The impact of the last big decisions the Polian front office made with the Indianapolis Colts won't be known for a few more years. Chris Polian never gained the confidence of Jim Irsay but he was in charge of the draft which tried to address need on the offensive and defensive lines. Former vice charmain Bill Polian made it known after being let go by the Colts that this last draft class would eventually be held in high esteem and vindicate the work of his son.
So how does the Colts' last draft class grade out overall? ESPN's Mel Kiper re-graded the 2011 draft based on how this past season went, and the Colts idn't fare well despite Ponder and Rudolph showing some promise. Make the jump for Kiper's evaluation.
Post-draft grade: B+
Summary: The utter disaster that was the Colts' season takes some shine off this class, but let's consider what they got. Anthony Castonzo was supposed to be the future blindside protector for Peyton Manning. He hasn't been spectacular, but at least he has made it to the left side and looks like the future there. What can he be? Well, if he does a good job of protecting Andrew Luck, the grade certainly will get a bump. But we don't know yet. Ben Ijalana hasn't shown a lot. Drake Nevis has had moments but mostly got good reps for a bad defense. Delone Carter got 101 carries but didn't show a lot as a rookie. Chris Rucker got some time in the secondary but needs to develop. All in all, Castonzo is what we thought he might be, but there isn't a lot to like here at this stage, especially considering how bad this team was. It's fair to say I liked this class better in April.
New grade: C
Kiper doesn't seem to share Bill Polian's assessment of the draft which was tough to evaluate with all of the chaos and injuries the young players had to work through in their rookie season.
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