Odds that the Colts trade up in the 1st round of the draft

If there’s one thing we have learned in Chris Ballard’s three years as GM, its’ that he loves accumulating draft picks. Will he ever use any of them to move up in a draft?

Two seasons ago, the Colts traded down from the 3rd overall pick to the 6th overall pick. They used that on guard Quenton Nelson. Last season, they traded away their first round pick and didn’t make any selections until early in the second round.

The Colts haven’t moved up in the first round of the draft in nearly 20 years. The last time they did was in 2001 for Reggie Wayne. I would say that worked out pretty well, as Wayne was a finalist for the Hall of Fame for this year’s class and will likely get in soon.

This would be the year for the Colts to break that streak. They have a bunch of draft picks that they can use as capital to move up from the 13th spot. They could move up to draft one of the quarterbacks they like, it could be Tua, Justin Herbert, or maybe even Jordan Love, or they can use it on a great defensive player.

My ultimate fantasy is that the Colts trade this year’s 13th pick, 34th pick, and a first round pick next year to the Redskins for the 2nd overall pick. They could use that pick on Chase Young, who I think is the best player in this entire draft class. He is the dominant force up front that the Colts need.

That is highly unlikely to happen. The best shot the team has of moving up in the first round is to move into the top 8 to draft a quarterback. That would likely take a first and maybe both seconds the Colts have.

But let’s be real; there is an extremely low chance of Ballard trading up in this draft. He has yet to show any inclination of wanting to do so in any other draft and doesn’t make aggressive signings. I would be shocked to see them move up.