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With the Indianapolis Colts signing multiple safeties and cornerback Stephon Gilmore during April, the attention around the Colts has shifted to how the organization can upgrade its offense, particularly wide receivers.
That certainly dominated a portion of general manager Chris Ballard’s time with the media on April 22.
In his first press conference since the Colts began their voluntary offseason workouts, Ballard addressed the team’s depth at wide receiver.
He explained why he and the coaching staff have confidence despite the lack of depth and experience at wideout on the roster. Furthermore, he shared some insight into how he feels about wide receivers in general.
“Everybody is scared of the unknown,” Ballard said. “They’re scared of the unknown, so they just think, ‘Well, let’s go get somebody else.’ That guy is unknown too. Just because the draft projections are high doesn’t mean that it’s automatic success for that guy.”
A lot of NFL mock drafts in recent weeks have the Colts targeting wide receiver with their first pick in the second round.
Indianapolis may very well take a wide receiver, but it sounds like Ballard is going to be careful about it.
“It’s the most over graded and over drafted position in the draft,” said Ballard.
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Chris Ballard Touts Colts WRs while Discussing Challenges Rookie Wide Receivers Face
Ballard is correct with at least one thing he said on April 22 — there’s plenty of unknown with the Colts wide receivers.
Michael Pittman emerged as a budding star last season, posting a 1,000-yard campaign. But after that, there are plenty of question marks.
The Colts have been waiting for Parris Campbell to become a more consistent contributor, but he’s dealt with injuries throughout his career. Last season, he posted 10 catches for 162 yards in six games.
In addition to Campbell, Ballard mentioned Mike Strachan and Dezmon Patmon by name during his press conference.
“These are big talented kids who got a year [in the league]. You can see their development coming on.”
The Colts also have Ashton Dulin, who signed his restricted free agent tender on April 19. Keke Coutee, who recorded 400 receiving yards in 2020, is on the roster too.
Ballard has watched most of those receivers develop on a daily basis for years. He expressed more confidence in them than drafting a receiver just for the sake of adding to the position.
Because even a high draft pick is an unknown, and Ballard says the transition a rookie receiver must go through is more difficult than for almost any other player.
“I think it’s one of the harder positions to really come in and make the adjustment,” he said. “They have to be smart, and they’ve got to have a level of instincts to really be able to do it.”
Chris Ballard Shares Overall Receiver Philosophy
Just because Ballard says it’s hard for rookie receivers to develop quickly doesn’t mean he prefers veteran wideouts over drafting receivers.
When asked on April 22 about the exploding wide receiver market this offseason, Ballard didn’t exactly give expensive veteran wideouts a ringing endorsement.
“I’ve always thought that like the really good defenses, the really good defensive coordinators find a way to take them out of the game. They can. It doesn’t make them less valuable, but they find a way.”
At the end of the day, Ballard sounds like a general manager that’s never going to emphasize receiver.
It’s quite possible that the Colts haven’t added anything at wideout yet this offseason because Ballard doesn’t find the position to be as important as others.
Chris Ballard Stresses Passing Game Involving Running Backs, Tight Ends
Ballard might lack love for receivers, but that doesn’t mean the Colts aren’t going to pass the ball. Indianapolis will just do it in other ways.
On April 22, Ballard stressed involving Nyheim Hines more in the passing game. Hines had 63 receptions with Philip Rivers as quarterback in 2020. But last season, he posted a career-low 40 catches.
The Colts general manager also spoke about targeting tight ends Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson more this season.
“[Alie-Cox]’s pretty successful when we threw it to him,” Ballard said. “Then watching [Kylen] Granson as a rookie, come in, and have a minor contribution. But we see good things in Granson as an athlete and as a route runner and think that he’s got a chance of being a really good F tight end.
“So we think we’ve got some young players that now given the chance to play, have a chance to ascend.”
By no means does Ballard’s confidence in the team’s pass catchers signal that the Colts will not draft a receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft. But clearly, Ballard likes what the team already possesses.
“Everybody says we just lack complete weapons,” he said. “Well, Jonathan [Taylor] — pretty good. Nyheim [Hines] — pretty good. (Michael) Pittman (Jr.) — pretty good. There’s only one ball now. Do we need to add? Yeah, we do, but we also have some young players too who can fall into the mix.”
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