Virtual NFL Draft Requires Adjustment, But Colts Sticking to Same Principles

INDIANAPOLIS — The new normal for preparing and participating in a virtual NFL draft is a radical deviation from the routine, but Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard insists basic procedural standards still apply.

Such as staying true to the draft board and selecting the best players available, thinking long term about how they fit and maintaining an open flow of communication with the scouting department, albeit all remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Colts have seven picks in the draft, which is Thursday through Saturday. Ballard will be submitting those selections from his home with numerous video screens and communication lines with his staff.

(Virtual) Class is in session. 📖 pic.twitter.com/cYH08tXERB
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) April 21, 2020

The question for NFL teams is how will doing things so differently impact the outcome?

Ballard gave his two cents on a Friday video conference call from his home.

“I guess over time will prove that right or wrong,” he said with a chuckle. “I mean I’ll be honest with you, our process really hasn’t changed much. Look, our coaches didn’t go on the road a lot anyway. We would send a few coaches out, but it was never a big emphasis for us where we were putting the coaches on the road a lot. Now, our contact points with scouts and players, yes, but you find new ways to do that and it is through avenues like this. So essentially, have there been some tweaks to the process? Yes, but not a major overhaul to the process.

“Look, I think we know what is at stake during this draft. This one is going to be heightened and they are already scrutinized at the hundredth degree anyway. This one is going to get scrutinized at the thousandth degree on who took who and what was the success down the line? Like I told our guys, we are not going to change the way we do business. We’re not going to change our process, how we scout and how we make decisions. We are going to draft and we are going to let it rip. To be honest with you, I would like more picks. I feel very confident. I’d like more picks. We’ll see if that happens or not, but I feel confident in our group. I feel confident in our work and what we have done, and we think we are going to acquire good players.”

Barring a trade up on Thursday, the Colts won’t be on the clock until Friday with the second pick of the second round, 34th overall. Team needs start at wide receiver and also include safety, pass rusher, cornerback, offensive line and possibly running back.

How the Colts view a prospect won’t change, either.

“No, we’ll continue to draft how we do,” Ballard said. “I don’t think you can enter into a draft thinking, ‘Well, just about one season.’ You need to be thinking long term at all points. I don’t ever draft a guy thinking, ‘Well, he’s just going to help us this year.’

“As a matter of fact, I have probably made some mistakes where I didn’t take a guy or two that I wish I’d had more of a long-term outlook on the player. Our characteristics that we’re looking for, those are two things that – football intelligence and being able to pick it up quickly – those are all things we look for anyways. But our approach won’t change.”

The Colts are coming off a 7-9 season in which they lost seven of their last nine games and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. Ballard is entering his fourth season as general manager and head coach Frank Reich starts his third.

Ballard’s Colts draft history has been more positive than negative, largely because of his second year in 2018, when he selected All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson with the sixth overall pick and All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard in the second round.

But he’s had some misses, too. Safety Malik Hooker, a 2017 first-round pick, is reportedly being shopped for a draft pick, which is a statement when considering the Colts are thin at the position but evidently haven’t seen enough from him to stand pat. Cornerback Quincy Wilson and defensive end/tackle Tyquan Lewis have been disappointing second-round picks who have yet to live up to their selections.

Alas, that’s recent history and what matters most is the here and now. And nobody can really blame this unusual set of circumstances for a poor draft performance later this week.

“Here is the good news, all 32 teams are under the same conditions,” Ballard said. “Nobody has got an advantage over anybody. The more that we’ve been through these types of meetings – and we’ve used a couple different platforms, one, to keep people a little off balance to knowing what we are using — we’ve gotten more comfortable with it.

“I mean if you think about it, what is the difference between us being here right now and then us being in the media room at the complex? There is no difference. I mean other than you all get to sit and shoot the bull for a little bit before. I mean we are still getting the same work done and being just as productive.”