As great as the 2012 season was, it wouldn't have been possible without the fantastic draft Ryan Grigson pulled off last April. 

Obviouisly, a huge portion of that credit goes to Andrew Luck, who carried the team to 11 wins, despite ending up in the red in the season's point differential, yards differential, turnover differential, and just about every other metric as a team. 

But the Luck pick was decided months before the draft, and was a relative lock. 

Grigson's real gems in that draft seem to have come in the third round. The Colts selected TE Dwayne Allen with the first pick in the round, and traded up to the 92nd overall pick pick to select WR T.Y. Hilton. 

Both players received a lot of playing time in their rookie campaigns, and responded tremendously, outplaying their draft spot's average value by a significant margin. 

When Pep Hamilton was originally hired back in January, the initial reaction was incredibly positive. With Hamilton's familiarity with Andrew Luck, and vice versa, there seems to be a base for a successful marriage. 

There were a few things that were concerning about Hamilton's initial hiring, namely the hints and brief mentions of possibly running Andrew Luck in read-option or pistol sets. Hamilton would briefly mention these things  several times in the aftermath of his hiring, causing more than a few eyebrows to raise. 

The idea of running your star quarterback into potentially hazardous situations is one that many fans, bloggers, analysts, etc. find questionable, and were cautious about. But, while disliking the idea, most also took his comments to be just that: comments. As I said back in February: 

"Until any of this coachspeack turns into actions, it's not all that concerning."

Any consternation faded away as the offseason continued, especially after Chuck Pagano's comments in March. 

Chuck Pagano on if Andrew Luck ran read-option: "..phone would probably ring on the sideline...telling me what time my flight was leaving."

— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) March 19, 2013

Then, Monday afternoon, Brad Wells at Stampede Blue wrote up a piece I ran across via Paul Kuharsky's RTC links. In the piece, Wells reported that Hamilton had brought up the pistol/read-option possibility again during last weekend's mini-camp, directly contradicting Pagano's comments in March: 

There's nothing we can't do. We can incorporate some pistol concepts, which is kind of a trend, an 'en vogue' thing in the league right now. Everybody's talking about the QB option, the QB read game, the QB pistol, the pistol components that we can run. But, we'll be smart. We'll be judicious in how much we expose Andrew to taking additional hits.

Wells decried the inconsistencies between the Colts' staff, and not without reason. While I'm not the biggest fan of Wells' "style," the variety of rhetoric coming out of the Colts' camp would be worth noting. 

That is of course, if Hamilton had actually said what was reported. 

NFL rookies are entering a unique world, one in which they are paid to play football.  The work is beyond difficult, but the experience – and, yes, the pay – can be quite incredible for the ones who make it. 

Like most players at the Colts Rookie Minicamp over the weekend, third round pick Hugh Thornton enjoyed being on the job for the first time.  “It was awesome,” he said. “I had a lot of fun out there, learned a lot of stuff. That’s one thing you realize, the change from college to the pros playbook is deep. There are a lot of things that go into it. You have a lot of checks. It’s been interesting. It’s been fun. I’m excited to meet the veterans and go from there.” 

There were 37 players at the minicamp over Mother’s Day weekend.  History tells us that some undrafted players will make the team and possibly contribute, but for now, we’ll focus on the seven draftees. 

Having traded a 2013 5th round pick in order to move up to select T.Y. Hilton in the 2012 NFL Draft, Ryan Grigson mortgaged a part of the team's future by trading away a 2014 4th round pick to Cleveland Browns for a 5th round selection this year.

With that 5th round selection, the Colts added another body to their defensive line rotation, and a big body at that. UT Martin's Montori Hughes stands at 6ft 4in, 329lbs and can play either defensive end or nose tackle in Chuck Pagano's 3-4 defense.

GM Ryan Grigson gushed over Hughes, saying he can "move like a cat", whilst head coach Pagano compared Hughes' movement skills (in combination with his size) to Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata - high praise for the 22 year old, though expecting Hughes to have a Ngata-like impact on this defense would be incredibly premature.

Welcome to "What to Expect 2013". This is the final installment in which I'll be looking at the positions the Colts drafted relative to their historic counterparts.

The goal of this series is to set reasonable expectations for the new draft picks based how similarly drafted players in the past decade performed.

This allows us to create fair baselines by which to judge players. The purpose of this series is not to predict performance. The goal is merely to fairly judge rookie seasons.

The Colts selected two offensive players in the seventh round, so let's look at them together. Running back Kerwynn Williams is a speedy, kick-return type of back and Justice Cunningham was Mr. Irrelevant, going last in the draft. He's a big blocking tight end.

A.Q. Shipley performed well in Indianapolis, but now leaves to become a Raven. [Greg Cooper- USA TODAY]In an unexpected bit of news Thursday morning, the Colts' have traded center A.Q. Shipley to the Baltimore Ravens for a conditional draft pick in 2014. [UPDATE: The pick is reportedly a 7th round pick contingent upon Shipley making Baltimore's roster]

After drafting Khaled Holmes in the 4th round of the 2013 draft, the Colts had three centers on the roster, as well as ten interior linemen competing for three spots. Meanwhile, the retirement of Matt Birk in Baltimore left the team thin at center. 

Shipley was a seventh round pick by the Steelers in 2009, and had bounce around practice squads before the Colts picked him up last January. He started five games in 2012 and played over 450 snaps. 

The depth at interior offensive line meant the Colts could afford to let Shipley go. Shipley also doesn't quite fit the style of lineman the Colts seem to want in their new offense. The Colts drafted Khaled Holmes and Hugh Thornton in the draft, two players who have quick feet and can pull out and move to the second level easily. Shipley is about 15 pounds heavier than Holmes and Satele, and isn't quite as mobile, although he does anchor in pass protection better. 

Yesterday, Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck, sporting a ChuckStrong T-shirt, his trademark neck beard, and a smile, spoke with the NFL Network’s Scott Hanson via “Colts Cam” as the team gears up for Rookie Minicamp, which begins Friday.  Last May, Luck was still a college kid, finishing his schooling with fellow Stanford rookie Coby Fleener, while his teammates prepared for the NFL. 

For anyone in a new work environment, perhaps more so in a high profile one, having a year under one’s belt can have a strong positive effect on performance and comfort level.  Andrew Luck is no exception.  “I am 100% more comfortable,” Luck said. “On this day last year, I was probably sitting in class.  It is nice to be able to have the full offseason with the team. We have changed [offensive] coordinators, but I have had a great relationship with Pep Hamilton from before. To be around him and talk his style of offense has been great. It is just nice to be around the guys.”

The draft is complete, and the Colts are back to football, much as kids go back to school (except they get paid handsomely).  With the first regular season game still four months away, there remains plenty of time for whatever we do when there is no football – and plenty of time for contests. 

New Era, the company that makes the Colts and all NFL team hats, is having a Back to Football Photo Day contest, in conjunction with the league.  Details from New Era:

So what this means is that Colts fans will now have the chance to join the ranks of Andrew Luck and Reggie Wayne to also become THE face of the Colts. 

The contest, which is live at speakwithyourcap.com or through New Era’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/neweracaps?fref=ts) will require Colts faithfuls to submit photos of themselves showcasing how you personally “speak with your cap.”  Whether you wear your cap sideways, backwards or flexed at the brim, show how you are bringing your own style to the game.

With the Colts' 2012 Draft now in the books, it's time to continue assessing the recently acquired personnel with a breakdown of Ricky Jean-Francois, the free agent DL signed to a 4 year, $22m contract. On the face of it, the acquisition makes sense - Chuck Pagano is an avowed fan of the trenches and the importance of winning up-front, and RJF is able to play across the line in a variety of different fronts - exactly what Chuck looks for in his linemen. He'll likely occupy a starting DE spot in the Colts base 3-4 defense with the instruction to kick inside on passing downs when the Colts shift to a 4 man pass rushing front. 

In terms of price, the acquisition by Grigson makes sense in context when you consider the rest of the Colts' signings - medium sized fish for large sized contracts. While I take issue with the direction the Colts have taken this offseason - both in free agency and the draft - i'll address that another time. In the meantime, i'll do my best to illustrate what RJF can bring to the Colts defense moving forward.

The first play I've chosen to illustrate RJF comes from the 49ers vs. Patriots matchup - Week 15, 2012. You may remember the game in question as a game of two completely differing halves, with the first half dominated by the 49ers and the second by the Patriots. This play comes from the 4th quarter rally, where Brady is desperately trying to find some success in the pass game, the score at 38-31. It's a 3rd and 15 from the NE 45 with roughly 5:00 remaining in the game.

RJF is matched up opposite Nate Solder in a conventional 4-3 DE stance. Indeed, he's lined up much in the fashion of the man he'll be partially replacing on certain defensive fronts, Dwight Freeney. Thickness throughout the body does however distinguish RJF from Freeney, and plays a crucial role in the upcoming play.

Welcome to "What to Expect 2013". For the next week or so, I'll be looking at the positions the Colts drafted relative to their historic counterparts.

The goal of this series is to set reasonable expectations for the new draft picks based how similarly drafted players in the past decade performed.

This allows us to create fair baselines by which to judge players. The purpose of this series is not to predict performance. The goal is merely to fairly judge rookie seasons.

In the sixth round, the Colts took safety John Boyett out of Oregon. Boyett is coming off of a serious injury, having had surgery on both patellar tendons. His status for the season is still unclear.

For the purposes of this study, we'll assume he's healthy and ready to play, though obviously, the Colts took him knowing he may need time to heal.