The Indianapolis Colts added Pat Angerer and Kavell Conner to the linebacking corps but the rest of the rookies were pretty weak.  Here is a look at how they did last year:

Jerry Hughes:  The Colts used the 31st overall pick (1st round) on DE/OLB Jerry Hughes out of  TCU.  He played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Colts last season and he had 6 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  He didn’t show much at all last year.

Pat Angerer:  The Colts picked inside linebacker Pat Angerer with the 63rd overall pick (2nd round) out of Iowa.  Angerer played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Colts last season and he had 88 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  He’s a tackling machine but he’s not a big time playmaker.

Kevin Thomas:  The Colts took CB Kevin Thomas out of USC with the 94th overall pick (3rd round).  He had a major injury in minicamp which ended his rookie year before it started.  The Colts need help in the secondary, so Thomas might get his big chance to show what he can do in 2011.

Jacques McClendon:  The Colts took McClendon (OG) with the 129th overall pick (4th round) out of Tennessee.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Colts last season despite the troubles of the O-Line.

Brody Eldridge:  The Colts took TE Brody Eldridge with the 162nd overall pick (5th round) out of Oklahoma.  He played in 14 games (8 starts) for the Colts last season and he caught 5 passes for 39 yards (7.8 avg).  Eldridge is a good run blocker so he helped the cause for the Colts last year.

Ricardo Mathews:  The Colts took DT Ricardo Mathews in the 7th round (#238 overall) out of Cincinnati.  Mathews played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Colts last year and he had 1 tackle.  Mathews is going to have to work hard this off-season if he’s going to want to make the Colts’ roster in 2011.

Kavell Conner:  The Colts used the 240th overall pick (7th round) on linebacker Kavell Conner out of Clemson.  Conner played in 12 games (9 starts) for the Colts last season and he had 57 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Conner looked like the best player the Colts drafted last season but only time will tell if that is true.

Ray Fisher:  CB Ray Fisher was picked in the 7th round (#246 overall) out of Indiana.  He didn’t make it out of training camp as he was cut loose.

GRADE FOR 2010:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The Colts have acquired 26-year old cornerback Justin Tryon from the Redskins.  I don’t know what the Skins are getting back from the Colts at this time but it probably isn’t much.  Tryon played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Redskins last season and he had 27 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 sack and 1 interception.  Tryon has now played in 29 games (2 starts) in his two years in the NFL and he has 31 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 sack and 1 interception.  The Colts did well to add a player like Tryon to the secondary without likely giving up much.

The Colts have picked CB Ray Fisher with the 246th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Fisher is a tad small at 5’9″, 185 pounds and he has only played 1 year on defense in college.  Fisher had 40 tackles and he forced 1 fumble last season for Indiana.  He had 49 tackles and 1 forced fumble in his career at Indiana.  From 2006-08, Fisher was a WR for the Hoosiers.  He carried the ball 18 times for 98 yards (5.4 ypc) and he also caught 118 passes for 1,070 yards (9.1 avg) with 9 TD grabs in his first three years at Indiana.  I think the Colts took Fisher for his special teams ability.  He returned 34 punts for 165 yards (4.9 avg) and 19 kickoffs for 648 yards (34.1 avg) with 2 TD returns in college.  This was a player worth taking a flier on in the 7th round.

The Colts have picked OLB Kavell Conner with the 240th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Conner has nice size at 6’0″, 247 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40 so he’s a good athlete.  But Conner is not a very physical player and that is why he dropped so far in this draft.  He played in 14 games (12 starts) at Clemson last season and he had 111 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, he had 2 sacks and he broke up 1 pass.  Conner played in 52 games (27 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 313 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, had 3 sacks, broke up 6 passes and he had 1 interception.  Conner will help out immediately on special teams and he could develop into a starting linebacker down the road if everything turns out well for him.

The Colts have picked DT Ricardo Mathews with the 238th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Mathews is 6’3″, 290 pounds so he might be able to add a few more pounds to his frame.  Not many experts thought he would get picked so Mathews might have a hard time making the team.  Mathews had 41 tackles and 3 sacks last season for the Cincinnati Bearcats.  In his four years in college, Mathews had 66 tackles and 5 sacks.  This was quite a reach for the Colts in even the 7th round.

The Colts have picked TE Brody Eldridge with the 162nd overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Eldridge is a big guy at 6’5″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.85 40.  His game is blocking as he was a former interior lineman.  He is a mauler in the running game and he’s good enough to stay in and deal with blocking DEs.  Eldridge played in 9 games (all starts) at Oklahoma last season in which he caught 2 passes for 19 yards (9.5 avg).  He played in 49 games (26 starts) in his four years in college and he caught 13 passes for 98 yards (7.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Eldridge will likely play a lot on special teams and on running downs for the Colts this season.

The Colts have selected OG Jacques McClendon with the 129th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  McClendon is a big guy at 6’3″, 324 pounds but he’s not a really good athlete.  He has problems with his pass protection which isn’t a good thing when you play for the Colts but he is a physical mauler in the running game.  The Colts are banking on the O-Line coach improving McClendon’s pass blocking to the point that they can use him in game very soon.  He started all 13 games at Tennessee last season and he played in 49 games (26 starts) in his four years there.  I never question the Colts when they draft O-Linemen as they have a very solid track record of developing good ones.

The Colts have picked CB Kevin Thomas out of USC with the 94th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Thomas is a bit lanky at 6’0″, 189 pounds and he isn’t the fastest corner around running in the 4.55 40 area.  Thomas played in 13 games (all starts) for USC last season and he had 56 tackles, 1 sack and he forced 2 fumbles.  In his 4 years at USC, Thomas played in 39 games (17 starts) in which he had 88 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and he had 3 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Thomas missed all of 2007 with a shoulder injury.  He is not the most durable player around but if he can stay healthy he will help the Colts on special teams and as a nickel back this season with the potential for much more down the road.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Colts have placed Kevin Thomas on I.R. with a knee injury ending his rookie year before it started.

The Colts have picked inside linebacker Pat Angerer out of Iowa with the 63rd overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Angerer is the classic run plugging linebacker but he needs to be protected by the D-Line as he is only 5’11″, 233 pounds.  He is pretty fast (4.54 40) for a linebacker so he can make plays sideline to sideline as long as O-Linemen don’t get into him.  Angerer played in 13 games (all starts) for Iowa last season and he had 145 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, he broke up 5 passes and he had 1 interception.  He played in 43 games (24 starts) in his career at Iowa and he finished up with 258 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, he broke up 8 passes and he had 6 interceptions.  The Colts probably took him a round or two too early but he will help them in 2010 and beyond.

The Colts selected DE Jerry Hughes in the first round of the NFL Draft with the 31st pick.  Hughes is a tweener and the Colts probably think of him as more of a OLB than a DE.  Hughes played in 13 games (all starts) for TCU last season in which he had 58 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss, 11.5 sacks, batted down 3 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Hughes does have issues on run defense which will need to be fixed or he will have to stay at DE behind Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney.  Hughes played in 49 games (27 starts) in his four years at TCU and he made 127 tackles, 40.5 tackles for a loss, he had 28.5 sacks, batted down 4 passes, forced 8 fumbles and he had 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts drafted the best player available and it was Hughes so I like the pick for them.