With the 24^th pick in the 6^th round, the Colts picked up Oregon Safety John Boyett.  Boyett, a 5-10, 204 pound wild man at safety and a former high school quarterback, is another player who had an excellent 2011 season only to be slowed or sidelined by injuries in 2012.  This is now officially a theme of sorts for Ryan Grigson. 

Boyett racked up 108 tackles, an interception, a half sack, and 6 passes defensed in 2011 (He also had 5 interceptions in 2010).  Bothered by partial patella tendon tears throughout that season, Boyett had surgery on both knees after just one game in 2012.

(Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)

The Colts traded a 2014 4^th round pick to Cleveland so they could select Tennessee-Martin Defensive Tackle Montori Hughes with the 6^th pick in the 5^th round, continuing a trend of selecting linemen on both sides of the ball.  At 6-4, 329 pounds, Hughes is a relatively athletic big man.  He flew under the radar for much of his college career after being dismissed for unspecified off the field issues after a season at the University of Tennessee.  Hughes also struggled with academic eligibility before his dismissal, having to play a year at Hargrave Military Academy before he could even get into UT.

(Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

With the 24^th pick in the 4^th round, the Indianapolis Colts selected Center Khaled Holmes from USC.  At 6-3, 302 pounds,  Holmes is known more as a crafty, technician on the offensive line than a bruising road grader.  His injury and bench reps (13) at the NFL Combine probably didn’t help his draft stock much.  He missed time with a leg injury last season, and USC struggled without him.  Holmes is known for being a smart, quick, aggressive center who plays to the whistle (more after the jump).

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. As we start with defensive end/outside linebacker Bjoern Werner, keep in mind that the goal is not to say what he'll do. That's impossible.

This series will help us decide what's fair to expect out of him, so that next January we can appropriately evaluate the pick.

Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports

With the 24^th pick in the third round of the NFL Draft, the Colts addressed a need at offensive guard, electing to pick Hugh Thornton, a rather large OG out of the University of Illinois and the 6^th rated guard in the draft, according to CBS Sports.  At 6-3, 320 pounds, Thornton still has some decent agility to stay in front of defensive linemen, but he’s known more for being a strong, overpowering lineman – perhaps a bit of a road grader.  Maybe it’s fitting that he was introduced by former Colts LT Tarik Glenn, who was an exceptionally powerful offensive lineman in his day (though probably a bit more athletic than Thornton).

(Brad Penner - USA TODAY Sports)

With the 24th pick in the first round the Colts selected Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner. Coach Chuck Pagano has stated he will play outside linebacker for the Colts but that is about the least interesting factoid from the first night of the draft.

Werner is notably German and as ESPN points out the last likely player to ever be drafted that can be considered a product of NFL Europe. Werner grew up dreaming of being a soccer player but his size and affinity for American football drove him to try something new:

"We were a soccer family," Bjoern says. "My dad played soccer, watched it like people in America watch football every weekend, you know what I'm saying? Both my brothers played soccer, everyone. I mean, I love soccer; I played it, too."

There was just one problem: Bjoern -- bigger and heavier and a head taller than all the other kids -- wasn't built like a soccer player. "Soccer is hard on your ankles, you know?" he says. "Even at a young age, I was getting a lot of sprained ankles. Then one time, I broke my foot."

He was only 10 years old, but the injury, Bjoern says, marked a turning point. For a year and a half, he had to stop playing soccer and even table tennis, at which he'd been a standout for a club team. Then, at about the time he was fully healed, a pal who belonged to Berlin Eagle (an American-football club) made a suggestion. "You can throw the ball," the kid said, "you can catch it, you're real athletic. Why don't you join the flag football team?"

Werner's time in the United States has not been without challenge. He made his first attempt in the States as a teenager at a prep school but found himself homesick and returned to his native Berlin. After being recruited by Florida State Werner, now married, finally found the courage and strength to commit to the game.

(Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports)

With the freedom to go with the best player available, GM Ryan Grigson and the Indianapolis Colts selected Berlin, Germany's own Bjoern Werner, (6-3, 266, 4.81 40, 25 reps, 4.40 shuttle), Defensive End out of Florida State, who is likely to play outside linebacker for Indianapolis.  Known as a solid, productive, all-around player, Werner racked up 42 tackles, 13 sacks, 8 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown last season.  

Despite his college productivity, Werner had some so-so combine numbers, which caused him to fall to the late first round.  Grigson has said in the past that he prefers looking at a player’s body of work as opposed to his track and field combine drill numbers. He and likes seeing special players fall to him because of their combine performances.  Time will tell if Werner, ranked second among defensive ends, will be one of those players.

The 2013 NFL Draft Begins tonight at 8pm ET. Here's your live open/discussion thread to talk about every pick and trade!  At approximately 9:30pm ET, Colts Authority Radio will go live to discuss all of the evening's news and notes and discuss the Colts moves.

Apr 24, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Select NFL prospects stand atop the marquee before for the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Happy NFL Draft Day everyone!  The 1^st round will begin at 8:00 PM Eastern Time on both the NFL Network and ESPN (or SKY Sports at 1:30 BST for all the Colts fans in the United Kingdom).  The 2^nd and third rounds will begin on Friday at 6:30 Eastern time, and they’ll finish with rounds 4-7 starting at noon Eastern on Saturday.  Indianapolis will be picking 24^th in rounds 1,3,4,6, and 7, as well as the 254^th and final pick in the draft.  The Colts’ draft picks will be introduced by former Colt Left Tackle and three-time Pro Bowler Tarik Glenn, a well-deserved honor and a classy move by the organization. 

Yesterday, a few current Colts spoke with the media about the draft among other things, and Running Back Vick Ballard and Quarterback Andrew Luck gave their accounts of what draft day was like from opposite ends of the spectrum.  Luck was picked first overall and knew, as most fans did, where he was going to play.  “In my case, I sort of knew what was going to happen,” he said. “That maybe took a little bit of the anxiety, apprehension out of it. It is still very, very exciting. For all of the guys in New York, it’s fun. For all of the guys at home, or at school, or wherever they might be, it’s a very interesting day.”

The NFL Draft starts tomorrow, and Colts Authority Radio will get you set for the big event by breaking down all of the latest news, notes, and rumors. We'll also discuss the 2013 Regular Season Schedule and the NYJ-Tampa Bay (Revis) trade. Live, tonight at 8:30pm ET.