Indianapolis Colts
Battle card · first-round draft history, season-by-season record, and how Colts top picks have shaped the franchise.
R1 Picks
57
Hall of Famers
6
10.5% hit rate
Avg pick slot
14.6
Highest pick
#1
John Elway · 1983
All-time record
350–325–1
0.518 win %
Playoff seasons
19
of 42
The Story
- Indianapolis Colts have made 57 first-round selections and produced 6 Hall of Famers (10.5% hit rate).
- Their highest selection on record is #1 overall in 1983, when they took John Elway.
- Across 42 seasons in this dataset they have a 350-325-1 record (0.518) and reached the playoffs 19 times.
- In seasons after holding at least one top-10 pick, Indianapolis Colts added an average of 4.2 wins versus the prior year (11 such seasons in the data).
- Their most-drafted position group is DL, taken 12 times in Round 1.
- Alabama is their go-to talent pipeline, supplying 4 first-round picks.
- Their best season was 2005: 14-2-0 (+192 point differential).
- Their worst was 1991: 1-15-0 (-238 point differential).
Wins per Season
R1 Pick Slot by Year
Position Breakdown
Point Differential by Season
Impact of Top-10 Picks (Next-Season Wins Delta)
| Draft Year | Pick | Player | Prior-Year Wins | New-Year Wins | Delta | HoF? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | #5 | Duane Bickett | 4 | 5 | +1 | |
| 1986 | #4 | Jon Hand | 5 | 3 | -2 | |
| 1987 | #2 | Cornelius Bennett | 3 | 9 | +6 | |
| 1990 | #1 | Jeff George | 8 | 7 | -1 | |
| 1992 | #1 |
Steve Emtman
+ #2 Quentin Coryatt
|
1 | 9 | +8 | |
| 1994 | #2 |
Marshall Faulk
+ #5 Trev Alberts
|
4 | 8 | +4 | HoF |
| 1998 | #1 | Peyton Manning | 3 | 3 | +0 | HoF |
| 1999 | #4 | Edgerrin James | 3 | 13 | +10 | HoF |
| 2012 | #1 | Andrew Luck | 2 | 11 | +9 | |
| 2018 | #6 | Quenton Nelson | 4 | 10 | +6 | |
| 2023 | #4 | Anthony Richardson | 4 | 9 | +5 |
Hall of Fame Selections
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | #1 | John Elway | QB | Stanford |
| 1994 | #2 | Marshall Faulk | RB | San Diego St. |
| 1996 | #19 | Marvin Harrison | WR | Syracuse |
| 1998 | #1 | Peyton Manning | QB | Tennessee |
| 1999 | #4 | Edgerrin James | RB | Miami (FL) |
| 2002 | #11 | Dwight Freeney | DE | Syracuse |
Every First-Round Pick
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | College | HoF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | #18 | Norm Bulaich | RB | TCU | |
| 1971 | #22 | Don McCauley | RB | North Carolina | |
| 1971 | #26 | Lenny Dunlap | DB | North Texas | |
| 1972 | #22 | Tom Drougas | T | Oregon | |
| 1973 | #2 | Bert Jones | QB | LSU | |
| 1973 | #10 | Joe Ehrmann | DT | Syracuse | |
| 1974 | #5 | John Dutton | DT | Nebraska | |
| 1974 | #24 | Roger Carr | WR | Louisiana Tech | |
| 1975 | #3 | Ken Huff | G | North Carolina | |
| 1976 | #20 | Ken Novak | DT | Purdue | |
| 1977 | #26 | Randy Burke | WR | Kentucky | |
| 1978 | #25 | Reese McCall | TE | Auburn | |
| 1979 | #6 | Barry Krauss | LB | Alabama | |
| 1980 | #5 | Curtis Dickey | RB | Texas A&M | |
| 1980 | #24 | Derrick Hatchett | DB | Texas | |
| 1981 | #12 | Randy McMillan | RB | Pittsburgh | |
| 1981 | #18 | Donnell Thompson | DE | North Carolina | |
| 1982 | #2 | Johnie Cooks | LB | Mississippi St. | |
| 1982 | #4 | Art Schlichter | QB | Ohio St. | |
| 1983 | #1 | John Elway | QB | Stanford | HoF |
| 1984 | #8 | Leonard Coleman | DB | Vanderbilt | |
| 1984 | #19 | Ron Solt | G | Maryland | |
| 1985 | #5 | Duane Bickett | LB | USC | |
| 1986 | #4 | Jon Hand | DE | Alabama | |
| 1987 | #2 | Cornelius Bennett | LB | Alabama | |
| 1989 | #22 | Andre Rison | WR | Michigan St. | |
| 1990 | #1 | Jeff George | QB | Illinois | |
| 1992 | #1 | Steve Emtman | DE | Washington | |
| 1992 | #2 | Quentin Coryatt | LB | Texas A&M | |
| 1993 | #16 | Sean Dawkins | WR | California | |
| 1994 | #2 | Marshall Faulk | RB | San Diego St. | HoF |
| 1994 | #5 | Trev Alberts | LB | Nebraska | |
| 1995 | #15 | Ellis Johnson | DT | Florida | |
| 1996 | #19 | Marvin Harrison | WR | Syracuse | HoF |
| 1997 | #19 | Tarik Glenn | T | California | |
| 1998 | #1 | Peyton Manning | QB | Tennessee | HoF |
| 1999 | #4 | Edgerrin James | RB | Miami (FL) | HoF |
| 2000 | #28 | Rob Morris | LB | BYU | |
| 2001 | #30 | Reggie Wayne | WR | Miami (FL) | |
| 2002 | #11 | Dwight Freeney | DE | Syracuse | HoF |
| 2003 | #24 | Dallas Clark | TE | Iowa | |
| 2005 | #29 | Marlin Jackson | DB | Michigan | |
| 2006 | #30 | Joseph Addai | RB | LSU | |
| 2007 | #32 | Anthony Gonzalez | WR | Ohio St. | |
| 2009 | #27 | Donald Brown | RB | Connecticut | |
| 2010 | #31 | Jerry Hughes | DE | TCU | |
| 2011 | #22 | Anthony Castonzo | T | Boston Col. | |
| 2012 | #1 | Andrew Luck | QB | Stanford | |
| 2013 | #24 | Bjoern Werner | DE | Florida St. | |
| 2015 | #29 | Phillip Dorsett | WR | Miami (FL) | |
| 2016 | #18 | Ryan Kelly | C | Alabama | |
| 2017 | #15 | Malik Hooker | S | Ohio St. | |
| 2018 | #6 | Quenton Nelson | G | Notre Dame | |
| 2021 | #21 | Kwity Paye | DL | Michigan | |
| 2023 | #4 | Anthony Richardson | QB | Florida | |
| 2024 | #15 | Laiatu Latu | DL | UCLA | |
| 2025 | #14 | Tyler Warren | TE | Penn St. |