Prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, fans and analysts thought we had Colts’ General Manager Chris Ballard’s Wide Receiver preferences figured out. After all, he had drafted 6 Wide Receivers from 2018-2022, and nearly all of whom fit a certain profile.
Perhaps no one had highlighted this profile as well as Sports Illustrated’s Zach Hicks, who’s annual “Build-A-Ballard” article series outlined the common traits of Colts draft picks throughout Ballard’s tenure at varying different position groups. This series was highly reliable at finding Ballard’s prototypes, that it helped Hicks identify the Colts 2022 2nd Round WR pick very early: Alec Pierce.