3 things Colts must avoid doing in this year’s NFL Draft
Colts shouldn’t rely on Draft for things that can already be addressed
It’s easy for teams to adopt a mindset that they can just wait until the draft to address things but that can be somewhat limiting. It’s smarter for teams to address as much as they can through free agency and trading before the draft arrives.
By doing that, teams get to get the most out of their draft approach. They won’t be forced into making any bad selections, they could trade with teams to acquire even more picks, and ultimately, they are essentially playing with house money.
When a team enters the draft with very few needs they can begin to build depth and start selecting the best player available.
Unfortunately for the Colts, it seems as if they are content with waiting for the draft to address the remaining holes in the roster.
Indy has already made comments about their left tackle, wide receiver, and tight end positions that have made it clear that those are things that will be prioritized in the draft. They should be.
However, by not aggressively pursuing veteran options in free agency or the trade market, the Colts will limit what they will be able to do with their picks.
For example, Chris Ballard has said that Indianapolis is giving Matt
Pryor the first shot at left tackle. It’s unclear how much Indy really believes in Pryor’s ability but many expect the Colts to go after a tackle with one of their first few picks.
If Indianapolis signed Pro Bowl left tackle, Duane Brown, it would feel less pressure to take a tackle early, allowing Indy to build up other places.
The more things the Colts put off until the Draft the more they have to hit on all seven picks, which is really hard to do. Passing things up in free agency to address them in the draft usually results in a team entering the season with a few needs that they ended the last year with.
Indianapolis has a month to continue adding to its roster and set itself up to enter the Draft with as much freedom as possible. That will allow the Colts to have the best draft they can.
