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By John Hammonds · Posted
@Scott Pennock made his rundown of the draft, it is excellent! And @Yoshinator gave me props for comments I made before the draft. (Thanks, dude!) So, I feel compelled to give my own review of this year's draft. Round 1 / Pick 15 -- Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA [MY GUYS Player] Colts had about 7 players targeted for their pick at 15, and by the time we got to the pick, 6 of them were still on the board. We had our choice of anyone. This draft is not deep at DE. I expected us to take a WR or a CB. Instead, we take the best DE in the draft. Latu is the double-digit sack artist that we haven't had since Mathis. We're talking guys like Trey Hendrickson, Maxx Crosby, Montez Sweat. If it wasn't for his injury, he would be a top-5 pick. It was a steal. The pick comes with a downside. He's a day one starter. And we already have two starters. Each with accomplishments. It's a problem of riches. It's a good problem to have, true. But it's a problem. But there's also a background reason. Ebukam has 2 years left on his contract. This year is Kwity's final year of his rookie deal, and there's no guarantee we do his 5th year option. One of the enduring principles of drafting is that you are hopefully not drafting for your needs this year. You are drafting for what the team looks like a couple years from now. Latu is what the DL looks like a couple years from now. Round 2 / Pick 52 -- Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas [MY GUYS Player] For those fans (like me) who desperately wanted us to draft an offensive weapon in the first round, we got one in the second round. Make no mistake -- Adonai Mitchell is a First Round Talent. He has rare combination of length, speed, quickness. He's been in five post season games, and scored a touchdown in every one. He has rare ability to separate at the top of the route. This guy is a day one starter. Seriously. What made him slip was his reputation of poor dedication when the play isn't designed to go his way. His poor interviews at the combine. He's got diabetes, and when he's out of whack, it adversely affects his mood. And consequently, his performance. Reggie Wayne has his work cut out for him. And I envision his talk with Mitchell to resemble Proximo's talk with Maximus: "You're good, Spaniard, but you're not that good. You could be magnificent." Funny, but true. My own advice for "Lord" Mitchell is that of Tyrion Lannister: "Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor. And it can never be made to hurt you." So he has diabetes. And? I say, immediately approach the Snickers people and volunteer to do a commercial spot for them. "Hey, AD, you need a Snickers? Why? Because you play like a jerk when you don't have one! Better? Better!" Heck, yeah. Round 3 / Pick 79 -- Matt Goncalves, OL, Pitt To tell the truth, I was looking for us to address our DB needs with this pick. I wasn't expecting an offensive lineman. I initially wanted to be disappointed. The more I read about this guy, the more encouraged I got. I still can't help but look back at those terrible 2021 and 2022 seasons, when we made terrible attempts to address our offensive line through washed up veteran free agents who couldn't play anymore. Some of them couldn't play to begin with. I liked the Blake Freeland pick. And I'm liking Goncalves, too. More for who he is than what he is. Just listen to his live phone call with Chris Ballard when he got picked. That's the kind of energy you want in the huddle, on the field, in the locker room. This is a Good Guy. He's still got work to do. He's got very short arms (nothing he can do about that) but he also had terribly few reps on the bench press. He can do something about that. Get in there, get to work, and compete for playing time. Round 4 / Pick 117 -- Tanor Bortollini, OC, Wisconsin What? When are we going to pick one of the DB's I had flagged for our team? Here's a thing: Bortollini broke Jason Kelce's combine record for the 3-cone shuttle. He ran a 4,95 40. He can play any position on the field. And let's not fool ourselves. No matter how much Ryan Kelly says he wants to continue playing, there comes a time in every player's career when the ball club is ready to move on before you are. I like this player. Seriously. Him and his outrageous mullet. No, he's not the position I wanted. But I like him. Round 5 / Pick 142 - Anthony Gould, WR, Oregon State Quite frankly, I was surprised we drafted another WR after taking Mitchell. And another player who is a quick, undersized slot receiver. We already have one in Downs. What do we need another one for? But after watching film on him, I can see what they see. This guy is going to be our punt returner. Geez, he looks small. But he's listed at 5-11. Still looks tiny. I'm gonna enjoy watching him. Clarence Verdin 2.0? Anybody? Round 5 / Pick 151 - Jaylon Carlies, LB/DB, Missouri [MY GUYS Player] Love the pick. This is one of the guys I had on my own list. I studied the new Vic Fangio "Cover 6" hybrid defense that everyone was beginning to use vs the modern 3-by-1 offensive formations. And I came away from that experience certain that a new, different kind of player is going to be required in the modern game. A guy who could play safety, nickel, and linebacker all at once. Why? Because of what genius coaches like Shane Steichen have been doing against it. They line up in 3-by-1. So the defense goes into Cover 6. Then one of the 3 WR's goes in motion across the field to make a 2-by-2. The defense reacts by switching over to Quarters coverage. That motion receiver then quickly circles back around to the other side of the field. And the defense needs to react back again. How quickly can they do it? How quickly can the players understand just which coverage they're doing? Do they have the right personnel on the field to play either coverage? Ah ha!!! What is needed is a player that can stay on the field regardless of what coverage is being called. Carlies is that player. Round 5 / Pick 164 - Jaylin Simpson, DB, Auburn We finally address our issue at Free Safety. Our starter at that position was a good story. Ivy League player picked in the 7th round made good. Works his way into the starting lineup. Great story. Problem was, Rodney Thomas really isn't that good. He may be the best FS we have. But that's not saying much. Both Julian Blackmon and Nick Cross are Strong safeties. True, they can both line up at FS. But it doesn't mean they're all that suited for it. Jaylin is a CB/FS hybrid that had 7 interceptions at Auburn. He's a thin, wiry guy. He's not going to help you tackle guys running at you. But in today's 4-wide offenses? Oh, yeah. He can play. Round 6 / Pick 201 - Micah Abraham, CB, Marshall I don't know much about Abraham. My only attachment to this pick is that I have a close friend who was at college at Marshall when the tragedy happened to their football team. Also, Chris Ballard has a thing for turning over every rock to find an unpolished gem off the beaten path. We'll see how he works out. What he does. I would expect that his first stop (if he makes the team) will be special teams. Round 7 / Pick 234 -- Jonah Laulu, DT, Oklahoma Again, I don't know much about him. But I do know that we can now legitimately do a Polynesian haka with our defensive line. My advice to him is the same speech that the Colts make to all rookies. You're here now. It doesn't matter where you were drafted. It doesn't matter if you were drafted. It's now up to you to show the coaches what you can do, and beat the guy in front of you. My overall draft grade: B+ I love the first two picks, and we have three guys from my MY GUYS list. I wish we could have addressed DB earlier in the draft than where we did. But I'm not going to complain. Our needs coming into this offseason were at free safety, wide receiver, consistent pass rush, top end corner, and prime cover corner. We not only addressed nearly all of them, but addressed them well. If we splurged in the next two weeks and gave Justin Simmons a bunch of money to play FS for us, I'd drive over to west 56th street and kiss Chris Ballard myself. I'm feeling good about this team, and about this season. The new theme I have chosen for this year is "NO MORE EXCUSES". Let's go do it. -
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I’m giving it a B+ as it sits, borderline A-. Injury histories on two of the top 4 picks plus the diet and alleged immaturity of our 2nd rounder is why I drop it from an A. that said, I like what Chris Ballard and the colts did overall. Initially I was hoping for a WR at 15 but I can easily live with the pick of any of the top D players at 15. getting AD at 52 is a potential steal for sure if the concerns over his type 1 and immaturity don’t actually affect him. In the end, this may be Ballards best draft from top to bottom that he’s ever had. At least on paper. Let’s see if it translates.
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