Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - BREAKING: Indianapolis Colts Select CJ Allen 53rd Overall | Colts Land An ELITE Linebacker

Episode Date: April 25, 2026

The Indianapolis Colts selected Georgia linebacker CJ Allen 53rd Overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The pick is in. Third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts by way of the Pittsburgh Steelers, select C.J. Allen, the linebacker from Georgia. Locked on NFL draft is sponsored by Calci. Trade draft picks in a live market with no house. Download the app. Use code locked on and get 10 bucks when you trade 10. Calci, trade on anything.

And I am Teneitra Batiste, joined here by Zach Hicks from Locked on Colts. And, of course, as I mentioned, you got a trade where the Steelers receive the 47th, the 249th picks in the draft. Colts received 53, 135, and let's see, 237. What are your thoughts on those moves? Yeah, I think it's a good move for the Indianapolis Colts. You know, they came into this draft with only seven draft picks. They didn't have a first rounder because of the Sauce Gardner trade. So you had to find a way to keep getting that younger talent, that influx of younger, cheaper talent on your roster.

So by moving back just a couple spots, the Colts pick up a fourth round pick, maneuver a little bit more in round seven. I think trading back generally is the way to go for NFL teams, get more shots at the board. And here in Indy, we all kind of expected this from Chris Ballard. So I think it was good business from him, especially when I think when he moved back, there was still like four or five linebackers that they liked on the board. So they were ultimately still able to get their guy at 53. Indeed. And C.J. Allen, known to be a guy who has good instinct, could eye discipline, and is always playing his position.

What are some of the things that you like that C.J. Allen brings to the table? Yeah, I think this is a great pick for the Annapolis Colts. He's a player that we didn't talk about a ton this draft season because he was constantly mocked in round one and before the Colts draft pick. So we were more so talking about other linebacker options, but assuming that he fell because of the meniscus injury that limited him a little bit this offseason, young player flies to the football, Georgia linebacker. We all know that they are able to turn out a lot of good NFL defenders.

And I just think that this is an NFL linebacker. You could see it on his film last year, the way that he flies to the football, the way that he plays that middle linebacker spot. And I think that there is just such high potential for him. So when you're stacking these linebackers on day two, being able to move back to 53 and get a guy of this caliber, I think that's such a win for the Indianapolis Colts. So C.J. Allen was my third favorite linebacker in the class, getting him where the Colts got him. I absolutely love this pick. Yeah, I'm with you, Zach.

I didn't expect him to be there at 15. So, yeah, I think the Colts got a bit of a steal with C.J. Allen at that position. But, of course, coming in as a rookie, there is always going to be opportunity for development. Where are some of the areas that you feel like the team is going to just really focus on? The Colts are going to say, hey, this is what we want to see him do so he can be a contributor week one. Yeah, I mean, the first thing is just getting the health under control, right? The meniscus injury that hampered him throughout the all season had that extra swelling, which limited him from working out at the combine.

So once they're able to get that all cleared up, I think the big thing for, him is, you know, he's still a young player. He's going to be a green dot in the Colts defense with with Louana Rumo, a guy who throws so much at his defenders in terms of what they need to know with their assignments and where they need to be. So a lot of it's just going to be getting up to speed on the playbook, understanding his assignments within the playbook and seeing what range of, like, what he can do in year one. So there's going to be a learning curve. There's going to be some rough moments early in the season. But getting a player with this type of talent, his speed, his athleticism, here in the middle of round two after a tradeback.

I mean, yeah, there's going to be some lumps, but I'll take those lumps every day of the week with them. Yeah, and just being in that pro-style defense that you mentioned, we're playing at Georgia, that has to be something that helps him to hopefully for the Colts get up to speed sooner rather than later. Thanks, Zach, for more on the Indianapolis Colts. Subscribe to Locked on Colts wherever you get your podcasts.