Just a quick look at who the Colts have drafted in the first round under Bill Polian and who we all thought they would.
| First round | ||||
| Year/Pick | Who we all thought | Who Polian picked | Where people thought our guy would be picked | Comments |
| 1998/1 | QB Peyton Manning | Manning | No. 1, although a few prefered QB Ryan Leaf who went No. 2 and turned out to be one of the worst picks in NFL history | What can you say? |
| 1999/4 | RB Ricky Williams (No. 5) | RB Edgerrin James | Late first round, although most NFL scouts had him projected for the top ten | Polian has never minced words about his lack of love for Williams. Although the Colts' top back at the time was some guy named Darick Holmes, the mighty GM has gone on record as saying that if James were not available, he would have traded down and taken DT Booger McFarland instead. Take that, Ricky. Had that happened the Colts probably would have drafted their feature back the next year becasue after James and Williams, the cupboard was bare in 1999. The back that best fit the Colts in the 2000 draft? Shaun Alexander. Makes you think, though, doesn't it? |
| 2000/28 | LB Rob Morris, DT Chris Hovan (No. 25) or LB Keith Bulluck (No. 30) | LB Rob Morris | No. 28 or thereabouts | A case of giving the people what they want gone awry. Morris has done a no-better-than-okay job as the Colts' MLB and fans have nearly rioted at what they perceive as his ineffectiveness. Bulluck has his fans, but probably would been swamped in the middle behind the Colts' middling defensive lines. In retrospect, it was a bad draft for linebackers after Brian Urlacher, John Abraham and Julian Peterson, none of who were seen as sure things before the draft. Keep in mind that LeVar Arrington, who is only so-so, was selected No. 2 that year. |
| 2001/30 (traded down from No. 22 on draft day) | DT Damione Lewis (No. 12), CB Nate Clemens (No. 21), CB Jamar Fletcher (No. 26) or CB Fred Smoot (No. 45) | WR Reggie Wayne | Early second round | Many observers were appalled Polian would take an offensive player when the team had so many glaring defensive needs. Still, Wayne's value has become evident as he's taken a lot of coverage away from WR Marvin Harrison and made Manning go from effective to deadly. Interestingly, many of the defenders the Colts were looking at that year have turned out to be flops (Lewis, Fletcher) or nothing special (Smoot). |
| 2002/11 | DT Ryan Sims (No. 6), DT John Henderson (No. 9), DT Wendell Bryant (No. 11), DT Albert Haynesworth (No. 15) or DT Larry Tripplett (No. 42) | DE Dwight Freeney | Late first round | You want respect? When the Bengals drafted T Levi Jones No. 10 (who, like Freeney, was expected to be drafted about 10-15 picks later), the crowd freaked. They hooted and laughed and condemned the Bengals. When the Colts picked Freeney with the next pick, the crowd was silent. many of them could be seen rubbing their chins and wondering what the wise Mr. Polian knew that Mel Kiper didn't. Still there were whispers of "reach." Of course we all now know that Freeney was a brilliant pick. Interesting, DT Larry Tripplett — one of the names most frequently bandied about as a potential Colts first rounder — went to Indianapolis in the second. |
| 2003/24 | S Troy Polamalu (No. 16), DT William Joseph (No. 25), LB Nick Barnett (No. 29), LB Boss Bailey (No. 34), S Rashean Mathis (No. 39), LB Pisa Timoisamoa (No. 43) or S Mike Doss (No. 58) | TE Dallas Clark | Early second round | Again Polian went offense in the first round when the fans were crying out for D. Clark didn't set the world on fire as a rook, but showed the potential to be yet another frightening weapon in the Colts' offensive arsenal. Interesting, S Mike Doss — one of the names most frequently bandied about as a potential Colts first rounder — went to Indianapolis in the second. |
| Coming soon, the second rounders | ||||