This Inside Look At The Colts' Draft Room Before They Picked Anthony Richardson Is S-Tier Reality TV
Imagine being in the seat of Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard, a football executive I've personally never done a quicker 180 on. All of a sudden he's the coolest dude ever to me because he sacked up and drafted Anthony Richardson No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Ballard wheeled and dealt his way through the rest of the draft to assemble a killer rookie class of 12 total picks.
The Colts just dropped a 33-minute episode of "With the Next Pick", which is a multi-part series that gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at their draft process. Check out the full vid here, which isn't embeddable and is also linked in that first tweet. I watched the whole damn thing. For fans of the draft, it's must-see. Why do I say S-tier reality TV? Because it's actually, you know, real! Crazy stakes on the line. Many livelihoods. Millions upon millions of dollars. All in essence hanging on one decision.
As you can view in the clips I plugged at the top, it was anything but a sure thing that Indianapolis would get its presumptive quarterback of the future without moving up in the order. Everyone knew the Arizona Cardinals were trying to trade out of the third pick. Once top QB prospects Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were off the board at picks one and two, it stood to reason someone could make a deal with Arizona to get to No. 3 in the order to snag Richardson (or Will Levis).
I heard Ballard make a Braveheart reference in a post-draft interview with McAfee and it couldn't have been a more fitting allusion.
Pretty sure someone in the Colts' personnel department even says at some point in the "With The Next Pick" vid that you could cut the tension with a knife in the room. Intercut with all the drama and anxiety about holding out for Richardson is plenty of footage from Indy chief personnel executive Morocco Brown, who first put the Florida signal-caller on the Colts' draft radar and couldn't stop raving about his seemingly limitless ceiling.
You could see the relief from everyone and the elation once it was revealed that the Texans traded to No. 3 and weren't going to pick a quarterback since they'd already selected Stroud.
Over the past several years since Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement, Ballard tried the veteran stopgap route at QB. Other than a brief glimmer of hope with Philip Rivers, it hasn't worked whatsoever. All the moves have backfired to one degree or another. You could even include Rivers in there since he hung it up after a single one-and-done playoff appearance.
Advertisement
Colts owner Jim Irsay isn't exactly the most patient person on the planet. He's cut Ballard plenty of slack over the years even as the team continued to fall short of expectations and were in a state of perpetual chaos at the most important position in sports. What if some team did come up for Richardson? To say the mercurial owner would've been irate, well, that'd be a hell of an understatement.
Although Irsay has publicly revealed since that Indy would've taken Levis at No. 4 anyway, you can tell Richardson was a guy the Colts were targeting all along. You also can't tell me the fans would be nearly as excited at Levis' arrival. Getting the clear QB4 (maybe QB5 in the end if Hendon Hooker is good) of the 2023 class at pick four? Yikes.
Richardson has an excellent chance to succeed despite only 13 college starts. Head coach Shane Steichen was instrumental in helping another dual-threat stud in Jalen Hurts thrive in Philly. Indianapolis is hoping Steichen can work that magic with the new, fresh face of the franchise.
Having Jonathan Taylor in the backfield helps Richardson a good deal, as does a young wide receiver trio featuring Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and rookie third-rounder Josh Downs. Speaking of Downs, later in the full-length video, you get to see the raw emotion that poured out of him once he got the call on Day 2 that every prospect longs for.
Draft calls are always awesome when players get emotional. Josh Downs was straight-up different. Tears were flowing. Then he had this sort of defiant, cold-blooded scowl on. Part of him seemed to be soaking in every ounce of the moment he possibly could and taking in the overwhelming support from his loved ones. Another part of him seemed to be seething at all the other suitors who declined to take him before the 79th overall pick.
The Colts might've had my favorite draft of any team. Beyond Richardson, I would've considered a first-round flier on Downs, Kansas State cornerback Julius Brents and even Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore. All of them went to Indy, with Adebawore being a surprise faller to Round 4. South Carolina corner Darius Rush was another fine addition to the secondary on Day 3. Rush converted from wide receiver in 2019 during fall camp, so his best football is ahead of him in all likelihood. He had a great reaction to Ballard's phone call, too.
Advertisement
But yeah…lots of drama in this Colts draft room throughout all three days, but the first night of the draft in particular was epic live theatre in front of the cameras. Ballard's job might've effectively been on the line in those moments before Houston made the deal to go up to No. 3 and draft Will Anderson Jr. I really think Richardson is going to be the "grand slam" pick Ballard is looking for. He already has his eyes on big prizes.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok