No, this isn’t click bait, and no, this isn’t an article gushing about Chris Ballard. Ballard has been the GM for the Indianapolis Colts for way too long at this point. He has had plenty of downs, but to objectively look at 2025, he had a few ups as well. We are talking about silver linings here, after all, not rainbows.
Ballard gets a ton of credit for his ability to draft. That has been a puzzling take for a while, but when compared to the recently fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings,
maybe he isn’t that bad. His 2025 first-round pick, Tyler Warren, sure looks like he got it right. Ballard filled a huge hole on the roster while gaining a stud. He doesn’t always strike gold with his first-round selections, but if 2025 is any indication of what’s to come, Warren will have a very productive career.
Can we talk about free agency? Ballard never dips his toe into free agency. Well, maybe he dips his toe, but that is it. He did a cannonball this year as he beefed up the secondary with Camryn Bynum and Charvarius Ward. The aggressiveness shown to get those men to switch teams was a welcomed out of character sight. Let’s not forget about Daniel Jones. Yes, the jury is still out, but he panned out better than anyone expected. Ballard found him and brought him onto the roster. Credit is due for those moves.
There are plenty of reasons to come down on Chris Ballard. It’s a long offseason, so there will be plenty of time for that. For now, Ballard earned some credit for his 2025 efforts. He made a good first round pick and some key pickups in free agency. Those moves gave fans more hope in 2025 than they had for a while. It may be fleeting, but it still counts as a silver lining.
