There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the wide receiver position for the Indianapolis Colts, and for good reason. Parris Campbell was a second round pick last year, but they need to take advantage of a good class and get a upper tier receiver in house and go all in with Philip Rivers running the show.
Michael Pittman Jr. has been linked to the Colts in the draft process. Ballard loves players who participated in the Senior Bowl, team captains, and good athletes. Pittman checks all of those boxes. He’s a better route runner than given credit for, and looks smooth in and out of breaks towards the middle of the field. Plus, bringing in Pittman gives Rivers the jump ball player he prefers. Pittman is a nightmare to deal with down the field.
A bit of a surprise here to be sure, but when a player like Julian Okwara falls to this spot in the draft, it’s a good call. Okwara missed a lot of the draft process because of injury, but he’s a good athlete who can bend the edge so well and wreak havoc pressuring the quarterback.
There’s a chance Okwara will be one of the best edge rushers in the class when we look back, so adding him to a group featuring Justin Houston, Ben Banogu, and Kemoko Turay is smart.