ESPN’s Mel Kiper published his team grades for the 2019 NFL draft this week, and one team stood above the rest for the grizzled veteran of mock drafts and player rankings.
According to Kiper, the Colts had the best draft haul of 2019. He gave GM Chris Ballard an ‘A’ for his efforts.
“Ballard moved out of Round 1, picking up an extra 2020 second-rounder in going from No. 26 to No. 46,” Kiper wrote, “which meant Indy had three second-round picks. And I really liked all four of Indy’s Day 2 picks.
“I was surprised that cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (No. 34) made it out of the first round, but only one corner went in the first 32 picks. He is a little raw, but I think he’ll start immediately. Wide receiver Parris Campbell (No. 59) is a burner, but he also caught 90 passes last season and improved every year.”
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The Colts and Ballard have been the darlings of draft media and the scouting community after last year’s draft performance, one that landed guard Quenton Nelson in the first round and linebacker Darius Leonard in the second. Both players finished their rookies seasons among the best at their positions.
It looks like they may have done it again in 2019. Ya-Sin and Ben Banogu will both make immediate contributions on defense while Campbell, a ridiculously underrated prospect throughout all of draft season, will be an instant-impact receiver next to T.Y. Hilton and free-agent signee, Devin Funchess.
Ballard’s set the bar really, really high moving forward, however, and while his 2019 draft class certainly looks like it has all the makings to be another good one, it’ll be hard to duplicate the kind of success he had in 2018.