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I don't know if I'd say he's opposed to WR or corner in the first. This is where my bias comes in. I think the value at WR is on Day 2, generally speaking. And I think part of the attraction to this defensive scheme is that zone based corners are easier to find and less expensive, which speaks to draft value being after the first round. That takes us back to my earlier comment -- Day 1 corners play man, which is why the Colts draft corners on Day 2. Maybe overly simplistic, but I think the point is obvious.

Loved the Charlie Partridge comments, I think he will help the team immensely. Forgot to mention those comments earlier.

Listening back, Ballard definitely said he was off the list. Thought that was what he said when listening love, but it was a lot to take in in short amount of time

He hasn’t traded that far up because it would be way, Way , WAY too expensive. With where the Colts have been picking, it would cost a fortune. And the player still might not work out.

If he is available, he would be on my top 3, with Puni and Jackson.

When has he ever traded up to get a great player coming out to move into the top 5? IMO he takes the conservative approach which I am ok with, but he never takes huge chances. Don't give me, he traded up for Taylor either, it was like 3 spots in Round 2? Hell, several people in here still bash the guy for not trading up to try and get Herbert in 2020. I defended Ballard there because we got Buckner and signed Rivers.

FWIW: That number…. 19-21 players with first round grades is among the largest numbers Ballard has ever made public. Some years he has tossed around numbers like 12 and 14.

What makes you think Ballard is afraid of anything?

It got the Falcons to a SB, yes Matt Ryan was great basically from 2008-2017 but without Jones in 2016, not even Matty Ice gets them to a SB.

We just have 2 different philosophy's on what we believe, its OK. I am in favor, or hope to see 2 Wr and/or 2 CB's drafted this year. Last year we had Rogers and Flowers kind of slotted as the opening day starters, that went downhill quickly. Same thing go's for this years wide receivers, take any 2 of the 3 current starters, or even 1 out of the mix and its a real problem. Juju and Jones are not rookies anymore, they are capable starters, not Pro Bowl starters, but are starters and should be better than last year, and Flowers is coming back. I responded to the post saying Arnold over Verse, that is the topic, and I think the needs of CB/WR far outweigh a DE at this time. My real issue is adding a coverage LB, the amount of open 5-15 yard dump offs all season long with the middle wide open kept the defense on the field a lot, and was no help for the young CB's last season.

I like the Bowers pick. I'm not sure what I think of Kinchens. He has some decent tape, but his testing was terrible, so maybe not so much upside to him? I think for the 3rd round I'd look at: Khyree Jackson Christian Mahogany Dominick Puni Payton Wilson 4th round: Tanor Bortolini Cam Hart Jarrian Jones

Not only that rumor has it that the Cards want to trade that pick is why I posted what I posted. We just never take any huge chances. What is Ballard afraid of? He already gets bashed by half the fanbase anyway. AR needs all the help he can get is how I look at things. If AR has a good season, then yes, we could win 11 games with a better playmaker on offense.

Having said that, I would be more aggressive to get Richardson The best support possible from day one.

Yeah, one thing we have to keep in mind is that they honestly still don’t know whether Richardson will be the franchise QB we all hope he will be. If he doesn’t pan out, the organization needs the ammunition to move for a new QB so I think that is why Ballard is not trigger happy in the draft to move substantially up or spend big in FA by using draft capital. If we had Stroud, things might be different. Texans are safe to spend big as they did. Just something to ponder about.

In 2011 Falcons selected WR Julio Jones with 6th overall pick from Cleveland Browns, giving up a package of 5 draft picks … Atlanta's No. 27 overall 2011 1st round pick, their 2012 1st round pick, 2011 2nd & 4th round picks, & a 2012 4th round pick. Ergo, there’s precedence. I remember at the time thinking Atlanta was crazy to give that much up. I also remember thinking a couple of years later, Falcons have a star receiver, one of the best in the game, so did giving up so much really matter? I also remember the hype surrounding Julio Jones at his time of being drafted, and he was NOT touted as being as sure fire as Marvin Harrison Junior currently is. Also note, if the Colts trade up, the team dropping down is not dropping down as far as Cleveland did back in 2011 (6 to 27) as compared to, say, 4 to 15, so it might not cost quite as much as Atlanta gave up. i am inclined to say pull the move up trigger.

Yeah I was unclear on that, my bad. To me there's a difference between total resources and 1st round picks. Meaning we'll have a high end cap hit on the lines typically. But I don't think he's shown he's opposed to drafting any position group in the first

im back, and still think ballard sucks. so there's that

Thanks @Superman for posting everything for those of us who couldn’t follow live.

Here's what I think. He told us what he's going to do, or at least expecting to do. He said: "We're gonna trade back (three times)" He loves the OL in the class. (yes, he said you could get one in round three, BUT I expect one higher) Asked about weapons for a young QB: He said, "protect them. block; keep them safe." Look at all the teams in the playoffs, they can protect. "Andrew used to tell me, "just block for me; I'll do the rest" "Do they want a superstar receiver? YES, but block for me; keep em blocked." Oh yeah, and there's a corollary to that. There are two ways to beat a great QB (offense); one is pass defend, but the other is sacking and disrupting. So, I'm guessing we trade back in the first for more picks; we are just as likely to pick an early round OL, DL as we are a CB or WR. and with that, I hope we end up with Brock Bowers

*Regardless of the question asked* "Now that's a loaded question! Listen, you guys know me. I'm not gonna flinch. Nothing is off the table, and we're gonna do our due diligence. Look, I like the position our roster is in. We've got real talent here. Would you like to be a little better at some positions? Sure. But I also think there's a lot of talent in this draft, and I think we can add a few difference makers on both sides of the ball."

Thanks for the extra information. I'll be honest, I was working so I just glanced at the headline and didn't have time to read the article. Definitely a little misleading, but it was my bad for not actually reading it. He has all the talent in the world. If the Colts can draft him and keep his health in check and ensure there aren't real character concerns, I'd be happy.

So only 19-21 players with 1st rd grades and he’s willing to trade up for the right player if he’s in striking distance. So how many of those 21 players would be available at 15 If he’s trying to strengthen the team with a difference making player in a position of need. The key being 1st rd grade in a position of need. I don’t see him going inside the top 5 but I think he’s going to do it somewhere starting with pick 9. I think he would consider Bowers, Nabors , Odunze, and Turner as candidates for being the right player. I think he will move up for one of those players starting at pick 9 depending on how the draft falls. 19-21 is a small number and a number of those positions are not a position of need. Can’t see him waiting. I think he likes our secondary too. I think he told us he’s prepared to move up to try for a playmaker if he falls within striking distance. I think he’s going to do it.

Ballard uses the trade backs as his way of filling out the depth if you don't see him add many people in FA then you can almost bank on a trade back or two to fill roster holes

I've been telling y'all by things he has said previously and the way he handled FA what we would probably do.