NFL

New GM Chris Ballard's pedigree is exactly what Colts need

INDIANAPOLIS — New Colts general manager Chris Ballard arrives in Indianapolis with the type of knowledge in roster building that Colts owner Jim Irsay talked about last offseason.

Irsay, knowing the financial limitations the Colts were going to face after giving out new contracts to the likes of Andrew Luck, Dwayne Allen, Anthony Castonzo and T.Y. Hilton, said they were going to have to build their roster through the draft and develop those players.

Chris Ballard has been hired as the Colts’ new GM, replacing the fired Ryan Grigson. George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Ballard is coming from Kansas City where he was the team’s director of football operations and had success picking talented players.

Ballard, who worked his way up through the scouting ranks in the NFL, spent the past four years with the Kansas City Chiefs. And during that same span, all three of their first-round picks — offensive lineman Eric Fisher, linebacker Dee Ford and cornerback Marcus Peters — have played significant roles with the franchise. The Chiefs didn’t have a first-round pick in 2016. They also selected Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce in the third round of the 2013 draft and Pro Bowl return specialist Tyreek Hill in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

Former Chicago director of college scouting Greg Gabriel worked with Ballard with the Bears and had high praise for the Colts’ new general manager.

“I am extremely excited about Chris coming on as our general manager,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said through the team’s Twitter account. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and a ton of experience to the organization. I’m looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and going to work alongside of him.”

One of former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson’s biggest downfalls was his inability to draft well. His best draft was his first one in 2012 that featured Luck, Allan and Hilton. But things started to go downhill for him after that. The Colts didn’t have players from their 2013 draft on their active roster this past season.

Grigson traded away their 2014 first-round pick for running back Trent Richardson, who turned out to be a bust. Grigson skipped over the likes of defensive lineman Malcolm Brown and safety Landon Collins in 2015 to select receiver Phillip Dorsett, who hasn’t lived up to expectations so far. The Colts cut their third-round pick from 2015, cornerback D’Joun Smith, last season.

The Colts have to get younger on a defense that finished 30th in the NFL and had five starters who were 30 years old or older last season.

Ballard is a first-time general manager, but he has the knowledge of what it takes to build a roster. Now the Colts hope Ballard will do the same with theirs.