Ballard: Adding Brents, Downs Helps Approach On Saturday

The Indianapolis Colts entered the 2023 NFL Draft with nine selections to make, but after a pair of trade-downs at the beginning of Friday, they now have eight picks alone on the final day.

The first three picks came in the form of quarterback Anthony Richardson in Round 1 on Thursday, followed by cornerback Julius (JuJu) Brents in Round 2 and wide receiver Josh Downs in Round 3 on Friday.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard spoke after Day 2 about his latest two additions and how they help the team moving forward.

They felt comfortable with who they'd get after trading down, wanted more picks.

“Yeah, more shots. We picked up some extra picks. We’ve got eight picks tomorrow. We think there’s still some really good players. We’ve done really well in that fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh round area and excited about it.”

Ballard on if he thought they'd still be able to get Brents after trading down twice: “We had about probably five or six guys on the board and when you have that much depth on the board we were like, ‘Okay, we can still move down the board and get a player we really like.’ It was good that it was at a position that we needed to add a player. But we would have gone another position if he had gone. We like the talent at that level as we kept moving down and then the ability to add the extra picks, especially the extra fourth where we think there are some pretty good players we thought that value was too good to pass up.”

Brents' size, athleticism, physicality is what they covet.

Despite not being able to fully participate until training camp because of a wrist injury, Ballard is excited about what they're getting in Brents: “With JuJu, big, tall, athletic corner. Really excited to get him. He had a couple really good years at Kansas State. He’s got great character. Bonus that he’s local, from here in Warren (Warren Central High School). He won’t be ready until training camp because of the wrist, but he’ll be able to run and do things. He just can’t punch with it. But he’ll be good to go, we feel good about it. ”

Ballard on Brents having a unique blend of size, length, and athleticism for the cornerback position: “There are not a lot of guys 6'3" playing corner in the league, but he is a really good athlete. He’s a really good fit for what we want to do because he’s a press corner. We do want to play a little more press coverage. We think he’s going to be really good at it. He’s got some unique traits. He’s a really good athlete and for a tall kid he can really change direction. We’re excited about it. We think he’s a really good fit for the defense.”

Ballard on how Brents used his length (6'3", 34" arms) to his advantage in college: “Well, I mean I’m trying to think of games. Like, he was really good at the Senior Bowl. We thought he had a really good week at the Senior Bowl. Even the 4-5-0. When you’re 6'3", there’s a difference. It gives you an advantage down the field because you’re not throwing over a 5'9", 5'10" guy. You’re throwing over a 6'3" guy. That looks different to a quarterback.”

Colts really liked Downs, tried to trade up for him.

"Then being able to get Josh Downs, that was a bonus. We really didn’t expect him to be there. We actually tried to move up for about 30 minutes to try and get him and we just couldn’t get up, but really excited about him. Actually, Chad Henry and Morocco (Brown) spoke glowingly about not only his talent, but the character of the young man. He’s a really good fit. He gives us a need, gives us an inside. We think he can play inside and outside. But he’s fast, smart, great with the ball after the catch, really high character. Probably one of the best phone calls I think I’ve had since I’ve been here making a call – emotional, excited. You can tell he’s got a little chip on him."

Ballard on if Downs could also return punts for the Colts, which he did in college: “Yeah, we will definitely give him a shot. We’ve got Isaiah McKenzie too – we signed – who’s really good at it. We think we’ll have good depth there.”

Downs has a fan in Reggie Wayne.

“Actually, I was watching the quarterbacks down on the field throw and Reggie came over and said, ‘Man, this Josh Downs. It was incredible.’ And he did, he had a great workout. You can see, he’s got a powerful lower body. Even though he’s 171 pounds, when you see his lower body he’s got really thick thighs and quads. So, he’s got some strength in his lower body and power in his lower body.”

Despite his lack of size, Downs fills a role the Colts were targeting.

“Yeah, we wanted to add more speed. His size at the end of the day really didn’t matter, but he is a good complement. That’s a good call by you. He is a good complement to what we have.”

Filling needs with first three picks allows Colts to be more 'open' on Saturday.

“Yeah, it does open us up. We’ll start taking – especially when you get in the fourth, fifth round you don’t want to pass up one that you’ve got a little higher. You just take the player no matter the position – you just take them.”

Ballard on what he'd like to accomplish on the offensive line on Day 3: “I can’t give that away (laughs). I will tell you this, we do think there’s depth. We do think there’s depth at that position and we think there’s depth on the d-line too.”

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