Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard is taking a huge risk. He should understand his team needs to make the playoffs in 2026, or he could lose his job, and he should know that the team has lost a lot of starters from 2025 this offseason. Can he find fixes in the 2026 NFL draft?
He appears to be thinking he can, based on who Indianapolis has taken visits from ahead of April's draft. All of the players are on the defensive side, which makes sense as Ballard has brought in no real answer to who should play inside linebacker (maybe Akeem Davis-Gaither?), edge rusher is a mess, and the safety spot next to Cam Bynum is in question.
According to CBS Sports, the Colts have visited with edge rusher Romello Height (Texas Tech), linebackers Khalil Jacobs (Missouri) and Jackson Kuwatch (Ohio), defensive back Jason Kilgore (Texas Tech), and safety Kapena Gushiken (Mississippi). All obvious needs, and, as the team can have up to 30 visits from prospects before the draft, the position groups might remain the same.
Indianapolis Colts' top 30 draft tracker proves Chris Ballard understands the team has glaring holes
In fact, that appears to be how Ballard is operating currently. He creates obvious needs for Indy that have to be addressed, leaving no nuance for the team to potentially add players at other positions. The GM did the same thing with free agency. Losing quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce would have been brutal.
Ballard was able to get those latter two to re-sign, but he paid top dollar to bring them back. He was left with little recourse, and the players' agents probably understood that.
This offseason, Indianapolis traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a late-round draft choice, but the team had to do something with the receiver. His cap hit was $29 million, and he didn't produce at anywhere close to that level.
Still, giving up Pittman to clear money for Jones and Pierce was worth it. Moreover, re-signing the QB and WR freed up money for next season, but Ballard has done little with it. Indianapolis's additions are generally underwhelming.
The defense took the biggest hit as the team traded linebacker Zaire Franklin and lost edge rusher Kwity Paye and safety Nick Cross in free agency. Linebacker Germaine Pratt remains a free agent, but he was awful in pass coverage in 2025 and shouldn't be re-signed.
Indy still has time to add an edge rusher in free agency, such as Jadeveon Clowney or Joey Bosa, but no indication has been given that Ballard is all that interested. Instead, without a first-round pick, which was given as part of the deal to add cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets last season, the Indianapolis Colts are showing all their cards for what they need in the draft.
Chris Ballard has to hope that some high-end talent at specific positions (safety, inside linebacker, and edge rusher) is still around for the team to choose at pick 47 overall. Otherwise, the team has to hope the offense repeats its excellence from the first half of 2025 while the defense is iffy, at best.