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INDIANAPOLIS -- In the end, need actually did trump the best player available in the first round for the Indianapolis Colts Thursday night. Indianapolis drafted former Alabama center Ryan Kelly with the 18th overall pick. The 6-foot-4, 311-pound offensive lineman was considered to be the best available player at his position by most NFL scouting services.
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The Colts went into this year's draft with a definite desire to upgrade the middle of the offensive line.
Since the start of the 2012 season, Indianapolis has had a revolving door at center. Quarterback Andrew Luck has also taken snaps from the likes of Jonothan Harrison, Khaled Holmes, A.Q. Shipley, Samson Satele and Mike McGlynn.
Grigson and Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, however, both hope that with the selection of Kelly, Indianapolis has found its starting center for the immediate future. The West Chester, Ohio, native has size, pedigree and a high football IQ.
A three-year starter and first-team All-America selection last fall for the Crimson Tide, Kelly had been on the radar of the Colts' player personnel department for quite some time. He was the 2015 Rimington Award winner as college football's best center.
"Ryan Kelly was our targeted player for quite a while," Grigson admitted. "Dependability is the thing. He's one of those guys. He's someone that you can count on. You're talking about someone who has great size (for his position).
"We feel like we have guys who can handle things on the edge for us. But we've had so much musical chairs (at center). We want to protect our franchise quarterback."
Pagano and Grigson both attended Alabama's Pro Day last month. And what they saw there helped the duo make their final decision.
Indianapolis' general manager said he gathered his scouts Thursday morning and asked them to give him one name as a possible first-round draft pick. Kelly was the consensus selection.
"That was a good sign," Grigson said.
The Colts coach was happy with the pick.
"(We) got a guy that will solidify the interior (of the offensive line). Had our eyes on this guy for a long, long time. We're gonna sleep really good," Pagano said, adding that he's hoping a Luck-Kelly pairing could mirror another recent Indianapolis quarterback-center combination.
"Lord willing, if the creek don't rise, the same thing can happen (as former Colts Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday)."
Kelly is the sixth offensive lineman taken by the Colts franchise in the first round, joining Tom Drougas (1972), Ken Huff (1975), Ron Solt (1984), Tarik Glenn (1997) and Anthony Castonzo (2011).
And it's only the second time in franchise history that the Colts selected a true center in the first round. Former Pro Bowler Dick Szymanski was taken in the first round of the 1955 NFL draft.
