Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has built the current roster up from seemingly nothing over the last five offseasons but is still getting questions about a lack of superstars at certain positions.
The argument can and has been made for players like Quenton Nelson, Darius Leonard and DeForest Buckner. But when Pat McAfee asked about getting more difference-making players on the roster, Ballard responded with the notion that some are already in the building.
“We think we have guys that can be superstars. People don’t like the unknown,” Ballard said Wednesday on the Pat McAfee Show. “At some point, guys pop up and they become great players and I think we have a couple of young players that can do that.”
The question from McAfee stemmed mostly from the Julio Jones situation after the star wideout was traded to the Tennessee Titans. And with T.Y. Hilton likely to serve more of a complementary role, the Colts seemingly have a void at WR1.
But with this, Ballard had another chance to give praise about second-year wideout Michael Pittman Jr., a player that Ballard believes can be special.
“We have a strong belief in Michael Pittman. He’s a big, talented kid,” Ballard said. “Unfortunately, he had the [leg compartment syndrome] injury last year and it was a pretty severe injury that he ended up coming back from. But still finished the season strong.”
Ballard has said all offseason that Pittman Jr. has the skillset to take over the wide receiver room and be that dominating X-receiver in the offense. Pittman Jr. showed that he can plays underneath and with the ball in his hands but with Carson Wentz arriving as the new quarterback, the hope is we’ll see more plays down the field.
The Colts also have a pair of edge rushers in Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, two rookies who have extremely high ceilings given their expected roles in the defense.
Indy has a nice foundation on the roster with plenty of potential at a number of areas, but we’re hoping to see a few players take that next step in development to become a more prominent figure around the league.
