Colts complete seven-player NFL Draft
By PAUL SIEGFRIED
ISL Correspondent
The Indianapolis Colts finished out the 2013 NFL Draft Saturday by picking up five more players to add to their seven-player draft class.
Those five selected Saturday join with Florida State defensive end/linebacker Bjoern Werner, chosen with the 24th pick of the first round Thursday, and Illinois guard Hugh Thornton, picked in the third round (86th overall) on Friday.
The Colts opened Saturday by choosing Southern Cal’s Khaled Holmes, a 6-3, 302-pound center, with their fourth-round pick, No. 121 overall. Holmes, who is the brother-in-law of the Steelers’ Troy Polamalu, has football smarts, but is not as strong as needed in the NFL and has had some injury issues.
In the fifth round, Indy went back to defense by selecting Montori Hughes of Tennessee-Martin, a 6-4, 329-pound defensive tackle, with the 139th pick.
The Colts did not have a fifth-round choice heading into the draft, but traded a 2014 fourth-round pick to the Falcons to get the fifth-round choice this year to select Hughes.
Hughes originally went to Tennessee, but was kicked off the team before landing at UT-Martin for his final college season. While a big body in the middle, Hughes is not considered a technician and will require some maturing.
Strong safety John Boyett (5-10, 204) of Oregon was chosen in the sixth round, No. 192 overall. Boyett missed all but one game last season with a knee injury, but was highly productive prior to that, recording 10 career interceptions and leading the Ducks in season tackles twice.
The Colts had two seventh-round choices, selecting Utah State running back Kerwynn Williams (5-8, 195) at No. 230, and then finishing off the draft with the final overall pick for the second straight year, making South Carolina tight end Justice Cunningham (6-3, 258) the 254th and last pick.
Despite being undersized, Williams ran for more than 1,500 yards with 15 touchdowns last season, and caught 45 passes with five more scores. He is Utah State’s all-time leader with 6,928 all-purpose yards.
Cunningham, who is considered more of a blocking tight end than a pass-catcher, earns the annual title of Mr. Irrelevant, following quarterback Chandler Harnish, who was picked last a year ago but still was able to make the Colts’ practice squad.
Head coach Chuck Pagano was pleased with his 2013 draft class.
Our team got way better and we know what the expectations are coming down the pipe. It’s exactly where we want to be,” he said. “The expectations are where we want them. We got a group of guys coming in here that are Colts. They’re Colts through and through and they can’t wait to get here and get rolling.
The Colts also signed 12 undrafted free agents to compete in upcoming minicamp.
Signed were:
– Lanear Sampson, WR, Baylor
– Daxton Swanson, CB, Sam Houston State
– Dan Moore, FB, Montana
– Brandon McManus, K, Temple
– C.O. Prime, ILB, Wagner
– Michael Josifovski, K, Marian
– Emmett Cleary, OT, Boston College
– Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State
– Denodus O’Bryant, RB, Lindenwood
– Sheldon Price, RB, UCLA
– Jamal-Rashad Patterson, Stanford
– Nick Driskell, S, Mount Union
Most notable among the signings is Marian kicker Michael Josifovski. A Hobart High School graduate who stayed near home to play college football at the Indianapolis NAIA school, Josifivski kicked the Knights to a national championship with seven field goals in the final two weeks of the tournament, two coming in the final minute of regulation and a third in overtime of the title game, giving Marian a 30-27 win over Morningside (Iowa).
