The Indianapolis Colts have been one of the favored teams to trade up in the 2023 NFL draft to the No. 1 overall pick, and general manager Chris Ballard gave a bit of insight into how the team would have to feel in order to make that move.
In what would be a franchise-defining deal, the Colts have to feel absolute conviction that the prospect they are trading up for will be the face of the franchise for the next 10-15 years.
When asked at the NFL Scouting Combine what it would take to validate a trade up to No. 1, this is what Ballard responded with:
“That we were just convicted that this is no freaking doubt the guy.”
The Colts won’t know if they feel that type of way about a prospect immediately after the combine. They still have the top 30 visits to go through and they still have to weigh their options of how much draft capital they’d be willing to part ways with in a deal.
It’s likely that the Bears would request the No. 4 overall pick, the No. 35 overall pick and a 2024 first-round pick in order to move back to where the Colts currently sit.
If Ballard feels enough conviction that the deal would be worth it, he said he would have no qualms about pulling the trigger, though he never said what kind of draft capital he would consider too expensive.
“Well one, and I know this is coming up because I know all the speculation out there, one, to move up, there’s got to be a guy worthy of it. Okay? I know everybody in America is going to say – like, this is what’s great right now. Everybody has just automatically stamped that you’ve got to move up to one to get it right. I don’t know if I agree with that, I don’t,” Ballard said.
“When we meet as a staff and we say, okay, this is what we need to do, this is the guy for the next 10-15 years and we think he’s the right guy? Sure, we’ll do it, but who’s to say we won’t get one at four.”
The Colts are guaranteed one the perceived top four quarterback prospects in the class. Whether they feel strongly enough about all four to stay put isn’t clear, and it’s unlikely we’ll get a definitive answer either way.
With Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis likely viewed as the top four, it will be interesting to see at the end of the process how the Colts felt.
There will be a few teams looking to move up to the No. 1 and potentially the No. 3 overall pick so Ballard will have to carefully weigh this decision.
And it’s a choice that will ultimately be the deciding factor in the remaining length of his tenure as the general manager of the Colts.
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