Colts common supervisor Chris Ballard talks tight ends forward of the NFL Draft

It’s no secret that the Indianapolis Colts are in determined want of a beginning tight finish who will transfer the needle; subsequently, the inflow of position-related questions hurled at Colts common supervisor Chris Ballard in his final press convention earlier than the NFL Draft is smart.

It’s been lined a lot that it’s primarily develop into frequent data amongst NFL followers throughout the league, however the Colts are coming off a yr that noticed its tight finish room produce the least quantity of any room within the NFL. Collectively, it’s a bunch that leaves a lot to be desired, and as of now, that very same room is about to return.

Those that carefully comply with the NFL Draft cycle, significantly all through its pre-draft course of, perceive that this draft class is plagued by viable expertise on the tight finish place. There’s at present a trio in Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, and Mason Taylor that headlines this group, however entrance workplaces throughout the league consider the names that comply with are nothing to scoff at.

Whereas the Colts are in prime place to land one of many aforementioned high names with their first-round choose, therein lies a actuality the place Chris Ballard and Co. are keen to kick the can on the place till later within the draft in order that different urgent areas of want will be addressed within the first spherical.

When requested if this draft presents a possibility to ‘deal with the tight finish place,’ Chris Ballard expressed that the group shouldn’t be against utilizing its first-round choose on a decent finish however warns of the potential downfalls to drafting a place of want:

“I feel everyone knows we just like the group now we have — their subset, what they’ll do. We’ve two actually good blockers. We’ve a younger child that we predict’s bought velocity and a few upside, however saying that, if we had an opportunity to take one which we predict can actually make a distinction, we’ll do it. I do know this, although, you’ll be able to’t chase. When you find yourself chasing a necessity, that’s if you make errors. So, we’ll let the board play out the best way the board ought to play out. After all, within the first spherical, you’ll be able to already see how now we have it stacked versus how the skin world has it stacked, I promise you shouldn’t be the identical. It’s not. They don’t have something on the road. Like, I all the time chortle when all people says, ‘Properly, you reached or took him too excessive.’ Properly, by whose commonplace? Whose commonplace is that criticism coming from? So, we line it up and we draft them as we predict is greatest for our group.”

It’s virtually as if Chris Ballard was enjoying either side in his reply, reassuring the employees’s perception within the present tight finish room whereas additionally addressing the trickiness that comes with drafting a participant at a non-premium place excessive within the draft.

Whereas each issues will be true, his subsequent answered query concerning tight ends would possibly lead you to consider that the Colts like a few of the middle-round prospects greater than the consensus. When requested to typically characterize the tight finish class as an entire, Ballard responded with enthusiasm about its depth:

“It’s good. It’s a very good class, I feel, at each degree. It’s a very good class. Should you have a look at a few of the higher tight ends on this league. Man, they arrive from all over the place. [Travis] Kelce was a 3. [Mark] Andrews was a 3. [George] Kittle was a 5. [Brock] Bowers was a 1 final yr. They arrive from all over the place. We predict there’s some good depth on this class.”

Whereas Ballard and Co. are excessive on the tight finish class as an entire, the Colts’ tight finish room actually solely has room for one archetype: a dependable passcatcher. Clearly, the principle purpose is to return away from the draft with a do-it-all kind of participant that takes the beginning job and stays the man for the foreseeable future, however because it stands, the Colts have a handful of men who excel at one factor and one which none of them possess is reliability as receivers.

Relating to what precisely they’re searching for, as in what traits they’re looking for, Ballard spoke straight and even used former Colt Jack Doyle to exemplify what it’s they’re searching for:

“Look, you’d wish to have a man that may do [everything]. They’ve to have the ability to play on all three downs, however one that may have an effect on the center of the sector. Probably the most underappreciated gamers to ever come via this program is Jack Doyle. The man was nice. I don’t suppose all people acknowledged that, however all he did was block the sting constantly, do all of the soiled work, and catch each ball thrown to him. That’s all he did. He gave us an actual menace in the course of the sector. Was he a dynamic 15-16 yards per catch? No, however he was a rattling good participant.”

This recollection of Jack Doyle was twofold: a reminder of a participant who was far too underappreciated and likewise a precursor to Ballard’s eventual reply on the subject at hand. He primarily reads a scouting report of Doyle for his reply on what sort of tight finish they’re searching for:

“I need any individual who will be constant and truly be a man that the protection has to account for. The three down half is huge as a result of — and look, all of them need to be purposeful sufficient to dam. That’s, to me, the exhausting one to search out. The second you don’t have a man that may block is the second the teaching employees is griping and saying, ‘We’ve gotta have a man that may block.’ However to have the ability to play on all three downs, to have the ability to be purposeful within the run sport to the place you don’t essentially realize it’s a move when he’s within the sport, after which to have the ability to end and make performs at important instances and provides the quarterback an choice in the course of the sector.”

The Colts’ potential tight finish of the long run gained’t be revealed for not less than 72 hours, give or take, when the NFL Draft formally kicks off, and whereas we don’t know who shall be chosen, just a few extra puzzle items will be positioned for now. They’ve almost compelled themselves into this place, however the Colts shall be drafting a decent finish within the 2025 NFL Draft. The one remaining query is when in the course of the draft will they be doing so?