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Indianapolis Colts Could Trade Back in First Round and Add Picks

By Jamie Ellis

Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the stage and podium before the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indianapolis Colts have glaring needs at many different positions as we approach the 2017 NFL draft.  Should the Colts trade back in the first round to acquire more picks?

Jim Irsay was pretty clear when speaking to Colts.com yesterday at the Annual League Meetings.  The Indianapolis Colts have a number of needs they want to fill.  It starts with edge rushers where they want to deal with their lack of pass rush.  They also want to draft a young corner.  Finally, getting a talented running back later in the draft reminiscent of how the Colts landed Vick Ballard with a 5th round pick is also a goal.

The primary goal is to improve on defense and add speed.  Irsay also noted that the Indianapolis Colts wouldn’t hesitate to trade down to accumulate more picks.

This begs the question….what could the Colts get if they traded down in the first round?  Before we look at the possibilities, we have to determine whether there are any teams who would want to trade up for the Colts 15th pick in the first round.

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Fansided’s Randy Gurzi suggested 5 teams who should trade up in the first round in his NFL Spinzone column.  Two teams can be removed as both the Jets and Saints draft ahead of the Colts.  The Chiefs could be a good trade partner as they may seek a quarterback such as Mitchell Trubisky who could be around with pick number 15.  That said, it would probably be a draft day trade as the Chiefs would want to make sure that Trubisky is available for them at 15.

The Atlanta Falcons will want to add to their defense and if the right player is available with the 15th pick, they too could be good trade partners.

Finally, the Dallas Cowboys could look to move up to draft an impact edge rusher.  The only problem is that the Colts will be looking for the same thing – an impact edge rusher.

Let’s assume that the Colts would be willing to trade their 15th pick to accumulate additional draft picks, even if it meant passing on an impact player at number 15.  What could the Colts get in return?

Profootballtalk.com is one of several sites that post a draft trade chart which tries to value picks and determine what a team can get in return for a trade.  For example, if the Colts traded their 15th pick in the 1st round to the Chiefs, the Colts would get a theoretical 1,050 points in return.  They could use these points (again, in theory) to get the Chiefs 27th pick in the 1st round (worth 680 points), the Chiefs 27th pick (59th overall) in the second round (worth 310 points), the Chiefs 26th pick (132nd overall) in the fourth round (worth 40 points), and the Chiefs 27th pick (170th overall) in the fifth round (worth 23.4 points).  The Colts would get 4 picks for 1.

The Colts could also trade the 15th overall pick for the Cowboys first round, second round and fourth round picks.  The Cowboys don’t have a 5th round pick, so they would have to part with another pick – perhaps later in the draft or even in 2018.

The Colts could trade the 15th overall pick to the Falcons for the Falcons first round pick (31st overall worth 600 points), the Falcons second round pick (63rd overall worth 276 points), the Falcons third round pick (95th overall worth 120 points), the Falcons fourth round pick (136th overall worth 38 points), and the Falcons fifth round pick (174th overall worth 21.8 points).

Now all of this is theoretical and it’s highly unlikely that any of these teams would trade the Colts solely from their 2017 picks.  Instead, they would likely trade some 2017 picks and some 2018 picks.  However, since we’re in the “theoretical world”, let’s imagine (or dream) about the picks the Indianapolis Colts would have if they made the above trade with the Falcons.  The Colts would have:

  • 1st round (31st overall)
  • 2nd round (46th overall)
  • 2nd round (63rd overall)
  • 3rd round (80th overall)
  • 3rd round (95th overall)
  • 4th round (121st overall)
  • 4th round (136th overall)
  • 4th round (137th overall)
  • 4th round (144th overall)
  • 5th round (158th overall)
  • 5th round (170th overall)

It’s hard to argue that trading back in the 1st round wouldn’t be worth all of these additional picks.

Next: Jim Irsay Reinforces Chris Ballard's Rebuilding Plan

The Indianapolis Colts and Chris Ballard have some decisions to make between now and the time their first round draft pick clock expires.

With so many needs, trading back may be a good solution.

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