Who are the Colts worst draft picks under Chris Ballard?

With seven rounds to choose from since 2017, there are sure to be some misses.

The NFL draft is Chris Ballard’s time to shine. During his time with the Indianapolis Colts, he has been considered one of the better drafting general managers in the league. As highlighted yesterday, he has some big time hits under his belt. With so many swings, however, there are certainly going to be some misses. Rounds five through seven and even the fourth are seen more as taking a flyer on a guy and hoping you can develop him into something. For the sake of the draft low lights, let’s take a look at the worst picks from the first two days of the draft.

Tarrell Basham

Drafted in 2017 in the third round, Basham was supposed to be a replacement for Robert Mathis as the Colts were looking to find a young rusher who could help supply some edge pressure. He appeared in 15 games his rookie season amassing seven tackles as a back up. He was waived the next year a quarter through the season after appearing in just one game. It is safe to say, Basham was not the next Mathis.

Ben Banogu

In 2019, the next EDGE rusher that did not past muster was Banogu. The Colts spent one of three second round picks on the man out of TCU. Although he appeared in 50 games for the Colts, he only managed 2.5 sacks with all of them coming in his rookie campaign. Add 13 solo tackles and Banogu was easy to label as a bust. He spent four years with the Colts before he found himself out of the league entirely after 2022.

Rock Ya-Sin

The Colts were ecstatic to get the lock down corner out of Temple in 2019. Ballard loves leaders of men. Ya-Sin was seen as that his senior year, and his physicality was a huge plus. Seen as a bit too handsy and unable to provide solid enough coverage, Ya-Sin was shipped off to the Raiders in 2022 in a trade that netted the Colts Yannick Ngakoue. Although Ya-Sin still has plenty of ability and can help a team, spending a second round pick on a player that didn’t finish his rookie contract with you isn’t the best look.

Parris Campbell

Let’s keep the train going on what was a disaster of a draft in 2019. The Colts held three second round draft picks and none of them worked. Remember how jacked Frank Reich was to get Campbell late in the second? The speedster out of Ohio State was seen as the key to unlocking the Colts’ offense. Problem was, the man couldn’t stay healthy. Whether it was a broken foot, hand, or an MCL injury, Campbell simply wasn’t available. During his four years with the Colts, he played 32 out of 66 games. Ouch.

Quincy Wilson

The Colts were looking for someone to pair with Vontae Davis in the secondary, and the man out of Florida looked to have potential. Taken 46th overall in Ballard’s first draft in 2017, his career didn’t go as planned. He was a healthy scratch at times during the season as he struggled to find favor with Coach Chuck Pagano appearing in just seven contests. Wilson didn’t make it past his third season with the Colts as they opted to trade him during the 2020 draft to the Jets for the 211th pick. He was out of the league by 2022.

The NFL is a tough business. Regardless of where a player is drafted, they have to earn their place on the team. Nothing is guaranteed. The above players all had great potential. Perhaps some where overvalued while others simply didn’t live up to what they could be. It stands that these early round selections are some of the biggest blemishes on Chris Ballard’s record. If he can avoid these types of losses going forward, the future should be bright.