Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has had a checkered tenure in Indy. There is no denying that he has identified some excellent talent in the NFL draft. His selections in the early middle rounds, two through four, of recent drafts can rival those of any GM in the league.
On the other hand, he has left some major holes in his roster. In addition to mangling his quarterback position in the aftermath of Andrew Luck, Ballard has allowed the middle of his defense to get old without much hope of renewal. He has repeatedly fumbled when looking for depth in the offensive backfield.
The bottom line is that in his last seven seasons in charge, Ballard’s teams have made the playoffs once. The New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons are the only two teams in the NFL with longer current playoff droughts. GMs don’t often last with that kind of track record.
The Indianapolis Colts strategy at linebacker continues to mystify
To understand how Ballard has reached this point, one just needs to look at a single position on his roster. The Colts currently have no linebackers with any proven record of success in the NFL.
They had one in Zaire Franklin. He was traded this offseason. Germaine Pratt has experience with Lou Anarumo and played fairly well after arriving a month into the season last year. Ballard has shown no interest in re-signing Pratt.
Pratt was only brought in because the Colts had been playing with Joe Bachie, a career special teamer, as one of their two primary linebackers early in 2025.
Ballard has seven picks in the upcoming NFL draft, and there is a good chance he will attempt to address the linebacker problem with one or two of those picks. The Colts have had meetings with at least five linebacker prospects in the run-up to the draft – the most players at any position.
But the players he has chosen to meet with continue to hint at a general lack of interest in really solving this problem.
Without a first-round pick, Ballard has no shot at the elite prospects like Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, or CJ Allen. Among players who could be on the board when the Colts are picking at number 47 in round two, he has met with at least one intriguing prospect – Missouri’s Josiah Trotter.
Trotter, whose father and brother have both played in the NFL, is an aggressive, slightly undersized downhill run stopper. He has decent speed, but he is not particularly adept in coverage. He profiles as an early down rotational player.
Other prospects could be available at this point who offer a more complete package. It does not appear that Ballard has scheduled formal meetings with Jacob Rodriguez, Kyle Lewis, or Anthony Hill, Jr. To be clear, no one knows how any of this will shake out. Josiah Trotter could turn out to be better than any of them. But he does not appear at this point to offer as complete a package.
This seems to be the general attitude Ballard holds toward the position. The other prospects he has interviewed all project to go on day three or be priority free agents should they go undrafted.
The only veteran linebacker he has signed this offseason is Akeem Davis-Gaither, an undersized journeyman who has been better as an early down run stopper than an every down multi-use linebacker throughout his career. And even as a run stopper, he has been a mostly average performer.
One of the sleeper prospects Ballard has talked to is Jackson Kuwatch of Miami (Ohio). Kuwatch is a hot name right about now. A month ago, he seemed destined to be a UDFA. Now, he is flying up draft boards and meeting with lots of interested teams. He will probably be drafted on day three, perhaps as early as round 4.
Kuwatch is an intriguing prospect, but if Ballard were to choose him – say, in round five – it would be a bit of a dice roll. That appears to be the basic strategy with the linebacker position. Throw a couple of guys out there. Perhaps one of them will surprise us.
I’ve written, somewhat facetiously, that Lou Anarumo may be the first NFL defensive coordinator to run a base 5-0-6 alignment. No linebackers at all. Based on the moves Ballard is making, I’m not so sure I was being facetious.