POD Community Mock Draft: Pick No. 27

Rd. # Player Pos. College 1 27 William Beatty OT Connecticut General Manager: msivits

With the 27th pick of the 2009 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Connecticut offensive tackle William Beatty.

Here is msivits' reasoning for the pick:

The Colts are a model of consistency; their 1st-round picks since the year 2000 are Rob Morris, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeny, Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders, Marlin Jackson, Joseph Addai and Anthony Gonzalez. Eight of the nine picks are still on the team, and they are all starters. How do you keep Peyton Manning happy? Give him good wide receivers and a strong offensive line. The Colts are a pass-happy offense, which plays to Beatty's strengths. They rarely ask their offensive line to execute blocking plays more than 35 times a game . Beatty can start his NFL career at right tackle (which there is a need), and slide over to left tackle putting Tony Ugoh at right tackle later in his career.

Other picks came to mind; Evander "Ziggy" Hood and Ron Brace would have helped out the defensive line - which it needs. Hakeem Nicks and Kenny Britt also came to mind, and would have kept Peyton Manning with a smile on his face, as well. But the player that could give the Colts the most impact for the next five to eight years is Beatty. The Colts know how to draft players, and I feel they could find defensive line help later in the draft. They could also find wide receiver help later in the draft. In most other drafts, Beatty would go higher, but he gets pushed down from the overall talent in this one. Beatty is also a perfect tackle for the Colts' system.

The Colts will always live and die at the hands of Peyton Manning. I will always envision him on the field moving his team down the field for the win rather than him sitting on the sidelines watching his defense win the game. This pick should ensure the Colts will have strong tackles for the rest of Manning's career.