Latest round of mock drafts have Colts taking quarterback, but which one is up for debate

The only good news for the Indianapolis Colts this season is that their 4-10-1 record has put them in a position to potentially address their greatest long-term need on the field: quarterback.

Entering Week 17, the Colts are positioned for the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 draft, which should put them in a position to land one of the class's top quarterbacks. And the latest round of mock drafts coming out this week pretty much universally agree that is the direction the Colts are going to go. 

Alabama's Bryce Young figures to be the No. 1 overall pick to the Houston Texans, while there is expected to be a run on defensive players in picks 2-4 with Jalen Carter, Will Anderson, and perhaps Myles Murphy or Kelee Ringo rounding out that group.

That should leave the Colts with a pretty decent pick of quarterback options. It is just a matter of which one they take.

This week CBS' Josh Edwards and Sports Illustrated's Kevin Hanson have the Colts taking Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, while The Athletic and Pro Football Focus have them landing on Kentucky's Will Levis. 

Ever since Andrew Luck's out-of-nowhere retirement the Colts have been going through a revolving door of one-year stopgaps at quarterback with no permanent long-term solution arriving. Over the past few years, they went from Jacoby Brissett to Philip Rivers, to Carson Wentz, to this year's revolving door of Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, and Nick Foles. None of them have been what the Colts hoped or needed. 

At some point, that quarterback carousel has to stop, and the best way for that to happen is to be bad enough in the right year with the right quarterback available. It worked for the Colts with Peyton Manning back in 1998, and it worked with Andrew Luck years later until his retirement. 

Stroud and Levis seem to be the most likely candidates.

Levis is the wild card because his production in college has not been all that great, especially this past season. But he has all of the measurables that NFL teams look for in a quarterback, from the 6-foot-3 frame with mobility to a cannon of an arm. All of that has earned him some Josh Allen comparisons, though that is setting an extremely high bar. 

The Colts have many issues to resolve other than quarterback (head coach being another significant issue), but no matter how good the rest of your team might end up being it is extremely difficult to win in the NFL without a star player as a franchise quarterback. The 2023 class is looking like a deep quarterback class, and it should present the Colts with an opportunity to land that potential solution.