With the 2024 college football season on the horizon now just about two months away, let’s take a brief – and way too early – look ahead to the Colts’ 2025 NFL draft with Pro Football Focus’ top draft-eligible linebackers.
PFF has recently gone through all 11 positions and picked the top 10 draft prospects from each. Here is who they chose at linebacker. For more details on each player, click here.
Harold Perkins Jr., LSU
Barrett Carter, Clemson
Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Kentucky
Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia
Jay Higgins, Iowa
Jaisahwn Barham, Michigan
Jason Henderson, Old Dominion
Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State
Jack Kiser, Notre Dame
The degree to which linebacker could be a need for the Colts next April is likely dependent on two factors. One, does EJ Speed, who is a free agent next offseason, return? Or, two, do the Colts feel confident in Jaylon Carlies as a starter next to Zaire Franklin?
If the answer to both those questions ends up as a ‘no,’ then linebacker will be a massive need.
If one of the answers is yes, and the other is no – take your pick at which one you’d like – then linebacker may not be a massive need with two starters under contract, but depth and competition will certainly be required, especially with Ronnie Harrison and Grant Stuard both free agents as well.
With both Franklin and Carlies under contract through the 2027 season, the Colts are hoping that they have their starting linebacker duo under contract already for the foreseeable future.
The two would form a very complementary combination, with Franklin’s ability to help against the run and Carlies’ experience in coverage as a safety during his time at Missouri.
“Those coaches have a good plan in place of how they’re going to utilize him and how they’re going to develop him,” said Colts area scout Tyler Hughes after the draft. “You got guys like Divine Deablo, who our defensive staff had (with the Raiders), so (Carlies has) got a lot of versatility to him and definitely the figure to see what we want at a linebacker at our level.”