@MikeWellsNFL If Chubb and Barkley are off the board who should the colts draft? In your opinion? #coltsmail
— JT McNees (@MCJT1978) March 9, 2018
Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard is used to facing obstacles. He dealt with it with Andrew Luck not playing last season and he dealt with it again when Josh McDaniels pulled an 11th-hour switch on them at head coach. Ballard embraces challenges instead of running from them.
The Colts would ideally like to be able to choose between Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb. Both players play positions of need for the Colts. But they also could be taken by Cleveland and the New York Giants with the first two picks in the draft.
That’s when things will get interesting.
That’s because the odds of the Colts holding onto the No. 3 pick if Barkley and Chubb are already gone are pretty slim. But they’ll still be in a great position to trade down and collect more picks in the draft because there isn’t a clear-cut player they need to take at No. 3.
Teams that will likely be calling Ballard are the ones that are starving for help at quarterback. Denver, the Jets and Arizona are a few teams that come to mind with quarterback issues. The Colts will be smiling at the position they’ll be in because they know teams will be looking to move up to get the best quarterback available to make sure Cleveland doesn’t get him at No. 4.
That means teams will likely be jockeying to get the No. 3 pick in order to select Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen or Baker Mayfield.
Take Denver for example. The Broncos have question marks at quarterback. They can try to work out a trade with the Colts for the No. 5 pick to move up to select a quarterback at No. 3. Indianapolis could add more picks while also selecting Notre Dame offensive lineman Quenton Nelson at No. 5. Adding more picks while selecting the best offensive lineman in the draft. That’s a win-win situation for the Colts, especially with Ballard consistently talking about building the roster through the draft.
The Colts have so many holes to fill on the roster (things could change depending on free agency) that they’ll be in a great position to determine how far they want to trade back and still get a player they expect to contribute right away next season.
Offensive line. Pass-rusher. Linebacker. Receiver. Running back. Receiver.
Not having the option to pick Barkley or Chubb at No. 3 is not a situation the Colts want to face, but don’t expect Ballard to panic. He’ll look at all options and likely won’t hesitate to trade back in the draft if he feels like that’s the correct decision to make for the team.
Source : ESPN
