2012 POD Mock Draft: Indianapolis Colts Select Alshon Jeffery

With the 34th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2012 NFL mock draft, the Indianapolis Colts select South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. Lionsfan_772 is serving as the Colts' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

The second-round pick for the Colts will be WR Alshon Jeffery. Now, there were a few areas that I saw that needed some improvement and/or depth. After looking at the current players on the roster and looking through the remaining players left in the draft, I went with Jeffery. This choice was made using the BPA system and through the great people at Stampede Blue, as well as trying to fill a need. We all felt by majority rules that Alshon Jeffery was the best person. He is not a need but pairing him up with our No. 1 pick Andrew Luck, the two of them can learn and grow together. Also, it doesn't hurt that Reggie Wayne is getting a little long in the tooth.

Alshon isn't needed to come in and be the No. 1 or No. 2 WR on the team, so the high-profile pressure is not weighing on his shoulders. Since last season, he tried to improve his speed by losing weight. However, when he showed up at the combine weighing 216 pounds, he chose not to work out, although he said he was "better lighter." He tried to prove it at his late March pro day where he showed some explosion with a 36-inch vertical jump and a 10'2" broad jump and was timed between 4.4 and 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

His career stats look like this: 183 receptions for 3,042 yards (16.6 per catch) and 23 touchdowns.

His long strides allow him to outrun his coverage, but his top end speed is not the greatest, and he needs to improve his route running. However, with his size he will be an easy target for Luck to find in the end zone. With the current leadership that's on this team along with veterans like Wayne, he will be great for our team.

--

Check out the 2012 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.

Reminder: You can follow Pride of Detroit on Twitter and like us on Facebook.