Indianapolis Colts longtime general manager Chris Ballard provided a public statement on the trade deadline splash that sent former New York Jets 2x NFL All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the horseshoe, and created seismic waves through league circles and the national media alike (via ESPN Stephen Holder):
The Colts were reportedly active in the trade market for cornerbacks and edge rusher, but while most were realistically expecting
a complementary starter of sorts, Indianapolis shocked the world by trading for an elite cornerback that is only 25-years-old with seemingly many more years of elite football left in him.
This was far more than Ballard just performing his due diligence and shoring up a key roster deficiency, it was acquiring one of the best players in football just entering his playing career prime at a premium position.
Ballard has been historically prudent with his draft capital, seeking to acquire more picks, not less, and particularly picks closer to the top of the NFL Draft—judging from his 2018 king’s ransom that he received from the Jets for trading the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft down to the 6th spot where he selected perennial All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson, along with acquiring a stash of draft picks.
That being said, we had already seen the Colts longtime general manager, who was firmly on the hot seat this offseason, transform his arguably archaic ‘turtle-mode’ philosophy on NFL free agency, landing both safety Camryn Bynum and cornerback Charvarius Ward in the first wave of free agency on lucrative, multi-year deals.
It looks like that’s also applied to potential trade deadline acquisitions now going forward.
Yes, one could make the case that an elite pass rusher would’ve made more sense for a Colts defense that just saw former starting cornerback Jaylon Jones return this past weekend and hopefully also has Ward returning soon.
However, it didn’t look like either the Las Vegas Maxx Crosby or Cleveland Browns Myles Garrett were realistically available, and for what it’s worth, I’m not sure a 30-year-old Trey Hendrickson, who’s battled a hip injury as of late, would be worth two first round picks at this juncture of his career. Gardner is 5 years younger and has football left in him even after this current Colts core gets rather long in the tooth.
Time will tell whether this moves makes sense.
That being said, the Colts have a number of veterans with a 2-3 window of title contention: Jonathan Taylor, DeForest Buckner, Quenton Nelson, Kenny Moore II, Grover Stewart, and Braden Smith, so it makes sense to take advantage of their hot 7-2 start, especially in what appears to be a down year for the AFC atop collectively.
They already have one of the league’s best offenses, so why not make a move that significantly improves a depleted Colts secondary that was already better and more opportunistic at creating turnovers than last year’s unit? An elite cornerback group of Gardner, Ward, and Moore II, with Jones working in rotationally, can improve a stalling Colts pass rush just by their ability to blanket opposing receivers.
The Colts got a lot better today and tomorrow, even if the price tag was rather steep going forward.
