Getty NFL Insider Ian Rapoport of NFL.com speculated that the Indianapolis Colts could trade for a first-round pick to select a quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Indianapolis Colts will not make a selection on the first day of the 2022 NFL Draft. Well, at least going into the draft, that’s how it looks.
The Colts do not have a first-round pick in this year’s draft because of the Carson Wentz trade with the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason. But NFL Insider Ian Rapoport speculated that Indianapolis could be interested in acquiring a first-round pick on draft night.
Rapoport suggested the Colts are one of three teams — the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons being the others — to watch towards the end of the first round. The NFL insider said on April 27 that any of those three teams could acquire a pick late in the round to draft a quarterback.
“I would also keep an eye on Seattle, early in the second round trading back into the first round,” Rapoport said. “The Falcons, who still have a need at quarterback, might be a team that might be interested in that as well. Maybe the Colts.
“If there is going to be three quarterbacks at least taken in the first round, the likelihood is that someone trades from the second back into the first.”
From our @NFLTotalAccess Draft Preview: The #Seahawks love to trade. Will they trade out of the Top 10 or back into the first round?
ALL the latest Colts news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Colts newsletter here!
Chris Ballard Downplays Colts’ Interest in QB
The Colts invited quarterbacks Malik Willis and Sam Howell for visits to Indianapolis during the pre-draft process. The organization also reportedly visited Desmond Ridder in Cincinnati.
But general manager Chris Ballard minimized the meaning of those visits while speaking to the media in his predraft press conference on April 22.
“We’ve done it every year,” he said in regards to scouting quarterbacks. “Agents do a good job making sure they leak whenever we do.”
Despite the due diligence every year, Ballard has selected just two quarterbacks in five drafts as general manager of the Colts. Furthermore, Ballard has never drafted a signal caller prior to Day 3.
To acquire a first-round pick to draft a quarterback during the same offseason the Colts traded a third-round selection for former MVP quarterback Matt Ryan would be surprising.
Chris Ballard Discusses Possibility of Trading Up
As surprising as it would be to see the Colts acquire a first-round pick to draft a quarterback this year, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
In his press conference on April 22, Ballard did not rule out trading for a first-round pick.
“Is there a guy that we just say, okay, we need to go get this because he’s really a — this guy’s going to start for us for 10 years. That’s a projection,” Ballard said. “He’s got to be a unique guy that we really have a strong conviction on to go move up.”
That comment, though, is by no means a confirmation that Ballard has a strong conviction on a quarterback or any other potential late first-round prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft.
On April 22, the Colts general manager also spoke about the great depth that exists in this year’s draft.
“Last year with that extra year of eligibility with COVID, we’re seeing a lot more players, especially, four, five, six, seven undrafted free agents that I think have a chance to really make it,” Ballard said. “There’s a little more depth in the draft in totality.”
A general manager that likes the depth in a draft is more likely to sit and wait for a good prospects to be available when his team picks rather than sacrificing selections to move up.