The Sauce Gardner trade raised plenty of eyebrows when it happened, and it has only drawn more scrutiny since. The Indianapolis Colts missed the playoffs, and they won't have a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
While that's not on Gardner, it certainly put general manager Chris Ballard in a tough spot. And even though the team retained him for another season, fans and his bosses will be judging his every move more thoroughly now.
Luckily for him, he may still land on his feet after such a risky move. In his latest mock draft, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic (subscription required) has the Colts landing Georgia star LB CJ Allen at No. 47, a scenario that would certainly help Ballard keep his job.
CJ Allen would be a true steal at No. 47 for the Colts
NFL Mock Draft Database, a website that aggregates info from 132 big boards and 1,009 first-round mock drafts, has Allen as the consensus No. 33 player. Tankathon has him at No. 30, so getting him to slip nearly 20 spots might be wishful thinking. That said, some teams might be deterred by his rather unimpressive build or the lack of positional need:
“He won’t impress you physically,” an SEC offensive coordinator told Feldman. “There’s nothing about him that’s great. He is stiff. He’s not that big or fast. And he will get swallowed up at times. Until you look up at the stat sheet at the end of the game and he’s got 11 tackles. He plays with great instincts, and he tackles the [expletive] out of people. I really like him.”
While he may not be the most physically imposing prospect, his tape and numbers are certainly impressive. He recorded 126 solo tackles, 79 assists, 4.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and one interception in 41 games at Georgia.
Allen was an absolute force against the run, as evidenced by his 36 run stops. He excelled in man coverage against tight ends and running backs, using his shoulders to gain leverage and not missing many tackles. He's still a work in progress in coverage, especially against play-action, but he's got the potential to be a green-dot guy for the next decade-plus.
The Colts are extremely thin at linebacker, with Austin Ajiake as the projected starting MIKE linebacker. Allen could take that spot from him at some point in the season to start alongside Akeem Davis-Gaither and John Bullock, giving the league's ninth-best run defense another bruiser to contain David Montgomery, Bhayshul Tuten, and Tony Pollard, and potentially Jeremiyah Love twice a year.
Allen's draft stock may have also taken a bit of a hit over his decision not to run the 40-yard dash at the Bulldogs' pro day. He cited knee swelling from an injury he suffered against Texas Tech, but he still participated in positional drills. Again, that could be a true blessing in disguise for the Colts.