Grading the Colts 2023 NFL Draft class after their rookie season
By John Makuch
Colts 2023 Draft class as a whole: B+
Given how chaotic this season was for the Indianapolis Colts, these rookies helped keep things together as the ship got rockier and rockier by the week. This team filled holes in major positions and has some prospects to hold on to for the future of Indy.
Ballard put together one of his strongest draft classes yet with the 2023 group, but time will tell if these guys will bring consistency or if some of these rookie seasons showcased the peaks of these players, and not just the beginning.
Either way, not many teams acquire this many contributors with their draft classes, so for the Colts to really fill out this roster with rookies and still finish with a winning record is a great job by this full staff, management, and coaching alike. Indianapolis Colts fans could get used to draft classes like this, especially if some of these players end up developing into stars, but the bar is now set pretty high for this team.
In 2024, the Colts do not have the luxury of picking fourth in each round, now they sit at 15th for this upcoming draft. Given their record and the fact they almost made the playoffs, that is still a solid draft position to have when it comes to getting a good player early. And now that they have holes filled, they can just go best player available and really make a splash. This next draft could be the class that puts this team over the top in the AFC South, but we will have to wait and see just how well Chris Ballard performs.