Since taking over as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, Chris Ballard made it clear he is going to move around the draft board by trading picks both up and down throughout the process.
He typically prefers adding more picks, but he also isn’t against moving up or trading a pick for a player when the opportunity presents itself. The Colts initially had eight picks in the 2020 draft before trading for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
Let’s take a look at which players were selected with the draft picks the Colts traded away in 2020:
Round 1 | No. 13 | OT Tristan Wirfs | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Colts made their first big splash of the offseason just before free agency by trading their first-round pick (No. 13 overall) to the San Francisco 49ers for the elite talents of Buckner. We’ve gone on record saying how much of a steal that was for Indy.
The 49ers were on the clock with their new pick but looking to add some later selections, they traded back one spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Bucs now on the clock, they did the sensible thing by adding protection for their new quarterback in Tom Brady.
Depending on who you ask, Wirfs could be considered the top offensive tackle in the draft. It was a surprise to see him fall so far in the first round when most analysts had him pegged for a top-10 pick.