In Mel Kiper’s second 2025 NFL mock draft, he had the Indianapolis Colts selecting safety Malaki Starks.
However, in his explanation of the selection, Kiper did float the idea of the Colts instead adding a receiver at this point in the draft to help Anthony Richardson.
“I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Indy look at offense as it tries to maximize and evaluate the long-term prospects of quarterback Anthony Richardson in Year 3 of his career,” wrote Kiper.
“Perhaps Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan or Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka could be the move at WR. But Starks probably makes more sense, especially because there are receiver options available in free agency.”
Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan has totaled a hefty 260 targets over the last two seasons. He’s also been reliable, hauling in 67% of those passes at an impressive 15.6 yards per catch with 18 touchdowns, according to PFF.
Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State, meanwhile, also has impressive production, totaling 196 receptions and nearly 2,700 yards with 24 touchdowns over three seasons.
Also of note with Egbuka, the majority of his snaps have come from the slot, so how that would work with Josh Downs isn’t exactly clear, and that probably means he isn’t a fit here for Indianapolis.
The Colts didn’t have a receiver last season who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last season. And with Richardson’s up-and-down play, you can see–on paper–why adding to the receiver room might make sense.
Except–at least at this point in the draft–I don’t believe it does make any sense whatsoever.
Under head coach Shane Steichen, the Colts are a heavy 11-personnel team, so that means only three receivers are on the field most of the time. And while the Colts didn’t have a receiver go over 1,000 receiving yards, they were the only team in football with three receivers to surpass 800 receiving yards–not to mention that the trio of Downs, Alec Pierce, and Michael Pittman all bring something different to the offense.
We also can’t forget about AD Mitchell, who does have to be more consistent in his second season, but he also has a ton of potential, and we saw his ability to create space at all levels of the field last season.
In addition to the stability Pittman, Pierce, and Downs bring to the position, Mitchell adds the developmental, high-upside talent to the room, which is often what the draft provides as well.
Everything just mentioned are reasons why the Colts probably aren’t looking at receivers in the first round. But another important factor is they don’t have the luxury to do that either.
There are far too many other needs on this roster to address and at the very bottom of that priority list very well could be the receiver position. These premium draft assets have to be utilized elsewhere.