COLTS

Colts GM Ryan Grigson on draft: 'Got to knock this out of the park'

Zak Keefer
zak.keefer@indystar.com
Ryan Grigson, left, general manager for the Indianapolis Colts and team owner and CEO Jim Orsay walk off the field before the start of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Colts won the game, 27-20.

Ryan Grigson knows the page has turned, that the era of big-spending in free agency has given way to prudence and patience. He knows how high the stakes are for next week’s NFL Draft.

“(We’ve) got to really knock this out of the park,” the Colts general manager said Wednesday.

Indeed. The Colts have six selections in the 2016 draft, including the No. 18 pick in the first round. After a quiet offseason thus far (the Colts signed one notable free agent off another roster, cornerback Patrick Robinson) the onus shifts now to the forum in which the Colts will utilize in building their roster for years to come. That’s not free agency. That’s the draft.

Bottom line: They can’t miss as often as they have in years past. For example: None of Grigson’s 12 draft picks on defense before 2015 is currently on the roster. That’ll need to change if this team wants to compete for a world championship any time soon.

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Of those draft stumbles, Grigson was candid Wednesday in speaking to reporters for his annual predraft press conference. What has learned from missing on the likes of Bjoern Werner?

“You can’t beat yourself up too much. You can’t get gun shy.”

But the overall takeaway was this team’s new approach, which Grigson acknowledged on several occasions. The Colts of 2018, ’19 and ’20 will be built through April’s drafts, not March’s free agency periods.

“It’s a little bit different mindset,” Grigson said. “We were attacking things before because we were so close (in years past), I feel like we truly need to have some patience because we don’t have the resources to plug and play (in free agency).

"Now it’s about acquiring young players or older players that fit those parameters and that fit the puzzle,” he continued. "Development is a huge key aspect of our teams moving forward.”

Grigson more or less summarized his draft approach this way: Talent over need. He said selecting a player to fill a specific need over a player rated higher at a different position “defies the process,” of preparation. “It breaks the trust and the morale of the guys that are stacking your board with you,” he said.

See: Phillip Dorsett last year. The Colts had greater needs than receiver, but Grigson refused to pass on a player he felt was the best on the board.

Heading into this year’s draft the Colts face two position groups in need: Offensive line and pass rush.

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"There is some good depth in the trenches, both D-line and offensive line,” he said. "I think that pass rush is all in the eye of the beholder. It's where you take them. There are guys that are talented, that have the juice and the athleticism, but don’t have the production. That to me is a red flag. There are guys that have the high sack numbers but don’t have the length or ooohs and aaahs.”

Grigson was also asked about his body of work over four years. He’s made 30 picks. Some have hit. Some have missed. Especially on the offensive line, the very position he played.

“I’m a competitor, I have a lot of pride in my work,” he said. "I was an offensive lineman, and there are certain factors you can’t help. But I feel like we’ve got to do a better job. I feel like we’re in a position to do better.”

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.

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