shasta519

Yep. Blackmon is a huge liability in pass coverage, which seems to go overlooked.

The transfer portal is mostly just disappointment.

That looks like a steal. All-SEC and not even drafted?

He’s a better athlete for sure. I am not saying that Brent’s isn’t a better prospect either. Just talking about outcomes.

True. But I think to be a 9.99, everything should be there.

I wouldn’t consider Sherman an elite athlete. He was a great CB though. Not saying Brent’s can’t be one with that speed, but it’s tough. He will have to get much better at press coverage, like Sherman was.

I did qualify it with “overly successful” My point was more that it was predictable

All I am saying it’s much more likely he is Brandon Facyson than Stephen Gilmore. I wouldn’t say I’m not a fan. I am lukewarm. But it does make for a good story.

This is where I have some beef with RAS scores. No way this Brents guy is an elite athlete with that speed. I think RAS scores put a lot of weight into size at a position as well. But the Colts sure seem to like it.

It was that way last year as well. Chris over at Stampede Blue has predicted a lot of Colts picks in recent years, likely because of the RAS scores. Banogu, Paye, Pierce, Woods, Raimann, AR and Brents Ballard has shifted from unpredictable to very predictable. We have also yet to see this dependency on traits be overly successful.

More like a Facyson replacement. Gilmore was a far better NFL player.

I love the Indy connection. But I think I might share some of the same concerns. He’s basically Marvell Tell with an extra step. I look at other CBs Ballard has taken (Wilson and Rock), and for some reason, none of them seem to be fast (except Rodgers). And like those two, he’s a potential liability in man coverage and scheme-dependent. Plus, he’s a bit on the older side…much like Rock was. I don’t know…just seems like a bit of a reach. I am just going to swap Downs and Brents in my head, so it makes more sense.

I can separate my concerns for the AR pick with how I feel about the rest of the draft. We knew it was always going to be AR or Levi’s anyways, so it wasn’t a surprise. Was really excited to see who they were after on Day 2 and 3.

Dude has great hands, but I would also say that part of that is because Maye throws a great ball. Has so much touch and knows how to drop it in there. You can see it in just a handful of Downs clips. But the contested catch rate is awesome.

NE traded a R2 pick to get Welker. With how the WR position has evolved, all WR positions have become more valuable and coveted. Rising tide lifts all boats and all that. And teams now need to have at least 3 good WRs for each spot in their base 11 personnel packages. So naturally, even slot WRs are getting drafted earlier. Plus, I think Downs can some nice things in motion. Diversifying the skill set of the current WR group was a must.

Yep. I don’t see him as a burner in the NFL, though he can threaten from the slot. So I think the TY comps might be a bit off. I see him as a short-intermediate weapon with YAC ability. Something the Colts didn’t really have…since forever. Reminds me of a smaller Christian Kirk and I loved Kirk coming out of college. This wasn’t a particularly strong WR class, but to get a guy I had in my top 5 in R3 is excellent.

Same here. Knew Flowers was a pipe dream, but with Hyatt and Downs both on the board near their pick, I was getting excited.

Really like this pick, given the need at slot. This is also a different type of WR for Ballard to go after, which I really like. He has the college production. Also, if they scouted Downs, that means they saw what Maye can do haha. So if this upcoming season is a wash…

Definitely will see a CB at some point. I would love to see them just crush the OL depth. Grab Wypler, Jones AND Vorhees. Then they should be good for a bit. Really was hoping a TE or two fell, but that didn’t happen.

In Steichen’s “vertical” offense, Hurts threw 20+ yards downfield on 13.4% of the time, which led the NFL. The 18-20 short passes he will be expected to throw per game far outweigh the 3-4 deep passes he will be asked to do. On paper, he’s a risk in any NFL offensive scheme.

I actually wanted Hurts when PHI was tricking IND into taking Wentz. So I hope AR is that guy. But AR has 13-15 starts. By the time Hurts became the player he was this year, he had 60+ starts between NCAAF and the NFL…nearly 5 MORE years of experience. Not saying every QB has to have that much experience, but Hurts had a lot more. We’re basically assuming/projecting AR to make the leap in less than half the time…all at the NFL level too. With a meh roster. So Hurts really shouldn’t be used as a comp at this time. It’s not even fair to AR. Bottom line. We are going to see how patient and open-minded this fanbase is.

Except this is like drafting a player who shoot 30% from the floor and hoping he becomes MJ.

GMs as well. Ballard said verbatim “accuracy, no. 1.” Ballard also scolded Wentz for not “making layups” and then traded him. On field, Wentz had a lot of issues with mechanics and footwork, but also an actual track record.

Sure. But the laundry list of those who didn’t is much longer. Chasing outliers is risky business. But they know that. Steichen’s got this OC QB whisperer reputation right now. Now we get to find out.

If we are talking about accuracy, I definitely agree with you.