An Athletic Big Man, Who Moves “like a Cat”

Montori Hughes is a big man.  6-4, 330 pounds, or 340 according to Ryan Grigson.  Perhaps it is fitting that his surname sounds just a little bit like “Huge.”  No doubt his size and strength were very appealing traits when the Colts decided to a leap of faith on him. 

One thing many people would not expect, especially for a third day draft pick, is that Hughes is relatively agile for such a large guy.  So enamored was Ryan Grigson that he and his staff decided to trade back into the 5^th round (giving up a 2014 4^th round pick) and nab Hughes before anyone else could take him. 

“He’s 6-4 and change, 340 pounds, and he can move like a cat,” Grigson said of Hughes. “There are just very few human beings that have that ability. In this defense and he played all three spots at Tennessee Martin. He was a big recruit at Tennessee.

The 2013 NFL Draft is in the books! Join Colts Authority Radio tonight at 8pm ET as we break down the biggest news from the weekend's festivities. We'll also give you our opinions on all of the Colts moves!

Sheppard was a starter in Buffalo, but didn't fit the scheme. [Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY]The Indianapolis Colts traded former 1st-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for 2011 3rd-round pick Kelvin Sheppard, per a team release this afternoon. Hughes, drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 draft, will be remembered by Colts fans for failing to live up to expectations. 

The Colts drafted Hughes in hopes of being able to use him to sustain their vital pass rush when then starters DEs Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis needed a breather or were out due to injuries. After the firing of GM Bill Polian and HC Jim Caldwell, there was renewed hope that Hughes might thrive under the new 3-4 scheme of HC Chuck Pagano. Though advanced stats suggested Hughes was performing better than his numbers indicated, in the end, it just wasn't enough. Hughes leaves the Colts have amassed only 62 tackles and 5.0 sacks in his 3-year career.

In exchange for Hughes, the Colts received former LSU LB Kelvin Sheppard. Though both players are listed as LBers, it won't be a straight position-for-position swap, as Sheppard is an ILB and will provide depth behind the trio of Kavell Conner, Jerrell Freeman, and Pat Angerer. Sheppard has 150 tackles and 2.0 sacks in his 2-year career.

Here is what GM Ryan Grigson had to say about the trade,

“We wish nothing but the best for Jerry in Buffalo,” said General Manager Ryan Grigson. “He’s a talented guy that did everything we asked of him. At the same time, we are very pleased to be getting a young linebacker who has been a productive starter in this league.”

Brad Penner-USA TODAY

Those pundits releasing draft grades before a single member of the draft class has taken a professional snap are a bit ridiculous. Still the allure of their pontifications is too much to pass up and so I've wasted hours on this nonsense. 

While attempting to reconcile my own misspent time it occurred to me that there must be a reason we all love draft grades so much. After all, they insist on issuing their grades each year and as each draft class passes the number of pundits doing so multiplies. At some point there were more draft grades than picks, each opinion more pointed and perhaps less informed. Imagine being one of these young men reading about their perceived value as imagined by Mel Kiper or Todd McShay.

Why must we pass judgment immediately following a draft? Why are we so enamored by the potential without much fact to base our judgments upon? Who would win a draft pundit beat down?

No matter the reason let's breakdown the breakdowns and pass our own judgment on the pundits.

In case you were unable to pay attention this weekend, the Colts came away with seven picks in the 2013 Draft, as well as about 18 undrafted free agents. 

(Jerry Lai- USA TODAY)

My initial reaction is that the Colts had a solid draft, although Ryan Grigson has failed to address a few things. Here's my reaction to each pick, as well as the draft strategy as a whole. For each pick you can click on the name and find my long-form analysis of how the pick will fit in Indianapolis.

First round, 24 overall: Bjoern Werner, OLB, Florida State

Overall, I've really warmed to this pick. The Colts desperately needed pass rush, and Erik Walden is the weakest starter on the defensive side of the ball. Werner likely won't replace Walden right away, but split time with him throughout 2013. Walden is the run specialist, while Werner will likely be the pass rusher. Werner should especially excel in nickel and dime situations, when the Colts go to four down lineman. Werner is best with his hand on the ground, as he can use exceptional burst off the line to get an advantage over offensive linemen. 

I liked the value of a few other picks better at this spot, such as cornerback Xavier Rhodes. But Werner was one of my top five OLB prospects, and I like the fit as a SOLB. 

Good morning, Colts fans.  After an exciting and exhausting NFL Draft weekend, it’s time to have a closer look at each member of the Colts’ 2013 draft class.  All week, Nate Dunlevy will be discussing reasonable baseline expectations for each player based on how similarly drafted players have done in recent years (You can click on Nate’s most recent columns in the series here and here). 

In addition, we’ll be familiarizing ourselves with each of this year’s rookies in a series of Colts Notebooks with post draft quotes.  Leading off is the very talkative Bjoern Werner.  Werner is quite the character, and his answers and comments have been filtered down over the weekend.  Now, prepare yourself for some Bjoern, straight-up.

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.

Hugh Thornton (Bradley Leeb- USA TODAY)

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 Colts drafted a pair of interior linemen in the 3rd and 4th rounds. We'll examine them together.

Hugh Thornton and Khaled Holmes both have experience playing guard. Holmes also can play center. So with history as a guide, what can Colts fans reasonably expect from these players in 2013?

UCLA CB Sheldon Price was one of the top corner prospects left. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea- USA TODAY)Undrafted free agents are the lifeblood of training camp. The Colts will be signing them left and right as the draft ends, and keep this page open as we update it with each signing as they come in. 

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports	Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

The Colts held the 24^th and 48^th picks in Round 7 of the 2013 NFL Draft.  With the 24^th, they selected Utah State Running Back Kerwynn Williams, a projected 5^th round prospect. 

With the 48^th pick in the 7^th round, the 254^th and final pick in the draft, Indianapolis elected to give a chance to South Carolina Tight End Justice Cunningham.

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.