# List of Indianapolis Colts first-round draft picks

The Baltimore Colts joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1953 where they participated in their first NFL draft and selected Billy Vessels, a halfback from the University of Oklahoma. The team's most recent first-round selection was Laiatu Latu, a defensive end from UCLA in the 2024 NFL draft.
Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting but more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks last, and the Super Bowl loser always picks second last. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.
The Colts have selected the number one overall pick in the draft on seven separate occasions, one of which was used to select Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning. They have also selected the second overall pick five times and the third overall pick twice. The team's five selections from Ohio State University are the most chosen by the Colts from one university.

## Key

Table key :
| ^ | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. |
| * | Selected number one overall |
| † | Indicates the player was selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career. |
| — | The Colts did not draft a player in the first round that year. |
| Year | Each year links to an article about that particular NFL Draft. |
| Pick | Indicates the number of the pick within the first round |
| Position | Indicates the position of the player in the NFL |
| College | The player's college football team |

## Player selections

Indianapolis Colts first-round draft picks :
| Year | Pick | Player name | Position | College |
| 1953 | 2 | Billy Vessels | HB | Oklahoma |
| 1954 | 5 | Cotton Davidson | QB | Baylor |
| 1955 | 1 * | George Shaw | QB | Oregon |
| 1955 | 3 | Alan Ameche † | FB | Wisconsin |
| 1956 | 9 | Lenny Moore ^ | HB | Penn State |
| 1957 | 8 | Jim Parker ^ | G | Ohio State |
| 1958 | 11 | Lenny Lyles † | CB | Louisville |
| 1959 | 12 | Jackie Burkett | C | Auburn |
| 1960 | 10 | Ron Mix ^ | OT | USC |
| 1961 | 7 | Tom Matte † | RB | Ohio State |
| 1962 | 9 | Wendell Harris | CB | Louisiana State |
| 1963 | 5 | Bob Vogel † | OT | Ohio State |
| 1964 | 8 | Marv Woodson † | S | Indiana |
| 1965 | 14 | Mike Curtis † | LB | Duke |
| 1966 | 15 | Sam Ball | OT | Kentucky |
| 1967 | 1 * | Bubba Smith † | DE | Michigan State |
| 1967 | 20 | Jim Detwiler | HB | Michigan |
| 1968 | 23 | John Williams | OT | Minnesota |
| 1969 | 25 | Eddie Hinton | WR | Oklahoma |
| 1970 | 18 | Norm Bulaich † | RB | Texas Christian |
| 1971 | 22 | Don McCauley | RB | North Carolina |
| 1971 | 26 | Leonard Dunlap | CB | North Texas |
| 1972 | 22 | Tom Drougas | OT | Oregon |
| 1973 | 2 | Bert Jones † | QB | Louisiana State |
| 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 | CB | Texas |
| 1981 | 12 | Randy McMillan | RB | Pittsburgh |
| 1981 | 18 | Donnell Thompson | DE | North Carolina |
| 1982 | 2 | Johnie Cooks | LB | Mississippi State |
| 1982 | 4 | Art Schlichter | QB | Ohio State |
| 1983 | 1 * | John Elway ^ | QB | Stanford |
| 1984 | 8 | Leonard Coleman | CB | 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 |
| 1988 | — | — No Pick | — | — |
| 1989 | 22 | Andre Rison † | WR | Michigan State |
| 1990 | 1 * | Jeff George | QB | Illinois |
| 1991 | — | — No Pick | — | — |
| 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 State |
| 1994 | 5 | Trev Alberts | LB | Nebraska |
| 1995 | 15 | Ellis Johnson | DT | Florida |
| 1996 | 19 | Marvin Harrison ^ | WR | Syracuse |
| 1997 | 19 | Tarik Glenn † | OT | California |
| 1998 | 1 * | Peyton Manning ^ | QB | Tennessee |
| 1999 | 4 | Edgerrin James ^ | RB | Miami (FL) |
| 2000 | 28 | Rob Morris | LB | BYU |
| 2001 | 30 | Reggie Wayne † | WR | Miami (FL) |
| 2002 | 11 | Dwight Freeney ^ | DE | Syracuse |
| 2003 | 24 | Dallas Clark † | TE | Iowa |
| 2004 | No pick (traded to Atlanta Falcons, used to select Michael Jenkins) | No pick (traded to Atlanta Falcons, used to select Michael Jenkins) | No pick (traded to Atlanta Falcons, used to select Michael Jenkins) | No pick (traded to Atlanta Falcons, used to select Michael Jenkins) |
| 2005 | 29 | Marlin Jackson | CB | Michigan |
| 2006 | 30 | Joseph Addai † | RB | LSU |
| 2007 | 32 | Anthony Gonzalez | WR | Ohio State |
| 2008 | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, used to select Kentwan Balmer) | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, used to select Kentwan Balmer) | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, used to select Kentwan Balmer) | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, used to select Kentwan Balmer) |
| 2009 | 27 | Donald Brown | RB | Connecticut |
| 2010 | 31 | Jerry Hughes | DE | TCU |
| 2011 | 22 | Anthony Castonzo | OT | Boston College |
| 2012 | 1 * | Andrew Luck † | QB | Stanford |
| 2013 | 24 | Björn Werner | DE | Florida State |
| 2014 | No pick (traded to Cleveland Browns, who then traded it to Philadelphia Eagles, used to select Marcus Smith) | No pick (traded to Cleveland Browns, who then traded it to Philadelphia Eagles, used to select Marcus Smith) | No pick (traded to Cleveland Browns, who then traded it to Philadelphia Eagles, used to select Marcus Smith) | No pick (traded to Cleveland Browns, who then traded it to Philadelphia Eagles, used to select Marcus Smith) |
| 2015 | 29 | Phillip Dorsett | WR | Miami (FL) |
| 2016 | 18 | Ryan Kelly † | C | Alabama |
| 2017 | 15 | Malik Hooker | S | Ohio State |
| 2018 | 6 | Quenton Nelson † | G | Notre Dame |
| 2019 | No pick (traded to Washington Redskins, used to select Montez Sweat) | No pick (traded to Washington Redskins, used to select Montez Sweat) | No pick (traded to Washington Redskins, used to select Montez Sweat) | No pick (traded to Washington Redskins, used to select Montez Sweat) |
| 2020 | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, who then traded it to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used to select Tristan Wirfs) | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, who then traded it to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used to select Tristan Wirfs) | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, who then traded it to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used to select Tristan Wirfs) | No pick (traded to San Francisco 49ers, who then traded it to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used to select Tristan Wirfs) |
| 2021 | 21 | Kwity Paye | DE | Michigan |
| 2022 | No pick (traded to Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded it to New Orleans Saints, who then traded it to Washington Commanders, used to select Jahan Dotson) | No pick (traded to Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded it to New Orleans Saints, who then traded it to Washington Commanders, used to select Jahan Dotson) | No pick (traded to Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded it to New Orleans Saints, who then traded it to Washington Commanders, used to select Jahan Dotson) | No pick (traded to Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded it to New Orleans Saints, who then traded it to Washington Commanders, used to select Jahan Dotson) |
| 2023 | 4 | Anthony Richardson | QB | Florida |
| 2024 | 15 | Laiatu Latu | DE | UCLA |