With The First Pick
Fansided

Why the Indianapolis Colts should not draft a QB in 2023

By Lou Scataglia

Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo (5) breaks up a pass to Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Ashton Dulin (16) in the end zone Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo (5) breaks up a pass to Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Ashton Dulin (16) in the end zone Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Indianapolis Colts are likely going to start a different quarterback yet again in 2023, but they should not look to draft one in April.  Perhaps the most QB-dysfunctional team in the NFL are the Colts.  They have started a different quarterback every year since 1956.

Ok, that was a hyperbole, but the team has not been able to find a solution since the shocking retirement of Andrew Luck before the 2019 season.  The organization is now four years removed from Luck’s exist, and General Manager Chris Ballard has failed to put any sort of plan in place at the position.

He’s been in the GM chair since 2017 and his teams have a 45-52-1 record in the regular season and a 1-2 mark in the postseason.

In my opinion, it’s baffling that he still has a job, but Jim Irsay recent did display confidence in Ballard and he will remain as the team’s GM for 2023.

So, the Colts need to stay away from drafting a quarterback for a couple of reasons.  First, Ballard has not taken a shot at drafting one in the first round since becoming the GM, so there is a ton of unknown there.

If the team were to draft one and them end up not being the answer, not only does that set the organization even further back, but it likely puts a bunch of people out of a job.  If this was Ballard’s first or second year with Indy and was guiding the team through a rebuild, it would make a ton more sense to draft someone with their top pick.

Secondly, the team largely has a decent roster with quality veterans sprinkled throughout, so it would be smart to not waste the rest of their good years, right?

Even though their defensive rankings at the end of the season don’t look pretty, they’ve got a stout defense and do have nice playmakers on offense in Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, and Alec Pierce.

The “quarterback away” idea might not hold much water, but the Indianapolis Colts kind of have to take that approach.  Also, this coming offseason appears to be another one where we’ll see a good bit of quarterback movement.

Derek Carr is likely getting traded, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tom Brady, and Geno Smith are free agents, and the Titans could simply cut ties with Ryan Tannehill if they wanted to.  Lamar Jackson’s situation is also something to monitor.

I think the best path forward for this team is to acquire one of the veterans from above, take a stab at a quarterback in the middle rounds, and hope for the best.

Home/Indianapolis Colts