Colts are using the NFL draft to fill two needs: improve the defense, help QB Anthony Richardson

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard started the NFL draft weekend with two goals.

He wanted to improve his defense and he wanted to give second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson a stronger supporting cast.

Ballard accomplished both by selecting the first defensive player in Round 1, passing rusher Laiatu Latu of UCLA, adding a potential deep receiving threat with Texas’ Adonai Mitchell in the second round and using his last seven picks to fill gaps along the offensive line and in the secondary.

Coach Shane Steichen couldn’t be happier with the results.

“When I look at defensive players in the draft, I look at it from an offensive perspective. Can this guy be a problem?,” the second-year coach said. “I think he’s going to be a problem. He’s a high Motorman, he has nothing but football and he loves it and that’s what he wants here.”

The Colts failed to deliver the splashy opening day action Indy fans were hoping for and didn’t follow conventional wisdom by using early selections to add even more cornerbacks to an already young secondary.

Ballard took a different path.

Latu was the top defensive player on the Colts’ draft board when their turn came at No. 15 on Thursday, and Ballard didn’t hesitate to take someone who overcame neck surgery to post 23 1/2 sacks over his final two college seasons. .

He may be Indy’s most gifted outside pass rusher since Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney, and if he can replicate his success in college, Latu’s presence should effectively help the secondary as well.

“I think he’s going to produce pretty quickly as a rusher. I think he knows how to hustle,” Ballard said. “Obviously there’s going to be an adjustment period, like with any rookie rusher, and he’s pretty polished. This guy is quite a polished commodity when it comes to rushing.

MITCHELL REACTION

Mitchell was surprised he lasted all the way to the 52nd overall pick – and so did the Colts, especially after they traded up and still got him.

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Standing 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, with a resume that includes two national championships at Georgia before moving to Texas, five touchdowns in five College Football Playoff games and a 4.34-second dash At 40 yards, Mitchell appears to be the prototypical big. play receiver that any team could use. But what pushed him down were anonymous criticisms of his character, something Ballard rebuked in a profane rant on Friday evening.

“These are young men, 21 or 22 years old, and can people tell me that they are perfect in their lives? It’s crazy. It’s nonsense,” he said, describing his thoughts in more polite terms. “This is a good boy.”

Perhaps someone who will make a big impact working with Richardson and his strong arm.

“He has the speed to take the top off,” Steichen said. “To add that speed, we know Anthony can throw it, it’ll help all those guys.”

KEEP THE LINE

Indy wasn’t expected to have much need for an offensive line that returns all five starters and three key backups. But that didn’t stop the Colts from selecting interior linemen Matt Gonclaves from Pittsburgh in Round 3 and center Tanor Bortolini from Wisconsin in Round 4.

“Look, you can never have enough good linemen,” Ballard said. “I think guys get better when there’s a lot of competition.”

SECONDARY FOCUS

The Colts answered their secondary needs on Saturday by securing the depth chart. Ballard likes the three cornerbacks he drafted last season and wants to give them time to develop.

But by adding Latu, Jaylon Carlies from Missouri (who will start at linebacker), safety Jaylin Simpson from Auburn and cornerback Micah Abraham from Marshall on Saturday, the Colts believe they have strengthened a unit that needed an upgrade.

“Always take guys with length who can run and have an upside,” Ballard said.

PRIORITIZING VERSATILITY

One trait Ballard found more in this draft than in previous seasons was versatility. The two offensive linemen could play multiple positions, Carlies could be a hybrid-type safety, receiver Anthony Gould of Oregon State is seen as a return specialist and Indy’s last pick, Jonah Laulu, has played both defensive end and tackle.

It’s no coincidence.

“You’re really looking for guys with an edge that you think you can reach,” Ballard said. “We know the odds are low, but we had some success on the third day.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Michael Marot, The Associated Press