{"id":203818,"date":"2024-12-09T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=203818"},"modified":"2024-12-08T20:09:42","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T01:09:42","slug":"nfl-mock-draft-has-colts-taking-a-first-round-wide-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/09\/nfl-mock-draft-has-colts-taking-a-first-round-wide-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Mock Draft Has Colts Taking a First-Round Wide Receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts still have four games to go in the regular season. But it\u2019s never too early for NFL Mock Draft talk. In a recent mock draft, Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News<\/a> has the Colts selecting Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond as the 15th overall pick in the 2025 draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Colts shouldn’t shy away from adding more speedy vertical threats for big-armed youngster Anthony Richardson, and Bond would fit nicely playing off Josh Downs, Michael Pittman Jr., and Alec Pierce,” Iyer wrote.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That would be a rather surprising pick for Indianapolis. A wide receiver isn\u2019t their biggest need. Landing a tight end, cornerback, or safety is certainly higher on the team\u2019s wish list. But you never know what the Colts are going to do. Last spring, the team was expected to draft a cornerback in the first round. Yet, they wound up selecting defensive end Laiatu Latu<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

NFL Mock Draft Has Colts Taking Isaiah Bond in the First Round of the 2025 NFL Draft<\/h2>\n

Isaiah Bond\u2019s Career<\/h3>\n

Isaiah Bond starred in football and track and field at Buford High School in Buford Georgia. He won the Georgia High School Association Class 5A and 6A state championships three years in a row.<\/p>\n

Passing up college offers from Georgia and Florida, Bond committed to play for the University of Alabama. During his freshman year, he helped the Crimson Tide beat Kansas State in the 2022 Sugar Bowl<\/a>, as he came away with his first career touchdown catch. Bond finished the season with 17 catches for 220 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

As a sophomore in the 2023 Iron Bowl versus Auburn, Bond caught the game-winning touchdown on 4th and 31<\/a>. The incredible play is known as the \u201cGrave Digger.\u201c He finished the year with 48 receptions, 668 receiving yards, and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Bond then transferred to Texas. This season, the Georgia native has caught 32 passes for 510 yards and five touchdowns. He has also rushed for 98 yards and a score.<\/p>\n

Should the Colts Draft Him?<\/h3>\n

In the 2024 draft, the Colts selected a Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell<\/a> (second round, 52nd overall pick). Will they draft another Longhorns wideout in 2025, but in the first round?<\/p>\n

The Colts likely won\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t draft Isiah Bond. Frankly, it just doesn\u2019t make much sense. Indianapolis desperately needs a play-making tight end. That means someone like Michigan\u2019s Colston Loveland or Penn State\u2019s Tyler Warren should be Indy\u2019s first-round pick. Loveland or Warren would make life a lot easier for Anthony Richardson<\/a> in the short-passing game next year.<\/p>\n

The 5\u201911\u201d, 190-pound Bond could turn out to be a great pro. But drafting a receiver in the first round who has never surpassed 670 yards in a season isn\u2019t the smartest idea.<\/p>\n

Indianapolis has a solid wide receiver room that includes Michael Pittman Jr.<\/a>, Josh Downs<\/a>, Alec Pierce, and Mitchell. Pittman is having a down year, battling back injuries. Yet, he should bounce back in 2025. Downs has the potential to be a star, and Pierce is having the best season of his career<\/a>. Mitchell is taking a while to adjust to the league. But that\u2019s fine, seeing that he\u2019s just a rookie. So no, the Colts don\u2019t need to use their first-round selection on a receiver. They\u2019re good for now.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent NFL mock draft has the Indianapolis Colts selecting Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond in the first round. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":203914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,12,1647],"tags":[9564,7800,33057],"class_list":["post-203818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-colts","category-nfl-draft","tag-anthony-richardson","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-isaiah-bond"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203818"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203915,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203818\/revisions\/203915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}