Colts 7-round 2023 NFL mock draft 3.0: Chris Ballard gets uncharacteristic

With the 2023 NFL Draft right around the corner, here is a look at what would be an ideal draft for Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts.

The NFL Scouting Combine has officially kicked off with its player meetings, measurements, and on-the-field workouts. With it, chaos ensues. Prospects will rise and fall on draft boards, not only due to the results of the aforementioned athleticism tests, but due to a culmination of things. These prospects have been, and will be, meeting with various teams' brass all week, exchanging first impressions along the way.

The Indianapolis Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium is of course home to the NFL's Scouting Combine festivities, and has been since 1987. Therefore, Owner Jim Irsay and Co. have home-field advantage. Not really, but it's fun to think that way. Indy's front office, as well as every team's, will be in attendance for the combine, but they will all be stationed in their respective suites.

With said chaos and draft board reorderings taking place, personal and journalistic mock drafts alike will too succumb to the hype. That's not to say those prospects who boost their stock at the combine won't deserve it, they absolutely will. It's more so an understanding of just how important the Scouting Combine is, and how impressionable it can be.

Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud are the majority's top two quarterback prospects, however, Florida's Anthony Richardson and Kentucky's Will Levis are seen as in the mix for the first QB drafted. For general manager Chris Ballard and Co., selecting one of these four QBs will be no easy task. Not only does there appear to be four viable candidates up for grabs within the early stages of the draft, but the Indy brass needs to do its due diligence in finding which one they can call their guy. If a prospect becomes the chosen one for Indianapolis, a trade-up for the franchise's third No. 1 overall QB may be in place.

For the sake of adding potential realism into the equation, league-wide trades are enabled in this mock. I've mentioned the need for Chris Ballard and his crew to establish one of the quarterback prospects as their main target, as well as hinted at 'unchristopheristic' draft selections to be taken place. With that being said, which of the two will be incorporated into this here mock draft, if not both? Without further ado.

The Indianapolis Colts draft QB Anthony Richardson in the first round (4th overall)

In this scenario, my beloved "stick-n-pick" method works out. Well, that is if you're a fan of Anthony Richardson. If you aren't necessarily fond of Richardson and his game, maybe this next sentence will help alleviate some of the pain from missing out on both Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. Yes, that's right. Stroud and Young went off the board in consecutive selections.

"The Cardinals took.. a quarterback?" you ask. "With all that guaranteed money tied up to Kyler Murray?" you add. No, actually. The Carolina Panthers' GM Scott Fitterer went all-in by mortaging away some current, and future draft capital for the star-studded coaching staff that he has assembled. One who has former Colts HC Frank Reich now leading the charge.

The Cardinals must've been content with moving back six spots (from 3 to 9) after missing out on Will Anderson Jr. (CHI, No. 1) and are worrisome of Jalen Carter's future with recent allegations coming to light. Carter would end up falling to the Seattle Seahawks at fifth overall, while Arizona came away with a solid consolation prize with Clemson's Myles Murphy at ninth overall.

With Ballard staying put at fourth overall and resisting the urge to move future picks for a better selection, the Colts are now in prime position to not only reload now, but in the future. Now that I've provided context to how this all unfolded, let's dive into why Anthony Richardson to Indianapolis may just work, and work well.

Anthony Richardson is certainly a polarizing prospect amidst draft discussion this offseason. He exudes unreal potential, but with boom, comes the bust. He presents an uninspiring career, in terms of box score production, to the table. Only a one-year-starter at Florida with minimal playing time in the season prior, we've only just began to understand what Richardson is. Better yet, what he can be.

Athletically speaking, and wow is he athletic, Richardson is a 6-foot-4, 231 pound dual threat QB prospect who is expected to flirt with a 40-yard-dash in the 4.4s on Saturday. Not to mention he has a cannon of an arm. If you don't believe me, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said that an NFL GM has said Richardson is, "Cam Newton and Justin Fields combined." You can disagree with that GM but at the least, come away understanding the potential with Anthony Richardson.

Richardson's biggest concerns are that of his accuracy and efficiency in the passing game. He posted a pass completion percentage of 53.8% this past season. Through the first six weeks, Richardson threw for a 5-7, TD-INT ratio, but added five TDs and 286 yards on the ground.

This stretch included a single play which perfectly represents why the intrigue regarding Richardson is warranted. In this clip against Tennessee, he showed why he has low accuracy numbers with a rather unorthodox throw. That's the thing, he can make that throw. It's about perfecting his footwork so that unreal highlights like so will become normalized, because as you can see, his pocket presence is second to none.

Despite an unattractive TD-INT ratio amidst that recently mentioned first half stretch, Richardson visibly improved over the course of his last six games as a Gator. The latter half of his season concluded with a 12-2 TD-INT run while he was still dominant in the run game, tallying 368 yards and four scores.

Anthony Richardson has a solid case for potentially being the best QB from this year's draft class. His mistakes can be fixed and newly anointed head coach Shane Steichen agreed with that sentiment when he said at his combine press conference that, "yes, you can teach accuracy" and "you have to see the future."

The Indianapolis Colts draft DL Calijah Kancey in the second round (35th overall)

The uncharacteristic aspect of this mock draft starts early, and it starts now. Not to say bolstering the defensive front wouldn't be a necessary addition, nor would it be that uncharacteristic of GM Chris Ballard, but going after an interior defensive lineman with DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart already in place indeed raises some eyebrows.

At this point in time, it would make sense if the Colts were to go cornerback or edge rusher here, maybe even wide receiver depending on how free agency goes. However, with how I've approached this draft, I'm electing to operate as the antithesis of what Chris Ballard is about -- BPA, best pick available.

Calijah Kancey is regarded as an undersized interior defensive lineman at 6-feet tall and weighing roughly 280 pounds, but he plays much bigger than that. In the 2022 season, Kancey was an unanimous All-American and the ACC DPOY, posting a statline of eight sacks and 30 quarterback hurries.

Although he is an interior defensive lineman on paper, Kancey proved his versatility by playing all over the Pittsburgh line this past season. Pittsburgh rotates a handful of guys, spreading them all across the line, and blitzes often. Kancey has the chance to provide youthful depth for the Colts' defensive line and could thrive in a Dayo Odeyingbo-type role.

Odeyingbo in this assumption would begin to ascend, playing from the edge more often, thus giving Kancey more opportunities early on. Maybe the Colts re-sign Yannick Ngakoue to another one-year deal, giving Dayo more time and less pressure to produce early. Nonetheless, Ballard goes BPA and the show goes on.

The Indianapolis Colts draft WR Nathaniel Dell in the third round (79th overall)

The theme of best pick available prevails. Not only that, but back-to-back uncharacteristic picks from Chris Ballard are in order. This time, it’s uncharacteristic because of the prospects size.

No wide receiver in the Ballard-era has been shorter than 5-foot-11-inches, and 5-foot-11 only happened once. The other seven receiver selections were 6-foot-1 or taller. As for Dell? Well, he would certainly be an outlier as he stands approximately 5-foot-9 and weighs 160-165 pounds.

As a senior in 2022, he played 12 games and led the nation with 102 catches and 1,355 yards for an average of 13.3 yards per catch, 15 touchdowns, and an outstanding QB rating when targeted of 132.0.

The production speaks for itself, but Dell is truly among the best in the class at getting overall separation. He was universally praised for his efforts at this year's Senior Bowl.

With unrestricted free agent wide receiver Parris Campbell set to hit free agency after a healthy, career-year, bringing in an elite separator from the slot may just be what happens.

The Indianapolis Colts draft G Andrew Vorhees in the fourth round (106th overall)

Value, value, value! Not to beat a dead horse but this would be great value for the fourth round, especially at a position of need (which, again, may or may not have been dealt with via free agency).

Vorhees would be the largest guard drafted by Chris Ballard, matching Quenton Nelson's combine weight total at 325 pounds and standing an inch taller at 6-foot-6. He's not stiff in the slightest either. He's a mauler but is also incredibly athletic and that in itself would be on brand for Chris Ballard.

Andrew Vorhees made an appearance on the always anticipated "College Football Freaks List," of The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, an annual list that highlights upcoming draft prospects who are athletically, freaks of nature. According to Feldman, the veteran college star can bench-press 225 pounds. (the NFL Combine bench weight) 40 times.

Nonetheless, Vorhees would provide much needed competition at right guard and very possibly could end up with the starting role by the time the season's concluded. It would be great if he could come in and immediately contribute, as offensive line is Indianapolis’ biggest problem area.

I, aka Chris Ballard, had to make at least one trade back otherwise this wouldn't be a Ballard draft. This time around, Ballard reloads for the beginning of Day three in the 2024 Draft. If there’s one thing we learned about Chris Ballard during his tenure as general manager, it’s that he loves stacking up on other picks.

The Indianapolis Colts draft EDGE Karl Brooks in the fifth round (164th overall)

After getting that patented Ballard trade-back out of the way, it's time to return to Eric DeCosta-mode (Ravens GM). Back to another best pick available and the Bowling Green standout, Karl Brooks, is headed to Indianapolis.

Karl Brooks played five years at BGSU, thanks to an extra year of elgibility from the shortended 2020 season. He got better every year, both at his craft and statistically, and this year was the highest-rated edge defender in all of college football from PFF's player grades.

As a pass rusher his senior year, Brooks tallied 60 total pressures, which included 43 quarterback hurries, five quarterback hits, and an impressive 12 sacks on the season.

At 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, it makes sense that Brooks would profile as an interior defensive lineman in the NFL. He lacks the ability to create leverage off the snap while lacking the now-traditional dip-and-bend ability as any modern day EDGE should. Despite that, and while continuing with the BPA theme, a shot at the healthy and productive BGSU product could find a home in Indianapolis.

This would be the second defensive lineman selected for Indianapolis in this class, helping Indy to have one of the deepest units, with DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart already returning.

The Indianapolis Colts draft TE Zack Kuntz in the seventh round (223rd overall)

In this hypothetical, Chris Ballard has traded or cut longtime Colt, Mo Alie-Cox, thus leaving room for a potential fourth tight end on the 53-man roster, if Shane Steichen's sceme were to warrant that.

Tight End Zack Kuntz is a 6-foot-8, 250-pound transfer from Penn State and blossomed at Old Dominion in his first season as a Monarch. He caught 73 receptions and five touchdowns while amassing nearly 700 yards receiving.

Unfortunately, Kuntz' 2022 campagin was forced to a halt after sustaining a season-ending injury. Kuntz, however, is set to perform at the combine this Saturday and will look to impress with his athletic prowess as he, like Vorhees, is a part of Bruce Feldman's College Football Freaks List.

The Indianapolis Colts draft S Trey Dean III in the seventh round (238th overall)

This mock draft has concluded the same way it began, by drafting a Florida Gator prospect. Trey Dean III was a five-year contributor at Florida, starting games in every year, and at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, he moves exceptionally well. He's a better-than-average blitzer with top-notch closing speed.

Dean III's certainly a box safety but he could really benefit from sitting behind veteran Rodney McLeod Jr., given he returns to Indianapolis on a new contract. He's a bit handsy in the pass game but possess the athletic traits to learn in that area.

Trey Dean III's aggressiveness in the pass game hurts him but his athleticism gives him versatility. In this past season, he logged 100+ snaps at three separate positions (Box S, LB, SLCB). Dean III could provide immediate depth at the strong safety position while also being able to insert himself as a force in the special teams department.

READ MORE: Colts explain what they’re looking for in a quarterback