The Indianapolis Colts have never traded up during the first round of the NFL Draft under general manager Chris Ballard, but there is some chatter that they could in 2024.
While on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, NFL Network's Peter Schrager explained why he believes the Colts could be in the market to trade up in the draft for one of the top wide receivers.
This comes after he projected the Colts making a trade-up to No. 9 overall to select LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers in a mock draft.
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“I think there’s a chance the Colts make a couple of calls here and move up, especially if (Malik) Nabers, (Rome) Odunze, or (Marvin) Harrison Jr. falls out of that Top 5 or 6," Schrager said.
The Colts have never traded up during the first round of the draft under Ballard so this would be an unprecedented scenario. They also haven't had the chance to build around a stable quarterback option since before Andrew Luck retired in 2019.
But Schrager argues that the impact of what the rest of the division did in free agency could have a say in what Ballard does.
"You guys know, a lot of players re-signed, players they like, players they feel confident with, Kenny Moore II and (Michael) Pittman Jr., and all of these guys. "But the Jaguars went balls to the wall in free agency. The Titans went absolutely bonkers in free agency, and the Texans went bonkers. You know Chris Ballard, do you think they’re sitting on their hands, sit at 15, take a defensive back and say, “Okay, we’re (going to go for it).”
Trading up for a player like Harrison, Nabers or Odunze would immediately give the Colts an incredible wide receiver room to work with Anthony Richardson as he develops.
In theory, that's a great idea. In reality, it will be a difficult move to pull off. The Colts wouldn't be the only teams looking to move up for prospects like those three.
With one week to go until the draft, everything should be taken for a grain of salt. It will be interesting to see what the Colts do in terms of potentially moving up.
