Yes, there’s still uncertainty at left tackle, as all indications point to Sam Tevi, who played with the Chargers last season, getting the first shot at replacing the retired Anthony Castonzo. But what the draft also showed is that the Colts weren’t as high on the offensive tackles in the early rounds as they were on Paye and Odeyingbo.
“I think it’s two-fold,” Ballard said. “One, we knew we wanted to add some more young talent there. Then, that’s just kind of how it fell. When we took [Paye] with our first-round pick . he was the best player on the board at the time and fit us not only from an athletic and performance standpoint, but from a character standpoint, which I think you all know that’s a premium for us, who we bring in the building.
Biggest Losers From the 2021 NFL Draft
Seattle Seahawks v Philadelphia Eagles / Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
The 2021
San Francisco 49ers
I love Trey Lance s upside and think he was the right pick for the 49ers at No. 3. But you have to remember what they gave up to get him, sending first- and third-rounders in 2022 and a first-rounder in 2023 to jump from the 12th pick to the third. That s a ton of value and Lance has to live up to that billing pretty soon. The rest of San Francisco s draft was a mixed bag at best. Notre Dame guard Aaron Banks was a reach at No. 48, as were Ohio State running back Trey Sermon (No. 88) and Michigan cornerback Ambry Thomas (No. 103). The 49ers badly needed to find another receiver and failed to do so. Neither of the two cornerbacks they selected (Thomas and Oregon s Deommodore Lenoir) project as big-time contributors. This draft wasn t a disaster, but it feels like San Francisco missed some opportunities on Day 2.
► No. 229 overall NFL Draft pick, wide receiver, Charleston
Michael Strachan fits the size-speed prototype of the kind of wide receiver general manager Chris Ballard likes to draft (think Dezmon Patmon, Deon Cain). He put up monster numbers is his final two seasons at Charleston. Strachan harbored hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics before they were cancelled. Perhaps the Colts will use Strachan s rookie season as a red shirt season, as they did with Patmon last year.
And in Ballard’s mind, they were lucky to get him. Despite the fact that Odeyingbo tore his Achilles in late January (more on that soon), the Colts GM felt like Odeyingbo was more than “worth the risk” at No 54. In fact, Ballard said, he was sweating it out, hoping not only that teams ahead of the Colts wouldn’t draft Odeyingbo but that no one behind the Colts would trade in front of them.
There were teams, Ballard was confident, that definitely had eyes for Odeyingbo. But none of them pounced and the Colts got a man Ballard said was ranked higher than any left tackle still on the board, as well as a few who were selected just in front of the Colts.