Colts NFL Draft 2022 guide: Picks, predictions and key needs

The Indianapolis Colts have the 42nd pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins on April 28 in Las Vegas. The Colts don’t have a first-round pick but own seven total picks in the seven-round draft.

Full draft order

See how every pick in the seven-round NFL Draft is scheduled.

Predicting the Colts’ picks

• Colts 7-round mock draft from Zak Keefer
• Zak Keefer’s Colts big board
• The Athletic’s NFL beat writer mock draft
• Bruce Feldman’s 2022 mock draft
• Dane Brugler’s post-combine mock draft
• Bob Kravitz’s reaction to Dane Brugler’s pick of Carson Strong
• “The Beast” 2022 NFL Draft guide
• Dane Brugler mock drafts all 262 picks
• Where key upgrades are needed on Colts’ roster
• Colts’ success with second-round picks
• NFL Draft consensus big board
• Nate Tice’s NFL mock draft

NFL Draft details

• Round 1: April 28, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC, NFL Network)
• Rounds 2-3: April 29, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC, NFL Network)
• Rounds 4-7: April 30, Noon ET (ESPN/ABC, NFL Network)

About the Colts

• Head coach: Frank Reich (fifth season)
• General manager: Chris Ballard
• Last year’s record: 9-8

Colts’ key position needs 

Wide receiver: The Colts have taken a step backward at this position during the offseason. The ever-reliable Zach Pascal signed with the Eagles as a free agent, and T.Y. Hilton is still unsigned and it remains unclear if he’ll return. The Colts are bullish on young players such as Dezmon Patmon and Michael Strachan, but they’ve played very few meaningful snaps. Parris Campbell returns but can’t be counted on with his injury history.

Cornerback: The Colts traded Rock Ya-Sin to the Raiders to acquire Yannick Ngakoue, leaving them without one of their starting cornerbacks heading into 2022. With the team apparently moving on from veteran Xavier Rhodes, who started across from Ya-Sin last season, the Colts are lacking proven starting-caliber talent here. The addition of free agent Brandon Facyson and the return of Isaiah Rodgers will help, but the Colts shouldn’t feel comfortable at this spot.

Tight end: This is a position that is central to the Colts’ offensive scheme, so the Colts will have their hands full in trying to account for the retirement of all-purpose tight end Jack Doyle. Indianapolis re-signed Mo Alie-Cox and has big expectations for 2021 draft pick Kylen Granson, but the Colts have generally made extensive use of three tight ends. Who’s their third?

Kwity Paye started 15 games as a rookie last season. (Michael Allio / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Colts’ past five top picks

• 2021: DL Kwity Paye, pick No. 21 — Paye didn’t have a big season in terms of sack production (four sacks), but his 37 pressures ranked second on the team behind All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (41). Paye also was adjusting to a very different style of play, with the Colts playing him much wider and farther away from the ball than he did at Michigan. Paye showed progress as he began to affect the quarterback more later in the season.
• 2020: WR Michael Pittman Jr., pick No. 34 — Pittman took a big step in Year 2 last season, becoming the team’s top wide receiver and recording his first 1,000-yard effort. Pittman also increased his catch percentage from 65.6 to 68.2 from his rookie season to his sophomore year, despite the low overall completion percentage of quarterback Carson Wentz (62.4).
• 2019: CB Rock Ya-Sin, pick No. 34 — Ya-Sin had his ups and downs — particularly his well-documented holding penalties — but he was generally a productive player for Indianapolis. The three-year starter was traded to Las Vegas last month in a deal that landed Yannick Ngakoue, who the Colts hope can help resolve their long-running lack of sufficient edge rush. Ya-Sin had a career-high eight pass deflections last season and proved a very reliable tackler for Indianapolis.
• 2018: G Quenton Nelson, pick No. 6 — Nelson immediately became one of the NFL’s most consistent offensive linemen, earning first-team All-Pro honors in each of his first three seasons. Nelson has given a huge boost to the Colts’ running game, establishing himself as an elite pulling guard who displays an impressive combination of athleticism and bone-crushing power. It’s expected he will be given a contract extension before the start of the 2022 regular season.
• 2017: S Malik Hooker, pick No. 15 — Hooker arrived with high hopes of becoming a game-changing player with terrific range. And he certainly displayed that in the first few games of his rookie season. But his injury challenges began early on, when Hooker suffered a season-ending knee injury seven games into 2017. He battled injuries consistently over the next three seasons, including 2020 when he sustained a ruptured Achilles. Hooker spent last season with the Cowboys, for whom he played 44 percent of the defensive snaps.

(Top photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)