2013 DBN Mock Draft: Indianapolis Colts Select DeAndre Hopkins at No. 24

With the 24th pick in the 2013 Dawgs By Nature NFL Community Mock Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select...

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson

This selection and write-up was made by Mike Krupka:

Andrew Luck tore it up last year, exceeding expectations and playing quite well given the fact that he had a extremely young receiving core and a weak offensive line. His stat line was still strong even though he was sacked 41 times. By adding LG, Donald Thomas and RT, Gosder Cherilus to their OL in FA they have increased the pass protection and really helped to solidify what was previously a very porous and shaky OL. They have their developing LT. They also added a FB from the Eagles, Stanley Havili, to help bolster their running game.

Adding Darius Heyward Bey certainly provides them another starting outside WR opposite of Reggie Wayne who can stretch the field and allow young, dynamic WR T.Y. Hilton room underneath to grab big chunks and plays form the slot. The question becomes how long can Reggie Wayne hold up?

The defense added Greg Toler at CB and Laron Landry at S to help address glaring needs in positions of weakness. Along the defensive front, the Colts also added Ricky Jean Francois at DE from the 49ers along with adding Eric Walden at OLB and paying both the type of money you might expect a starters to make. This presuambly moving Hughes into a rotational-type role as a LB and Robert Mathis now becomes the veteran leader until his contract is up in 2016.

This was a difficult pick for me but I take DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson. Since the Colts don't have a 2nd round pick, they really need to land an impact player with their first round pick. While he most likely wouldn't start immediately, I think Hopkins is as natural an NFL hands catcher as there is in this draft. He's a big powerful WR who is able to separate with speed and strength and has the size and leaping ability to play on the outside. NFL.COM likens him to Roddy White, and if that's the type of player the Colts get in Hopkins, Andrew won't be the only one who's Lucky. Giving Hopkins a year to develop behind Wayne, and provided he's progressed, he could step into a starting role during Wayne's final year of his contract in 2014 season.

I think this is a tough situation for the Colts. Don't get me wrong, they played very well in 2012, but I still believe they overachieved to an extent. If that is the case, it might be more difficult to determine which positions need to be improved the most. I thought wide receiver was a surprising strength for the Colts last year, but it's not a bad idea to take Wayne's age into consideration now in anticipation for the future.

The Minnesota Vikings are up next, led by Legoman0721.

2013 DBN Community Mock Draft Results (so far)