This Colts 2025 NFL Mock Draft explores how Indianapolis might be able to venture ahead with the right foot forward in the Anthony Richardson era.
Can they complete their offensive attack while also acquiring much-needed defensive help?
Who Could the Indianapolis Colts Draft in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Note: The draft order for the 2025 NFL Mock Draft was derived from my record and playoff predictions for the 2024 NFL regular season.
1.16) Indianapolis Colts: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
This is one of two best-case scenarios I’ve pinpointed for the Colts so far in the 2025 NFL Draft. The other is Loveland, but even he doesn’t grade as high as Malaki Starks for me.
Starks is a blue-chip safety prospect on my board with an uncompromising blend of athleticism, coverage versatility, intelligence, physicality, and playmaking chops.
2.48) Indianapolis Colts: Terrance Ferguson, TE, Oregon
Terrance Ferguson is a unique player for the Colts.
Ferguson has the requisite athleticism to work up the seam and separate independently on sharp breakers. He also has great instincts and sturdy hands and serves as a very competent blocking presence.
3.80) Indianapolis Colts: Domani Jackson, CB, Alabama
A track star with size at 6’1″, Domani Jackson fits the parameters of a Gus Bradley CB. If he can find his footing at Alabama, he has early-round talent.
Rounds 4-7
4.113) Lander Barton, LB, Utah
5.145) Joshua Gray, OL, Oregon State
6.177) Daniel Jackson, WR, Minnesota
7.209) Kyle Kennard, EDGE, South Carolina
Colts 2025 NFL Mock Draft Analysis
The initial selection of Malaki Starks in Round 1 is an absolute home run for the Colts. Starks is my highest-graded player overall entering the season, so to get him at 16th overall is runaway value.
At 6’1″, 205 pounds, Starks truly has it all. He’s a force in support with his response speed and physicality. He’s a rangy center-field and two-high presence, with quick processing ability and sharp route recognition skills. He has the ball skills to generate turnovers, and he has the stifling quickness and fluidity to play off-man.
Alongside Julian Blackmon, Starks would form one of the best safety tandems in the NFL — a welcome change from previous years, where the Colts have been average to below-average overall in that department.
For the rest of this 2025 NFL Mock Draft, the Colts alternated between upside and immediate utility.
Domani Jackson is a long-term investment at CB with his game-breaking recovery speed, while Terrance Ferguson inserts a three-down presence right into the offense at TE.
On defense, Lander Barton is a potential steal. He doesn’t quite have elite lateral freedom or fluidity, but his linear explosion, physicality, and sharp diagnosing skills all make him a tailor-made fit for the attacking SAM linebacker role.
In the final three rounds, Joshua Gray, Daniel Jackson, and Kyle Kennard are all intriguing additions. Gray has experience at tackle but translates well to guard, and with his leverage acquisition skills, he could be the latest “position-less” prospect to try his hand at center.
Jackson, meanwhile, is an excellent size-adjusted separator who might’ve been overshadowed by Minnesota’s lackluster passing attack. And Kennard flashes high-end power in the pass-rushing phase, as he once notched four sacks in a single game.
