I don't think he has ignored FA. We signed a bunch of guys last year and so far signed one this year with a few more expected. He just wants his core through the draft.

he didnt ignore FA, like others have said, stuck to his plan.

He was in on several but didnt want to meet the price. I wish he would have maybe stretched a bit on one but I am not going to kill him over it.

I agree, and I think Nelson at 6 is fine. Didn't want him at 3, but 6 is appropriate.
Also, I think taking Nelson and the extra picks is more valuable than taking Chubb at 3. If we can get some of those good LBs with the 2 second-round picks, that would be oustanding!

Why wouldn't the Colts still take Chubb at 6? The first 5 picks are going to be Barkley and 4 QBs.

When you look at really successful teams, nowadays, it's hard to find any that are built strictly through the draft. New England and Philadelphia's rosters are heavy with high quality players either signed as free agents or traded for.

It's been suggested that Ballard wants to build a roster, then supplement it with free agents. I'd just like to see more flexibility. When you have so many holes, it doesn't seem unreasonable to add a few high quality, top 50 type free agents, every now and again.

You have to assume that, with a year on the job behind him, he's built the kind of quality pro scouting staff who can identify guys who can help.

But, anyway, it's a good trade that gives us the flexibility to move back into the 1st round if someone we really like slips into the late teens or 20's.

Kudos.

Nelson is probably more of a sure thing than Chubb. The draft highway is littered with the corpses of pass rushers who didn't work out, one case in point being Bjoern Werner.

A Pagano pick.

Dion Jordan
Derrick Harvey
Vern Gholston
Aaron Maybin
Ken Sims
Jamal Reynolds
Courtney Brown
Steve Emtman

I could give you a list at least thrice as long of players that did work out, especially going all the way back to 1992.

You could say the same thing about high pick guards/OL. Impact pass rushers are more rare and difficult to find than starting guards, so when you get the chance to take one, you take him. I also would, for once, like to see the Colts support a franchise QB with a defense. A QB like Luck performing at his peak with a defense that can dominate and take over a game is in my opinion the best championship winning formula an NFL team could hope for.