All things considered, this looks like a job well done.
For years, the offseason has been a trudge for the Indianapolis Colts. Starting in March, fans would see player after player move teams while watching Chris Ballard use a Band-Aid to address a gaping wound on the roster. Players that would help the team would take reasonable salaries elsewhere and leave fans wondering why the Colts weren’t more involved. The only saving grace at times was the draft. Seen as a solid drafting GM, Ballard usually found some players to be excited about. This year was different because fans got the best of both worlds. What transpired seems to be more than enough to deem this offseason a success.
Go back to early March, and things got going quickly. On the first day of legal tampering, the Colts announced players like Cam Bynum, Charvarius Ward, and Daniel Jones had agreed to terms. Yes, they also resigned some of their own players and lost some, but that is the nature of free agency. Simply bringing back everyone who was part of a less than remarkable year is going to produce similar results. The Colts looked at the roster and made moves where they were weakest. Beefing up the secondary was a top priority of many, so finally seeing it addressed was huge.
Fast forward to the draft and there appears to be even more to be excited about. Teams are always going to gush about their first round pick, but fans are smart enough to see that some of it is simply smoke. Some years, though, things just seem to fall exactly as planned. 2025 seems to be that year for at least the first round pick in Tyler Warren. He fits a huge need and is an incredible player who is going to do wonders for this offense. The Colts got everything they wanted by picking Warren without having to trade up. He could end up being one of the best draft picks of the Ballard era.
Chris Ballard seems to have finally put together a complete offseason full of strong free agent signings while also infusing impactful young talent at key positions. Will it all work out? Who knows, but at least it shows an honest effort to get better. That couldn’t always be believed by fans when watching offseasons of the past. Instead of treading water, the Colts appear to be swimming forward. Hopefully, that trend continues and the Colts just keep swimming.