INDIANAPOLIS — For much of his tenure, Colts general manager Chris Ballard has been plagued by an annual failure to address at least one position enough in the offseason, leaving his team painfully shorthanded in the fall.
The position changes every year.
But the mistake made is typically the same. Ballard puts too much stock in developmental players in-house, relies too much on the NFL draft and ultimately ends up with a lack of depth.
Wide receiver was the problem in 2018. Cornerback in 2019. Defensive end in 2021. The offensive line, with disastrous results, in 2022.
Cornerback is again a position of obvious need. Indianapolis traded Stephon Gilmore to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick in March and let Brandon Facyson leave for Las Vegas, removing more than 1,500 snaps from last year’s defense.
Indianapolis has done little so far to fill their spots on the depth chart. Two days before the start of the NFL draft, the Colts are counting on Kenny Moore II, Isaiah Rodgers and second-year player Dallis Flowers at the cornerback position.
“You want to have as many cover guys as you can,” Ballard said last week. “That’s a position we’ve got our eye on. … We think there’s still some free agents out there, too, that can help us if need be.”
But it also seems clear that Indianapolis is likely looking to the draft to fill at least one of those holes, and although the team’s first pick seems like a forgone conclusion given the team’s desperate need for a franchise quarterback, it also seems like cornerback could be an obvious marriage between need and value in the second or third round.
Ballard believes there is “really good depth” at cornerback, the kind of depth that can fit the prototype defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is trying to find.
“In the past, the perception is (we want) tall, long guys with a lot of length,” Bradley said. “We do like those guys, because they can play at the line of scrimmage, and play a lot of press technique.”
The Colts’ top two remaining cornerbacks, Moore II and Rodgers, have long arms, but not a lot of height. Both are 5-10 or shorter, and it was an issue at times last season, keeping Rodgers off the field even though he was outplaying Facyson.
Moore II didn’t feel like Bradley’s scheme put him in position to make the same kinds of game-changing plays that initially made him a Pro Bowler in Indianapolis.
“He’s a really good communicator. He’s come in this offseason, visiting, talking about the next step for him,” Bradley said. “I know he was frustrated with the production overall — the interceptions, the caused fumbles when he was playing. … We have to do a good job of giving these guys a chance to be around that ball. The nickel has a chance to do that.”
Rodgers and Moore II both have the other quality Bradley wants in a cornerback.
A quality that often goes overlooked.
“There are going to be times that there’s tight splits, where (the cornerbacks) have to play off, so you need to see that short-area quickness,” Bradley said.
A player like Gilmore had both, and could make up for any physical drop-off due to age with his ability to read routes almost instantaneously.
The rookie cornerback the Colts are looking to draft has to have both traits.
And Bradley had trouble last week hiding his enthusiasm for the players in the draft who fit that wish list.
“The ideal part of it is a guy with some length who has good short-area quickness,” Bradley said. “Well, this group, you see some guys like that. There are guys that stand out.”
Assuming the Colts use their first pick on a quarterback, the cornerback position would likely be the betting favorite for their second.
But it’s not the only spot that Indianapolis needs help, and not the only spot Ballard believes has a strong class this draft cycle.
Offensive line
The collapse of the Indianapolis offensive line set fire to the franchise last season, and even though the Colts like the potential of young left tackle Bernhard Raimann, there’s a clear need for more big men up front, both to compete with Will Fries for the starting right guard spot and to provide capable depth.
“We’d like to add some depth, for sure,” Ballard said last week. “We still think there’s some players in free agency and the draft.”
Tight end
Unlike cornerback or offensive line, the Colts have a fairly full room at tight end, with veteran blocker Mo Alie-Cox flanked by the promising youth of Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson and Andrew Ogletree.
The talent at the position in this draft might be impossible to ignore.
“I’ll tell you, tight end is about as good as I’ve seen,” Ballard said. “It is an excellent tight end draft.”
Defensive end
Ballard has always wanted to have a rotation of eight or nine defensive linemen capable of coming in waves at opposing quarterbacks, and after the free agent signings of defensive end Samson Ebukam and defensive tackle Taven Bryan, the Colts are close to that number right now.
“We added some depth on the d-line, which we thought was critical,” Ballard said.
But an injury or two could leave Indianapolis short of its goal up front, and the Colts like the prospects available at the position in this draft.
“Defensive line, defensive end especially, I thought, really good depth in the draft,” Ballard said. “Players that are going to go in spots — fourth, fifth round — that are going to play and be really productive, good players.”
Nothing’s more important than what the Colts do at quarterback this weekend.
But it’s also not the only move they’re going to make.
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04-25-2023, 03:22 PM
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