Ever since Chris Ballard took over the general manager reins four years ago in 2017, the Indianapolis Colts have grown accustomed to dominating the draft.
The Colts’ incoming class of draftees wasn’t exactly raved about by analysts, but that (at least in our eyes) is what bodes so well for them: we can’t recall a specific year in which Ballard’s picks were universally beloved throughout the industry.
You might point to the now-robust 2018 class, which included guard Quenton Nelson, linebacker Darius Leonard and tackle Braden Smith, among others, as a counterpoint, but Leonard was infamously coined the worst pick of the draft that year.
Oops.
For that reason, fans shouldn’t overreact to a draft that didn’t go according to plan. In fact, they should be ecstatic after the Colts tweeted out a video of their newest rookies touching down in Indianapolis and their new home, Lucas Oil Stadium, for the first time.
Officially part of the family. #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/ybz0IaCnI3
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) May 16, 2021
Check out the Colts rookies arriving at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Did anyone else get chills watching this video?
To the Colts’ credit, including the motivational speeches from Ballard, head coach Frank Reich and director of player engagement David Thornton was a great touch.
Throw in former Colts standouts like Antoine Bethea and center Jeff Saturday, who were teammates in Indianapolis for six seasons (2006 to 2011), informing the rookie class on what it means to be an NFL player, and the Colts really didn’t put a foot wrong here.
When you consider that duo played a combined 28 seasons in the league (21 with the Colts), we seriously hope these rookies took their advice to heart. However, looking at how many of them were taking notes, we don’t have any worries in that department.
With rookie mini camp officially concluding this past Sunday, next up for the Colts’ rookies are the second and third phases of the offseason. Per the NFL offseason schedule, that will include OTAs at full speed, albeit without contact, and mandatory mini camp…when they’ll share the field with Indy’s veterans for the first time.
If getting a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium, which included the Colts’ locker room, for the first time and receiving impassioned messages from the likes of Ballard, Reich, Thornton, Bethea and Saturday didn’t hit Indy’s rookie class with a reality check that a new journey is about to begin, the next couple weeks will surely do the trick.
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