With The First Pick
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Chris Ballard Overhauls Indianapolis Colts Personnel Department

By Zack Trapp

Mar 1, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard speaks to the media during the 2017 NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard speaks to the media during the 2017 NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chris Ballard continued his comprehensive overhaul of the Indianapolis Colts, this time from the inside.

The new general manager added former Seattle Seahawks Senior Personnel Director Ed Dobbs and New York Jets Director of College Scouting Rex Hogan. The two will reportedly serve as co-directors of player personnel.

"The moves have drawn strong praise from the draft community. “Holy s***. Ballard is assembling the Avengers of scouting,” tweeted Matt Miller, Lead Draft Writer for Bleacher Report."

The Colts also hired Morocco Brown, formerly Vice President of Player Personnel in Cleveland. Additionally, they brought in Brian Decker, a former Green Beret for the U.S. Army, to serve as Player Personnel Strategist.

Decker was notably featured in Seth Wickersham’s piece, Man On A Mission, on ESPN last August.

Implications

The group replaces Jimmy Raye III, Vice President of Football Operations, T.J.  McCreight, Director of College Scouting, and Ahmad Russell, a scout. The Colts fired the three after the draft. The three were holdovers from the Ryan Grigson era.

Ballard has quickly put his stamp on a roster desperately in need of an overhaul. If his top draft picks, Malik Hooker and Quincy Wilson, see the field early, he’s brought in as many as six starters to a defensive that ranked 30th in yards allowed in 2016.  It only makes sense that he’d do the same in the personnel department.

The Colts new General Manager takes on this new challenge having plenty of experience working in the front office. However, it also helps to surround yourself with talented individuals.

Ballard finds himself in a pretty enviable position in that the Colts are one of the few teams with a long-term answer at the quarterback position. It’s easier to build around someone like Andrew Luck then find an Andrew Luck.

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