Colts selected Kansas State CB Julius Brent with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Brents (6’3/213) initially attended Iowa as a three-star safety prospect, grinding out three years of inconsistent snaps under old-school head coach Kirk Ferentz’s perennially stout defense that had a settled depth chart after he returned from a season-long injury suffered in 2019. He transferred to Kansas State in 2021 and immediately earned a starting role, though there was an adjustment period as he allowed a subpar 64% completion rate and 101.9 passer rating. It all came together for Brents in 2022, posting a 46% completion rate and 57.7 passer rating, which were drastic improvements over 2021. He also grew into his body, learning to leverage his elite change of direction ability and vast wingspan (34” arms) to rack up eight pass break ups, four interceptions, and 45 tackles. The First Team All-Big 12 corner took over the Combine by running a 4.05 shuttle (91st percentile), 6.63 3-Cone (98th percentile) and 1.5 10-yard split (96%) to go with 99th percentile jumping drills for a near-perfect 9.99 RAS. Brents will join a Colts secondary graded by PFF as last year’s 13th best coverage unit.