From the Horse's Mouth: Ballard, Reich, Scouts Dish On Colts' Day 2 Draft Picks
After months of buildup, the 2022 NFL Draft has concluded and presented the Indianapolis Colts with eight new players.
The team invested in perhaps the biggest, most athletic draft class they've ever had, as all eight players had Relative Athletic Scores over 9.0 out of 10.0, with five of the eight having scored over 9.5.
Although this new group is incredibly gifted, the Colts didn't have to bend on character, as all eight players are also considered to be hard workers, great teammates, and overall positive influences in the locker room.
After the draft, we heard from several members of the Colts, who provided their thoughts on the team's draft class.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard, head coach Frank Reich, director of player personnel Kevin Rogers, midwest area scout Chad Henry, northeast area scout Mike Derice, and national football scout Mike Lacy give their thoughts on this year's class below.
*With so much to say, we're breaking this up into two parts: the Colts' Day 2 picks here and their Day 3 picks on Friday.
WR Alec Pierce: Round 2, Pick 53
Ballard on the acquisition of Pierce:
Yeah. I mean look, we added some unique guys that I think is going to add some explosive ability to our offense. I mean Pierce, he’s got really good size, has really good vertical speed. He’s got work to do, but like any rookie receiver that comes into the league. But we think he’s got a chance to really ascend. Just put on the Notre Dame game. I mean he played about as well as you could play against a top-five college football team. So, excited to get him
Ballard when asked if they thought Pierce could play both outside and inside:
Both. I think he can do both. I think he can play both inside and outside. He’s tough, he blocks. He was a really good special teams player early in his career. The one thing you notice about Pierce is he gets behind people. I mean this kid can really, really run and really adjust to the football. There’s some work – what he’s got to do – from a route-running perspective, which most receivers have to work on anyways, but we like his upside.
No, but he primarily played outside. We think he can move inside. In our offense with Frank, they’re going to move him around anyways. So, the coaches will figure it out. He’s a big target, we think he’s going to be able to do a lot of the stuff that Zach (Pascal) did blocking for us in the run game. Which is really important. I don’t see an issue with him being able to go inside.
Reich on whether he envisions Pierce playing inside or outside:
I like him on the outside. I think he’ll move around, and we’ll see how much he’ll play. He’ll compete but as you guys know, it’s play by play. We’re going to move the guys around multiple positions. They need to be smart enough to do that, all of our receivers are, and he fits in that mold as well. One of the things I like on his tape is I like him outside. I think he’s very good versus press, I think he’s got length and vertical speed to get down the field. I think for his size, he’s a very good route runner. So, it’ll be fun to see him grow and develop and compete over these next couple of months.
Reich on if Pierce can earn a significant role in the offense right away:
Yeah, it’s going to be very competitive. It’s the same every year, we were talking about this as an offensive staff the other day before the draft even started. This much as any year, there is no depth chart. We are just competing. We’re rolling. We’re going to roll guys through. It’s the NFL. In a sense, everybody knows that’s what great about all these guys is they know we are going to put the best guys on the field. We’ll roll through, everybody will have a chance to compete.
Henry on what stands out about Pierce:
It does (speed). Speed at his size in particular. He's really competitive. He's got really good ball skills. He's like a basketball player on the outside. Competitive balls. I think, too, when you think about guys for our team, we thought about pairing him with (Michael) Pittman, both on the outside. We'd have a pretty interesting tandem there. It's kinda well documented in the building that I'm a pro wrestling fan. They're a pretty good tag team. If I was gonna market 'em I'd probably call 'em "Above the Rim" or "Take It Up Strong" or "Phi Talla Balla." Something like that.
Henry on how Pierce's volleyball background translates to football:
He's so natural just going up and attacking the ball in the air. I call it — and I'm showing my age here a little bit — I call it the Nintendo Theory. Where kids today aren't growing up going out and catching a ball like they did — I'm sounding like the old guy here — back in my day, but you can tell he's done it. He's done that playing volleyball, his ball skills are really good that way. And his timing, his timing and ability to track the ball, that translates as well.
Henry on Pierce needing more work as a route runner:
I would say that's more common than not for a lot of guys coming out of college football, particularly a lot of schemes that are being run nowadays. It's basically along the same lines of a running back that needs to get better in pass pro. Sometimes they're just not asked to do it a lot, or as a receiver sometimes their route tree isn't as extensive. But he's certainly athletic enough to do it and he also fits this, guys that want to be coached, wants to get better. This guy's super competitive and I think he's only going improve in our culture.
Henry on Pierce playing well against elite competition:
That's one of the things I like about him best. That Notre Dame game this year was awesome, and same thing for the Ohio State game in the past. This guy's wired to compete. It doesn't matter if he's going out there playing with a bunch of school children or playing against the best team in the world, he's gonna try and compete. He's gonna try and win all the time. That translates well coming into our league because as you guys know, it's competition every week, gut-check every week, and he's ready for that. I think that he's shown that. It's always good for a scout when you can see a guy do something rather than just try to 100% project it.
Henry on whether or not it's a concern that Pierce has started for three years but still needs some polish:
No, I think you could probably say that for at least half the receivers coming out of college. "Hey, they need route work," just because they haven't run a full tree. The thing we look at in that regard is. "Okay, is this guy athletic enough?" He certainly is. "Is this guy intelligent, does he have instincts?" He does. "Is he coachable, is he willing to learn, is he willing to work and perfect that craft?" And I think he checks all those boxes, so I think we're in good shape with him.
Rogers on their pro player comparison for Pierce in the draft room:
I think Jordy Nelson was mentioned a couple times, but he's unique in his own way. He's a vertical guy that can go up and get the football. I think he's probably a little more flexible than Jordy. Jordy was probably a little more polished on the underneath stuff, but we think that Alec, he'll develop in that respect. But that's probably the most common one that we got in that respect was Jordy.
TE Jelani Woods: Round 3, Pick 73
Ballard on the acquisition of Woods:
Jelani is unique. I’m not going to lie to you, I sweated it out because I think he’s got really big upside both as a receiving tight end and as a blocker. We think he’s going to be able to block. He did it at Oklahoma State, but he’s a unique athlete and he’s a guy that’s always open. It’s kind of like Mo (Alie-Cox). When you’re 6'7", the quarterback can put the ball up and he’s athletic enough to be able to make a play on it. This kid can run. This kid can really run so we’re excited to get him. All of them are smart. All of them are really smart guys, and I think that’s important.
Ballard on how they feel about Woods as a blocker in the NFL:
Anytime you’re 6’7" – Mo went through this and Mo’s gotten better at it but anytime you’re that tall, leverage. Learning how to play with leverage and play with your pad level down. It’s just something that’s going to take a lot of work. He’s a big man. I think he’s got 230 pounds of lean mass on his body. He’s probably going to play at about 255-260. It’ll take him some time to learn how to really block, but he did it at Oklahoma State. So, we think he’ll be able to do it here.
Derice on Woods' ability as a blocker:
So Jelani, at Oklahoma State, did do a lot of blocking. Unfortunately, they didn't throw the ball to him as much, but he was capable. There's some guys who are tight ends who aren't known for their blocking but their willingness to try is part of it. He gave effort all the time as a blocker. It may not always look pretty but he gave effort. Some of those long-levered guys, those long guys have a tough time playing with great knee bend and great leverage to move guys, but he had that capability. It's just that you want him to be more consistent through contact. He'll have some growing pains in that regard but it wouldn't take that much to develop it, I think it's more teaching technique. He'll be fine in that regards, it'll just take him a little bit of time to get stronger.
Derice on what makes Woods unique and how he plays at different weights:
Yes, so, I think initially when a lot of people, including myself, went in there in August, he was weighing in at roughly 268 pounds. Then, he got down to the East-West (Shrine Bowl Game) to 255 pounds and he moved so much better from a receiving standpoint. Just the way he'd bend and got out of his routes and the acceleration through his cuts. You look at a guy with his size and length, and he's always open no matter if he's covered 'cause he's just so long. He has good hands and he's able to shield the ball with his body from the DB. So that's what makes him unique. That type of length is just hard to find with that type of speed.
Derice on the process of scouting Woods:
He was originally a quarterback at Oklahoma State and then they moved him to tight end – I was talking to his offensive coordinator the other day – they were using him as a scout team member to portray Mark Andrews, and that's what started him playing tight end full time. So when he goes to Virginia, his coach Marques Hagans, who played here for a little bit, had hit up Morocco (Brown) and I and said, "There's this guy that transferred in from Oklahoma State that's pretty special" during spring ball. So, Morocco and I came there in August and we kinda watched him tape from practices and scrimmages and watched him live and we thought, "This guy had a chance to be pretty special if he honed in on his skills."
Derice on what it meant for Woods to play for Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady and tight ends coach Klayton Adams at the East-West Shrine Game:
It gave them a chance to understand how his brain works. They were able to see how his practice habits were, how quick he learned, and how comfortable he was with the terminology that they use within our offense. So I think there was a level of comfortability with us with Jelani, and vice versa.
Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
OT Bernhard Raimann: Round 3, Pick 77
Ballard on if he thinks Raimann can be the Colts' left tackle:
This is what I’ll say about that, we do think he has that talent, but what we’ll do is we’ll get the best five (offensive linemen) on the field. If he is one of the best five, he’ll be on the field whether it’s at tackle, guard – whatever the coaches think are the best five, we’ll get them on the field. But we think he has starter talent on the O-line.
Ballard on what made the Colts comfortable in selecting Raimann.
He blocked people on tape, that’s number one. Even with his traits, he was productive. He’s still learning how to play the position but if you just look at his growth from his – so, the COVID year, he was a tight end his first two years, moves to tackle and then the growth from his junior to his senior season, we think he’s going to keep taking those incremental jumps. This is a smart guy now. I want to say he’s got his degree in actuarial science. This guy is brilliant. He’s got a great story, I’ll let him tell it but he’s got a great story.
Henry on if it's good to get Raimann as a player who is used to adapting rather than having started 40 games in the same spot:
I think that's a really good take on it actually. The guy's played offensive line less than 20 games. I think the Senior Bowl was his 19th game playing offensive line. He's also really smart, so he's like a sponge, he picks things up really quick. He's got top one-percent work ethic. So, I think he fits into our culture great. I think that's a really good point that you made because he's not too set in his ways. One thing Chris always talks about is we want guys who are coachable, we want guys who want to get better, and I think that he fits that to a "T."
Henry on Raimann as a player.
He's a special kid, now. He grows up in Austria where football's not really a thing. He discovers it, loves it. Playing semi-pro ball over there. Wants to play ball so he comes in this exchange program and goes to a small school, plays tight end. Plays tight end the first two years he's at Central Michigan, gets on the field, he's a part-time starter. This guy's intelligent, he's confident, he's a worker, he believes in himself, he's coachable. His physical toughness is excellent. His mental toughness, I have no problem saying this guy could man the left side of the line because the left tackle position in addition to having all the skill, you have to be mentally tough because if you get your ass beat, everyone in the stadium knows it. And he's got that kind of wiring for sure.
Rogers on Raimann and how they found out about him:
I think the first thing you look at is the physical traits. He meets all the specs, right? He's got size, he's got strength, he's got feet, he can run. I recall going up there to scout Central Michigan two years ago and there was a tight end coming out and I'm watching the tight end group, and the liaison tells me, "Hey, the tight end's not here today." "Wait a minute, who's that guy out there?" And it was Raimann. I mean, the physical traits and movement skills pop out at you. On top of it, the kid's character. He's gonna work, he's gonna do everything he can to maximize his talent.
Rogers on Raimann not having developed bad habits as a long-term starter:
Yeah, I would say it is (true about not developing bad habits). Both him and the other lineman that came out there, (Luke) Goedeke, they're both kinda late bloomers in their own respects and they're both kinda on the rise. The one thing you notice about Bernhard when he plays, whether it was when they played LSU early in the year or at the Senior Bowl, even if he starts rough, he kinda finds a way to self-correct. He's just a competitive kid, he's smart. I think that competitive nature, that competitive drive that's in him to kinda maximize what he's got in his body.
Rogers on if Raimann's arm length (32-7/8") will be an issue in him playing left tackle:
You consider the arm length but there's plenty of starting tackles playing in the league with a little bit shorter arms. Braden Smith is a guy that people questioned whether his arm length was gonna enable him to survive. And really the way the tackle position is anymore, right and left, they're almost interchangeable. It's a pass protection league, you've gotta pass pro on the right and the left. He's got great lean body mass, about 250 pounds of lean mass. He's got the feet to center you up on the edge. There's plenty for him physically for him to survive on the outside.
Lacy on how Raimann fits onto the Colts' line:
Yeah, we feel really good that he could play four spots; everything but center. And I'm not sure he couldn't go there and take snaps if we asked him to. Two years on the O-line, in reality, it's a shorter time than that because of the shortened 2020 season. He's got less than 20 games under his belt there. Like Kevin said with the character, you're betting on him to work and just really strain and push himself to reach his ceiling.
© Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
S Nick Cross: Round 3, Pick 96
Ballard on the acquisition of Cross:
I bet we caught y’all sleeping on that one, didn’t we? (laughing) Look, just a really good athlete that can run. He’s young. He’s not even 21 years old yet. I remember asking the group like, "Where would you take this kid if he was in next year’s draft?" And it was second round, so we don’t have any problem giving our third next year to go get him...
Adding another safety to the group.. I don’t know if it was definitely a need, but here he was sticking out on the board and we said, "You know what? We need to get Nick Cross." We think he’s a really talented players and he’s going to add a lot of talent to the back end.
Derice on what made Cross special enough to trade up for:
Nick was one of those guys that had unique traits, right? So, he's 6'1", 215 pounds and has incredible range and ball skills, and was also physical at the point of contact. That's a hard combination to have at the safety position 'casue there's some guys that are great ball skills guys but not great tacklers, there's guys who are great tacklers but limited in coverage. Nick can do everything that we want at the back end. He can play free and strong interchangeably, so that's what makes him pretty special. He's 20 years old, almost 21, not a lot of football experience as a starter, I think one year and a half, but traits were off the charts and he's so intelligent as a football player. Student of the game, and that's what makes him really, really special.
Derice on Cross not needing as much time to develop as one might think, and where he thinks Cross would have been selected in next year's draft:
I don't think he'll take as much time, I mean he's a really good football player. I was shocked that he was still there at the bottom of three...
Top of (Round) two, yeah. He's special.
What do you think of the Colts' draft class? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!
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