Colts draft grade

[IndyScribe]

I'd give it an A or A-. 

[Jay Kirk]

3 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

 

Hahhaha I told my buddy who is a Bears fan thanks as well. 

Well Lol I'm a Bears fan after the Colts and I say thank you as well , I also say that pick for QB that high was not well thought out.Think they are do for a new GM as well.

 

[ColtsFanMikeC]

On 4/30/2017 at 6:04 AM, ThorstenDenmark said:

Hooker, Mack and Basham = A+ and A & A

They can instantly contribute and make a difference from day 1 and some very good picks.

 

Wilson = B+

I like the pick, but there were other players I liked better than him at #46.

But we need a stud corner, and I hope he can become one for us.

 

"Bruce" (Zach) Banner = C

He's big, but I'm not sold on this pick.

 

Grover Stewart = C

Again a pick that I dont really know what to expect from. He has great upside, but I'm not entirely sold on this pick.

 

Nate Hairston and Walker Jr. = C-

Players for competition 

 

I think Hooker will really add to this secondary and team overall -- his presence as a center fielder will allow for us to be creative with how we use Green, Geathers and Butler (I will not be shocked to see all 4 on the field at the same time when we're playing teams like New England with Allen and Gronk -- we can now move Green and Geathers up to put big, athletic bodies on the TEs as hybrid dime LB/nickel CBs/safeties and have Butler and Hooker roaming around in the back).  He's still a little raw, but every draft board out there had him going between 5-7 overall, we got a steal here: A/A+

 

Wilson has tremendous size for a CB (6'1" 211 lbs) and has very good ball skills.  His knock is speed (he runs a 4.54 which is really pretty good for a CB his size) and his  lack of fluidity at times.  He plays with a lot of confidence and has ability to be a solid starting NFL CB.  I expect him to start from day 1, which is good for a 2nd rounder.  I think this was a pick which filled a glaring hole and which will improve our team: A-/A

 

Tarell Basham has solid NFL size for a 3-4 OLB at 6'4" 270 lbs.  He needs some work as an NFL pass rusher, but he put up very solid numbers with a raw game at Ohio.  He also doesn't seem to shy away from contact and I think he can develop into a better version of Walden for us (in time, not right away) in terms of setting the edge and providing some pass rush.  The pick filled a need and he's got a lot of upside, but I don't think he's going to come in and set the world on fire right away: B-/B

 

Banner is huge, but like others have said he seems to have some speed/agility/balance issues.  He seems too slow for an NFL tackle and almost too tall for guard.  He did play well in a good conference, though and I have no doubt he could be a road-grader at RG.  Has to maintain a healthy weight to avoid from getting too slow for the league.  Regardless, I think he makes the team and can provide good depth and perhaps contribute early in his career in short-yard/goal-line situations: C+

 

Marlon Mack, IMO, was the best RB on the board at this point (maybe Brian Hill).  He's got great lateral movement and can run with power.  He's got good size, but needs to learn how to utilize it a little better (good thing he gets to learn from one of the best ever at doing that in Frank Gore).  He has pretty good hands and can be a receiving threat.  We needed to add a RB, though we don't need him to be a major contributor this year.  Gore is going to need to be replaced after this season and Turbin should be a solid back-up if Mack needs a little time to develop.  Overall, I think he has plenty of potential to contribute in year 1 as a role-player to take some heat off 33 year old Gore and potential to be a starter in this league after the HOFer hangs them up: B/B+

 

Grover Stewart has NFL size and a world of potential.  He had 27 sacks (granted against D-2 competition) which is pretty impressive for a big guy like him.  He likely has ability to play NT or DT, and with the addition of Al Woods and Johnathan Hankins we aren't going to need him to be a major contributor on day 1.  With Parry's legal issues, and (IMO) limited potential from TY McGill (I like TY, just don't think we'll see much more from him than we've already seen), I think Stewart has a legitimate shot at making our roster this year.  I don't expect him to be a major contributor right away, but think he can make the team be valuable as a rotational guy as a rookie and has a lot of upside 2-3 years into the league.  Not a total need pick, but never hurts to add competition to the DL especially with Parry's legal issues, uncertainty of Langford's recovery, and the potential upside: C

 

Nate Hairston has good size at 6'0" and 196 lbs.  They say he never gets beat deep, which is a good thing.  He's still a little raw, but if Quincy Wilson works out and Vontae stays healthy, we won't need him for much more than STs this year.  I think he can be a solid back-up CB in this league, will provide good competition at camp and ultimately make the roster.  I like this pick, especially since we desperately needed to at least bring competition to camp at CB (after Vontae I wasn't too thrilled with anyone on our roster being a true 2 or 3 CB).  With the addition of Hooker, we still have the option at playing Butler in the slot as our nickel CB.  Overall, I think Hairston will make the roster as a 5th round pick and has a lot of upside at a position of dire need for the Colts.  I like the fact he played WR prior to making a late transition to CB, seems like Ballard is going for guys who can create turnovers/catch the ball in the secondary: B-

 

Anthony Walker Jr. has solid size, though I keep reading he has trouble moving when he adds strength and trouble tackling when he drops weight to improve his movement.  May not be the best athlete, but was a productive player in a pretty good conference.  ILB was certainly a position of concern for the Colts going into the draft and they at least got a guy here who will come in and compete for a roster spot.  He seems to be a team-first player and a guy who makes others around him better.  My concern for most of our ILBs is most of them seem to have a lack of athleticism/range problem (aside from Spence and maybe Jackson, though I'm not sure either of them are the long-term answer for us).  I think Walker Jr. has a strong shot at competing for a roster spot (which is pretty good considering he was our last draft pick) and perhaps a chance to contribute to this defense as a rookie (we don't know how Bostic's recovered from injury, Luke Rhoades is likely not a long-term NFL player, Morrison wasn't terribly impressive at LB as a rookie, we don't know how Spence will fair in our system, and Jackson was fun to watch last year but I wouldn't consider him an elite ILB by any means).  Overall, I like the pick though I still think ILB is one of the weakest positions on the team: C

 

Overall, I think Ballard found some top talent (with some luck of dropping players) and think we'll see at least 6 of our 8 picks on our opening day roster, which is quite good.  There are a few UDFAs who intrigue me (Darrell Daniels TE, Garrett Sickels DE being the main two, though I don't know enough about several of the RBs, WRs or DBs).  He addressed several positions of need and has seemingly upgraded the roster in several key areas.  Time will tell how this all works out, but with additions of several free-agents plus this draft class I think our defense will undoubtedly be improved next year.  We still have (IMO) a little concern at TE and LB (though, I think we'll see Geathers, Green, Butler and Hooker used very creatively this year to address that issue) and maybe a little with OL depth.  I will give Ballard an A-/A for now.

[superrep1967]

On 4/30/2017 at 3:59 AM, I'm Negan said:

Probably the best overall draft since I been a fan.

And I'm not including 2012.

 

Yeah, maybe a little better than the 2013 draft don't you think?...lol

[JColts72]

B plus. 

[OLD FAN MAN]

i concur

[lollygagger8]

14 hours ago, Jay Kirk said:

Well Lol I'm a Bears fan after the Colts and I say thank you as well , I also say that pick for QB that high was not well thought out.Think they are do for a new GM as well.

 

 

Sorry for your loss ;) 

[HungarianColtsFan]

I'd say B+ or A-. It was a well executed draft, Ballard got our D reinforced with fresh blood. We still have needs to fill, but 1 FA+draft just isn't enough for filling all needs. We took a step forward this off-season, to say the least. 

[bleevit]

I like the fact that I don't see what Chris Ballard called "camp bodies" I see possible scenarios where every one of these draft picks could be solid contributors on this team. That is about all a GM can do realistically.

[Colt Overseas]

This is a breakdown of all the draft grades of all the main media outlets. On average we got a B+. We ranked 7th. I though it was pretty interesting. Not always you see Cleveland at the top!

 

 

[21isSuperman]

17 minutes ago, Colt Overseas said:

This is a breakdown of all the draft grades of all the main media outlets. On average we got a B+. We ranked 7th. I though it was pretty interesting. Not always you see Cleveland at the top!

Contrary to popular belief, The Browns have done a better job of drafting than they're given credit for.  Of course, it's easier to find good talent when you're always drafting in the top 10, but nonetheless....they've drafted Pro Bowlers and All Pros like Joe Thomas, Josh Cribbs (forget his Colts tenure), TJ Ward, Joe Haden, DQ Jackson (ditto what we said about Cribbs), Alex Mack, Josh Gordon, and Jordan Cameron.  They've also found some decent role players, like Jabaal Sheard.  Not to say they're the best drafting team in the league, but their drafting isn't as bad as its been made out to be.  Their busts are usually magnified and their hits are minimized because of their reputation.  They've also missed on the most important position: QB.

 

In 2013, they were tied for #1 in the league with most All Pro selections, and all five were guys they drafted

http://www.walb.com/story/24356890/browns-tie-for-nfl-lead-with-five-all-pro-selections

 

[stitches]

My grades:

 

Round 1: Malik Hooker | A+ | no. 3 player on my big board. Fell to us, Ballard scooped him. Could hardly imagine the first round falling any better than this. We got a blue chip talent at 15. Now we need to coach him up and keep him healthy and he will crush the league.

Round 2: Quincy Wilson | B+ | Not my favorite, but fits the criteria Ballard outlined for what he wants from his DBs. Good press-corner, should be starting day 1.

Round 3: Tarell Basham | C+ | Right now I'm not seeing it with Basham, I don't see how he wins in the league, he has some burst, but doesn't have the bend, doesn't have advanced moves, doesn't have the power to win. I think he can be a rotational pass-rusher, but I think we missed on a potential beast in Derek Rivers or Carl Lawson, who were on the board at the time. I hope I'm wrong on this one.

Round 4.1: Zach Banner | C- | I don't see it with Banner either. I think his lack of speed gets abused in the league. We will have to rely on him dropping weight being the key to improved mobility. Right now I can't see how he will ever see the field and be successful at his current levels of athleticism/movement.

Round 4.2: Marlon Mack | A- | I think we needed a different dimension to our running back core. He's a scat back with big play ability. He's explosive and covers one of our biggest weaknesses from last year - explosive run plays. I love the pick. Right now he will probably be a change of pace RB, but I see some potential for more in the future.

Round 4.3. Grover Stewart | A- | At this point of the draft, I'm all in on betting on big upside guys with great tools and athleticism. Stewart is exactly this - he will need to be coached up, but the way he moves for his size is insane. Will need to get stronger, will need to learn technique... but if it all clicks for him.... damn, we might have a steal at this point of the draft.

Round 5.1 Nate Hairston | ?? | I don't know enough about him to evaluate it.

Round 5.2. Anthony Walker | B+ | I like this pick in the 5th round. I think he can be rotational player at first with potential to start in the future. I wonder if they will ask him to drop his weight to his 2015 level, when he seemed even more athletic? I think I like Walker better than Morrison long-term. Good pick.

 

Overall: I like our draft. I think we nailed the most important ones at the top of the draft. Because I think we could have done better with our middle picks, it's not going to be an A, but the Colts get an overall B+ grade from me.

 

 

[smittywerb]

On 5/1/2017 at 2:09 PM, Buck Showalter said:

Right Luck & Hilton are the only players left on the team from that draft class, but, directly following the draft everyone thought Grigs had hit the home run of all home runs... Allen & Fleener were going to be the most deadly TE tandem the league had ever seen, we got the steal of the draft in Grigsons "shrewd" trade to get TY, Ballard would be the feature running back, even Chapman was a great low risk/high reward pick, & Brazil was a good depth WR at the time...

 

So while I think Ballard had a solid draft it is too early to tell, hopefully 5 years from now, more than 2 of the picks are still contributors... 

 

I dont know, this draft feels different.  I agree with you however.  At that time, I agreed with every pick except for the back to back TEs.  Otherwise, I had good feelings about that draft.  

 

But with this draft, the thing that sticks out to me is that it is agreed upon everyone (outlets, writers, scouts, etc) that most of our picks were great value picks.  Like for example, everyone say that Hooker is a top 5 talent.  We really didn't get quotes like that with Grigson draft

[chrisfarley]

6 hours ago, stitches said:

My grades:

 

Round 1: Malik Hooker | A+ | no. 3 player on my big board. Fell to us, Ballard scooped him. Could hardly imagine the first round falling any better than this. We got a blue chip talent at 15. Now we need to coach him up and keep him healthy and he will crush the league.

Round 2: Quincy Wilson | B+ | Not my favorite, but fits the criteria Ballard outlined for what he wants from his DBs. Good press-corner, should be starting day 1.

Round 3: Tarell Basham | C+ | Right now I'm not seeing it with Basham, I don't see how he wins in the league, he has some burst, but doesn't have the bend, doesn't have advanced moves, doesn't have the power to win. I think he can be a rotational pass-rusher, but I think we missed on a potential beast in Derek Rivers or Carl Lawson, who were on the board at the time. I hope I'm wrong on this one.

Round 4.1: Zach Banner | C- | I don't see it with Banner either. I think his lack of speed gets abused in the league. We will have to rely on him dropping weight being the key to improved mobility. Right now I can't see how he will ever see the field and be successful at his current levels of athleticism/movement.

Round 4.2: Marlon Mack | A- | I think we needed a different dimension to our running back core. He's a scat back with big play ability. He's explosive and covers one of our biggest weaknesses from last year - explosive run plays. I love the pick. Right now he will probably be a change of pace RB, but I see some potential for more in the future.

Round 4.3. Grover Stewart | A- | At this point of the draft, I'm all in on betting on big upside guys with great tools and athleticism. Stewart is exactly this - he will need to be coached up, but the way he moves for his size is insane. Will need to get stronger, will need to learn technique... but if it all clicks for him.... damn, we might have a steal at this point of the draft.

Round 5.1 Nate Hairston | ?? | I don't know enough about him to evaluate it.

Round 5.2. Anthony Walker | B+ | I like this pick in the 5th round. I think he can be rotational player at first with potential to start in the future. I wonder if they will ask him to drop his weight to his 2015 level, when he seemed even more athletic? I think I like Walker better than Morrison long-term. Good pick.

 

Overall: I like our draft. I think we nailed the most important ones at the top of the draft. Because I think we could have done better with our middle picks, it's not going to be an A, but the Colts get an overall B+ grade from me.

 

 

our 3 and 4 picks were only C's.  Ouch.