Oh Chris Ballard you stupid ****
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Clear to me now: Colts GM Chris Ballard will trade down for Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker and more NFL Draft picks. Veteran Gardner Minshew at QB now, Hooker later, and more picks to plug holes. Brilliant, really:<a href="https://t.co/KpS8SO057C">https://t.co/KpS8SO057C</a></p>&mdash; Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreggDoyelStar/status/1638898138751684608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If this is his plan dude should be fired on the spot.

How this guy still has a job is beyond me.

So thankful we dodged this bullet

Is this stupid? Is it better to reach and draft Levis or Richardson if they don’t view them as being worthy top-5 picks?

They probably had their eye on Stroud and/or Young but couldn’t get up to 1.

Yes it is because of everything that has happened there they should have just moved to 1...if their plan is to take the 5th best QB coming off a blown out knee so they can get more picks.

It just speaks to how risk averse Ballard is.

He's gonna be the best QB available to them when they pick. /Shrug

Esh I dunno about that.

I think Levis has a better shot at the NFL game.

the whole league sucks exept the chiefs

It's not a terrible plan, but it is a very risk-averse Ballard type of plan.

That's always been the problem with Ballard, though. His method of management inevitably turns the team he's running into a milquetoast offering that's maybe good enough to sneak in as a wild card year to year but never had any actual aspirations.

How do you know they didn't try and DJ Moore wasn't a huge reason for the Bears to trade with the Panthers? Colts didn't have anyone relatively close to being that good and the Bears didn't want another draft pick. They wanted a known asset.

Because Ballard is risk averse, he'd never make that trade.

In all fairness, he works for a guy who's wacked out of his mind most of the time

Pittman Jr isn't exactly a slouch.

Maybe they have Hooker rated higher than Levis and Richardson?

Chris Simms does and has Hooker as his #3.

Former GM Randy Mueller says he wouldn’t touch Levis at that point in the first and wouldn’t take Richardson at all in that round.

Did the Colts have someone equivalent to DJ Moore to send to the Bears?

I mean...it's a kinda terrible plan.

Unless the idea is Hooker in the 2nd.

Let's not forget that Hooker is already 25 years old. And he's not played a ton of college ball so his development curve will be pretty steep. Worse still, Heupel isn't really a guy who runs a complicated offense so I'm not sure Hooker was out there reading defenses and setting protections.

Trading back so you can take an overaged, relatively inexperienced passer from a pretty rudimentary offense who's coming off a significant lower body injury in the first round kinda DOES strike me as a pretty terrible plan.

OP your the dumbass for believing some report a whole month before the draft lmao

Who's going to trade up to the 4th overall pick in a loaded edge and corner class?

You're almost banking on giving another QB-needy team your pick when you need a QB. That'd be silly.

I'd argue if you like Hooker best just take him at 4 and call it a day.

As much as I like Simms during the season, his QB rankings are just ass, I think he does it for talk and hits.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I used to say, &quot;Keep an open mind&quot; when Simms&#39; QB Rankings come out but I just can&#39;t anymore. This is so clearly just being different so that people like me engage with it.<br><br>And here I am... Engaging. <a href="https://t.co/U3m5HYZ0g2">https://t.co/U3m5HYZ0g2</a></p>&mdash; Marcus Whitman (@TFG_Football) <a href="https://twitter.com/TFG_Football/status/1637896699266887680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bryce Young is a superior talent to Stroud. If he had a couple of more inches in him, he would be drafted #1 without any dispute. He is really the only potential franchise level QB coming out of this draft.

Yes, it’s likely he saves it all for QB Rankings because we know that’s what ultimately drives viewership. That makes a lot of sense.

He's going to be often injured though, he's just tiny.

The Colts have good success with Tennessee QBs.

Anyone that thinks Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Will Levis are equal prospects is serious on drugs.

Might as well draft a different position and get something out of the pick, because Hooker isn't going to amount to shit in the NFL.

Yeah, for sure. I can fully understand Hooker but Robinson? Dear lord.

Robinson is like a nice developmental backup option in running QB offenses like Chicago, Baltimore, Philly, etc.

I see Brett Hundley...who was never good and is now in the XFL and he sucks there.

This isn’t really that far off quite frankly. The Chiefs are basically lapping most of the completion at this point, especially organizations like the Colts.

We’re not even operating in the same realm of existence.

The whole point is that Levis and Richardson might not be deserving of a top-5 pick, so Ballard might be doing the absolutely correct thing in looking to trade down and focusing on Hooker rather than reaching to appease the fanbase.

Which would be insanely moronic considering Hooker played in a gimmicky ass-offense with two WRs who are likely going to be early round draft picks this year (Hyatt, Tillman), is 25, and coming off a torn ACL.

I think there's a very large drop-off from Stroud, Young, and Levis. Richardson can't read a defense at all.

It's a terrible plan. They should have been the team moving up to 1.

Stock pile picks next year and go with minshew then try and trade up for caleb?

Irsay is a horrible owner and I smell his strong influence on this crap. If not, then Irsay and Ballard are two turds in the punchbowl.

Massive mistake to draft Hooker in the first. I posted this while arguing with KCCrow in another thead:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here are the oldest QBs drafted in the first round since 1967, based on age of the QB as of September 1st of his draft year. <a href="https://t.co/Prq6VADM7r">pic.twitter.com/Prq6VADM7r</a></p>&mdash; Football Perspective (@fbgchase) <a href="https://twitter.com/fbgchase/status/1251513423986294790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

NFL GM's simply don't use 1st round capital on QB's that are 25 years old. If he wants to trade down, accumulate picks and take Hooker in the 2nd round +, that's a strategy in my head that makes sense.

I mean, it seems like a terrible plan. Although… is this a play for Lamar Jackson?

Brandon Weedon says hi.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran...eveland_Browns

It literally says excluding Brandon Weeden, reading is fundamental.

Isn’t Hooker almost as old as Mahomes?

Nice plan Ballard, keep up the good work. :clap:

Remember when everyone was upset that KC let him walk vs holding on to him? Pepperidge Farms remembers.

Who would trade up for full value to 4 for a non QB?

Well, the Eagles could have beaten us in the SB. BUT, to get there, they had to load up their roster bc they have a QB on a rookie contract vs. a team with the biggest QB hit of any SB winner in history.

Eagles' roster won't be so loaded in 2023, while KC is likely to get better and YOUNGER.

This sounds like something the Titans would do. What is wrong with these teams?

It's also not something I'd want broadcast.

Eagles have been pretty smart as well.

I’m by no means a Lamar fan but it’s a perfect play for them. And this helps get the ammo they need to get him, while getting a similar style qb or better yet, they wouldn’t even need a first round qb. Indy has to win now and they don’t have very much time to do it before everything falls apart for them.

Or… Maybe Ballard is just too safe with this shit. That’s possible too

Ballard seems like the kind of guy to dead bolt himself in his office when things get tough.

Yeah, but the Eagles lucked out that Hurts became far better than most thought. They don't sniff the Super Bowl if he doesn't take a huge step forward. But I do agree that they are a very well run organization.

It’s a shame for the dude because he builds a good team. Except for the one position that really really matters.

He must have learned from Carl Peterson. He would rather have a veteran QB than roll the dice on a possible franchise QB. I get at first the shock of losing Luck, but that grace period has long since past.

I think Levis is a worse version of Carr, but with a cannon. I really hope the Raiders make a move up to draft him.

That’s my favorite football team

I once ragequit from the internet after Reid “let Ballard go.”

A good reminder for me to live by.

Well obviously that's no longer an option, so I'm just basing this off their current situation.

I don't think it's a particularly good plan either. Probably closer to bad than good. Just not "terrible".

If there have been moves made that remove your opportunity from obtaining the QB you want then trading down and getting a load of picks is a great move as long as one of those is a 1st next year so you can climb to get your guy.

A big part of it is that they built their entire team around Hurts strengths and it’s allowed him to shine. Not all orgs and coaching staffs are run well enough to allow that to happen.

Levis is mobile and can make plays with his legs.

Carr is not.

Doyel is a pot stirring click junkie.

He was shut out of the Colts organization years ago.

He don’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

From what I’ve heard, Chicago wasn’t interested in Pittman because he’s up for a new deal after next season while Moore is signed through 2025 at an average of 20 million per year.

That’s not a bad contract.

They will draft the quarterback Steichen wants. If that’s Hooker, then why not trade back?

Nobody really knows anything. Its mainly a guessing game.

Pugs knows all.

Chris Ballard once spent the #6 pick on a GUARD.

Lmfao

Who is the number one Hooker?

Hooker is almost as old as Sammy Baugh

Ballard is doing great work.


Hold that franchise down for decades if you can. They deserves every day of it.

Yeah, was thinking that before. Nelson is good, but no Guard is worth the #6 pick.......ever.

Dont tell colts fans.

This is the way.

Except the Ravens did that and still Lamar's short comings doom them come playoff time.

The reason it worked is because Hurts turned out to be a decent passer, in addition to his running skills.

Oh yeah. I meant no disrespect to Hurts. I think the dude is amazing. We dared him to beat us with his arm and he damn near pulled it off (poor dude was just up against Patrick Mahomes).

But, the Eagles have pulled off something incredible with this rebirth. Most of their dead money in the cap this year is to pay off their 2017-2018 Super Bowl win. They kick the can down the road on dead money even more than the Saints, but have pulled it off through drafting an offense entirely around their QB and building a defense through free agency. To have that coordination to design a team like that in the front office and then coach them to their peak with your staff is much easier said than done.

How much would Pittman get with a new contract?

88 and 99 catches the past two years with dog shit at quarterback. I think he’s a fringe number one or a really good 2nd receiver.

I’m guessing he’ll want more than 20 million a year.

I have a feeling that this thread will far outlive the draft.

I mean, they COULD do it again this year. :shrug:

And the Bills took Josh Allen with the very next pick.

Ballard had no way of knowing at the time that Luck would only play one more year but still…..oof.

As for the draft, I hope they take Richardson but I’m afraid he’ll be gone by 4.

I think Arizona trades out and Young, Stroud, and Richardson go in the top 3.

I’d actually prefer Hooker over Levis.

ROFL And KC would still have the better IOL.

Regardless there is no justification for drafting a Guard at #6.