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Why drafting a pass rusher instead of a wide receiver is the way to go in the first round"While the pain endured in the loss to Kansas City still lingers Youth Adam Vinatieri Jersey , the Colts season has to be viewed as a success. A roster that two years ago had holes all over the place now has no glaring weaknesses. While you can rest assured that Chris Ballard will infuse more talent and create competition on all levels, the consensus opinion is that considerable resources should be used to improve the pass rush and wide receiver position. This story considers an optimal path to addressing both.Draft an Edge RusherAt the time of this writing, the Colts will be drafting 26th. If they follow the script that I believe makes most sense,they should have a shot at pass rushers like Jeffrey Simmons, Christian Wilkins or someone would could slide — perhaps Montez Sweat. First round pass rushers tend to excel in their roles. In the past 5 years names like Ezekiel Ansah, Sheldon Richardson, Khalil Mack, Aaron Donald, Dee Ford, Leonard Williams, Joey Bosa, T.J. Watt, and Bradley Chubb have been drafted in the first round. While these are the headliners, a statistical analysis of how primary pass rushers will help to draw a broader conclusion. Our analysis includes pass rushers selected in the first round between 2013-2018.Average Sacks and Tackles per seasonThere is quite a bit of deviation but players drafted in the first round had averaged 4.8 Sacks and 34 tackles per season. While these numbers certainly don’t pop-off the page, the difference between drafting a pass rusher in the first two rounds or the rest of the draft is about 2.7 sacks and 22 tackles. Pay a wide receiverLike pass rushers, some great wide receivers have been drafted in the past 5 years. Players like DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr. and Amari Cooper are both highly regarded and extremely productive. However, the well for valuable wide receiver talent in the draft has run dry in recent years. Average yards and TDs(green means that have been to at least one Pro Bowl)The averages of 561 yards and 4 TDs are pedestrian Indianapolis Colts Denzelle Good Jersey , but they look even worse when you consider that WRs take between the 2nd and 4th rounds average 416 yards and 2.7 TDs. Also keep this in mind, if you take out the super-talented 2014 class which was composed of Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandin Cooks, and Kelvin Benjamin, the first round average drops to 436.6 yards and 3.03 TDs, extremely close to the production in rounds 2-4.That’s not all.Average yards per seasonThis chart includes wide receivers taken in the last five drafts. There is a noticeable decrease in average yards accumulated, signifying that the talent level has decreased or scouts have struggled to hit in the first round. Consider that between 2013 and 2014, 5/9 (56%) first round wide receivers have been named to a Pro Bowl. Between 2015-2017, 1/13 (7%) have been. While it’s true that these players have been in the league for a shorter time, affording them fewer opportunities to make the Pro Bowl, consider that over the same span (2015-2017) 3/5 (60%) running backs and 5/16 (31%) defensive ends selected in the first round have accomplished that recognition.ConclusionThe Colts have around $108 million dollars to spend in free agency, meaning they can easily afford any player who is both able and willing to sign in Indianapolis. It is entirely within the realm of possibility that Chris Ballard could sign a free agent pass rusher and draft another in the first round. The team also has the 34th overall pick, which they acquired from a trade with the Jets in 2018. This leaves Ballard with the draft capital to draft a talented wide receiver early as well. If recent history is an indication, it makes more sense to use one of the second round or later picks at the receiver position and keep the first pick to improve the pass rush. INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard followed the pattern through the first two days of the NFL draft.First, he moved back to get more picks. Then he invested heavily in the defense. And finally, he gave quarterback Andrew Luck some help.After trading away Indy’s first-round pick on Thursday, Ballard took cornerback Rock Ya-Sin Adam Vinatieri Jersey Stitched , pass-rushing linebacker Ben Banogu and receiver Parris Campbell with his three second-round picks and closed out Day 2 by taking linebacker Bobby Okereke in the third round.But it wasn’t just the way Ballard drafted that seemed so familiar; it was who he took and what they sounded like, too.“I only played football in high school for two years so I was slightly under-recruited, I feel like,” Ya-Sin said. “I just believed in myself. I felt like I had the talent, I had the work ethic and I had great coaches that were pushing me.”Ya-Sin impressed the Colts so much in his only season at the Bowl Subdivision level at Temple that Indy took him with the No. 34 selection — the first time they’ve chosen a cornerback that high since selecting Marlin Jackson No. 29 overall in 2005.Last year, Ballard used the first of his four second-round picks, No. 36 overall, on another overlooked prep player who wound up at a Football Championship Subdivision school, linebacker Darius Leonard. He led the NFL in tackles, was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and became a first-team All-Pro in 2018.This time, with a pick acquired from the New York Jets in 2018, Ballard took the 6-foot, 192-pound Ya-Sin, a two-time Georgia state wrestling champion with a reputation for getting physical.Ya-Sin played his first three seasons at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina — just 100 miles from Leonard’s alma mater, South Carolina State — before finishing 14th in the FBS with 12 passes defensed last season at Temple. Ya-Sin also earned a single-digit jersey, an honor reserved for the Owls’ toughest players.Could Ballard hit it big again with a defense that made major strides in its first season under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus?“Gil Brandt said something the other night. He said, ‘I’ve always loved guys who transfer up,'” Ballard said. “Why do they do it? Because they know they’re good. Rock did that Youth Anthony Castonzo Jersey , Ben did the same thing. They have a high level of confidence they can play. That was one of the neat things about Darius, he stepped on that Senior Bowl field and he belonged. These kids believe they belong.”In the meantime, Ballard continues to collect talent and picks.After sending the No. 26 overall pick to Washington for two second-rounders Thursday, Ballard dealt the first of the two picks, No. 49 overall, to Cleveland, moved back three spots, found another pass-rusher in the 6-foot-4, 249-pound Banogu and added a fifth-round pick to his draft weekend arsenal.Banogu played primarily defensive line in college and after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe to TCU in 2016, recorded 8 ½ sacks in each of his final two college seasons. The Colts envision using him all over the field.“I’m ready to do just about anything. With the coaching staff and my football I.Q., I feel like I can pick it up pretty fast and be effective,” he said. “Doing some of the linebacker stuff at the Senior Bowl really opened my eyes to all the neat ways you can kind of create plays and turnovers for your team.”Then Ballard got some help for Luck — taking the 6-foot-1, 208-pound Campbell at No. 59. Campbell and An
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