Through his tenure as the Indianapolis Colts general manager, Chris Ballard has stuck to his core philosophy of building through the draft.
Bold a strategy as it may have been, Ballard’s persistence paid major dividends for the Colts’ roster long-term, which is why The New York Post’s Brian Costello has the Colts ranked No. 1 in his five-year draft analysis for all 32 teams.
Ballard’s 2018 draft was perhaps his best, landing two All-Pros in left guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Darius Leonard. Both right tackle Braden Smith and running back Nyheim Hines emerged as stars in their own right and linebackers Matthew Adams and Zaire Franklin — a special team’s captain — each played meaningful snaps for the Colts last season.