Colts instant draft grades: Why Hunter Wohler pick in seventh round gets a B
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts wrapped up their 2025 draft class with a special teamer.
Indianapolis drafted Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler with the No. 232 pick in the seventh round.
Colts draft grade: Wisconsin LB Hunter Wohler
Grade: B
Why: The Colts put off their linebacker need all the way until their final pick of the draft. But now, they appear to have answered it with a special teams option.
Wohler played safety at Wisconsin, where he started the past two seasons and racked up 191 tackles in that time. He showed off the ability to cover tight ends, as he illustrated with six pass breakups last season. But he struggled with faster players in the Big Ten Conference, which likely necessitates a move to linebacker at the next level.
He reached a solid level as a college safety, as he was named third-team All-Big Ten in 2023 and honorable mention in 2024. But the athletes he'll face in the NFL are of a completely different variety.
As he makes the transition, he'll likely focus in on a special teams role, where the Colts could use some more coverage consistency than they've seen in the past couple seasons. He should take the spot that the Colts previously saved for players such as Trevor Denbow and Daniel Scott before they struggled with injuries. If he's able to stay healthy and settle down that role, he could be worth this pick near the end of the draft.
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To add more value, he'll need to factor into the defensive depth in a better way. The Colts could use a backup strong safety behind Nick Cross, and they've used hybrid linebackers such as Ronnie Harrison Jr. in that spot in the past, though that was under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. Lou Anarumo deploys a more rotating approach to the safety spots that could make his athletic profile a stretch at the moment.
But the need for linebacker help is strong after the Colts did not take one in this draft despite losing EJ Speed and Grant Stuard in free agency. Given that Wohler hasn't played the position yet, it's likely more of a goal for him to develop into in a couple years. Thus, this pick does not offer too much in the way of addressing the weakest position on defense entering the draft.
But the bar for seventh-round picks is not high, and finding a useful special teamer can make it worth one.
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