INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard said the team tried to move up in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He insisted the team had “serious discussions” and made “big offers” to move into the top ten from their spot at No. 15.
Ballard wasn’t putting up a smokescreen—and HBO’s Hard Knocks proves it.
Colts went for Giants' first-round pick
The current season of the reality series focuses on the New York Giants and their offseason, with Tuesday’s episode featuring the NFL Draft.
The show revealed the Colts tried to trade up to nab New York’s first-round pick—the sixth overall selection. Ballard offered up three picks: No. 15 overall (first round), No. 46 overall (second round) and a second rounder for the 2025 draft.
“You guys looking to come up?” Giants GM Joe Schoen asks while fielding Ballard’s call during the draft.
After Schoen hangs up, he says, “That’s too far. I’m not going back.”
The episode also showed the New York Jets inquired about trading up, with Schoen ultimately deciding to stay put. The Giants selected wide receiver Malik Nabers from LSU.
Nabers was one of the likely targets of the Colts if they’d been able to move up. Other top offensive talent under consideration also likely included Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze (he went ninth to Chicago) and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (he went 13th to Las Vegas).
In April, Ballard said the Colts tried to move up.
“We had some serious, serious discussions,” he said at the time. “With big offers.”
He said the team “made a push” but couldn’t find an interested party.
“You’ve gotta get two to tango, man. Nobody was moving. There’s some good players up at the top of the draft.”
Ballard and his staff watched as offense dominated the first round, with teams picking 14 straight players on offense, including six quarterbacks. When Indy picked at No. 15, the team took UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu.
Latu was the first defensive player off the board, meaning the Colts had the chance to pick their top-rated defensive prospect.
Another first-round trade
A different documentary, NFL Draft: The Pick Is In from the Roku Channel, showed the Colts fielded at least one offer for the 15th overall pick.
The Los Angeles Rams tried to move up from 19th, offering the Colts a first-round pick swap plus the 99th (third round) and 154th (fifth round) picks. The Rams would’ve also gotten Indy’s 191st (sixth round) selection under that proposed deal.
But Ballard relished getting his shot at a premium defensive player in Latu. The fact that Ballard turned down the Rams’ trade offer—he is famous for making draft-day trades to get more picks—shows how highly the team rated Latu.
The Roku Channel documentary also showed the Colts tried to move up in the second round but couldn't swing a deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Totally different draft class
The Colts’ 2024 draft class would’ve looked entirely different if Ballard had traded up to sixth. First, the team would’ve missed out on Latu.
Accounting for additional trades Indy made during the draft, it would’ve also missed out on Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. The Colts would've traded away the No. 46 pick to move up, meaning they wouldn't have been able to trade down to get additional selections in the fifth round.
To recap: the Colts had pick No. 46 (second round) but worked a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Indy moved down to No. 52 and also picked up a pair of fifth-round selections (No. 142 and No. 155). None of that happens if the Giants had agreed to that first-round trade.
The team took Mitchell with the No. 52 pick and used No. 142 on Oregon State wide receiver/returner Anthony Gould.
As Ballard is wont to do, Indy ended up trading down again, exchanging pick No. 155 for No. 164 (a swap of fifth-round picks) and getting an additional sixth-round selection. The team took Auburn cornerback Jaylin Simpson and Marshall cornerback Micah Abraham with those picks.
The upshot: had Ballard traded up in the first round, it’s likely those five players—Latu, Mitchell, Gould, Simpson and Abraham—wouldn’t be wearing the Horseshoe. And that’s not to mention the fact Indy would’ve also surrendered its second-round pick in 2025.