Bryce Boettcher selected by Colts in fourth round of NFL Draft: grade, analysis, stats

TL;DR

The Indianapolis Colts selected linebacker Bryce Boettcher in the fourth round of the NFL Draft with the 135th overall pick. This decision follows the team's need for linebacker depth after trading Zaire Franklin and retaining limited options.

Key points

Colts selected linebacker Bryce Boettcher in the fourth round
Boettcher was the 135th overall pick in the NFL Draft
Colts addressed linebacker needs after trading Zaire Franklin
Colts also drafted CJ Allen from Georgia in the same draft
Only one linebacker returned from last season

Indianapolis ColtsBryce BoettcherZaire FranklinCJ Allen

Bryce Boettcher selected by Colts in fourth round of NFL Draft: grade, analysis, stats

INDIANAPOLIS — Linebacker was clearly the most glaring need for the Colts entering the draft.

Indianapolis traded away long-time middle linebacker Zaire Franklin, has allowed weak-side starter Germaine Pratt to remain a free agent and brought back only one linebacker, Austin Ajiake, who played more than 100 defensive snaps last season.

The Colts responded by taking two linebackers in their top four picks in the NFL Draft. Indianapolis opened the draft by taking Georgia’s CJ Allen, then drafted Oregon’s Bryce Boettcher with the 135th overall pick, the selection the team got from trading back in the second round on Friday night.

Boettcher, a two-sport athlete who also played baseball at Oregon, is an instinctive, run and chase linebacker who produced 136 tackles in his final year with the Ducks, the sixth-most in FBS.

When he was a junior, Boettcher won the Burlsworth Trophy as the nation’s top player who began his career as a walk-on.