Colts draft class grades were universally underwhelming
By Mike Luciano
The Indianapolis Colts needed to hit some home runs in the 2021 NFL Draft, and they managed to hit one clean triple followed by a bunch of groundballs to second.
While they started the draft off well by selecting Michigan’s Kwity Paye, the remainder of their selections were a bit puzzling…which is seemingly the consensus.
Second-round pick Dayo Odeyingbo could be a star, but he is coming off of a major Achilles injury. Fourth-round tight end Kylen Granson is an insane receiving target, but he has some serious issues related to his size and some drops. Will Shawn Davis get time as a safety, or will he be a special teamer in 2021?
While the Houston Texans were widely criticized for their drafting strategy, the Jacksonville Jaguars added a potential franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, and the mighty Tennessee Titans improved their defense behind Caleb Farley.
The media seems to agree that Ballard missed a few tricks in this draft.
The Colts’ average grade for their draft put them around 25th in the league, according to Rene Bugner’s combined draft grades. Perhaps more glaringly, no media member gave the Colts an A.
NFL.com’s Chad Reuter gave the Colts a B+, making him Ballard’s biggest fan, while Luke Easterling gave them a pitiful D. Mel Kiper Jr. (subscription required) gave Indy a C+, but that was tied for his lowest grade.
Word from Colts facility— team's pretty pumped they got Kwity Paye at 21. Not a lot of talk of trading back. Paye was the highest player on their board.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) April 30, 2021
The Colts didn’t crush it on draft day.
The players aren’t necessarily the problem, as Paye especially represented tremendous value at a position of need. The issue with Ballard’s strategy is the fact that he neglected several key positions in order to pick players like Odeyingbo.
Left tackle is still a huge hole for the Colts, as the only player they added on the offensive line was Penn State’s Will Fries in the seventh round, though he isn’t guaranteed a spot on the final 53-man roster. Let’s hope Sam Tevi is ready, as he is the favorite to start at left tackle after the draft.
Are the Colts really happy with Michael Pittman Jr., TY Hilton, and Parris Campbell at wide receiver? Apparently they are, because they didn’t pick a receiver until they drafted a D-II wideout in Mike Strachan in the seventh round. With dozens of quality receivers left on the board, players like Odeyingbo and Granson need to hit the ground running.
The Colts’ selection of Paye earned a ton of praise across the NFL media landscape, but the rest of Indianapolis’ draft class has to come in and prove instantly that they are worthy of the lofty expectations their status as a premium draft pick placed upon them. Clearly, the group is facing plenty of doubters.
