In the aftermath of the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers’ blockbuster trade for the No. 1 overall pick, it’ll take time to assess the damage for most of the NFL.
But, as the Panthers ready themselves for a young quarterback prospect of their choice, and the Bears get set to contend with Justin Fields, another team’s loss is already clear: the Indianapolis Colts.
Ever since Andrew Luck retired, the Colts have treaded water at quarterback. They’ve started different parts of over-the-hill (and never-had-it) signal-callers like Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan. Former head coach Frank Reich was fired in large part due to their perennial failures at the position.
Now, after a 4-12-1, bottom-out campaign, the Colts will very likely not have their pick of the litter under center. The team with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft (just behind the fortunate Arizona Cardinals) is taking it a rather drastic step further.
For some reason, the Colts are apparently still going to be picky about selecting a potential face of the franchise. Uh, I wouldn’t advise that risky path, folks!
My sense, after some conversations the last few days: Colts feel pretty strongly there isn't a Burrow/Lawrence in this draft, so they won't act out of desperation (and trade the farm to move up).
That being said, they still have to address the QB issue. https://t.co/RLAz9slKGm
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 12, 2023
There’s a massive chasm between thinking there’s no generational QB prospect and addressing QB properly. Because a team like the Colts, as they have recently, could “address” QB by signing someone such as Jimmy Garoppolo. And is that really solving a problem?
We’re just about six weeks from the draft, and GM Chris Ballard already finds himself in an unenviable quarterback bind. Something tells me that owner Jim Irsay won’t be so patient with the position or Ballard for much longer.