The Indianapolis Colts have had their eyes on one defining characteristic during the Chris Ballard era.
Next week, hundreds of coaches, scouts, and prospects will gather in Indianapolis for the 2026 edition of the NFL Combine. Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen, and the rest of theThis year, the Colts need new players along their defensive front seven.
Linebacker, edge rusher, and interior defensive line are all positions that could use some young talent, but with no first-round pick, the Colts will be looking at prospects who could be available with the 47th overall pick. Of course, free agency has yet to open, so the Colts' draft needs could vary depending on who stays and who goes in March.It's not exactly official, but a ton of Chris Ballard's selections have elite measurables. Ballard loves to draft freak athletes, and one of the key ways to measure athleticism has been using the Relative Athletic Score test. If a player has an RAS score above nine, they're usually on Ballard's radar. Last year, four of Indy's eight selections had an RAS of 9.0 or higher. Two of their selections didn't complete enough drills to receive an RAS score. Aside from measurables, the combine is an opportunity to interview prospects face-to-face. Teams can judge if a player will mesh within their locker room.One of the more memorable quarterback combine performances came in 2023, when Richardson put on a show at Lucas Oil. Richardson had a perfect 10.0 RAS score, making him the most athletic quarterback the combine had ever seen. At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, Richardson ran a 4.43 40-yard dash. That sort of size and speed had rarely been seen before at quarterback, which may have been what led Ballard and Steichen to bring him to Indy a couple of months later.Despite grading poorly in agility, Alec Pierce still managed a 9.82 RAS score. At 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds, Pierce ran a 4.41 40-yard dash and recorded a 40.5-inch vertical leap. Taking it back to Ballard's second draft, he was still selecting freak athletes, even on the offensive line. Nelson showed excellent lateral movement and agility at the combine, but he lacked some explosiveness. Nelson was given a 9.67 RAS score, which, at the time, was the 32nd best among 927 offensive guards since 1987.Fast forward to 2025, and Ballard is still drafting offensive linemen the same way. Bortolini didn't turn any heads height/weight-wise, but he stood out in speed, agility, and explosiveness. Bortolini earned a 9.78 RAS score, which graded as the 33rd best among 1,445 eligible offensive guard prospects since 1987.To round out the Colts' key draft picks, we have star running back Jonathan Taylor. The sixth-year man exploded onto the scene with a 4.39 40-yard dash, a metric that helped earn him a 9.53 RAS score. What really brought Taylor's score down was his height, but in the NFL, running back height isn't a worry.Honestly, most of these players were probably already high up on the Colts' draft board. In some cases, drafting raw athletes has paid off. In others, it's been a failure. It's fair to say that athleticism at the combine doesn't always equate with on-field performance. Measurables are important, but character and work ethic are arguably more crucial to a player's success.Sean Ackerman is the co-Deputy Editor of Indianapolis Colts on SI. Ackerman, a graduate of Western Kentucky University, majored in broadcasting. He's in his third year covering the NFL.
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