INDIANAPOLIS — Apparently Charlie Campbell believes the Indianapolis Colts won't be able to resist picking from a relatively large pool of talented cornerbacks in the first round of this year's NFL Draft.
Campbell, of WalterFootball.com, on Monday released his latest mock draft, in which he links the Colts to Washington cornerback Sidney Jones with their first-round pick.
Of course, in his previous mock draft, Campbell had the Colts taking Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore, and then in his original 2017 mock draft he believed Florida's Quincy Wilson would be a good fit in Indy, so his flip-flopping might make one believe that new team general manager Chris Ballard will have plenty of solid options when the team picks at either No. 14 or 15 overall (those picks will be determined between the Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles by way of a coin flip at the NFL Scouting Combine).[
Click here](http://walterfootball.com/draft2017charlie.php) for Campbell's entire latest mock draft, but here's what he had to say about why Jones might be a good pick for the Colts:*
Some years of bad moves by now former general manager Ryan Grigson, like trading a first-round pick for Trent Richardson and blowing one on Bjoern Werner, are coming back to bite Indianapolis. The Colts have a ton of needs on their talent-deficient roster, including edge rusher, running back, cornerback, defensive line, and more offensive line talent. The defense is in horrible shape, so Indianapolis could take the best defensive player available regardless of position. Jones would make sense because he would upgrade the Colts' pass coverage immediately.**
In 2016, Jones recorded 39 tackles with six passes broken up, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. He was superb as a cover corner for the Huskies. The 6-foot, 180-pounder finished the year by shutting down Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley.**
Jones had an excellent 2015 season as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation. For the year, he had 10 passes broken up, four interceptions, 45 tackles and three forced fumbles. He also showed coverage skills as a freshman with five pass breakups and two picks. Jones is a good cover corner with the speed and athleticism to run with receivers and prevent separation.*
While Lattimore was compared to the likes of Colts cornerback Vontae Davis in his NFL.com Draft Profile, Jones drew a comparison to Marcus Peters — at least on the field — as a "'casino cornerback' who has the ball skills and instincts to tilt the odds in his favor when quarterbacks look his way," NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote.
"His toughness and desire to make plays on the ball is remarkably similar to his friend and off-season workout buddy, Marcus Peters," Zierlein said. "Jones has lockdown corner talent but will have to prove he can add muscle without sacrificing speed. His football character and play traits should make him a long-time starter with Pro Bowl potential."
The aforementioned apparent riches at the cornerback position in this year's draft will be an interesting storyline to follow. In fact, Jones is the fourth corner that has been linked to the Colts in more major mock drafts (including Campbell's previous selections of Lattimore and Wilson), as Pro Football Focus' Steve Palazzolo has also linked the Colts with Iowa cornerback Desmond King.
What's interesting is the cornerback position, assuming 100 percent health, is one of the more stable spots within the Colts' defense heading into the 2017 offseason. Returning are the team's No. 1 and 2 corners — Davis and Patrick Robinson — and four-year veterans Rashaan Melvin and Darryl Morris, late-season signee Charles James II and undrafted rookie Christopher Milton could all be back on the offseason roster.
That's not even factoring in veteran Darius Butler, who had yet another productive season in 2016 playing both at cornerback and at safety for the Colts, but heads into the offseason as an unrestricted-free-agent-to-be.
The analysis from those producing content on Colts.com does not necessarily represent the thoughts of the Indianapolis Colts organization. Any conjecture, analysis or opinions formed by Colts.com content creators is not based on inside knowledge gained from team officials, players or staff.
