Colts select Braden Smith OG at 37

[DougDew]

37 minutes ago, azcolt said:

Another GM who tries to be clever and reaches way down the board. Love the first round pick but these two are head scratchers for so high in second round.

I feel just the opposite.  Crappy value at 6 but great scheme fit and value at 36 and 37.  I didnt like the Hooker pick last year, but getting the CB in Wilson in round 2 made up for it.  Getting Leonard relieves my LB concerns, and now we only need one more athletic LB and a CB and we can field a defense.

[James]

1 minute ago, VaAllDay757 said:

What was the point of signing mewhort if we just drafted 2 guards? Smh

 

Maybe because both Mewhort and Slauson are both on one year contract, not to mention Mewhort too frequently injured.

 

Smh at your post.

[csmopar]

39 minutes ago, azcolt said:

Another GM who tries to be clever and reaches way down the board. Love the first round pick but these two are head scratchers for so high in second round.

 

35 minutes ago, ColtsAC said:

Totally agree.

I don't think that's the case at all. 

[DougDew]

40 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

Again another player I really like on the OL who can be a great OG or possibly RT, I just thought we could have gotten him a little later in the 2nd. 

I think the run on Gs were forcing his hand.  I think all the Gs in this draft so far have gone higher than the pundits projected, except Nelson of course.

[VaAllDay757]

1 minute ago, James said:

 

Maybe because both Mewhort and Slauson are both on one year contract, not to mention Mewhort too frequently injured.

 

Smh at your post.

We got saluson for depth if he makes the cut but mewhort is a walking injury I wouldn't have gave him a 1 year contract shake ya head elsewhere

[stitches]

He wasn't my favorite lineman left, but if they like him... continuing to strengthen the line is not a bad decision. 

[PowerballBlue]

Polian on the radio said that the Colts see him as a right tackle.  Super Nasty guard + super nasty tackle = happy Powerballblue. 

[stitches]

2 hours ago, azcolt said:

Another GM who tries to be clever and reaches way down the board. Love the first round pick but these two are head scratchers for so high in second round.

How come? This doesn't make sense. OG is no longer a pressing need(or a need at all really). Reaching is usually done when you ignore talent for needs. This is obviously talent-evaluation pick. Ballard probably had Smith ranked very high in order to pick him here.

 

Now you might not agree with his evaluation(I had him ranked as a 3d rounder, too) but IMO this definitely seems like a BPA pick. 

 

[cbear]

Wasn't too sure about this pick, but just got through watching several auburn games.  Now I'm loving it.  He simply dominates his man.  He's knocking guys off the line, not just holding them up.  I honestly didn't see any plays where I could say he got beat.  Imo he looked better than Nelson.  And these weren't flash plays either.  Color me excited now. 

Edited April 28, 2018 by cbear

[poilucelt]

4 hours ago, PowerballBlue said:

Polian on the radio said that the Colts see him as a right tackle.  Super Nasty guard + super nasty tackle = happy Powerballblue. 

IMO that's the only way picking Smith at #37 makes sense, when you've already used #6 on Nelson, signed Mewhort, and brought in Slauson--Ballard felt that, given his size and athleticism, Smith could in time become at least as good a RT as Williams, O'Neill or any of the other tackles in the draft

[Luck 4 president]

Ya I hope we try him at RT before RG. I think Slausen will do well at RG.

[krunk]

4 hours ago, PowerballBlue said:

Polian on the radio said that the Colts see him as a right tackle.  Super Nasty guard + super nasty tackle = happy Powerballblue. 

I guess Uncle Bill didnt see Ballards direct comments from his press conference. He said he wanted strong competition at the GUARD position. Smith isn't a Tackle.

[LilPooh2400]

53 minutes ago, CelticColt said:

IMO that's the only way picking Smith at #37 makes sense, when you've already used #6 on Nelson, signed Mewhort, and brought in Slauson--Ballard felt that, given his size and athleticism, Smith could in time become at least as good a RT as Williams, O'Neill or any of the other tackles in the draft

I think D Bond can play the G position!!! What y'all think?

[Yoshinator]

38 minutes ago, krunk said:

I guess Uncle Bill didnt see Ballards direct comments from his press conference. He said he wanted strong competition at the GUARD position. Smith isn't a Tackle.

Thank you. I've seen Braden Smith play, he will play RG for us opposite Nelson. He may start day 1 as well.

[rockywoj]

8 hours ago, Smonroe said:

 

He was the next best G available.  I watched him a lot down here in Bama, he’s a brawler.

 

I’m all for protecting the Franchise, even if some consider it a reach.  

Indeed ... 3rd graded OG prospect in 2017 by PFF

 

6. BRADEN SMITH, AUBURN – GUARD

Smith plays angry snap after snap, consistently playing to the whistle. He’s not the most natural of athletes, but his power in a phone booth is special. He finished 2017 as PFF’s third-highest graded guard.

[ColtsBlueFL]

14 hours ago, Fisticuffs111 said:

This guys a good talent. I wouldn’t have minded going elsewhere but now we should have a really good line, or at least we better.

 

We’re giving DeGugs a lot of talent.

Colts potential starting O line-

 

Anthony Castonzo  Round 1 pick #22
Ryan Kelly  Round 1 pick #18
Quenton Nelson  Round 1 pick #6
Braden Smith  Round 2 pick #37

 

If Luck is sacked the most in the NFL again, I'm laying blame in a different direction, for sure.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Look, Ballard might also just look ahead here: He might not be convinced that we will be able to get a starting Guard in next year’s draft, or he thinks that the price of quality Guards are going to skyrocket. This might be a preemptive strike too.

 

It is all about taking advantage of the opportunities that presents themselves.

[stitches]

Braden Smith was very highly ranked by PFF, 3d ranked guard:

 

 

[John Waylon]

16 hours ago, JColts72 said:

Better players were there.

 

You’re not wrong. It’s also... interesting... as far as Mewhort is concerned. Only one can have the spot beyond this season. Unless maybe we have plans for someone to slide out to RT and open an interior spot? I doubt that’s the case but time will tell. 

 

It wasn’t a bad pick by any means, but in terms of pure BPA strategy there were definitely other options to consider with the pick. 

[stitches]

Here's another one from an ex-NFL O-lineman:

 

 

[JColts72]

1 hour ago, John Waylon said:

 

You’re not wrong. It’s also... interesting... as far as Mewhort is concerned. Only one can have the spot beyond this season. Unless maybe we have plans for someone to slide out to RT and open an interior spot? I doubt that’s the case but time will tell. 

 

It wasn’t a bad pick by any means, but in terms of pure BPA strategy there were definitely other options to consider with the pick. 

A nice objective post by u. At least u not blinded by everything cb is doing has to be 100% agreeable.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

20 hours ago, azcolt said:

Another GM who tries to be clever and reaches way down the board. Love the first round pick but these two are head scratchers for so high in second round.

 

Maybe, but we all wanted protection for Luck, Braden’s a legit player, & really good guards are making $13mil/yr now. He’s likely a day 1 starter, so I’m down.

 

[poilucelt]

7 hours ago, John Waylon said:

 

You’re not wrong. It’s also... interesting... as far as Mewhort is concerned. Only one can have the spot beyond this season. Unless maybe we have plans for someone to slide out to RT and open an interior spot? I doubt that’s the case but time will tell. 

 

It wasn’t a bad pick by any means, but in terms of pure BPA strategy there were definitely other options to consider with the pick. 

hate to say it, but it may mean Ballard doesn't think Mewhort is likely to be 100% healthy again-or, if he is 100%, that's he's likely to stay that way

 

and Smith did play some tackle in college, mostly in injury-emergency situations IIRC

[jet1968]

On 4/27/2018 at 6:30 PM, JColts72 said:

Better players were there.

Not sure about that. Him and Nelson were the 2 ap  all American guards for 2017. That is pretty impressive 

[OffensivelyPC]

9 hours ago, JColts72 said:

A nice objective post by u. At least u not blinded by everything cb is doing has to be 100% agreeable.

Objectionable does not mean objective.

[Track Guy]

I am excited for the future of our running game for the first time in quite a long time. 

[JRnINDY]

Day one starter at RG which he has always played. Would not be surprised for him to become a Pro Bowler. Love the pick.

[LockeDown]

Love the pick.  The only question now is RT.  Who will win the job from our current group? 

[akcolt]

11 hours ago, CelticColt said:

hate to say it, but it may mean Ballard doesn't think Mewhort is likely to be 100% healthy again-or, if he is 100%, that's he's likely to stay that way

 

and Smith did play some tackle in college, mostly in injury-emergency situations IIRC

Can anyone expect Mewhort to be 100% again? He's knees are ate up and he has finished how many seasons in a row on the IR? It would be foolish to count on Jack for 16 games. 

[krunk]

Ballard is about fits. He gets guys that fit the philosophy of what this team wants to be about. If Braden Smith fit that the best then Ballard went after his guy. I'm pretty sure he'd already done all the comparing back and forth of other players. He came into the draft with a mind on addressing his fronts first and foremost. Hes always said having strong fronts are key to winning in the NFL. So if there's a fit there then I'm sure that was the BPA over everything else. And not just any O lineman but one who fit the philosophy. Tough, Strong, Physical, Athletic, High Football Character. While we can say better players were available they may not have been better overall fits based on his strategy.

[TouchdownMonkey]

I think our starting line will look like this.

AC QN RK MS nonsense

[Steamboat_Shaun]

On 4/27/2018 at 5:43 PM, Scott Pennock said:

For those poo pooing already.....he was rated as THE BEST blocker in the SEC. You can't complain about Luck always being hurt but whine about adding TWO STUDS to the oline to protect him!

 

To summarize what I've been seeing on social media & in some corners of the forum over the past few months:

 

"I'm tired of Luck being hurt all the time and our defense being unable to generate pressure, we desperately need OL help and EDGE rushers."

 

Ballard drafts 2 All-American guards, and beefs up the pass rush.

 

"We should've taken a corner."

[Steamboat_Shaun]

22 minutes ago, TouchdownMonkey said:

I think our starting line will look like this.

AC QN RK MS nonsense

 

I actually liked what I saw out of Denzelle Good last year prior to his injury, and it sounds like we'll see a lot of 2 TE sets, so whoever's at RT will also be getting plenty of help from Ebron/Doyle/Swoope. All in all, if our only weakness along the OL after this draft is RT, I chalk that up as a win.

[Flash7]

3 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

To summarize what I've been seeing on social media & in some corners of the forum over the past few months:

 

"I'm tired of Luck being hurt all the time and our defense being unable to generate pressure, we desperately need OL help and EDGE rushers."

 

Ballard drafts 2 All-American guards, and beefs up the pass rush.

 

"We should've taken a corner."

True!

 

I've also seen people state that we need O-line, Pass rush, Corner, LBs, and Receivers. All of which are true. We addressed a majority of these positions (twice in some cases) but not corner. So I can see why there is some concern there. Nonetheless, the team got better and we all knew we couldn't address every need this off season. 

[Scott Pennock]

16 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

To summarize what I've been seeing on social media & in some corners of the forum over the past few months:

 

"I'm tired of Luck being hurt all the time and our defense being unable to generate pressure, we desperately need OL help and EDGE rushers."

 

Ballard drafts 2 All-American guards, and beefs up the pass rush.

 

"We should've taken a corner."

Well said......well said.....

[TheMarine]

I just want our O-Line to Earl Grey the ever lovin #@)$( outa whatever D-Line/LBs they will face coming up.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

19 minutes ago, Flash7 said:

True!

 

I've also seen people state that we need O-line, Pass rush, Corner, LBs, and Receivers. All of which are true. We addressed a majority of these positions (twice in some cases) but not corner. So I can see why there is some concern there. Nonetheless, the team got better and we all knew we couldn't address every need this off season. 

 

Corner depth for the Colts right now is ok at best, I totally get that, but it doesn't matter how good the corners are if there's no pass rush. Having depth at EDGE will help our secondary just like having a rock solid OL will help our WRs, so I think shoring up the trenches this draft is going to have somewhat of a butterfly effect on both sides of the ball.

[TouchdownMonkey]

52 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

I actually liked what I saw out of Denzelle Good last year prior to his injury, and it sounds like we'll see a lot of 2 TE sets, so whoever's at RT will also be getting plenty of help from Ebron/Doyle/Swoope. All in all, if our only weakness along the OL after this draft is RT, I chalk that up as a win.

Lol auto correct I think Braden Smith will start at RT

[Steamboat_Shaun]

1 minute ago, TouchdownMonkey said:

Lol auto correct I think Braden Smith will start at RT

 

Ah... I kind of glossed over Slauson's name in your OP. I'd honestly keep Smith at RG, let him & Slauson compete for the starting job, then they can scheme to help out whoever starts at RT (likely Good or Haeg) with a TE or RB. Either way, passing downs should be a lot less stressful this year.

[TouchdownMonkey]

2 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

Ah... I kind of glossed over Slauson's name in your OP. I'd honestly keep Smith at RG, let him & Slauson compete for the starting job, then they can scheme to help out whoever starts at RT (likely Good or Haeg) with a TE or RB. Either way, passing downs should be a lot less stressful this year.

With the potential of this line, and like you said two TE sets, this could be the best ground game the Colts have had in decades.