Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard gets a lot of credit for his past draft selections. Some argue that the team hasn't been successful despite the GM's decisions. That strains logic, however.
Maybe the issue for Indy simply comes down to two specific positions. One is at quarterback, and the other is at edge rusher. As for the latter, Ballard admitted the team has failed in their draft picks in his time with the team since 2017.
In his pre-draft press conference, Ballard said Indy has "never gotten the home run" it needed on the edge, but that he "thinks (Laiatu) Latu can be" and will produce double-digit sacks in 2026 and beyond. It is fairly damning for a GM to be on the job for nine drafts and whiff almost always at edge rusher.
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard admits to failure with his draft picks at edge rusher
In fact, while Ballard deserves credit for admitting his failures, he shouldn't have been allowed to make such failures for a very long time. His quarterback selections have been poor, too, of course, and the team is currently trying to trade Ballard's 2023 first-round pick, Anthony Richardson. Maybe 2025 sixth-round pick Riley Leonard will end up being decent, if he gets playing time.
Latu, a first-round pick in 2024, definitely improved in 2025, his second season in the league, in terms of sacks. He had four in his rookie season, but 8.5 last year. His run defense also improved.
The issue was that he was so much better than any other edge rusher Indianapolis had, including 2021 first-round selection Kwity Paye. Latu's 61 total quarterback pressures led the team by 23. No other player had more than four sacks. Latu's 12 tackles for loss doubled the amount of any other edge rusher.
Maybe 2026 is the year that Chris Ballard finally hits the "home run" in the draft at edge rusher. He will have to do so without a first-round choice, however, as that pick, as well as 2027's first-rounder, was dealt to the New York Jets in return for cornerback Sauce Gardner midway through last season.
That is a lot of draft capital to give for any player, but imagine what the Indianapolis Colts could have done by giving those first-round selections for a different player. Maybe Indy would have Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson now, or perhaps have made a run at Myles Garrett.
Cornerback wasn't a pressing need in the future; edge rusher still is. Fans might assume this year's draft won't be any better for the position that Chris Ballard admits to keep screwing up.
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