NFL rumors: 5 teams that should trade up to No. 1, and who they should draft
By John Buhler
Pick Analysis. AFC. Indianapolis Colts. 4. 46. Scouting Report. South. player
NFL rumors: Indianapolis Colts can finally resolve issues caused by Andrew Luck’s retirement
After signing or trading for one retread after another, just stop. The Indianapolis Colts need to draft a quarterback inside of the top four to refrain from being dog food any longer. While Frank Reich did a respectable job trying to overcome the fallout of Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement, it largely defined him in Indianapolis. He has gone elsewhere and Shane Steichen is now in charge.
The Steichen hiring is incredibly key here. Historically, the Colts do not do smaller quarterbacks, but you cannot deny what Steichen was able to do with a slender, dual-threat quarterback in Jalen Hurts when he was the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator. The Colts hiring anyone else may have made them a shoe-in to draft C.J. Stroud or Kentucky’s Will Levis, but this feels different.
Because the Colts play in the same division as the Houston Texans, get ready for the game theory!
Shane Steichen would get a more talented version of Jalen Hurts in Bryce Young
If left to their own devices, the Colts would either take Stroud at No. 4, where he should be coming off the board all things equal, or overdraft Levis because that would be so incredibly Colts of them. But Steichen tips the scales here. Because Indianapolis hired him after what he did with Hurts in Philadelphia, the Colts are now the most mysterious team to monitor picking inside of the top five.
While they do not have the draft capital to move up as readily available as the Texans do, they don’t really need to trade up to get their guy. But again, this is all about game theory. They need to convince Houston that they are definitely moving up to get Young so the Texans take the bait. Is Young better than Stroud or Levis? I’d say so, which is Steichen might want to draft him at No. 1.
Keep in mind that Bears head coach Matt Eberflus used to work for the Colts, a real trade partner.