Mitchell and Worthy would be EPIC!!!

Watching BTj and that guy is special. I think he might be my second choice after Bowers now.

Bowers>BTj>Quinyon>Worthy is probably my preferred draft order.

thats it for me.

At this point for me (since I know there's a snowball's chance in hell Ballard will draft Latu and his sub 33" arms):

1) Bowers
2) Thomas Jr.
3) Quinyon
4) Trade Down (A. Mitchell as the target in Round 1)
5) Verse
6) Arnold

As long as it's not Worthy, I'll be happy.

Ok so here’s mine

1. Bowers
2. If bowers is gone trade back
3. Worthy
4. DeJean
5. Quinyon Mitchell I wouldn’t be mad at that either

There is an argument to be made that it will be Latu. High character and good work ethic. 9.3 Ras same as the other DEs he’s drafted. Good senior bowl work. Tyquan has shorter arms. Faster and heavier than Turay. And is the most advanced skill wise of all of them. I would t discount him.

I would love it to be Latu...but sadly it won't be. Ballard is risk averse, and I doubt that Latu is even on his 1st round board.

As I have said before the GM's that pass on him will still be thinking like the GM's that passed on Suggs.

I hope you're right, and honestly there are several picks I'd be happy with as mentioned above, but Latu just doesn't seem to fit the DE profile Ballard likes to draft, especially with the medicals. Dallas Turner is the DE profile Ballard likes to draft, and IMO he has the biggest bust potential of any player projected to go in the top 25.

Suggs was a 6.48 ras
Latu is a 9.3
If he is off his board it’s not for lack of athletiscm.

And we could have potentially three DEs with contracts ending next off season.

Supposedly the medical came back ok. No one has heard anything about them.

I also went Arnold, but I'd be fine with whoever. Mitchell seems much more athletic, but I believe I read he played mostly man in college, and I don't know if the Colts defense would fit his strengths.

I would argue that once you have a guy who can play man coverage at an elite level, then you are able to change your defensive schemes to suit and it makes life a lot easier for the remaining 10 defenders. If you don't have someone capable of being a shut down corner then of course you can't try to play that style of defense. I am not saying that Mitchell is at that calibre yet though, he hasn't played a single snap in the NFL.

I'm sorry I should have clarified. If he's off of Ballard's board it is because of past injury concerns.

As typical, I'm behind the curve catching up on the draft class compared to a lot of you guys. Been watching more lately and I honestly would be happy with a half-dozen of these kids.

Big picture (tell me if I'm wrong): for being smack dab in the middle of the 1st, there's a solid chance we luck out insofar as other teams will be drafting positions we don't necessarily need. Namely: QB and OL.

From what I keep reading, in the 14 picks ahead of us, there is a realistic chance that 8-10 of them go to QB and OL. Ostensibly, that could mean as few as 4 guys we might want going off the board before we pick.

That also means (to some fans' horror), plenty of opportunity to move back and still get a guy they like. Total toss-up to me between multiple guys and trading back.

Gotcha, that's what I thought as well. But I heard on NFL radio that his medicals from the combine all came back positive and there doesn't seem to be an issue.

If Ballard was a serious suiter for Hunter, he knows he needs a REAL pass rusher, so if Verse or Latu are still available at 15, then one of them should absolutely, without a doubt, it's a no brainer, be the pick !!! JMO though.

To play a little devil's advocate, AR needs weapons in the passing game, which IMO will make it tough to pass on Bowers and/or BTJ if either is there at 15.

Also, based on the stats it looks like Verse disappeared for stretches during this past season. I didn't watch much of FSU this year, so could be that the stats are misleading. Of course Ballard has never really considered college production in his draft evaluation, so there's that too.

Good point. So let's do the math.

Likely to be picked in the top 14:

4 QB's
3 WR's
3 EDGE
2 OT's
1 TE
1 CB

Well that would suck since probably Bowers, BTJ, Verse, Latu, Turner, and either Q Mitchell or Arnold would all be gone. Guessing if that's how it plays out we either take whoever's left between Q Mitchell/Arnold or more likely trade down.

Edit: He hasn't been brought up for awhile, so I forgot about Odunze. So under Commish's scenario I would take BTJ.

So, just curious, who is the one guy that could fall to #15 that you would be irate for a trade down (barring some sort of unrealistic trade, like a 3 first rounders this and next year).

Like this mock draft has Brock Bowers falling to the Colts. While I don't think it will play out this way, it seems at least in the realm of possibility:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/...bs-go-round-1/

If Ballard trades out of the 15 with Bowers on the board for like a 23 and a 41, I'll be upset. I get the "more bites of the apple" philosophy, but sometimes it's better to have one bigger bite.

That said, if it's a guy like Terrion Arnold (who I like and want them to draft), I'll be less upset. Probably Bowers and one of the top 3 WRs (who won't likely be there) are it for me, and Dallas Turner (I don't even want an Edge rusher really, but I won't hate it especially if it's him).

Where do you get 3 EDGE? If Atlanta stays at 8 and drafts an EDGE, Chicago will likely have Odunze or Nabers fall into their lap and pick whichever WR falls to them, likely Odunze. The Jets are drafting a weapon or a OT, the Broncos may go QB and the Raiders could, too, and they likely go OT if not QB, maybe CB. Saints will also likely go OT.

I think what you'll have in the top 14 is:
5 QBs
3 WRs
1 EDGE
1 TE
3-4 OT
0-1 CB

If Bowers is on the board at 15, I think he's the pick. That said, I wouldn't be mad at a trade out there. At 23, you probably still get Latu or A. Mitchell at least, maybe have to settle for Johnny Newton, who is by no means a terrible consolation prize, and you get another top 50 player out of the deal. That said, there are ways to address all the important needs in this draft no matter who is selected in the first round. IMO, the Colts should come away with a starting caliber WR and CB from this draft (and I only say WR because this class is so good). Other than that, they need to build depth for the future. I think one of the first 2 picks will be spent on a WR and one of the first 3 will be spent on a CB. Beyond that, I think BPA is the best bet.

If either Bowers or BTJ is evaluable and we trade down and miss either or both of them then I'll be pissed off. Actually the more that I think about it the more I'd like to see us trade up to ensure we get one of those 2, or better yet make a big move into the top 10 to get one of the 3 elite WRs. I know chances are slim to none of us trading up, but we have enough solid contributors. What we need more of is elite level difference makers.

I tend to anticipate Dam's prediction more likely. For example, for what it's worth, here's a mock draft collab with the Bootleg guys (I like them) and a couple of PFF guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCf2yd8ZZ74&t=3019s

Their mock includes some hypothetical trades (e.g. LAC trades down twice from 5 to 11 and then 11 to 18). All that said, this is what their top 14 looked like:

1. CHI QB Williams
2. WAS QB Maye
3. NE QB Daniels
4. ARZ WR Harrison
5. MIN QB McCarthy
6. NYG WR Nabers
7. TEN OL Alt
8. ATL DL Newton
9. CHI WR Odunze
10. NYJ OL Fautanu
11. CIN OL Fuaga
12. DEN QB Nix
13. LVR QB Penix
14. NO OL Fashanu

So 6 QBs, 4 OL, 3 WR, and Newton. They have Quinyon Mitchell falling into our laps. Besides Mitchell, guys like Bowers, Thomas, Latu, Verse, Turner, etc. still available.

It's just a mock, but I've seen several other articles that indicate this kind of distribution which would leave the Colts a bunch of good options (including trading).

What I didn't like about their Colts pick in that mock was Brock Bowers was right there and they both just went, "Oh, Quinyon's there, take Quinyon". I get he's a pretty chalk pick for the Colts at 15, but not when Brock Bowers is staring you in the face. If Bowers is there, I'd expect the first 3 rounds to go something like:

15) TE Brock Bowers
46) WR Ricky Pearsall
82) CB Cam Hart

Which is a damn good first 3 rounds for the Colts.

I have heard that the bottom of this draft will be weaker than usual due to NIL deals for college players who would have been late round picks, so trading up and losing a sixth or seventh would not hurt much. However, I think it will take more than that to move up enough to get a good player.

Being an Illini fan i love Johnny Newton, but we don't need any more interior DL depth in my opinion.

We already have Stewart, Buckner, Davis, Adebawore, Bryan, Johnson and then Odeyingbo and Lewis who move inside at times as well.

The starters are two of the better players at the position in the NFL, we then signed Davis to a decent sized contract to backup Stewart, which was our weakness last year (Newton is not the guy who would be replacing Stewart). The Colts clearly like Bryan as a rotational substitute for Buckner. Johnson, Adebawore and Bryan are likely fighting for 1 maybe only 2 spots.

At DE we have a solid, but not spectacular group that comprises; Paye, Ebukam, Odeyingbo, Lewis, Avery, Land, Leo, adding a 1st rounder here wouldn't be out of the question.

I think the Colts generally had 9 or 10 defensive linemen on their roster throughout last season. Lets say its 10, that in my eyes would be in order of priority, Buckner, Stewart, Ebukam, Paye, Davis, Odeyingbo, Lewis, Bryan, Avery and then the final guy would be between Land and Adebawore.

Between Verse, Turner, Robinson and Latu, I expect 3 of them to be gone. NFL teams over draft EDGE almost as much as the over draft QB.

AR has weapons, MPJ, Downs, Pierce and JT. What this team doesn't have is a legitimate pass rusher, and Ballard knows it. This years draft is deep in WR and CB, so IMHO, if Ballard can draft a pass rushing, get to QB stud he should.

The offense has no outside speed, heavily invested in defense. They’ve gotta make things easier for Richardson, get him an elite weapon that’s ready to play right away

I can't remember ever seeing MJP being caught from behind, and Pierce was drafted for his deep speed. The Colts had weapons galore with Manning, but only one Lombardi trophy. IMO this team needs an elite defensive end, or the offense will be back to having to score on every possession.

I disagree, the pass rush by committee worked last year and they can draft a situational pass rush guy like Booker later in the draft

I won't disagree that at times the pass rush by committee did work, but on more than one occasion it didn't, like game 17 vs the Texans, or against the Bengals, Saints or Falcons. The Colts need that one guy that can take over a game defensively.

lack of pass rush was a major issue last year


and I suspect will be again this year

Every team has periods of a game where the pass rush is non existent I don’t care who it is, Did Parsons take over the game vs the Packers? Bosa take over the superbowl?

DPOY didn’t even make the playoffs

Offense sells tickets and wins championships nowadays

Don't disagree that we need an elite pass rusher at DE. But the most important thing both short and long term is developing AR. So surrounding him w/ enough talent to succeed should be the priority, and (at least IMO) he doesn't have enough weapons in the passing game. Yes, MPJ and Downs fit the bill, but JT and Pierce don't (again at least IMO). While JT's a great runner he is an average pass catcher. Pierce is a one trick pony who struggles to get separation and also struggles to make contested catches. So if we have the chance to add an elite receiver to the mix then we should do so IMO.

No doubt it'll take more than just a late rounder or 2 to move up, but IMO it would be worth the draft capital to move up and draft some elite talent. Like I said before the chances of that are slim to none, but it's something I would like to see.

We should also see the return of Dulin. He can get separation and catch the ball. I just don't know if he will get onto the field much, outside of special teams.

Is Chris Ballard trolling our board? ;)

Nah, but Dulin has speed. He just doesn't have football experience at WR to go with it.

Reportedly, the Jets are exploring trading down from 1.10.

If you look at some of the draft value charts, a trade with the Jets would look something like this:


Jets send:

1.10
3.72

Colts send:

1.15
2.46


Basically a pick swap - the Colts would lose their mid round 2nd round pick and replace it with the Jets early 3rd round pick to move up 5 spots in the 1st Round.