The Indianapolis Colts could go a lot of different directions with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein of NFL.com released his first mock draft of the cycle. He predicts the Colts will make a shocking selection that would suggest they will let a key in-house free agent walk this offseason.
“Membou is on the short side for a tackle, but he has long arms and good tape. He’s a good technician and has a chance to start immediately at right guard for the Colts.”
Zierlein has the Colts selecting Misouri lineman Armand Membou. Membou played right tackle in each game this past season, but many in the NFL project him to make the switch to guard at the next level. Zierlein says in his explanation that he could start immediately at right guard for the Colts even.
This would point toward the Colts letting Will Fries walk this offseason. Fries was having a career season in 2024 but had his year end abruptly after suffering a devasting season-ending leg injury. He was in line for a massive extension this offseason, but after the injury, he will probably have to wait another year to cash in. Personally, I believe it’s in the best interest for both the Colts and Fries to get a one-year deal for him to be back in Indianapolis.
Even if he is back, the team will need to bring in a viable backup just in case he isn’t able to return to form after the injury. But they have bigger needs, and I don’t think they can justify using their first-round pick to address that need, especially if Fries is back on a new deal for 2025. If they elected to go offensive line, I think they would have to look at trading back as opposed to using the 14th pick on an offensive lineman.