Peyton Manning , first overall pick of the 1998 draft
The Baltimore Colts joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1953 where they participated in their first NFL draft and selected Billy Vessels , a halfback from the University of Oklahoma . The team's most recent first-round selection was Laiatu Latu , a defensive end from UCLA in the 2024 NFL draft .
Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting but more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl ; the Super Bowl champion always picks last, and the Super Bowl loser always picks second last. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.[ 1]
The Colts have selected the number one overall pick in the draft on seven separate occasions, one of which was used to select Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning . They have also selected the second overall pick five times and the third overall pick twice. The team's five selections from Ohio State University are the most chosen by the Colts from one university.
Table key
^
Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
*
Selected number one overall
†
Indicates the player was selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
—
The Colts did not draft a player in the first round that year.
Year
Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft.
Pick
Indicates the number of the pick within the first round
Position
Indicates the position of the player in the NFL
College
The player's college football team
2003 Colts 1st round pick Dallas Clark
2002 Colts 1st round pick Dwight Freeney in the Pro Bowl
1996 Colts 1st round pick Marvin Harrison
2001 Colts 1st round pick Reggie Wayne
Indianapolis Colts first-round draft picks
Year
Pick
Player name
Position
College
Notes
1953
2
Billy Vessels
HB
Oklahoma
1954
5
Cotton Davidson
QB
Baylor
1955
1 *
George Shaw
QB
Oregon
[ 2]
3
Alan Ameche †
FB
Wisconsin
1956
9
Lenny Moore ^
HB
Penn State
1957
8
Jim Parker ^
G
Ohio State
1958
11
Lenny Lyles †
CB
Louisville
1959
12
Jackie Burkett
C
Auburn
1960
10
Ron Mix ^
OT
USC
1961
7
Tom Matte †
RB
Ohio State
1962
9
Wendell Harris
CB
Louisiana State
1963
5
Bob Vogel †
OT
Ohio State
1964
8
Marv Woodson †
S
Indiana
1965
14
Mike Curtis †
LB
Duke
1966
15
Sam Ball
OT
Kentucky
1967
1 *
Bubba Smith †
DE
Michigan State
[ 3]
20
Jim Detwiler
HB
Michigan
1968
23
John Williams
OT
Minnesota
1969
25
Eddie Hinton
WR
Oklahoma
1970
18
Norm Bulaich †
RB
Texas Christian
1971
22
Don McCauley
RB
North Carolina
[ 4]
26
Leonard Dunlap
CB
North Texas
1972
22
Tom Drougas
OT
Oregon
1973
2
Bert Jones †
QB
Louisiana State
[ 5]
10
Joe Ehrmann †
DT
Syracuse
1974
5
John Dutton †
DT
Nebraska
24
Roger Carr †
WR
Louisiana Tech
[ 6]
1975
3
Ken Huff
G
North Carolina
[ 7]
1976
20
Ken Novak
DT
Purdue
1977
26
Randy Burke
WR
Kentucky
1978
25
Reese McCall
TE
Auburn
1979
6
Barry Krauss
LB
Alabama
1980
5
Curtis Dickey
RB
Texas A&M
24
Derrick Hatchett
CB
Texas
[ 8]
1981
12
Randy McMillan
RB
Pittsburgh
18
Donnell Thompson
DE
North Carolina
[ 9]
1982
2
Johnie Cooks
LB
Mississippi State
4
Art Schlichter
QB
Ohio State
[ 10]
1983
1 *
John Elway ^
QB
Stanford
[ 11]
1984
8
Leonard Coleman
CB
Vanderbilt
19
Ron Solt †
G
Maryland
[ 12]
1985
5
Duane Bickett †
LB
USC
1986
4
Jon Hand
DE
Alabama
1987
2
Cornelius Bennett †
LB
Alabama
1988
—
— No Pick
—
—
[ 13]
1989
22
Andre Rison †
WR
Michigan State
1990
1 *
Jeff George
QB
Illinois
1991
—
— No Pick
—
—
[ 14]
1992
1 *
Steve Emtman
DE
Washington
2
Quentin Coryatt
LB
Texas A&M
[ 15]
1993
16
Sean Dawkins
WR
California
1994
2
Marshall Faulk ^
RB
San Diego State
5
Trev Alberts
LB
Nebraska
[ 16]
1995
15
Ellis Johnson
DT
Florida
1996
19
Marvin Harrison ^
WR
Syracuse
1997
19
Tarik Glenn †
OT
California
1998
1 *
Peyton Manning ^
QB
Tennessee
1999
4
Edgerrin James ^
RB
Miami (FL)
2000
28
Rob Morris
LB
BYU
2001
30
Reggie Wayne †
WR
Miami (FL)
2002
11
Dwight Freeney †
DE
Syracuse
2003
24
Dallas Clark †
TE
Iowa
2004
No pick (traded to Atlanta Falcons , used to select Michael Jenkins )
[ 17]
2005
29
Marlin Jackson
CB
Michigan
2006
30
Joseph Addai †
RB
LSU
2007
32
Anthony Gonzalez
WR
Ohio State
2008
No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers , used to select Kentwan Balmer )
[ 18]
2009
27
Donald Brown
RB
Connecticut
2010
31
Jerry Hughes
DE
TCU
2011
22
Anthony Castonzo
OT
Boston College
2012
1 *
Andrew Luck †
QB
Stanford
2013
24
Björn Werner
DE
Florida State
2014
No pick (traded to Cleveland Browns , who then traded it to Philadelphia Eagles , used to select Marcus Smith )
[ 19]
2015
29
Phillip Dorsett
WR
Miami (FL)
2016
18
Ryan Kelly †
C
Alabama
2017
15
Malik Hooker
S
Ohio State
2018
6
Quenton Nelson †
G
Notre Dame
2019
No pick (traded to Washington Redskins , used to select Montez Sweat )
[ 20]
2020
No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers , who then traded it to Tampa Bay Buccaneers , used to select Tristan Wirfs )
2021
21
Kwity Paye
DE
Michigan
2022
No pick (traded to Philadelphia Eagles , who then traded it to New Orleans Saints , who then traded it to Washington Commanders , used to select Jahan Dotson )
2023
4
Anthony Richardson
QB
Florida
2024
15
Laiatu Latu
DE
UCLA
"databasefootball.com – IND Colts" . databasefootball.com . Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2008 .
"Indianapolis Colts (1984-Present)" . Sports E-cyclopedia . Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2008 .
"Hall of Famers by Franchise" . Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site . Archived from the original on December 27, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2008 .
"NFL Draft History: First Round by Team: IND Colts" . National Football League official Web site . Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2008 .
"Professional Football Transactions Archive" . NC Systems website . Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2008 .
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