Open Rants by kkunert327

With the draft in the books time to go back and do a wrap up of how teams made out. I might be a bit of a harsh critic to the top 3 round picks, but that is where you need to hit in the draft to be successful. Sure most of the league is 4th rounders and later, but any that turn into Pro Bowlers or All-Pro players is mostly out of luck. So without further adieu, we go over the original owners of the 13th pick, the Indianapolis Colts!

2 (2) - Michael Pittman WR USC - B- 

2 (9) - Jonathan Taylor RB Wisconsin - A+

3 (21) - Julian Blackmon S Utah - C+

Technically, this draft class comes with DeForest Buckner even if I did hate the cost they had to give up for him since the 49ers were never going to pay for him anyways. In any case, they had a need upfront and landed Buckner who fills that role. Meanwhile, they did a pretty good job on Day 2 despite no real huge needs or picks in the first round. Pittman to me was going to be the gem of the class, but I just downgraded the selection due to them staying there and not moving down to land him. To me he was seen as more of a late 2nd round prospect and had they gotten him later he would only have been a much better value. Pittman to me will be a player many wish they had taken and one that will be a favorite target of Rivers and whoever they have in mind at the quarterback position in the future. Speaking of favorite weapon I see Taylor providing the same value if not more. Marlon Mack comes with gawdy numbers thanks to the Colts terrific line, Taylor will only do even more damage in my opinion. His hands are still in progress, which is nice since Mack can balance that out. The other big issue was fumbles, but I never heard many complain about Adrian Peterson's fumbling all too much during his prime. Taylor to me is a similar caliber back to that of Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott making him one of the better backs right out the gate. His speed, shiftiness, blocking, and advancing hands will have him be a nice back for Rivers to lean on. Blackmon is a bit of a mystery in my opinion as he has a lot of upside, but he was not able to stick at corner for Utah with his lack of true athleticism. In his one year at safety he was cut short by a torn ACL. He might not be able to play right away in 2020, but to be honest who knows who will be able to play this year thanks to the pandemic. It's not a terrible pick, but could have been better had they taken his teammate Terrell Burgess instead. 

4 (16) - Jacob Eason QB Washington - A+

5 (3) - Danny Pinter OG Ball St - B

6 (14) - Robert Windsor DT Penn St - B

6 (32) - Isaiah Rodgers CB UMass - C+

6 (33) - Dezmon Patton WR Washington St - A 

6 (34) - Jordan Glasgow LB Michigan - B

All in all even without a first round pick and overpaying for DeForest Buckner this was an excellent draft by Chris Ballard. They found amazing value in Jacob Eason who can sit and learn behind Phillip Rivers until it is his turn to start for the Colts. I do see a lot of potential in Eason despite him being a bit of an outlier as teams start to move towards more mobile quarterbacks. To me his great arm and potential is enough to take a chance on in the 4th round despite his lack of mobility. I honestly, can see him turning into another version of Jay Cutler, which comes with a lot of good, but a lot of bad. In the end, he give the Colts a chance to continue to not worry about a quarterback for a little bit longer. Pinter will be a nice valuable depth piece to help develop behind their starters. It is very rare for blockers to stay healthy for a full season and the Colts have been lucky thus far in that regard. It never hurts to have a quality back up or two in case injuries do take place. Windsor is a pass rushing specialist tackle who will be a nice rotational piece for their defensive front. Then in a rare occurrence the Colts were able to have three picks in a row bringing in Rodgers, Patton, and Glasgow. All three of them have a chance to stick to the roster and in Patton's case in my opinion give them good starting potential. Overall, this is another strong draft by Chris Ballard who continues to have the Colts in playoff contention in a very winable AFC South. This class gets a very solid B+ for Ballard and the Colts making this one of the better all around draft classes this year. 

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