Chris Ballard: We've got to protect Anthony Richardson and get him playmakers
Colts General Manager Chris Ballard didn't spill the beans about who the team is targeting in the draft when he held a press conference this week, but he may have dropped some hints about the direction the team is looking.
Ballard called it "a really strong offensive draft" and that would fit well with a couple of things that Ballard called priorities for a team with quarterback Anthony Richardson returning to action after last year's right shoulder injury.
“When you’ve got a young quarterback, you’ve got to protect him,” Ballard said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “You want to continue to add playmakers around him.”
How and when the Colts address those areas is still a question, though. At No. 15, the Colts are smack in the middle of the first round and could move in either direction in order to bolster the roster around Richardson. Ballard has generally favored trading down because "the more picks you have, the better chance you have to hit," but noted that he traded up for running back Jonathan Taylor and would do the same if he saw a "difference-maker" available in this year's draft.
