Colts: Was Carson Wentz trade smarter than moving up in NFL Draft for a quarterback?

The Indianapolis Colts managed to solve their quarterback issues by trading for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in a deal that sent two draft picks the other way in exchange for the chance to rehabilitate the former Pro Bowler.

The Colts hold the No. 21 pick in the draft, meaning that if the Wentz trade never happened, there was a very high likelihood that all of the five quarterback prospects in this class would’ve been off the board by the time Chris Ballard made his selection.

The only way Indy could’ve drafted a quarterback in this cycle was to package some of their mid-round picks and future first-rounders in order to move up and get the player they wanted.

Before that trade, that’s essentially what was going to happen.

Albert Breer spoke to Colts head coach Frank Reich, who said if Wentz didn’t end up in Indianapolis, Ballard was going to find some way to make a trade to move up in the draft order.

The Colts gave up just a third-round pick and a conditional second-rounder for Wentz, which seems more economical than an earth-shattering trade-up in the chaotic 2021 Draft.

Did the Colts miss a franchise QB by getting Carson Wentz?

With Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence a foregone conclusion to get picked No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and with both Ohio State’s Justin Fields and BYU’s Zach Wilson both likely out of reach for Indianapolis, the most likely candidates Indy could’ve traded up for are North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Alabama’s Mac Jones.

Both will be first-round picks, but both have major flaws that could hamper the success of a would-be playoff team. Lance only has one year of starting experience, and his one year came at an FCS school that threw the ball out of necessity and ran more than 65% of the time. Jones is a prolific statistical passer, but he doesn’t have great athletic ability. And we don’t know what he can do without the best wide receiving corps and running game in the country.

Wentz appears to be a marriage of these two prospects, as he’s a toolsy North Dakota State product that was a star in college and then rose the ranks in the pros with his rocket arm. This seems like a more worthwhile undertaking because Wentz has been an above-average pro quarterback in every season besides his most recent one.

The Colts could’ve either pledged themselves to four straight years of a project at quarterback or gone for the win-now move in Wentz. Considering how weak the division is, Indy likely made the right choice.

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