With the 22nd pick of Pride of Detroit's 2011 NFL Mock Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea. Lionsfan8 is serving as the Colts' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
I needed to do some research since I had little knowledge of the Colts' needs. When asking Colts fans what they believe their needs were, it was a toss-up between the lines. Do I draft a sturdy offensive tackle to protect the last few years of Peyton Manning or do I draft a defensive tackle to stop the run which literally knocked the Colts out of the playoffs?
I chose the second. When you give up 170 yards on the ground in a playoff game against the Jets, you have a problem. With Corey Liuget already off the board I went with the next best choice. A great run stuffer with good size (6'1", 311 lbs.) can get into the backfield easily with 11.5 and 8.5 tackles for a loss two years in a row. He was not asked to go after the quarterback often at Oregon State, but he tallied 13 sacks in three years. Worries from scouts about his short arms were tossed aside when he set the bench press record with 49 reps of 225 pounds.
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Check out the 2011 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.