Colts may lose potential trade back partner after Chiefs, Ravens trade
One week before the 2021 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts may have lost a potential trade back partner after the Kansas City Chiefs traded for Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. on Friday.
The deal included the Chiefs giving up, among other assets, the No. 31 overall pick in the draft. Now, the Ravens hold two selections late in the first round at Nos. 27 and 31.
The Colts will be looking to move back from No. 21 overall, especially after Chris Ballard’s comments Friday about them feeling strongly about the number of game-changing prospects there will be at their current spot.
The Chiefs were thought to be one of the top potential trade back partners for Indy. They are in a win-now window with Patrick Mahomes leading the way to two consecutive Super Bowl appearances and have had a history of being aggressive with their picks.
But with the Ravens now holding two of those late first-round picks, the number of teams the Colts can trade back with shrinks a bit. Simply put, this is because Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta holds similar views of the draft to that of Ballard.
Not sure Baltimore trades up. They have the same philosophy as Ballard.
— Kennan (@VeveJones007) April 23, 2021
Their main philosophy is essentially the same: “The more picks you have, the higher chance you have of hitting on prospects.”
DeCosta had this quote from his pre-draft press conference earlier this week and Colts fans would note this sounds eerily similar to how Ballard has continuously approached the draft.
“I look at the draft in many ways – and I have to say, it’s a luck-driven process,” DeCosta said. “If you have more picks, you’re going to hit on more players, and that goes back to a philosophy that I think [Executive Vice President] Ozzie [Newsome] started back in 1996. We started really going after [complementary] picks and trading back as much as we could in any given round.”
Because it’s the NFL draft, anything can happen. The Colts and Ravens could still strike a deal, but it’s just far less likely to happen.
Even so, the Colts will still have plenty of suitors to trade back with if they need to. The New Orleans Saints (No. 28) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 32) would be the two most likely scenarios while the Cleveland Browns (No. 26), Green Bay Packers (No. 29) and Buffalo Bills (No. 30) could also be looking to move up.
With only six picks in this draft, Ballard is going to be very open to moving back and adding another selection or two while still having the chance to draft a tackle that can come in right away and contribute.
