Jalen Famer and Seth McGowan haven’t played a down for the Indianapolis Colts yet, but they are already part of the answer to a franchise fun fact.
Famer and McGowan are the 25th set of teammates the Colts have picked in the same draft since moving to Indianapolis in 1984. Farmer and McGowan both played at the University of Kentucky in 2025. Farmer, an offensive lineman, was Indianapolis’ fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft. McGowan, a running back, was one of the Colts’ seventh-round selections.
While Indianapolis fans ponder the wisdom of adding two players from a college team that went 5-7 and got its coach fired, let’s look back at the history of college teammates joining the Colts via the same draft.
Indianapolis Colts by the numbers
It was common for Indianapolis to pick multiple players from the same team in the 1980s and early 1990s, when the draft was 12 rounds, and there were plenty of opportunities to pick players from the same school.
The Colts selected teammates in the same draft class 18 times between 1984 and 2000. It’s happened just six times since. The most recent occasion was 2023, when Indianapolis added defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore and running back Evan Hull from Northwestern University.
There’s no guarantee Farmer and McGowan will ever play together for the Colts. Of the 24 previous times Indianapolis picked teammates in the same draft class, both draftees took part in an NFL game just 13 times.
Andrew Luck & Coby Fleener best of the dual threats
The best of the college teammates selected in the same Colts draft class? It’s probably Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener, who came to Indianapolis from Stanford University in 2012. Luck was the No. 1 overall pick. Fleener, a tight end who was one of Luck’s favorite targets at Stanford, was the Colts’ second-round pick.
Luck quarterbacked the Colts to four playoff appearances in his seven-year career and made four Pro Bowls. Fleener caught 183 passes and scored 17 touchdowns during his four years in Indianapolis.
The next-best duo? It’s probably Duane Bickett and Mark Boyer, who came to the Colts from the University of Southern California in 1985. Bickett was a mainstay at linebacker in Indianapolis for nine years and made the Pro Bowl in 1987.
Boyer, a tight end, spent five years with the Colts. He made 95 catches and was considered a solid blocker who helped Eric Dickerson win the 1988 NFL rushing title.
The most decorated “duo” technically was quarterback Peyton Manning and defensive back Cory Gaines, whom Indianapolis drafted out of the University of Tennessee in 1998. Manning and Gaines combined for four MVPs, five first-team All-Pro selections, and 11 Pro Bowl trips.
Of course, all of that production was from Manning, the No. 1 pick in that 1998 draft. Gaines, a seventh-round selection, never played a down in the NFL.
Going three-deep
Anthony Gonzalez, the wide receiver selected with the team’s first-round pick, wound up spending as many years – four - in the U.S. House of Representatives as the NFL, due to an injury-shortened pro football career. Defensive linemen Quinn Pitcock and Roy Hall combined for just 16 NFL games.
(Indianapolis technically picked three players from Alabama in 1987. However, linebacker Cornelius Bennett, whom the Colts selected with the No. 2 overall selection, never played a down in Indianapolis. He was sent to Buffalo as part of the trade that brought Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson to Indianapolis.
The University of Illinois is the Colts’ most frequent teammate target. Indianapolis picked players from Illinois in the same draft three times between 1984 and 1991.
The Colts also picked three sets of teammates in the same draft twice. Indianapolis drafted two players apiece from Boston University, Illinois, and Northern Illinois University in 1986. The Colts drafted two players apiece from the University of Colorado, Illinois, and Penn State University in 1991.