The Indianapolis Colts traded way, way down from the 14th overall pick in Bill Barnwell's annual NFL mock draft with all trades.
Each year, Barnwell puts together draft day trade packages for each team that could entice them to move up or down. If applicable, he takes into account the GM's history when it comes to trades on draft day, and Barnwell also used the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart to create trades that were fair for all teams.
Since this mock draft is all about trades and what teams might get in return for moving around, Barnwell isn't projecting where any players might end up. It's trades only.
So, for the Colts who traded down, how far did they go down and what did they get in return?
In Barnwell's mock trade, the Colts would move out of the first round in a swap with the Chicago Bears. In return, the Colts would get picks 39 and 41 in the second round, along with pick 72 in the third round. They would give up picks 14 and 117 in the fourth round.
"The Colts will hope to address tight end, guard and off-ball linebacker in this draft, but unless tight end Tyler Warren falls to them at No. 14, those spots might be better to address on Day 2," wrote Barnwell. "Trading down would take them out of Round 1, but it would leave them with three picks between Nos. 39 and 45, which has traditionally been a source of significant value in the draft."
Trading down from 14 if Tyler Warren isn't there, as Barnwell describes, does make sense for the Colts. With only seven draft picks, that would give them the opportunity to further add to the roster after accumulating additional capital while still being able to tackle one of their top needs.
With that said, going from pick 14 to pick 39 is a big jump, and one that seems a bit too steep, if you ask me. With Daniel Jeremiah mentioning that the strength of this year's draft is in the 20-60 pick range, if GM Chris Ballard's board falls similarly, perhaps having three picks in that range--the two from Chicago plus their own at 45--along with five picks in the top 100 could be enticing, given that there are a number of needs to be filled yet.
However, like I said, that's a big jump down the board to make, and there has to be a lot of faith that some immediate impact help who the Colts have highly rated on their board is going to still be there.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: NFL draft: Colts move way, way down in ESPN's all trades mock
