'USA Today gave Colts a ' D '

[LJpalmbeacher2]

 

They seemed to like first 2 picks and still gave Ballard a 'D'.  

 

https://coltswire.usatoday.com/2021/05/02/indianapolis-colts-draft-grade-draft-wire-2021/

 

I don't know what's worse, pre Draft Mocks or post Draft Grades?

[2006Coltsbestever]

The same people that said we would go 2-14 going into the 2018 season  . We went 10-6 and thrashed the Texans in the playoffs. USA Today = 

[wordofmouth]

10 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

They seemed to like first 2 picks and still gave Ballard a 'D'.  

 

https://coltswire.usatoday.com/2021/05/02/indianapolis-colts-draft-grade-draft-wire-2021/

 

I don't know what's worse, pre Draft Mocks or post Draft Grades?

They seem to go hand and hand. The draft grade is based in how the pics compared numerically with the mock of choice. 
Mocks and Grades also put way too much emphasis on position 

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, wordofmouth said:

They seem to go hand and hand. The draft grade is based in how the pics compared numerically with the mock of choice. 
Mocks and Grades also put way too much emphasis on position 

A D is still comical though, I went C+, which isn't good but not bad either. 

[wordofmouth]

Yes, a D is ridiculous!   

[danlhart87]

I really hope this turns out like when BR said Leonard was the worst pick in the draft 

 

You can't realistically judge this class until they get on the field

[The Fish]

There's no way to know. 

 

I've got my questions though. 

[OffensivelyPC]

We took some unnecessary draft picks from a needs based perspective rules. I hope thats the worst I can say, but I really cant confirm, is that we got everything  we need. We need Wentz to play well.

[Two_pound]

And if I remember correctly they gave them a "D" last year also. I think Pittman, Taylor and Blackmon proved them wrong. And Glasgow and Rodgers contributed very well on special teams. 

[JediXMan]

Most sites have given the Colts from C+ to C- which is what I'd think is about right.

[Shadow_Creek]

Aww is it because we didn't get a LT hahaha 

[Four2itus]

Who the hell is USA Today?

[BlueShoe]

5 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

Who the hell is USA Today?

One of the worst places to go for draft information. 
 

It’s your standard click-bait for attention.

[GoColts8818]

Draft grades before players play are dumb.  Remember Leonard was labeled the worst draft pick of the draft the year the Colts took him by the same people doing these grades.  

[BlueShoe]

19 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

Draft grades before players play are dumb.  Remember Leonard was labeled the worst draft pick of the draft the year the Colts took him by the same people doing these grades.  

Yeah. And I was just hoping that he’d get past the Steelers in the first round. I was almost convinced they were taking him. 
 

Even a lot of people on this board thought he was a late Day 3 or Day 4 prospect. 

[Smonroe]

Wait…does that mean we pass?   Alright!  
 

Winner!!!

[chad72]

Did they even consider Wentz into the equation as part of the draft picks' equation? If not, they are no better than the fans giving us a C- and D. Just saying.  

[JoeThornburg]

2 hours ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

They seemed to like first 2 picks and still gave Ballard a 'D'.  

 

https://coltswire.usatoday.com/2021/05/02/indianapolis-colts-draft-grade-draft-wire-2021/

 

I don't know what's worse, pre Draft Mocks or post Draft Grades?

Yeah well, meh. You know what they say about opinions. The teams see things the rest of us don't, no matter how good we are with evaluations. I mean you're going to have people who trash it no matter what.

 

People have split opinions about the Steelers draft. Most football guys seem to give them more in the B+, A range. They point to positives like character, skills, scheme fit and culture fit. 

 

PFF gave them a D- and were crying about them taking a RB in the first round and a TE in the 2nd. Meh, whatever. I say they can use their spreadsheets the next time they visit the latrine. I'm sure Kiper will be unbearable tomorrow ranting about the same thing.

 

I was a little sketchy on the Colts taking 2 DEs back to back but they did get hit pretty hard there this offseason and got 2 first round talents. The draft is almost impossible to get "perfect". All things considered I think they got some darn good players. Didn't like the QB pick though. Oh well.

[NewColtsFan]

Kiper gave us a C+...   And Mel is someone who thinks Ballard’s farts don’t stink at all!

 

Mel think both Paye and Dayo are projects and he doesn’t like that. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

2 minutes ago, JoeThornburg said:

Yeah well, meh. You know what they say about opinions. The teams see things the rest of us don't, no matter how good we are with evaluations. I mean you're going to have people who trash it no matter what.

 

People have split opinions about the Steelers draft. Most football guys seem to give them more in the B+, A range. they point to positives like character, skills, scheme fit and culture fit. 

 

PFF gave them a D- and were crying about them taking a RB in the first round. Meh, whatever. I say they can use their spreadsheets the next time they visit the latrine. I'm sure Kiper will be unbearable tomorrow ranting about the same thing.

 

I was a little sketchy on the Colts taking 2 DEs back to back but they did get hit pretty hard there this offseason and got 2 first round talents. The draft is almost impossible to get "perfect". All things considered I think they got some darn good players. Didn't like the QB pick though. Oh well.

 

I liked the Steelers first 2 picks.... I didn't see who they drafted afterwards. They got the highest rated RB & the second highest ranked TE. I would think both players help them right away.

[JoeThornburg]

23 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

I liked the Steelers first 2 picks.... I didn't see who they drafted afterwards. They got the highest rated RB & the second highest ranked TE. I would think both players help them right away.

Perfect example here of having an informed opinion. They took Kendrick Green in the 3rd, which I think was a steal. Can play G/C and is one of the most explosive linemen in this class. People were crying they didn't get a T in the first round. Well, if you really know the team and watched film of the games, you know that the IOL was a massive problem for them last year despite the concerns at LT, and that the RB corps has been garbage since Bell left. These were also the same people who were saying they should take a QB in the 2nd round. lol. 

 

Another example of how little we can predict the future, I'll just throw out two names. Tom Brady and Terrell Davis. Both 6th round picks, both Hall of Famers.

[Caffrey]

I give them a D- for their ability to grade drafts and that is being generous.

[Four2itus]

Its not surprising. Most NFL writers, columnists, fans, etc... have left the planet of player development, and are now drinking their own Kool-Aid about needs based drafting. Everyone just knew the Colts were taking an OT with the first pick. It was so easy to predict. BTW.....had a true franchise LT slid to us, I would have loved the pick.

 

 

It was the primary reason I started the thread, The reality of the Colts 2021 draft . Honestly? I hate the idea of needs based drafting. I am giddy at how Ballard has approached drafting and player development. In the video series where he talked about "what our number one need" was, I was surprised at how many fans just knew it was OT. Heck...this offseason he signed 2 offensive lineman and let 2 pass rushers go! That screams a message about what position was the deepest and most likely talented in this draft. 

 

For this, he gets......a B-, or a C, or D grade. Heck, he could probably done like the Raiders, taken Leatherwood way higher than expected, and got a grade B at the least. But all these opinions....including mine....mean exactly squat. But the man drafting for my Colts, keeps drafting players who stick in the NFL. He gets it, pretty damned well. 

[Maniac]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Kiper gave us a C+...   And Mel is someone who thinks Ballard’s farts don’t stink at all!

 

Mel think both Paye and Dayo are projects and he doesn’t like that. 

 

They are... Ballard loves a project.

[CR91]

The Paye pick should atleast give us a B minus

[superrep1967]

All of these grades mean absolutely nothing right now. We should give it at least two years then we can grade it ourselves. 

[JoeThornburg]

2 hours ago, Four2itus said:

Its not surprising. Most NFL writers, columnists, fans, etc... have left the planet of player development, and are now drinking their own Kool-Aid about needs based drafting. Everyone just knew the Colts were taking an OT with the first pick. It was so easy to predict. BTW.....had a true franchise LT slid to us, I would have loved the pick.

 

 

It was the primary reason I started the thread, The reality of the Colts 2021 draft . Honestly? I hate the idea of needs based drafting. I am giddy at how Ballard has approached drafting and player development. In the video series where he talked about "what our number one need" was, I was surprised at how many fans just knew it was OT. Heck...this offseason he signed 2 offensive lineman and let 2 pass rushers go! That screams a message about what position was the deepest and most likely talented in this draft. 

 

For this, he gets......a B-, or a C, or D grade. Heck, he could probably done like the Raiders, taken Leatherwood way higher than expected, and got a grade B at the least. But all these opinions....including mine....mean exactly squat. But the man drafting for my Colts, keeps drafting players who stick in the NFL. He gets it, pretty damned well. 

Well I disagree to a point. Only to a point. I have mixed opinions on filling needs in both FA and the draft. I think it's more important to just get the right guys for the job. Pittsburgh and Indy both drafted on need this year, but they both mixed it up. PIT needed a quality RB, but the right guy for the job just so happened to be the best back in the class, which can't be said for any of the other needs Pittsburgh had at #24. I feel the same way about the Paye pick.

 

Same thing in round 2. We got a classic Pittsburgh style TE. OMG people were losing their minds. Well hey, the best OL prospects that fit what we wanted to do were gone at that grade. Deal with it, then Green falls to us in the 3rd. A steal. To me that was the steal of the entire draft. Christ we had people saying we had to go LT and QB in rounds 1 & 2. Dumb. Just dumb. Same deal with the Dayo pick. Round 1 talent in late round 2. Can't really scoff at that, although the medical is somewhat of an issue.

 

Not that I don't respect Kiper but he's way out of touch at this point. Guys who rely 100% on analytics need to back away from the calculator and take a look at the big picture.

[GoColts8818]

3 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

Kiper gave us a C+...   And Mel is someone who thinks Ballard’s farts don’t stink at all!

 

Mel think both Paye and Dayo are projects and he doesn’t like that. 

For what it’s worth Todd McShay said it was another solid draft by Ballard so he seems more high on it not that that means much other than one of the two draft experts at ESPN liked it.

[Nate!]

7 hours ago, Two_pound said:

And if I remember correctly they gave them a "D" last year also. I think Pittman, Taylor and Blackmon proved them wrong. And Glasgow and Rodgers contributed very well on special teams. 

 

USA Today gave the Colts an A last year.

 

They gave Packers and Eagles Ds last year which turned out accurate so far as they were both horrible last year.

[cdgacoltsfan]

NFLN ( with Bucket Brooks) had a show called Draft Today. They gave the Colts and Jags an A.

[lollygagger8]

8 hours ago, Four2itus said:

Who the hell is USA Today?

 

Welcome to the offices of USA Today....... 

 

[IndySouthsider]

Calling Paye a project is plain dumb. Also, he was going to be picked in 1st round regardless. Just hapens, it was Indy.

[Fisticuffs111]

Most of them are giving us bad grades. Not that they’re right, just definitely seems to be the popular opinion. 

 

One pick doesn’t make the draft, so I can see why Kwity alone doesn’t raise the grade. Also, some people just might not think he hits his ceiling as a pass rusher. Add on Dayo potentially not coming back 100%...I can see why we haven’t gotten great grades.

[John Hammonds]

Well, I'm glad at least somebody gave us a D.  I was searching around for draft grades, and the first few that I saw gave straight A's across the board to everybody.  What's the point of doing draft grades if you give everyone an A?  At least USA Today didn't think much of the choices we made, and were willing to say it.

[fatboy]

SI gave Colts a “B.”  The point is no one really knows but it gives “experts” something to write about and fans something to argue.  

[Dingus McGirt]

[shasta519]

I haven’t really seen any good grades. But this is often what it looks like when you have less draft capital. If you aren’t getting what they think are steals with the limited draft capital...then you won’t get a good grade.

 

Personally, D is harsh. That would assume that Paye is just a meh player. But I can’t see why people aren’t enamored with the rest. 

[Valpo2004]

Maybe it's just me but I feel like the post draft press conference both Ballard and Reich seemed a bit deflated.

 

I just don't feel like this draft went as well for them as other drafts previously have.  

[chad72]

4 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

Maybe it's just me but I feel like the post draft press conference both Ballard and Reich seemed a bit deflated.

 

I just don't feel like this draft went as well for them as other drafts previously have.  

 

I think they said it in so many words, or Irsay did that the draft didn't go as well as they planned. Maybe the other teams starting reaching like FF GMs for RBs in fantasy drafts or mock GMs in mock drafts, lol  and that took them by surprise. They knew they had more work to do than they anticipated. I wouldn't say "deflated" but "uncertain" might be more apt due to what they knew needed to happen. 

[Myles]

3 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

I think they said it in so many words, or Irsay did that the draft didn't go as well as they planned. Maybe the other teams starting reaching like FF GMs for RBs in fantasy drafts or mock GMs in mock drafts, lol  and that took them by surprise. They knew they had more work to do than they anticipated. I wouldn't say "deflated" but "uncertain" might be more apt due to what they knew needed to happen. 

It started out not going as planned.   Most people had Paye going between 15-18.   A gift fell to them.   Then late in the 2nd round a 1st round talent fell to them.