It's becoming increasingly unappealing to use a high pick on Colts skill position players. Nobody seems clear on when exactly Andrew Luck will be available to play, and they definitely won't have their starting center for the first half of the season.
Ryan Kelly has a foot injury that will require surgery. The idea is to put him on IR and designate him as a player they can bring back after eight weeks, but that's a lot of missed time regardless. And how many of those games will it be Luck taking the snaps? No one is confirming Luck will be there in Week 1.
So let's say you want to draft T.Y. Hilton or Frank Gore. The running back will definitely be working without his starting center for half the season, and possibly taking handoffs from Scott Tolzien. It's an even uglier prospect for Hilton, since we've seen the passing game with Luck out of the lineup, and there's little reason to think it will be good with Tolzien out there.
Tolzien's one start a year ago looked like this: 22 of 36 for 205 yards (5.7 per attempt) with 1 TD and 2 interceptions.
Even if we assume Luck is available, he won't have Kelly. Indianapolis' best No. 2 option is Brian Schwenke, currently on the PUP list. They kicked the tires on Jeremy Zuttah, but he is apparently close to re-signing with the Ravens (plus he was just released by San Francisco, so he probably shouldn't be viewed as a savior).
With Kelly, the Colts looked to be average or better at three spots on the line: left tackle (Anthony Castonzo), left guard (Jack Mewhort) and center. Now that's down to two.
It's a bad-looking situation. I have a draft next Thursday night and I don't expect to have any problems not selecting any Colts.
--Andy Richardson