There is no time to waste. The Colts must improve immediately.
NFL draft classes are full of players across varying abilities and levels of readiness. Some are raw while others are pro-ready. They all will take plenty of coaching and repetitions to acclimate to the NFL, but each player starts their journey at a different point. Chris Ballard and the Indianapolis Colts have normally been more than willing to be patient and develop the players they draft. Time is running out for this regime, however, and finding as many players that can make an immediate impact will be key.
A player with raw ability and potential can work out when time is on your side, but those players take a lot of work and don’t always pan out in the end. Take Anthony Richardson for example. Sky is the limit, but the amount of patience and development needed to get him to such a level is years. Andrew Luck, on the other hand, was ready on day one. Obviously, Lucks don’t grow on trees, so that is an extreme example. Finding proven players in college that can play right away would be huge, though. Ballard can’t wait three years to hope the coaching staff taps into the full potential.
Another Ballard special is to draft players coming off injuries. Those players can have great careers, but sitting out an entire year to recover is wasting time. Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard came in and started making a difference in game one. It is hard to find a rookie of the year or an all-pro. Ballard doesn’t necessarily need that level, but he needs to be close. To fill in the holes on the roster and make it competitive enough to win a division title, the Colts have to get a lot better. Their free agents this year will help, but there is more work to be done.
To save his job, Chris Ballard doesn’t have to hit a home run in the draft, but he better hit a triple. Failing to achieve results this season could very well mark the end of his time in Indianapolis. Bringing in a closer to pro-ready draft class that can contribute at multiple positions immediately would go a long way to preserving his job. Do less than that and it could be a short year for Ballard in 2025.