The Colts went eight-for-eight in the 2026 NFL Draft with selections from the two best conferences in college football.
General manager Chris Ballard selected players from Georgia (LB CJ Allen), LSU (S AJ Haulcy), Kentucky (G Jalen Farmer and RB Seth McGowan), Oregon (LB Bryce Boettcher), Florida (DE George Gumbs Jr.), Ohio State (DE Caden Curry), and Oklahoma (Deion Burks).
They all have something in common: each played for the Big Ten or SEC.
"As you speak to other people who scouted everybody on this list, the consistent theme is going to be their competitiveness," Southwest Area Scout Mike Lacy said. "We know for a fact that we got tougher with this year's draft."
Go inside the Colts' draft room for the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Todd Vasvari - Senior Player Personnel Scout
Pete Ward COO
Mike Lacy - Area Scout
Kevin Rogers - Director of Player Personnel
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Shane Steichen Head Coach
Chris Ballard General Manager
Shane Steichen Head Coach
Chris Ballard General Manager
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and Shane Steichen Head Coach
Ed Dodds - Assistant General Manager
Danny Dowell - Football Systems Developer, Chris McGaha - National Scout and Andrew Hoyle - Pro Personnel Scout
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Chris Ballard General Manager
Chris Ballard General Manager
Chris Ballard General Manager
Tony Sparano Jr. Offensive Line
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Tony Sparano Jr. Offensive Line
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Shane Steichen Head Coach and Matt Terpening - Director of College Scouting
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and Tony Sparano Jr. Offensive Line
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Shane Steichen Head Coach and Chris Ballard General Manager
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Tyler Hughes - Area Scout, Tony Sparano Jr. Offensive Line and Anthony Coughlan - Southeast Area Scout
Chris Ballard General Manager
Shane Steichen Head Coach and Chris Ballard General Manager
Shane Steichen Head Coach
Mike Lacy - Area Scout, Matt Terpening - Director of College Scouting, Kasia Omilian - West Area Scout and Chris McGaha - National Scout
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Matt Terpening - Director of College Scouting and Shane Steichen Head Coach
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Chris Ballard General Manager
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and Shane Steichen Head Coach
James Bettcher Linebackers Coach
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and James Bettcher Linebackers Coach
Shane Steichen Head Coach and James Bettcher Linebackers Coach
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation and Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Mike Lacy - Area Scout
Sean Welch - Director of Football Information Systems and Matt Terpening - Director of College Scouting
Ed Dodds - Assistant General Manager
Joe Tsaiho - Scouting Assistant
Pete Ward COO, Cal Handelman - Administration Director, Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and Greg Starek - Director of Football Analytics
Joe Tsaiho - Scouting Assistant
Tanner Chastain - NFS Scout and Joe Tsaiho - Scouting Assistant
Shane Steichen Head Coach and Matt Terpening - Director of College Scouting
Chris Ballard General Manager
Shane Steichen Head Coach and Mike Bluem - Director of Football Administration
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and Jamie Moore - Assistant Director of College Scouting
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Kalen Jackson - Owner & Chief Brand Officer and President of the Indianapolis Colts Foundation
Jamie Moore - Assistant Director of College Scouting
Kyle Davis - Head Athletic Trainer
Jon Shaw - Director of Pro Personnel
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Shane Steichen Head Coach
Todd Vasvari - Senior Player Personnel Scout
Joey Elliott Assistant - Director of Pro Scouting
DeAndre Smith Running Backs and Diego Ortiz - Tony Dungy Diversity Coaching Fellow
Chris McGaha - National Scout, Brian Mason Special Teams Coordinator, Mike Lacy - Area Scout and Kyle Davis - Head Athletic Trainer
Kasia Omilian - West Area Scout
DeAndre Smith Running Backs and DeAndre Smith Running Backs
DeAndre Smith Running Backs
Diego Ortiz - Tony Dungy Diversity Coaching Fellow and Cal Handelman - Administration Director
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO and Mitch Chester - College Scouting Coordinator
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Tanner Chastain - NFS Scout and Joey Elliott Assistant - Director of Pro Scouting
Tyler Hughes - Area Scout
Shane Steichen Head Coach
Skylar Hillmann - Scouting Assistant
Shane Steichen Head Coach
Carlie Irsay-Gordon - Owner & CEO
Reggie Wayne Wide Receivers
Since the introduction of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the Big Ten and SEC have accounted for ten of the 12 national champions.
The competitiveness from top to bottom in both conferences forces players to be tougher. Otherwise, they won't make it in both the Big Ten and SEC. The Colts felt they needed players who had that mentality.
"It's not the NFL, but it's probably the closest thing you can get," Ballard said of the SEC. "We talked a long time about getting guys that have play history and really had high competitive stamina."
It's not just viewers of college football that know of the caliber of play in the Big Ten and SEC. It's even more tangible for the players in the thick of it.
"The speed and the physicality of the SEC," Gumbs said of what sets the SEC above the rest. "It's a lot of big guys moving real fast."
