Indianapolis Colts: Projecting how Indy could trade up in 2021 NFL Draft

Chris Ballard has long been a leader in the clubhouse, as his drafting skills have stood out amongst the NFL elite since he took the GM’s reins with the Colts.

The legend began with 2018’s draft class that produced Darius Leonard, Braden Smith, and Quenton Nelson, all of whom are Pro Bowl-caliber. In 2019, Ballard took Khari Willis, who last year took a huge step forward and played like an elite safety. In 2020, Ballard drafted Michael Pittman Jr, and Jonathan Taylor in the second and third rounds and traded away his first for DeForest Buckner.

In the later rounds, he drafted Julian Blackmon, who played like a Rookie of the Year candidate with very little recognition.

It’s safe to say Chris Ballard knows what he’s doing in the draft room.

This year, however, the Colts have many more holes to fill. The retirement of Anthony Castonzo left a hole in one of the most consistent offensive lines in the NFL, after the lack of depth in the offensive line and the secondary hurt the team in the middle and towards the end of last season. The defensive line also lacked a true outside pass-rusher. With all of that being said, if the Colts packaged their first, second, and fourth-round picks together, could they move up to make an unexpected splash on draft night?

Let’s take a look at the top five teams in this year’s draft — is there any chance at all the Colts could get in there, with a significant overpay?