The Indianapolis Colts traded their next two first-round draft picks to acquire former All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline midway through the 2025 season. The move didn't immediately pay off, but Gardner is under contract for several more seasons. There is time.
Still, not having those first-round choices might hurt. What makes the issue worse is that due to injuries and an uptick in competition in the second half of the season, Indy finished 8-9. Had they not made the move for Gardner, the Colts would have the 16th overall selection. That might be good enough to take an immediately impactful player.
Indianapolis isn't stuck, however. The team could still make trades to get back into the first round, and the easiest one might be to work out a deal with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Because they won the title, Seattle will pick last in the first round (pick 32). But general manager John Schneider's team also doesn't have many draft picks this season.
Indianapolis Colts could move back into the first round of the 2026 NFL draft easily
The Seahawks have their picks in rounds one through three, but then not another until round six. Seattle has four total, and as Schneider likes to build through the draft, four is probably not enough. The Colts could help him remedy that a bit.
Should Seattle move back from number 32 and give that choice to Indianapolis, the Colts could deal the Seahawks their second-round selection and maybe their fifth-rounder. The difference for the Colts would only be 16 picks, but that also might be the difference between taking a quarterback or not.
The QB class is not deep in the draft, which means moving up to take one who could turn into a QB1 is even more important. The Colts are not going to get Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, of course, but Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss? Absolutely.
A recent mock draft from The Athletic has Chambliss going to the New York Jets with the first pick in the second round. If Chris Ballard likes Chambliss, and he should, then jumping ahead of the Jets would be wise. Chambliss is exceedingly athletic and has a good arm. He is smaller at 6' and 205 pounds, but he would be a good fit for head coach Shane Steichen's system.
The issue with moving up to take a quarterback might be that it would muddy an already cloudy Indianapolis quarterback situation. Anthony Richardson is likely entering his final year with the team, and the Indianapolis Colts don't appear to have a lot of faith in Riley Leonard.
A lot of what happens could also depend on what happens with quarterback Daniel Jones. If Indy wants Jones back, now is the time to sign him to a new deal instead of waiting until he hits free agency. If Jones doesn't return (and even if he does, it might not be on a long-term deal because of his injury history), then moving up into the first round might take priority.