The Colts had to get all five of their rookies on the field last year and that bodes well for their futures in the NFL.  Here is a look at how well the rookies played in 2011 for the Colts:

In the first round of the NFL Draft, the Colts took 23-year old OT Blake Castonzo.  Castonzo played in 12 games (all starts) for the Colts last year and he played pretty decent.  He did miss four games due to an ankle injury.  He is going to be a starter for the Colts for a long, long time.

22-year old OG Ben Ijalana was a 2nd round pick last April by the Colts.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) before missing the rest of the season due to knee surgery.  He could develop into a starter down the road for the Colts.

22-year old DT Drake Nevis was a 3rd round pick last April by the Colts.  He played in 5 games for the Colts last year and he had 19 tackles and defensed one pass.  Nevis looked good before being placed on the Injured Reserve List due to a back injury.  He has a nice upside.

24-year old RB Delone Carter was a 4th round pick of the Colts.  He played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he carried the ball 101 times for 377 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Carter also caught 5 passes for 18 yards (3.6 avg) last year.  Carter did a decent job for the Colts last year and they expect him to get better in the future.

23-year old CB Chris Rucker was a 6th round pick last April.  He played in 15 games for the Colts last year and he had 36 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Rucker was not overwhelmed when pressed into action, so the Colts might have something here.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Colts have placed 22-year old rookie DT Drake Nevis on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a back injury.  Nevis played in 5 games for the Colts this year and he had 19 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Nevis was a 3rd round pick of the Colts last April.  He showed solid potential when he was on the field for the Colts this year, so they hope he gets healthy soon.

The Colts have signed 27-year old G/T Quinn Ojinnaka.  Ojinnaka played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last year.  He has now played in 47 games (12 starts) in his first five years in the NFL.  Ojinnaka will probably get a lot of P.T. going forward, starting this weekend against the Chiefs.  22-year old rookie G/T Ben Ijalana will miss the rest of the year due to a torn left ACL.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Colts this year.  He was a 2nd round pick of the Colts last April.

The Colts went into the draft trying to find more protection for QB Peyton Manning, who is getting old.  The Colts took OT Anthony Castanzo and T’/G Ben Ijalana with it’s picks in the first and second round.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if both Castanzo and Ijalana are starting on the O-Line for the Colts on September 11, 2011.  RB Delone Carter came to the Colts in the 4th round of the NFL Draft and he’s a bulldozing type of runner between the tackles, which has been a weakness for the Indy the last few years.  DT Drake Nevis and CB Chris Rucker could help the defense in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Colts drafted 22-year old CB Chris Rucker out of Michigan State with the 188th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Rucker is 6’1″, 190 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  Rucker is a good tackler and he’s a very athletic corner, but, he is not a playmaker down the field.  He also spent some time in jail last October, so he has questionable character.  Rucker played in 11 games (10 starts) at Michigan State last year and he had 64 tackles, broke up 7 passes, had 2 interceptions and he forced 2 fumbles.  He played in 42 games (34 starts) in his four years with the Spartans and he had 191 tackles, he broke up 19 passes, had 6 interceptions, forced 5 fumbles and he also recovered 1 fumble.  This pick comes with risk and upside, so the Colts decided to roll the dice with Rucker in the 6th round.

The Colts took 24-year old running back Delone Carter out of Syracuse with the 119th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Carter is 5’8″, 225 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Carter is a battering ram as he loves to attack defenses between the tackles.  He needs to improve at pass protection and catching the ball out of the backfield if he’s going to be on the field when the Colts throw the ball.  Carter played in 13 games (12 starts) for Syracuse last year and he carried the ball 231 times for 1,233 yards (5.3 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He also caught 8 passes for 45 yards (5.6 avg) last year for the Orange.  Carter played in 42 games (24 starts) in his four years with the Orange and he carried the ball 646 times for 3,104 yards (4.8 ypc) with 24 TD runs.  He also caught 28 passes for 208 yards (7.4 avg) with 1 TD grab at Syracuse.

The Colts took 22-year old DT Drake Nevis out of LSU with the 87th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Nevis is a tad on the light side at 6’0″, 291 pounds for a tackle.  He makes up for his lack of size with speed off the snap and good effort.  Nevis played in 13 games (all starts) for LSU last season and he had 56 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, batted down 1 ball, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Nevis played in 45 games (17 starts) in his four years at LSU and he had 139 tackles, 31.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, batted down 5 balls, forced 4 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Nevis will likely get onto the field right away for the Colts as this was a solid pick.

The Indianapolis Colts have picked 22-year old G/T Ben Ijalana out of Villanova with the 49th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Ijalana is a huge man at 6’3″, 319 pounds was like a man against boys in college but that’s because he played at Villanova.  He will likely be a guard with the Colts.  He played in 14 games (all starts) last year for the Wildcats and he played in 53 games (all starts) in his four years with the team.  If Ijalana can handle the jump in competition, he could start for the Colts as early as the 2011 season.  This was another pick that has to make Peyton Manning happy.

The Indianapolis Colts got the player they likely wanted all along when they took 23-year old OT Anthony Castonzo out of Boston College with the 22nd pick of the first round.  Castanzo is a big guy at 6’7″, 315 pounds and he has good feet.  He’s a much better pass blocker than a run blocker at this point in his development.  Castonzo played in 13 games (all starts) for Boston College last year.  He played in 54 games (all starts) in his four years with the Eagles.  Castanzo will likely get a chance to be a starter from Day #1 for the Colts and this pick has to have Peyton Manning smiling.

With Peyton Manning getting older, it’s imperative that the Colts protect him because they would be an awful team if he were to get injured.  With that in mind, I think the Colts are going to go O-Line heavy early in next weekend’s NFL Draft.  Here is who I saw the Colts getting in my own mock draft:

1st round (#22 overall) – Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

2nd round (#53 overall) – Benjamin Ijalama, OG, Villanova

3rd round (#87 overall) – John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin

4th round (#119 overall) – Sione Fua, DT, Stanford

5th round (#152 overall) – Casey Matthews, ILB, Oregon

6th round (#188 overall) – Stevan Ridley, RB, LSU

This would be a very nice haul for the Colts as Castonzo, Ijalama and Moffitt would improve the offensive line right away which would make Peyton Manning happy.