Can we get any clues about who the Indianapolis Colts might draft next month by looking backwards? It’s an admittedly iffy proposition. The best way to do it is to study the drafting patterns of their general manager. Chris Ballard has been with the Colts for a long time, so there actually is data to consider, and he has made some very good picks, so there is some hope.
But it is still unpredictable. Each roster is different. Each draft class is different. We’ll get around to considering Ballard’s past tendencies when we are closer to the draft and have a better sense of which players interest him. But for today, we’re going to look back differently.
Two ways, actually. The first is more for fans who want to take a journey down memory lane. If it provides any hint at all about what may happen this year, the hint falls into the realm of karma more than anything concrete. The second way provides a little bit more applicable data, though I warn you going in, it too relies on vibes and feelings as much as on real-life trends.
Still, the draft is getting close and it’s fun to speculate.
What history says about the Indianapolis Colts’ 2026 draft
The first thing we will do is look at every single player the Colts’ franchise has chosen with the specific picks they have in this year’s draft. There are 18 players in all.
Ballard currently has picks 47, 78, 113, 156, 214, 249, and 254. Seven picks. No first-rounder. Two in the seventh. One in each round between.
To start, let’s note that Chris Ballard did not make any of those 18 historical picks. Only two of them were even in this century, and both of them were long before Ballard arrived.
Eleven of the players drafted in the above-referenced spots never suited up for the Colts. Most simply didn’t make the roster.
Unfortunately, that includes all three of the players chosen with the 78th pick. So if you are looking for trends, maybe don’t put much faith in whoever Ballard gets in the 3rd round. That said, the most recent of those three players – QB Karl Douglas – was chosen more than 50 years ago, so maybe the curse has faded away over time.
Another, Gerhard Schwedes, father of former Dolphins WR Scott Schwedes, opted to play in the AFL for a few years before retiring from football. So, for the most part, a significant majority of the players the club drafted in this year’s positions had no impact whatsoever.
But the historical record does provide some hope.
It’s true that four of the seven players who actually did wear a Colts uniform in a professional game barely left a mark. The most recent of them, 2013 pick Justice Cunningham, played just 14 snaps for the team. As the 254th pick in his draft, just making the team was a nice accomplishment for the tight end from South Carolina, who hung on with the Rams for a few additional seasons.
The three players who actually had lengthy tenures with the franchise all came with the 47th pick. There was a disappointing quarterback – Jack Trudeau – who started 49 games for the club in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
In 1972, they got Glenn Doughty, an exciting wide receiver out of Michigan. Doughty played eight seasons for the Colts in Baltimore, piled up more than 3,500 receiving yards (still good for 13th best in club history), and scored 24 touchdowns. His most lasting contribution to the Colts’ original community was to build the Shake & Bake Family Fun Center in West Baltimore.
The best player the Colts ever got with one of these years’ picks came in 1963. West Texas State safety Jerry Logan made 129 starts for Baltimore over a ten-year career, going to the Pro Bowl three times. His 34 career interceptions place him fourth on the team’s leaderboard. Logan was a starter in Super Bowl V, the Colts' first championship in the Super Bowl era.
So, is there any takeaway from this historical record? Maybe just this. If the club is going to find a valuable player in this year’s draft, Ballard had better hit on his second-round pick. They haven’t had any luck at all with the other numbers.
Now, for a slightly more meaningful glimpse at recent history. Let’s see how the league at large has fared in the last five seasons with the picks the Colts have this year.
Picks number 113, 156, 214 and 254 have yielded very little in that time.
As for the 47th pick, it has featured an overwhelming number of defensive backs. None has taken the league by storm, but all have quickly assumed starting roles. Asante Samuel, Jr., Quan Martin, Tyler Nubin, and – last year – Will Johnson were all drafted 47th.
The league has a better recent track record with the subsequent Colts’ pick, number 78. Alex Wright, Tucker Kraft, and Pro Bowl safety Calen Bullock all came with that pick.
Finally, if you are looking for a surprise, don’t sleep on that 249th pick. The 49ers scooped up guard Connor Colby last year. He wasn’t particularly impressive, but as a seventh-round rookie, he did start half a dozen games for a playoff team.
Better still, you have the Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (2023) and offensive tackle Rasheed Walker (2022), who just signed a deal with Carolina. They were both chosen with the 249th pick and have established themselves as legitimate starters.
Colts’ history doesn’t offer a lot of reason for optimism, but recent league history – which may actually mean something – suggests Ballard should be able to find pretty good players in the second and third round, and perhaps find a gem late.