as lukewarm as I was about Nelson at #6, it would be a FASCINATING experiment if Hernandez were there at #36 or #37 and Ballard took him.

Nelson and Hernandez on the same offensive line....brutal for opponents

Pass on Michel for me, that bone on bone situation in his knee scares me. Plenty of backs left, Hines, Smith, Ballage, Freeman, GUICE!

I like Jones as well.

My feelings on OG at 6 aside, I think Day 2 can be one helluva shopping spree for Ballard.

The New York Jets--the gift that keeps on giving

I’m more of a fan of Guice if we decide to go that route.

As ridiculous and unrealistic as that would be, I would actually like to see that on the field and the our oline flat out mauling our division d-lines every year.

If the Browns pass on him I'd think Ballard would be tempted, no doubt--and use the other early pick for defense, maybe. And hope someone also drops farther than they should to #49.

Man those extras picks from Buffalo would be very nice right about now. Out of those guys I would love Josh Jackson, Maurice Hurst, and Guice. Secondary picks would be Landry, Green, and Ronald Jones or Connor Williams.

would be fascinating to watch against d-lines built to pressure the passer when the Colts come out and say "sorry, but we'll only be throwing 16 passes today; the rest of the time we'll be running the ball down your esophagus behind the law firm of Kelly, Nelson & Hernandez."

Maybe more realistically, Ballard thinks he can get an OT with potential at #49--O'Neill, Rankin, Crosby, someone like that. And he uses #36 and #37 for RB and defense (in either order)

Nope. He wasn't making it past 10

fify

How many of them were 26yr old All Pros ??

Valid point but just like we apparently dont value a G at the #6 pick why would we allow $13 - 15 million of cap to go to a guard when you can get one at so much less who is better and you have him for 5 years now.

I know many on here feel that the defense needs to be addressed, but the best thing for a defense is not being on the field. Drafting Hernandez and maybe Guice, could give the Colts the ability to sustain long clock eating drives.

Every year colts fans want all offense


It is a sickness

Apparently. The team does not have a single starting quality LB on the roster, no true pass rusher, and big questions in the secondary and people still want more offense

Assuming the Colts doctors sign off, it would be pretty amazing to come out of today with something like:

36) Landry
37) Jefferson
49) Oliver
67) Hurst

But I still expect Ballard to take Sutton at 36 or 37.

I’d be thrilled with that haul from day 2. I could be talked into adding another OG or OT in the 2nd, but I hope like hell they avoid RB and WR on day 2. With the state of this defense those are simply luxury picks you can’t afford right now.

We have so many holes to fill I’m actually fine with bpa for the most part. Obviously I don’t want them drafting an area that we aren’t hurting in but those spots are few and far between. No way this garbage roster gets fixed in one year anyway. A solid lb is essential though.

Because the Colts could have gotten a dynamic impact player at #6, and gotten a starting guard at #36 or #37. Then your OL would be set for years, and the Colts would have the cornerstone to build the defense around, all without wasting a pick. JMO though.

Another reason why we need to wait on fully evaluating the Nelson pick. If you told me going into the draft that we would end up with this package from rounds 1-3, I would have been elated.

Nelson
Landry
Jefferson
Oliver
Hurst

A couple of random thoughts from Day 1:

1) Take note that Ballard has succeeded in absolutely locking down any leaks to the media. Prior to the draft, there were no hints that Nelson was going to be picked. All of the "insider" information being circulated in the media suggested the pick would be Smith if Chubb wasn't available. Just keep this in mind the next time you hear a Colt-related rumor purporting to be from an anonymous insider.

2) The Jets justified their trade with the Colts. Sounded like highway robbery at first, but as it turned out it looks like the Jets did pretty well for themselves. Still a great deal for the Colts, of course.

I'd be very surprised if the Giants pass on Landry, he would be JJP's replacement.

Both teams made out well with the trade. Jets got their QB and the Colts added more 2nd round picks.

I could easily see them going OL and doubling down on the Barkley pick.

Makes me wonder if the Colts could have gotten more if they traded #3 when they were on the clock. Oh well, it was a good package anyway.

BTW, I'm still pissed Pagano won in Week 17. I think Ballard squeezes NYJ for next year's 1st instead of 2nd if the Jets were moving up to #2 pre-draft.

I think this a reasonable argument, and since I've spent a fair amount of time expressing my support of Ballard, I'll make an effort to respond:

1) First, to be fair, its not like he didn't try to address the guard situation in free agency. That was the one position where he made the most concentrated (though unsuccessful) effort to address in free agency (in retrospect, perhaps that should have been a hint to us that Nelson might be the pick). I think he made an effort to sign all of the top available guards, but he was outbid. You can certainly say he should have paid more, but I'm sure we can both agree that there is a limit after which even you wouldn't pay what the free agent guard was asking for. The guards went beyond Ballard's threshold, and he signed Slauson instead - who I'm hopeful will be a serviceable solution for a year or two.

2) If we are to believe what we read, Nelson's skills likely exceed those of the free agent guards that were available.

3) Maybe he wasn't as enthralled with the two LB prospects you are referring to (Smith and Edmunds, presumably) as everyone seems to think. I know that popular speculation had the Colts considering these guys, but I'm not sure how reliable any of this is because its pretty clear that Ballard has really locked down the leaks from the front office. I don't recall reading any reports of sources suggesting that the Colts were seriously interested or planning to take Nelson prior to the draft.

Without a doubt when you consider the picks from the trade back it makes the Nelson pick a little easier to stomach. Absolutely great move by Ballard

I think absolutely they could have, but I don’t see any way you can fault Ballard for not waiting. He got a premium for the move back and wasn’t at the mercy of an unpredictable draft.

Yeah, and it allowed them to focus more scouting resources on players 20-50 on their board.

He may also have figured he might be able to parlay the #6 pick into even more picks down the road. Imagine if he had accepted the offer that the Bills made to the Bucs for the #7 pick (#12 and two second rounders) - the Colts would have turned their #3 pick into a still-relatively high first rounder (#12) and FIVE second rounders. I doubt he could have extracted that much out of a single draft-day trade for the #3 pick. Presumably, Ballard wanted even more.

I like Landry, Oliver, Jackson, and Hernandez in the second. I agree that rb or wr can be had in the third.

I wanted Smith at 6. however, I think our defense played well for three quarters last year, only to tire out because they were on the field so much. Fix our offense and they will be more rested and capable of closing out a game. They key to that is also adding two players on that side today.

And they had no pass rush to get off the field on 3rd down. Getting Landry today would be absolutely huge.

This was honestly my expectation from Ballard and one it would be hard for me to argue with given the state of the roster. I was torn between wanting Smith or Edmunds and wanting another trade down.

Isn't #67 a third rounder? :confused:

Me, too

Oops, I read it as "there at 37" instead of 67. I'm not used to the Colts having this many high draft picks.

I think if Guice is there you almost have to take him, and give at least some consideration to R Jones too, but I'd rather see the Colts try to get some WR like PSU's Hamilton in a later round than use a 2nd rounder on someone like Sutton--JMO

think after choosing Nelson at #6 Ballard really needs to get at least one impact defensive player in Round 2--if Landry's gone, maybe a CB or LB

or maybe some team's QB-desperate enough for someone like Rudolph to make a trade offer--but off the top of my head, the only other teams w/ multiple 2nd rounders are Cleveland and Buffalo, and they (presumably) already have their QBs

FWIW, Matt Miller has the same grade on Guice, Jefferson, Sutton, and Hubbard. He has Jackson, Oliver, and Landry slightly ahead of them. Of course, scheme-fit could make the Colts value them differently.