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Indianapolis Colts: Trading down in draft puts team in best position

By Cody Williams

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 13: General manager Chris Ballard addresses the media during the press conference introducing head coach Frank Reich at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 13, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 13: General manager Chris Ballard addresses the media during the press conference introducing head coach Frank Reich at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 13, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Trading down with the Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft and accruing more picks puts the Indianapolis Colts in the best position moving forward.

In a quarterback-heavy 2018 NFL Draft, the expectations would be that most of the teams picking at the top of the first round would be looking for a man under center. However, there was one outlier when looking at the initial draft order — the Indianapolis Colts.

After playing a full season without Andrew Luck on the active roster, the Colts had an abysmal time and landed at the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. With Luck expected to return for the 2018 season, it stood to reason that second-year general manager Chris Ballard and Indianapolis would not be taking a quarterback.

As it turns out, they won’t be picking third overall at all. On Saturday morning, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Colts had traded the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft to the New York Jets. In return, Indy will receive the Nos. 6, 37 and 49 overall picks in April’s draft. That’s quite a haul for the Colts, which is exactly what they need.

While it would be great for the Colts to add an elite talent such as NC State edge rusher Bradley Chubb, how much of a difference is the one player truly going to make for this roster? Whether or not Andrew Luck is on the field is irrelevant — this is a roster that is miles away from being complete. There are holes on every level of both sides of the ball that need to be filled.

Yes, Chubb would fill one of those holes, but now the Colts can potentially fill more holes with top-end prospects as they go from having two selections in the top 50 picks to now having a whopping four picks over that span in the draft.

And really, there’s the possibility that they could still land Chubb or a prospect of similar talent at No. 6 as the Jets are almost surely moving up for a quarterback and the Broncos will likely take one as well with the fifth-overall pick.

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In the end, this had to have been the Colts’ plan all along. Last offseason, Ballard showed he had some savvy to him, though he was left with limited resources and time to make an impact. Now is his time to really prove his value in the front office. And if this trade is any indication, he’s going to get this thing in Indianapolis turned around quickly.

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