Could the Colts trade up into the first round for a QB?

The 2022 NFL draft is almost here, and the Indianapolis Colts are likely to be watching from the war room on Thursday night for the first round without making a selection.

Or will they?

While owner Jim Irsay poked some fun with that notion via Twitter on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network mentioned the Colts as a team he believes could trade up into the first round.

It’s important to distinguish the difference here in that Rapoport is structuring this more as his opinion rather than reporting a source claiming the Colts are trying to move up. Those are two very different notions.

But Rapoport did mention the Colts, along with the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, as teams he could see moving back into the first round for a quarterback prospect.

“I would also keep an eye on Seattle, early in the second round trading back into the first round,” Rapoport said on NFL Network via Luke Schultheis of Stampede Blue. “The Falcons, who still have a need at quarterback, might be a team that might be interested in that as well. Maybe the Colts. If there is going to be three quarterbacks at least taken in the first round, the likelihood is that someone trades from the second back into the first. Seattle would be a potential team to watch for that.”

Could the Colts move up into the first round for a quarterback? Theoretically yes. Could I stop eating a family size bag of Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips in one sitting? Also, theoretically yes.

Are they likely to happen? The odds lean toward a hard no (especially on the latter).

The Colts could move up, but we shouldn’t expect that kind of move. At this point, we know Chris Ballard would much rather trade back and add picks than move up and lose picks unless a blue-chip prospect falls.

Furthermore, the Colts seem to believe pretty heavily in Matt Ryan to give them at least two years of solid play with the potential for more.

The unpredictability of the landing spots for the quarterback prospects should make for a fun weekend, but we shouldn’t expect the Colts to be among the teams moving up unless something unexpected happens.

Instead, the most likely scenario involves Ballard eating popcorn while watching the draft Thursday night like the rest of us.

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