After a slow start to the offseason, general manager Chris Ballard has methodically brought in veteran players at impact positions with Matt Ryan, Yannick Ngakoue and now Stephon Gilmore.
The latest acquisition for the Indianapolis Colts gives the front office more flexibility with the way they can approach the 2022 NFL draft. Cornerback was at the top of the list of positional needs for Indianapolis prior to the addition of Gilmore.
If Ballard would have entered the NFL draft weekend without Gilmore or any veteran cornerback, then it would have pushed corner prospects up his board and created the need to find an impact rookie with a Day 2 selection.
With one of the starting boundary spots in the secondary spoken for, it now creates a competition for the starting gig opposite of Gilmore. Isaiah Rodgers and Brandon Facyson will be the top players to win that spot but there should be a rookie that is brought in to push them for snaps and give the group some depth.
The more that Ballard addresses depth in the lead-up to the draft the more he sets himself up to go with a true best player on the board approach with his strategy.
Left tackle can be pointed to as the biggest hole in the starting lineups but with the belief in Matt Pryor then that doesn’t make me believe that the position will be forced in the draft.
The offense still needs one or two more playmakers as well and the defense can use some more depth. The addition of Gilmore gives Indianapolis more leeway to sit and select players that can address those concerns with their eight selections this year.
If Ballard would decide to go out into the market to add more veterans to the roster prior to the draft weekend then that also helps create more of the plausibility that they can target their favorite prospects and be willing to trade up to get them on the team.
If one of the top receiver prospects were to fall late into the first round or the top of the second round then they could move up to go get Matt Ryan a weapon.
A targeted best player available approach should be the way the Colts go about their draft weekend at the end of April.
