Colts Expected to Get Sniped Again in Draft

The Indianapolis Colts had their desired player picked two spots ahead of them in last year's draft. It happens again twice in this latest projection.

Jake Arthur | Apr 4, 2025

Oct 5, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Jihaad Campbell (11) sneaks a peek into the backfield against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

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Indianapolis Colts

The NFL Draft is always rewarding if a team approaches it correctly, but it can be a heartbreaking affair as well.

In last year's draft, the Colts needed a tight end, and the best prospect at the position in recent memory was available in Brock Bowers. He was a true generational prospect in a world that grossly oversaturates the term.

The Colts made an attempt to trade up inside the top 10 in order to have a shot at Bowers, but there were no takers on the trade market. The Colts stood there at 15 as quarterbacks continued to come off the board, shoving Bowers closer to them. And then it happened.

With the 13th overall pick -- two slots ahead of the Colts -- the Las Vegas Raiders selected Bowers, just a year after spending a second-round pick on a different tight end. It was a shocker and nonetheless disappointing for the Colts, but they were able to take the first defensive player of the draft at 15 in pass rusher Laiatu Latu.

In 2024, Bowers went on to become the most prolific rookie pass catcher in NFL history while the Colts did nothing at the tight end position, and they now enter the 2025 NFL Draft with it as a bigger need than it was the year before when Bowers was snatched right ahead of them.

Mock drafts aplenty have the Colts selecting a tight end this year, whether it's Penn State's Tyler Warren or Michigan's Colston Loveland. However, in the latest mock draft from Gilberto Manzano of The MMQB, disaster strikes once again, as Warren is taken at No. 7 by the New York Jets, leaving Loveland as the Colts' last hope to grab a first-round tight end.

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As the Colts sit and wait with the 14th pick, Loveland's name is submitted by the Miami Dolphins, who pick 13th. Not only was a tight end even closer to their grasp than the year before, but they were sniped twice as both Warren and Loveland were chosen ahead of them.

The Colts may be compelled to trade back here in an effort to gather more picks and to then make a run at a player projected further down the top 40 in LSU tight end Mason Taylor, but they stick and pick instead, landing a blue-chip player in Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

"The Colts have needs at edge rusher and inside linebacker," Manzano wrote. "Campbell can play both positions after moving from edge rusher to linebacker because of the logjam of pass rushers at Alabama. He’s comfortable going back and forth with the two positions during games, which could make him an intriguing chess piece for new Indianapolis defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo."

Outside of Warren and Loveland, Campbell is arguably the next most popular choice for the Colts, as he, too, is an elite-level prospect who fills a need for the Colts.

Campbell plays with awareness, confidence, determination, and violence against the run, and he's explosive and athletic enough to shoot through crowded gaps and get to the ball. On passing downs, he's great at rushing the passer and moving around in coverage to put himself in the right place. Campbell is a bonafide do-everything, never-leave-the-field linebacker who would help transform the Colts' defense instantly.

Adding Campbell to the middle of the Colts' defense gives them a direct replacement for E.J. Speed and allows defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo the flexibility to use Campbell, Zaire Franklin, and Jaylon Carlies in creative ways in certain situations.

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