Jared Cisneros

I was watching some old draft videos regarding the Colts 2018 draft on youtube, and I saw an interesting comment in the comments section. This is the video first. In the comments section there is a 3 comment conversation started by Captain Luck. It says: Captain Luck9 months ago (edited) Harold Landry was red flagged....bet. Josh Jackson was red flagged. Derius Guice was red flagged. Those are my guesses. Ballard went for the best player available with the best leadership and character. That's how the Cubs built it and Ballard is taking that same approach. If nothing else, he wants a locker room he can be proud of even if he's not drafting the guys other teams would based on talent. Exactly what the Pacers did too and look how well that worked out. Jason Spears9 months ago Justin Pelkey if that's the case, it makes much more sense. Captain Luck9 months ago Jason Spears I'm not sure but Ballard said that 45 prospects were automatically red flagged due to lack of scheme fit, lack of maturity/character, and injury history. I think that's why some of the picks lool like reaches. He was really strict about the type of player he was letting in the organization. I forget the Cubs GM name, but Ballard read his book last summer. The Cubs GM did the exact same thing. He looked at unique traits but more importantly brought in proven leaders. Ballard appears to be taking the same approach. We'll have to wait and see if it works. I thought this was very interesting as I'm not sure if he purposely is following the Theo Epstein model or if that's out of coincidence. The most telling thing is that he red flagged 45 prospects due to lack of scheme fit, maturity/character, and injury history. I knew GM's did this to an extent, but Ballard is apparently very picky, to the extent that he just wants certain guys even if he isn't getting value. It's not just about BPA or need with him. It's about getting the exact guys he feels comfortable with at certain positions. I can only imagine how few guys that he's willing to take when it's our pick. I couldn't find an article saying this info was 100% true, but no one said he was wrong either, and it makes sense. Just thought some people here might think this was interesting regarding Ballard, and it might reveal some of his drafting secrets that we can build mocks off of to emulate him.

There is something to team-chemistry for sure. Having the right coaches, the right schemes, and even the right teammates. I remember I said Ballard avoids character concerns almost completely in the draft, so the only way they can bust is a lack of talent, or injury-wise. Very good strategy if you are a great talent-scout. Ballard has proven to do well in that area so far.

Agreed. Ballard seems to have a viable strategy. He drafts high character guys who are captains, and last year, he filled our needs. I'm guessing he will go BPA early once again, and fill out the rest with a smaller list of preferable guys as his list dwindles in the later rounds. He will be tested this year with a later pick in each round, but he has earned my trust, and we'll see what he decides to do.

I actually thought this thread would be about having the 32nd pick in the first round of the NFL draft. That would ensure that the player would have a 5th year option for us as opposed to the 34th pick or later picks, where we only have 4 year contracts.

Maybe Jachai Polite will fall or even Devin White. There's some decent options at the #13 spot. Not sure if Montez Sweat is worth the #13 pick, but he might be with the combine and pro day coming up.

If DeAndre Baker falls past Denver, I wouldn't mind trading pick #26 and Brissett to the Dolphins in order to acquire him. That would be a deal both teams might agree to if the Dolphins are indeed interested.

Having faith without knowing why is "blind faith". At least when I supported certain picks that Grigson chose (like Dorsett), it was because I thought they were good and I was wrong. It wasn't because Grigson was our GM and I felt an obligation that I had to "follow" his every move. He did have 3 straight winning years and advanced further each time, but it became apparent by the end of 2014 that his drafting and FA signings were poor (besides the early part of the 2012 draft), and Luck was carrying the team. Luck got hurt afterward, but it's not like Grigson's drafting or FA signings got better. We were a team carried by Luck and the previous regimes players from 2012-2016. I didn't notice it completely until after the Pats AFC Championship game where we were completely outmatched, but I did notice poor patterns before that (especially missing on 1st round picks). I'm just saying that the people who say that Ballard knows more than other "armchair GM's" would also say the same about Grigson, so they were merely guessing and were right on Ballard just like they were wrong about Grigson with "blind faith". I don't know, that line just bugs me a lot. Most people who say that also don't predict ahead of time who is good and who isn't, they are extremists in an either positive or negative way, and both are poor viewpoints IMO. Ok, rant over!

TBF, I don't blame a lot of people for thinking that after what we went through with Grigson, and then seeing players that they didn't recognize. I only knew this class was good because I knew the players and was positive on most of them. It wasn't because of blind faith in Ballard at the time. If it was pure blind faith for people on here, then they probably had the same blind faith in Grigson for the first 3 or 4 years until it was obvious he couldn't draft. We're just fortunate we have a good GM now that has a plan for this team.

This was a historical draft Colts-Wise. The next draft won't be quite as effective because of the improved roster, but I still believe we can get 3-4 starters out of it and some depth pieces. Ballard is in a good position this year as well with an extra 2nd and 4th. The true test will be picking late in each round. However, imagine picks 26 and 34 as being like Leonard and Smith all over again, and we can still have another great draft.

Adam Humphries. We need a WR and Ballard will lock him up early IMO.

Well, he turned 23 in December. That's old for a player that hasn't entered the NFL yet. Besides that he's young as a person.

I think Ballard needs to do what he can to try and obtain Christian Wilkins. He's a little old at 23 right now, but he's still good for 10 years for us. After that we can go BPA.

Yeah, it takes awhile to settle down and learn, especially for the guys. I really wasn't a huge womanizer. I've only had 4 girlfriends in my life tbh. Money was a huge problem for me, and I had to figure that out the hard way. Was an only child, so I've always been selfish as well. Used to getting everything from my parents at a young age, and when that stopped, it upset me. I played online poker at 18 until it became illegal in the U.S. to fund myself, and I started spending it irresponsibly until I stopped playing. Now that I'm older, I know the value of money and am more grown up than my younger days. Sometimes life has to hit you hard for it to happen.

Agreed. I never really started maturing until a few years ago (when I was 28). I never smoked, drank, did drugs or partied, but I was very immature, got into a lot of fights, and was irresponsible financially. It clicked a few years ago and I'm happy it did. Much better when you have security and goals in your life. Now I know what I want to accomplish, and I'm very disciplined in my approach. Most people don't reach this until they are at least 21.

I still think he doesn't yell enough and is too nerdy lol. He has a deep voice, so he may not even be yelling when he says this, he may just be talking in his deep, dad voice. Also, Luck is too nerdy!