Mike Wells, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Not all bad for Colts: They're on way to top-five draft pick

INDIANAPOLIS -- It’s not all doom and gloom for the Indianapolis Colts.

Yes, they continued their season-long trend of self-destructing in the second half of games when they blew another halftime lead in Thursday's 25-13 loss to Denver. But the Colts have only eight quarters remaining (barring an overtime game). Games at Baltimore in Week 16 and at home against Houston in Week 17 will finish out their worse season since going 2-14 in 2012.

"It's very frustrating," receiver T.Y. Hilton said. "I don't have the answers. I don't know what's going on with this."

Thursday’s loss almost assures the Colts of having a top-five pick in next spring’s draft. The Colts would have the No. 3 pick if the draft were held today, and based on the need for quarterbacks by Cleveland and the Giants -- the only two teams that have worse records than Indianapolis -- the Colts should be able to address their need at pass-rusher.

There’s no guarantee the Colts will stay in their current draft position. There’s a chance they could move up to the No. 2 pick. The Giants finish their season against Philadelphia, Arizona and the Washington. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Indianapolis could improve its position with some help from New York.

Why is moving up one spot important for the Colts?

Doing that would put them in a position of power. There are a number of teams that need a quarterback, which means the Colts could dangle the No. 2 pick in order to acquire more draft picks and still use their first-round pick to select a player who could immediately help them. Anybody who has seen them play this season knows there are countless flaws on their roster.

General manager Chris Ballard is a big proponent of building his roster through the draft. Next spring’s draft is an important one for him, because a big portion of his first season was spent signing younger, cheaper free agents in an attempt to get some serviceable players who could fill the roster, at least for this season. Ballard won’t be able to do that as much next offseason if he expects to speed up the rebuilding process through the draft.

The checklist is a long one for the Colts: inside linebacker, pass-rusher, offensive linemen at multiple positions, running back and receiver.

But first they need to wrap up the season to determine whether they will stay where they're at, move down or move up in the draft.

“We’re going to finish the right way,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “We signed up for 16 [games] and that’s what we’ll do. Go back to work on Monday and prepare for these last two ballgames.”

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