Colts' GM Chris Ballard's Draft Trade History

A look back at the trades Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has made on draft day helps gauge what moves Indy may make.

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard talks to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts appear to be mostly done with free agency this offseason, electing to re-sign their own players in order to “run it back” with Anthony Richardson in 2024. With the team shifting gears from free agency to the draft, it is time for us to do the same. 

Many Colts’ fans want to see the team get aggressive on draft day and make a daring move up into the top ten picks for a difference maker. Other more analytically minded individuals would like to see the Colts move down from the 15th overall pick in order to collect more draft capital and have more shots at finding a hidden gem. 

These two warring mindsets both have their merits, but it is important to look at the Colts’ recent draft history when debating what the team is likely to do in the 2024 draft. General Manager Chris Ballard has been with the Colts since 2017, overseeing the last seven drafts for the team. In those seven drafts, Ballard has made 18 trades on the day of the draft. Four of those 18 draft-day trades have been trade ups while 11 have been trade downs to accumulate more assets (the remaining three trades were player for pick swaps). 

So in order to properly prepare for draft season and what the Colts may do on draft day, let’s take a revisionist history look at the 18 draft day trades the Colts have made under Ballard. 

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs the ball against the Houston Texans. / Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY

The Trade Ups

2018: Colts send the 67th overall pick (DE Chad Thomas) and the 178th overall pick (LB Christian Sam) to the Cleveland Browns for the 64th overall pick. 

Ballard’s first career trade up came back in 2018, as he made a small move from the early third round to the late second round to secure an edge rusher. That edge rusher turned out to be Ohio State’s Tyquan Lewis, a player that just signed his second extension with the Colts this offseason.

2019: Colts send the 129th overall pick (CB Isaiah Johnson) and the 135th overall pick (DE John Cominsky) to the Las Vegas Raiders for the 109th overall pick. 

This was one of Ballard’s more aggressive trades in his career, sending two late fourth round picks to move up into the early fourth round back in 2019. The player he was targeting was safety Khari Willis, a defender that gave the Colts a solid three years before his abrupt retirement in 2022. 

2020: Colts send the 44th overall pick (S Grant Delpit) and the 160th overall pick (C Nick Harris) to the Cleveland Browns for the 41st overall pick. 

This trade up would end up being one of the more impressive moves of Ballard’s career, as he secured a future First-Team All-Pro running back for a fairly meager price. That player was Jonathan Taylor of course, a superstar player that the Colts just extended this past season. 

2022: Colts send the 179th overall pick (DE Kingsley Enagbare) and a 2023 3rd round selection (LB Drew Sanders) to the Denver Broncos for the 96th overall pick.

Ballard made another aggressive trade up for a safety in the draft, this time for the player that would ultimately replace Willis on the roster. The target was Maryland’s Nick Cross, a young player that has struggled to see the field for the Colts in his two NFL seasons. He is in line to start in 2024, so hopefully he can turn it around in his third year.

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Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) stiff arms Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (31) to avoid a tackle. / Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY

Notable Trade Backs

2019: Colts send the 26th overall pick (DE Montez Sweat) to the Washington Commanders for the 46th overall pick and a 2020 2nd round selection. 

Ballard made a massive trade back in 2019, moving all the way to the middle of the second round in order to pick up a premium pick in the 2020 draft class. The result of this trade produced somewhat mixed results. The Colts used the 2020 second round selection they gained in this trade to select receiver Michael Pittman Jr., a star player that the Colts run their offense through. The 46th overall pick was traded to the Browns in another trade back, one that netted the Colts Ben Banogu and Marvell Tell II.

2022: Colts send the 42nd overall pick (CB Andrew Booth) and the 122nd overall pick (RB Zamir White) to the Minnesota Vikings for the 53rd overall pick, the 77th overall pick, and the 192nd overall pick.

The Colts made the most of this trade back, selecting starting receiver Alec Pierce at 53, star left tackle Bernhard Raimann at 77, and solid tight end Drew Ogletree at 192. On paper, this seems like a massive win of a trade back for the Colts. 

2023: Colts send the 38th overall pick (IOL Matthew Bergeron) to the Atlanta Falcons for the 44th overall pick and the 110th overall pick. 

Ballard loves to move down in the second round and he did it yet again in 2023. The Colts landed cornerback JuJu Brents at pick 44, a rookie that shined in limited playing time this past season. The Colts also drafted Adetomiwa Adebawore at pick 110, an interior pass rusher that flashed some potential in limited playing time. 

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin (44) pumps up the crowd against the Pittsburgh Steelers. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Player for Pick Swaps

2018: Colts send DE Henry Anderson to the New York Jets for the 235th overall selection. 

This trade may have been the robbery of the century, as the Colts sent out a veteran defensive end and in return received one of their core defensive players. The player the Colts would select at pick 235 was none other than linebacker Zaire Franklin, the Colts’ defensive captain and long-term middle linebacker. 

2019: Colts send DT Hassan Ridgeway to the Philadelphia Eagles for the 246th overall selection.  

This trade would go down firmly as a stalemate, as neither party received much in terms of compensation. The Colts would use this pick to draft center Javon Patterson, a player that never suited up for the Colts after being drafted. 

2020: Colts send CB Quincy Wilson to the New York Jets for the 211th overall selection. 

This draft day trade was another strong one for Ballard, as he sent his worst career draft pick to the Jets for a sixth round pick in 2020. He used that pick to land cornerback Isaiah Rodgers Sr., a player that would give the Colts three strong years as both a starting cornerback and as a kick returner. 

Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard speaks to the media after the 2023 season. / Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar / USA TODAY

The Bottom Line

Overall, General Manager Chris Ballard has a pretty solid track record when it comes to making draft day trades. He has shown the willingness to be aggressive for players he likes, but he typically likes to accumulate assets in order to add more talent to the roster on day three. 

When it comes to what he’ll do in the 2024 draft, odds are he will move down rather than move up into the top ten for a player he likes. Maybe if a wide receiver like Rome Odunze is sitting there at pick 10 or a 11 he would pounce, but odds are he would rather move back from the 15th overall selection than make a big jump up for a potential difference maker.  

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