The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is only 15 days, and even after months of deliberating, some teams have yet to finalize their evaluations of the draft's top quarterbacks. One of those teams is the Indianapolis Colts, according to ESPN. Part of the reason for that could be the Colts, who own the draft's fourth overall pick, were one of the few teams who actually showed a public level of interest in Lamar Jackson after he tweeted about requesting a trade from the Baltimore Ravens.
"Anytime a special player is available, which he [Jackson] is, you've got to do the work," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said on March 27, via ESPN. "I'm not gonna get into deep discussions on where it's at or what we're doing or what we might do, but what I'll tell you is he's a really good player, really special player. But you never know how any of this will work out."
However, it appears like the ultimate shot-caller -- team owner Jim Irsay -- prefers to go the draft route, likening the value of first-round picks to "gold." If Indianapolis was to sign Jackson, whom the Baltimore Ravens have applied a franchise tag on, it would have to send the Ravens two first-round picks, something Irsay appears to be vehemently against.
"Our belief, and my belief, has always been you build through the draft, the draft is your pipeline for success or failure," Irsay said, via ESPN. "That is where it's at."
First-year Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen echoed his boss' philosophy that the draft is the top team-building tool.
"We're focused on the draft and I'm focused on the guys that are in the building right now," Steichen said Wednesday, via ESPN. "That's where we're at."
Given "that's where it's at," the Colts are now tasked with figuring out which quarterback prospect they like best between Florida's Anthony Richardson and Kentucky's Will Levis since they are "preparing for the possibility" that Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud are the first two passers selected, per ESPN.
Richardson (2022) joined Kyler Murray (2018), the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and Caleb Williams (2021), the likely first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, as the only quarterbacks with multiple passing touchdowns and rushing touchdowns of over 50 yards in the same season across the last five years. Levis has the sixth-most passing yards (5,218) and passing touchdowns (43) in the SEC in the last two seasons. Whoever the Colts pick will shape the futures of Ballard, new head coach Shane Steichen and the entire franchise for the foreseeable future.
