Colts select Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Nothing tells the whole story. That's why we're talking about everything (except contract value, which isn't relevant at #18). 

 

I agree with the bolded. 

 

Truth is, there was no consensus at that spot. Not here, not among media people, nowhere. Pundits were in love with mocking Decker, and he went at #16 (which is kind of a laugh, IMO, but whatever). Lately, the pick has been Eli Apple, who went 10th. Lawson has the shoulder. Jack has the knee. 

We must also keep in mind that Grigson's #1 pick this first year of his extension had to be a starter. He picked safe and I don't blame him. Had he gambled on an injured player or a red flag player and they busted I would venture to say it could be real ugly.  We also will never know what effect Irsay had on this pick. Irsay himself pointed out the O-line this off season.

[Lawrence Owen]

3 hours ago, MTC said:

I like Ryan Kelly.

 

But over Shaq Lawson and Myles Jack?

Hmm

Miles Jack still on the board.  I wander if Colts will offer away their 2nd and 4th for the 33rd pick and solidify 2 spots with 3 picks?

And getting Kelly IMO was their best move.  Way too much pressure comes from up the middle, and Kelly can move NT's in the run game, and He get to the second level.   Awesome pick.

[Superman]

Just now, crazycolt1 said:

We must also keep in mind that Grigson's #1 pick this first year of his extension had to be a starter. He picked safe and I don't blame him. Had he gambled on an injured player or a red flag player and they busted I would venture to say it could be real ugly.  We also will never know what effect Irsay had on this pick. Irsay himself pointed out the O-line this off season.

 

He absolutely played it safe. I never expected an injury flagged player or a character concern player at #18. Maybe at #48, but I knew they wanted to come out of the first round with a "clean" guy.

 

Irsay kind of telegraphed this pick with his contest question a few weeks ago. I think it was 'what position have the Colts never drafted in the first round,' and the answer was center. I didn't think much of it then, but now I'm wondering...

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

He absolutely played it safe. I never expected an injury flagged player or a character concern player at #18. Maybe at #48, but I knew they wanted to come out of the first round with a "clean" guy.

 

Irsay kind of telegraphed this pick with his contest question a few weeks ago. I think it was 'what position have the Colts never drafted in the first round,' and the answer was center. I didn't think much of it then, but now I'm wondering...

Stands to reason if you thoroughly think about it. I have no problem with the pick. After losing a #1 last year, this is a good thing IMO.

[AZColt11]

I'm more than good with it.  Sure, I wanted an edge rusher first but if this guy turns out to be the next Saturday how can you not like it?  I would love to see us get either Ogbah or Calhoun next.

[krunk]

I wouldn't be surprised to see them still add Whitehair or Seumalo to compete with or Replace Thornton for that Guard position.  Probably more like Seumalo because I think they are probably looking for somebody that is a really solid player that can sit behind Thornton, while also being able to take over the position if necessary. I suppose you could go with Whitehair, but Thornton won't have much room for error until Whitehair takes that over. Plus I think Whitehair will be gone by our pick at 48.

[RockThatBlue]

2 hours ago, coltsfanatic24 said:

Im livid right now. We had a chance to get a great defensive player and Grigson played it safe. 

I really hope you're just being sarcastic. No one could be this ridiculous I hope...

[NewColtsFan]

11 minutes ago, Lawrence Owen said:

Miles Jack still on the board.  I wander if Colts will offer away their 2nd and 4th for the 33rd pick and solidify 2 spots with 3 picks?

And getting Kelly IMO was their best move.  Way too much pressure comes from up the middle, and Kelly can move NT's in the run game, and He get to the second level.   Awesome pick.

 

Unfortunately, our 2 and our 4 will not get us the 33rd pick.     Not even close.

 

Our 4 is worth 62 points.    That moves us up only 6 spots.    From 48 to 42.    That's all.

 

If you want to go to the top of the round,  you have to give up our 3.     Do you REALLY want to do that?

 

I sure don't.......

 

[Yoshinator]

What's also so great about this pick is, is that it leaves us in position to take almost any other player we want tomorrow. Even Nick Martin can play Guard. We can literally go BPA at 48 and not have to worry about taking doubles at a position. Whitehair might be available and we can get the best Guard in the draft along with the best Center. We can get Spriggs if we wanted at Tackle. McKensie Alexander at CB, Andrew Billings at DT, Kevin Dodd at DE, Myles Jack or Jaylon Smith if we choose at ILB, Kamalei Correa at OLB. That's 8 options right there and only 1 of them has to fall to 48. Going to be an exciting day 2, especially in round 2!

[Yoshinator]

19 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Unfortunately, our 2 and our 4 will not get us the 33rd pick.     Not even close.

 

Our 4 is worth 62 points.    That moves us up only 6 spots.    From 48 to 42.    That's all.

 

If you want to go to the top of the round,  you have to give up our 3.     Do you REALLY want to do that?

 

I sure don't.......

 

Depending on what is there at 42, it might be worth it to grab a 1st round quality pick, especially if we can trade down in round 3 and pick up an additional pick to make up for it. Someone like Dodd, Billings, or Whitehair could be huge.

[Yoshinator]

11 minutes ago, krunk said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see them still add Whitehair or Seumalo to compete with or Replace Thornton for that Guard position.  Probably more like Seumalo because I think they are probably looking for somebody that is a really solid player that can sit behind Thornton, while also being able to take over the position if necessary. I suppose you could go with Whitehair, but Thornton won't have much room for error until Whitehair takes that over. Plus I think Whitehair will be gone by our pick at 48.

There's a likely chance he'll be gone by 48, but there is so much talent left right now, it's probably like 40/60 he'll be there for us, and that's not horrible odds. This is one of the drafts where the talent is bottom heavy, and when I say that, I mean a lot of the players are lumped into the late 1st-early 2nd round talent and it could get taken a million different ways. 

[GOCOLTS_ROLLTIDE]

Roll tide!!..... go colts. .. I don't think he was bpa at all but I'm ok with this 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

1 hour ago, rockywoj said:

Am I the only person here that is sick and tired of all this incessant "BPA" baloney that so many trump as being inflexible gospel?

 

At pick 18,  do you BPA lemmings REALLY think that there is a definitive, substantial talent difference between players 15 to say 20 to 25?  There are at almost every spot in the draft a grouping of 5 players or more with very similar talent and prospect for success, and I strongly consider all this BPA talk as just the latest trendy fashion garbage talk.

 

TEAM building will always necessitate balancing BPA talk with well rounded roster needs.  

 

Regarding Kelly, IF what the "experts" are saying is true, that he's a day 1, 10 year starter that will spend the majority of his career playing at a Pro Bowl level, then all the BPA naysaying is utter lunacy.   On offense, OC and ROG are THE team's biggest offensive needs and if the evaluation on Kelly is correct, then you just solved what is arguably the team's biggest offensive need.

 

I have not heard ANY day 1, 10 year starter, perennial Pro Bowl level consensus talk about ANY defensive players available at 18th.  Rather, I heard a lot of speculative projections about players that might turn out to be good, or (in the case of Jack) consensus about talent, but that mitigated by strong health concerns.

 

BPA, pfft, trendy fashion.  

 

I am VERY pleased with the selection of Ryan Kelly!   Now I hope Noah Spence falls to the Colts in the 2nd round, but I am sure there are a lot of decent D prospects still to be had, so it's all looking A-OK to me so far.

+1

Someone had to say this, so thanks a lot! 

[akcolt]

52 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Go watch the tape of Kelly. Look for yourself. Just because you don't like a center taken in the first round the Colts though different. Before telling yourself a center is not worth a first round pick go look at the history of centers taken in the first round. All 6 ended up being pro bowl players. A center is a premium position when you have a premium player playing center.

I have watched Kelly I'm saying I'm not seeing the future pro bowl player everyone else is. I think he is the top C there and I agree C is our biggest need by a country mile. I also think Martin and Seumola are closer to Kelly than most. I am an ND fan so I've seen a lot of Martin.

 

He's who we took I hope he is as advertised. The fact that he's from Alabama and the hype surrounding him make me nervous. He has a history of knee injuries no one talks about. He is praised as a great run blocker. He doesn't jump out at me in the run game. It doesn't feel right. 

 

After looking at the board I feel a little better about what's left. A lot of Offense came off in round 1. If Billings falls to 48 that would be great. That's who I would have grabbed at 18. 

[Yoshinator]

7 minutes ago, GOCOLTS_ROLLTIDE said:

Roll tide!!..... go colts. .. I don't think he was bpa at all but I'm ok with this 

He probably wasn't, but there wasn't a definitive BPA left either after Tunsil went. You could argue Lawson or Jackson III, but they aren't unanimous on every GM's ranks. Kelly was probably the right choice in a situation like this.

[esmort]

20 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I ask again, who was?

 

What player who was picked after Kelly represented a better pick on the basis of BPA?

 

I don't know how the Colts would have stacked the board if they were purely going on talent ... but personally I out of who was taken after our pick I definitely would have taken Lawson (even with the shoulder), depending on how much of a gambler I felt like maybe Nkemdiche ; (if I were a BIG gambler Jack)... Doctson (if you were stacking on talent alone) not that I wanted another WR.  And players I might have picked that weren't like Billings, Spence, Alexander, etc .. that may or may not be there for our second pick.

 

Ideally I would have picked Lawson or traded down. 

[crazycolt1]

I think this BPA or draft need is way over blown. Too much attention is being paid attention to it when it doesn't mean that much. A GM will make his board according to the BPA with needs in mind when making the board. Sometimes BPA or need has nothing to do with a pick. The GM just liked him or had a hunch or gamble on a certain player. The only sure fire draft is if you could use hindsight, and that's not happening.

[Superman]

6 minutes ago, esmort said:

 

I don't know how the Colts would have stacked the board if they were purely going on talent ... but personally I out of who was taken after our pick I definitely would have taken Lawson (even with the shoulder), depending on how much of a gambler I felt like maybe Nkemdiche ; (if I were a BIG gambler Jack)... Doctson (if you were stacking on talent alone) not that I wanted another WR.  And players I might have picked that weren't like Billings, Spence, Alexander, etc .. that may or may not be there for our second pick.

 

Ideally I would have picked Lawson or traded down. 

 

Can't we pick apart each one of them?

 

Nkemdiche and Jack weren't going to happen, and I think we all knew it. It's easy to be okay with Lawson's shoulder when you aren't being judged on his ability to stay on the field, and I don't think his shoulder issue was really known publicly before he was picked; the last I heard about his shoulder before the draft was that his medical recheck was clean, and now he needs surgery. Billings, Spence and Alexander are still there now, and there are others close to them, so it's hard to take complaints about them seriously (and that's before I talk about my personal opinion of Billings and Alexander -- not a great fan -- or Spence's issues). 

 

That really kind of leaves us with Doctson or a trade down. Or the damaged Lawson.

 

I don't think there was anything clear and obvious about who to pick here. The worst thing anyone says about Kelly is that 'you don't take centers in the first round,' or 'Grigson played it safe.' I had him at around 30th, taking him at #18 is a reach. But I didn't like the board anyways, and have been saying it for weeks. I would have liked Lawson, but the shoulder is a problem, especially for a team that really needs this draft to go well.

[COLTS449]

Now please let the following happen.....

 

2 Noah Spence

3 Christian Westerman

4 Jonathan Williams

5 Scooby Wright

7 Tyler Higbee

[COLTS449]

How could you not get excited about thinking about this offensive below?????

 

Castanzo-Mewhort-Kelly-Westerman-Good......With Reitz and Thornton as solid backups.

 

That could be an elite, top 3 or 4 line.

[Lawrence Owen]

1 minute ago, COLTS449 said:

How could you not get excited about thinking about this offensive below?????

 

Castanzo-Mewhort-Kelly-Westerman-Good......With Reitz and Thornton as solid backups.

 

That could be an elite, top 3 or 4 line.

or whitehair.....

[ClaytonColt]

Kelly is obviously decent and a definite upgrade on Holmes or Harrison but he certainly doesn't scream perennial pro-bowler to me from his tape. I've never seen him do a single thing which is out of the ordinary, if I've missed them I wouldn't mind then being pointed out. It's all just a bit mundane.

 

I've seen quite a few posts saying that early round centers have an excellent record of getting to the pro-bowl. That's nice, however what's their record like of winning the superbowl? 

 

 

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, ClaytonColt said:

Kelly is obviously decent and a definite upgrade on Holmes or Harrison but he certainly doesn't scream perennial pro-bowler to me from his tape. I've never seen him do a single thing which is out of the ordinary, if I've missed them I wouldn't mind then being pointed out. It's all just a bit mundane.

 

I've seen quite a few posts saying that early round centers have an excellent record of getting to the pro-bowl. That's nice, however what's their record like of winning the superbowl? 

 

 

Winning a super bowl is a team issue. As far as I can tell every super bowl winner had a center.

[ClaytonColt]

11 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Winning a super bowl is a team issue. As far as I can tell every super bowl winner had a center.

Of course they do. 

 

I'm just pointing out that having a pro-bowl, 1st round center, seems mainly to be the domain of pretty poor teams. It's not quite the sign of success I'd be looking for and the 'guarantee' of having an all-pro guy in that position doesn't look to be a big deal.

 

In 5 years time there will be little point celebrating the fact that Kelly's gone to another pro-bowl if there's a sixth round center holding the Lombardi aloft.

[GoColts8818]

I like the pick but I think I would have drafted Lawson either explored trading back into round one to get Kelly or targeted Martin from Notre Dame in round two.

 

with that said its hard to be upset with them protecting Andrew Luck and addressing their biggest hole on the line.  If Kelly pans out they will have two first rounders starting up front with a second rounder, while that doesn't mean much in terms of performance it does show they are getting serious about addressing the line.

 

As it stands now the have AC, Mewhort, Kelly and then probably some combination of Good and Reitz upfront.  Reitz has proven to be solid.  If Good can be decent and Kelly pans out that's a pretty good oline.

 

i said before the draft if the Colts fixed the center spot the line would drastically improve.  Hopefully they have done that and now the line will improve.

[BOTT]

4 hours ago, SP_21 said:

You're right. And we could have used one of our 6 other picks on a center. 

 

Im not furious over the pick. I think Kelly is a fine player but he was not a good value and Luck has hurt himself as much as the O-line has let him down. 

This gets so old

[GoColts8818]

4 hours ago, coltsfanatic24 said:

Im livid right now. We had a chance to get a great defensive player and Grigson played it safe. 

After a season of people killing Grigrson for not protecting Luck and mocking Grigson for not fixing the line and Grigson goes out and addresses the lines biggest weakness and people are mad...  Proof no matter what you do you won't make everyone happy.

 

i get the argument for Lawson I truly do.  However, this team has proven if you keep Andrew Luck healthy it can win at a high level in the playoffs even with a bit of a shaky defense.  So it's hard for me to get mad at them for protecting the most important player on the roster and guy they are about to make the richest player in NFL history.  

[southwest1]

5 hours ago, bababooey said:

Played in 46 college games, started 40, lost 5. Committed one penalty last season. One. Fox sports had him as their most underrated player of the draft. 5 of the last 6 OL taken in the first round were pro bowlers in 3 years.

 

I was very nervous as Goodell approached the podium, more nervous than when I proposed two weeks ago (don't tell my Giants fan fiancé that!) but I am pretty happy!!!

Happy for your bababooey! A NY Giants fan to boot. Nice. Both of you obviously have superb team tastes.

5 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

Not getting your qb killed also wins championships.  

Amen to that. Hey Jvan, don't forget to write about your day 2 draft day experience in a thread once you return from the "Windy City" too. I always enjoy reading about in person NFL experiences & your slant on things. 

3 hours ago, MrNLM said:

No draft party...that is different.

 

Seems comfortable with the media at first glance.

 

First thing I notice is his confidence and intelligence.

 

Much like Luck, he is not a good lookin' fellah... so they already have something in common.

 

 

Great bring your lunch pale to work center. Ryan isn't about false bravado just learning the playbook & proving his worth from day 1. Finally, Andrew is protected & our ground game should dramatically improve. Good.  

3 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Nah, the center only touches the ball 100% of all offensive snaps. He only protects the QB from up the middle. (in case you didn't notice Luck was hit and sacked more up the middle than anywhere). The center plays a huge part in pulling to block for the running game. ( oh by the way the Colts haven't had a running game since Saturday left). Kelly runs a 40 in less than 5 seconds. So yes he is a premium player IMO.

I couldn't agree more CC1. A nice counter argument to the fools who thought INDY picked the wrong athlete at #18. How anybody could complain about Kelly boggles the mind doesn't it? LOL! Well done Grigs. No issues with taking a premier center from my perspective. I voice my displeasure against Grigs a lot, but tonight SW1 must give our GM his props. Good work! 

[Lawrence Owen]

I understand pass rush is a need.  O-line also is.  No guarantee's on anyone..just educated guess's made after a TON or research by professional researchers.

Colts needed a center,..Kelly seems to be the best in the draft.  Yes, you can get a 6th round Center...(you could also grab  one from Arena..or UFA), but the best bet is on the top one you've done the research on.

Don't forget, protecting Luck is not the only issue...Running the ball effectively also is.  and we are a 'between-the-tackles' running team..so the up-the-middle running style starts at Center.  We kill 2 birds, one stone.  Run the ball effectively, set up play action, and protect him when he drop back.

I would not have been happier if Colts had gotten Bosa, or Tunsil.  A need is filled, and we move on to the next step. 

[GoDeep]

FWIW, I've been on this board in its various forms for over 10 years.  This is the first time it does not look like this after round one:

 

 

I think this pick was correct.  Welcome Kelly!

[stitches]

 

[Lawrence Owen]

9 minutes ago, stitches said:

 

 

[southwest1]

3 hours ago, krunk said:

Just no way I can complain about the Kelly pick. The guy is very solid, and he'll be a huge asset in opening up holes for our running game along with being a huge asset in getting Luck protected.  Plus with more information on him I've learned he can also play guard for us if we ever asked him to and I like his size at 6'5". Not many centers can do all of that for your football team.  When you compare that to some of the things that the other defenders offered I can somewhat see why Kelly would be considered as BPA by Grigson and Staff.  Yeah I had my mind set on something else, but we still picked up a very good football player and that's all I ask. 

That's why I like reading your posts Krunk. Not only are they well thought out; You don't condemn a pick simply because Grigs didn't take the guy you wanted initially. A lot of fans pout, spew venom, or lose their minds if they believe a catastrophic mistake has been made like GoDeep stated above. 

 

No head scratch moment in round 1 for INDY. Sweet. Let's hope this euphoric sensation continues in subsequent rounds tomorrow. Knock on wood. 

 

I was kind of disappointed that Sean O'hara on post NFL Total Access coverage didn't talk about our new toy in Ryan Kelly since he played the same position & I respect him as a football evaluator. Oh well. I was looking forward to his 2 cents on Kelly though. 

[our_dbs_rock]

23 minutes ago, Lawrence Owen said:

 

 

 

[colts8718]

7 hours ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I am pleased with this pick.  Good job Griggson! Yeah I just said that. I have no problems giving him props when he shows some common sense.   

AMEN

[SteelCityColt]

So... where do we start? Of course you never expect one and all to agree on the pick but at least it's not quite the meltdown of last year. 

 

Maybe he wasn't the most talented player available at 18, nor grades as being worthy of 18. If we were really set on Kelly or there wasn't anyone available they felt happy drafting at 18 trading down would seem the correct move. We don't know if there were any willing partners though and even if there was if you like Kelly a lot there's a chance that someone else nabs him. 

 

Yes it's a "safe" pick in lots of ways, a player with no red flags, considered a good talent by all but not a sexy position. Do you blame Grigson in some ways given the offseason? It's seems at least there was an unity between Owner/GM/Coach for this pick unlike last year. 

Regarding Jack, once the news about his knee broke I'm not surprised plummeted, the lesson of Clowney rings strong still. 

 

I mean you can't have it both way people, you can't nay say BPA and preach drafting for need and then complain when the FO fills a need. You can rightly be angry at the standard of our Oline the last few years but then can't moan when we take steps to address it. Building a line has to start somewhere and (Cherilus aside) the budget options just haven't worked out. The Cowboys have shown if you want a really good line you've got to invest in it for the long term. 

 

Overall not a pick that's going to get you excited, but if Kelly lives up to his base expectation and is a solid starter for at least his Rookie contract we're in a much better position that we have been. At least the vast majority agree he's a good player.... 

[SteelCityColt]

Also if I hear one more comparison between Kelly/Luck to Manning/Saturday...... !

[bayone]

THIS is a solid pick, just not sexy

[crestmount]

If you wanted sexy, you draft a cheerleader.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

This pick has Irsay written all over it, and I for one is actually excited about it.

 

Irsay have been talking very clearly about how the O-line during the Manning years put a high pride in "nobody touches #18!". He might also have been implying the Manning-Saturday bond, but I'm not sure about that. Anyway, I think that he clearly had enough of Grigson's failing approach of trying to get an O-line on the cheap.

 

There were also reports that Irsay talked to Saban in December and everybody assumed that was about the HC job, but maybe Irsay touched in Ryan Kelly too during the meeting.

 

It is important to note that Irsay clearly has taken on a more patient approach to the SB journey, so I think that this draft is more about building for the future than for getting a SB team patched together in a hurry.

 

My gut feeling is that we will get a guard to  and that pass rushing might not be fully addressed before the next draft.