skill level he demonstrated in college was worthy of being chosen in the third third, but a torn ACL suffered in the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon in early December put that draft slot in jeopardy.

So when Indianapolis called Blackmon to let him know they were taking him in the draft, it was four years of hard working being validated and not ruined by one play.

“Blackmon is a productive safety with instincts, awareness and ball skills. He is a steady player with the potential to crack the rotation as a spot starter,” NFL.com wrote when analyzing Blackmon's game following his selection.

But now that he's officially a member of the Colts, patience from the organization will be needed if they hope to get the player Blackmon could be. After one season at safety as a senior, Blackmon showed tremendous potential when he garnered second-team AP All-American status.

He's currently four months into his rehabilitation, so it would be premature to think he will have an immediate impact for the team this season — especially considering that nobody has yet be together offseason training due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I didn’t want to lose him behind us. We thought there was a chance he would be there in the third. We were worried that he wouldn’t be there in the fourth,” Colts GM Chris Ballard said after Day 2 of the draft. “He’s got the ACL injury, we know that he won’t be ready probably until late August, early September which means that he might not even really help us until October.”

Right now the Colts don't have an opening at safety as Malik Hooker, a 2017 first-rounder, and second-year pro Khari Willis locking down both spots. But Hooker has an option-year following this season, and should the Colts choose to not pick it up, it means that Hooker would be a free agent. If Hooker becomes a free agent, that would then free up a starting spot heading into the 2021 season.

Hooker has shown flashes of great play but has been inconsistent to the point that Ballard was listening to trade offers for him, according to numerous reports.

Once healthy and how Blackmon responds on the field will be huge to him taking over as a starter in 2021. If Blackmon can prove that he's ready excel at this level, there's a likely chance that Hooker will be gone and Blackmon will enter next season as a starter.