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#1
03-11-2023, 12:05 PM
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Saturday Indy Star two’fer
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It's a dangerous spot to be in. The first big domino of the NFL Draft fell Friday, when the Bears traded the No. 1 pick to the Panthers for a historic haul that includes two first-round picks, two second-round picks and star wide receiver D.J. Moore, ESPN reported. The Panthers came up from the No. 9 pick, which explains why the return was so large. Moore ended up becoming a turning point in the conversation, which took shape at the combine. Once the Bears committed to building around Justin Fields, they became committed to finding him weapons in a spring where the draft and free agent classes are down. Last fall, they sent a second-round pick to the Steelers for Chase Claypool, who produced 140 yards in seven games. That pick ended up being the No. 32 selection. The Colts' best chance at matching that offer was by including Michael Pittman Jr., but he's not the receiver Moore is. A first-round pick in the 2018 draft, Moore has compiled three different seasons of at least 1,100 yards despite playing with a rotating cast of quarterbacks. Pittman Jr. has topped 1,000 yards once in three seasons. Moore is signed through 2025 on a team-friendly deal that will pay him an average of $17 million a season. Pittman Jr. is entering the final year of his contract and is primed to test the market. Multiple media outlets have reported Moore was the key to the deal, putting the Colts at a severe disadvantage. Indianapolis' best lane was to sell the Bears and coach Matt Eberflus on players he admired during his four years with the Colts, such as DeForest Buckner, Kenny Moore II, Ryan Kelly and others. None of them can answer the receiving void like D.J. Moore could, though. Because of Fields, that edged the need for future draft picks. When Ballard spoke at the combine, he sounded as if he knew he wasn't trading for the No. 1 pick. He predicted he'd land the best player in the draft at No. 4. "This is what's great right now: Everybody has just automatically stamped that you've gotta move up to (No.) 1 to get it right," Ballard said then. "I don't know that I agree with that. I don't." It's what he has to believe now that he won't have the top choice of quarterbacks, or likely the second choice either. The Texans select right behind the Panthers, and the worst-kept secret at the combine was how much they love Alabama's Bryce Young. That could be just fine to Ballard, a traditionally traits-based scout, if he has issues with Young's 5-foot-10, 204-pound frame. But he has to worry about more than just losing out on one player now. If the Panthers don't take Young, the Texans are expected to. If they do take Young, Houston can offer the pick up for sale, and it's almost certain that it will not trade with a division rival to set up a quarterback of the future. Ballard needs to believe in Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Florida's Anthony Richardson and Kentucky's Will Levis based on where his team sits now. It could work out to where his No. 1 choice makes it to the third pick and he makes a swap with the Cardinals to secure him for a fraction of what it would have cost to go to No. 1. By keeping the 2024 first-round pick, he'd have a chance to land either a left tackle or a No. 1 wide receiver, which are critical pieces in making a young quarterback work. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud could now become the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, if the Carolina Panthers decide to select him. But without knowing what the Panthers will do, Ballard's placing a bet on multiple quarterbacks as well as the coach he just hired to get the most out of them. Steichen could just be the man for the moment, with the success he found with Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts, who cover every end of the spectrums of athleticism, accuracy and experience. But it's still a bet on a first-year coach to create some magic with a rookie quarterback, and not the first one off the board. For Ballard, that's the price of keeping together the roster he built, the one he's betting was held back by the quarterback position. This is Ballard, unwavering, unpressured, in his element. He said he was dogmatic, and sometimes that means letting another team overpay for its peace of mind. He's allowing the pressure to rise. Another bidding war will likely begin with the No. 3 pick, whether it's Young, Stroud, Richardson or Levis still available. And wherever the Colts pick, they know the end result has to be the same in the end. "We can take one as an organization and y’all are going to celebrate it and say, ‘We have got the savior for the Colts.’ And then if he doesn’t play well, ‘Why did you take that guy?’" Ballard said after the season. "You’ve got to be right. We’ve got to be right." In the end, nobody will care what it cost or didn't cost to land a certain quarterback if he's the one to change a franchise. That's still the tightrope the Colts are walking on, now just on a thinner thread than before. Quote:
Or didn’t trade. Ultimately, all that matters is that the team got the right guy. And in the aftermath of the blockbuster trade the Carolina Panthers made Friday to get the No. 1 pick away from the Chicago Bears, leap-frogging the Indianapolis Colts in the process, it’s easy to lose sight of that reality. The Colts should understand that reality better than anybody. Insider:Why the Colts didn't trade up to No. 1 — and the dangerous spot it puts them in Forced into a franchise quarterback search by Andrew Luck’s retirement four seasons ago, Indianapolis made a string of quarterback decisions that made sense in the moment, given the draft picks the franchise held at the time and the available options. The Colts signed Philip Rivers to be a bridge to a young quarterback, then bet heavily that former coach Frank Reich could fix his former protégé, Carson Wentz. When the Wentz bet burst into flames, Indianapolis went back to the original plan, trading for Falcons legend Matt Ryan as the bridge to a future franchise quarterback, a move that was lauded by almost everybody at the time. The swinging gate, and subsequent decline, at the game’s most important position cost Reich his job in Indianapolis. “You, obviously, always want stability at quarterback,” Reich said at the NFL scouting combine last week. “I think that’s a huge lesson learned for me from the last time around: What is our best answer for stability of quarterbacks, in the near-term and the long future? Reich’s new team, the Panthers, learned the same lesson in the same hard way. Carolina’s been through the same revolving door at quarterback since Cam Newton’s body began to break down. The Panthers proved just how much they were willing to give up to end the cycle Friday. Carolina traded its first-round pick (No. 9) and a second-rounder (No. 61) this year, its first-round pick next year, a second-round pick in 2025 and star wide receiver D.J. Moore, who is under a team-friendly contract through 2025 and has put up three 1,000-yard seasons despite the Panthers’ quarterback woes. A lot of people wondered immediately if Carolina gave up too much. A few outright said the Panthers were crazy to trade all that away for a quarterback in a class led by Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis. But here’s the thing. If the player the Panthers pick ends up becoming a star, it’s not going to matter how much they gave up to get him.The quarterback’s that important. Nobody in Kansas City cares what the Chiefs gave up to draft Patrick Mahomes (two Pro Bowlers and a starting safety). Nobody in Buffalo cares how many draft picks and NFL starters the Bills traded away (a Pro Bowl defensive lineman and two reserve defensive backs) to get in position to select Josh Allen. Far too familiar with the bleak outlook of quarterback purgatory, the Panthers decided they were done with letting the market dictate the man under center. In reality, standing pat at No. 9 would also have been a risk. Another failed decision with a veteran quarterback sets the franchise back years for years. Just ask the Colts. Carolina wants to move forward with the quarterback it loves in this draft. A Colts front office that’s every bit as desperate for quarterback stability as Carolina now finds itself in a very different place after Friday’s blockbuster trade. Barring a shocking decision in Houston — the Texans, another quarterback-desperate team, hold the No. 2 pick — Indianapolis is going to have the third crack at finding its franchise quarterback in the NFL Draft. And that’s only if Arizona can’t find a buyer for the No. 3 pick after Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort all but put the pick on Craigslist at the combine last week. The Colts cannot guarantee they’ll get the first quarterback on their board. Or the second. Ballard spent his combine interview session making the case that a team didn’t have to have the No. 1 pick to find its quarterback of the future. “Everybody has just automatically stamped that you’ve got to move up to (No.) 1 to get it right,” Ballard said. “I don’t know if I agree with that. I don’t, and that’s going to be the narrative, and that’s OK.” Which is a sentiment that feels all too familiar to some in Indianapolis. Colts fans who have watched other teams take big swings at the quarterback position the past couple of seasons, some (Rams, Buccaneers) more successful than others (Broncos), while Ballard held back, trying to find the best of the rest without giving up all of his own assets. That strategy hasn’t worked with the veterans. And it might not work with a rookie, although the same principle of quarterbacking decisions applies to Indianapolis and Carolina, even if their methods might be polar opposites. If the Colts stand pat, take the third quarterback off the board and the player becomes a star, the sort of franchise quarterback the city of Indianapolis desperately needs, no one is going to care that Ballard didn’t trade up to No. 1 to get him. In fact, Ballard would likely be lauded for his conviction in that scenario, lionized for his ability to see the future without panicking. “Who’s to say we won’t get one at (No.) 4?” Ballard asked last week. If he does get one, how Ballard got him in the building isn’t going to matter. If he doesn’t, the blowback will be worse. But ultimately, the results of another blown decision at the quarterback position will be the same, whether it comes at No. 1, No. 4 or something in-between. Quote:
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#2
03-11-2023, 02:48 PM
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So the article say’s basically if you get it right you are good to go no matter how you do it. If you don’t it doesn’t matter what you did either. Duh! At this point nobody knows (except Dam) what the best move will be.
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Racehorse (03-12-2023) | ||
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#3
03-11-2023, 04:30 PM
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__________________
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#4
03-11-2023, 04:35 PM
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#5
03-11-2023, 05:21 PM
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Last edited by JAFF; 03-11-2023 at 05:35 PM.
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