With a knack for telling it like it is, Colts owner Jim Irsay has never had much of a filter. And while his transparency is admirable on some level, it also makes Irsay a liability, with his loose-lipped tendencies often creating unnecessary problems for a team and organization that would probably benefit from playing things a bit closer to the vest.
In a sport where secrecy and discretion are rewarded, Irsay’s penchant for oversharing reared its ugly head again Tuesday when the Colts held a press conference introducing former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichem as head coach, letting slip that, if it were up to him, he’d select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 4 pick in April’s NFL Draft.
Young, who won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore before placing sixth this past season, finished his ‘Bama tenure with 80 touchdowns and 8,356 career passing yards, both second in program history. Despite being undersized at 6’0”/194, the 21-year-old is still viewed as a consensus top-10 prospect, checking in at No. 4 on Mel Kiper’s latest Big Board. Of course, with the Bears reportedly shopping the No. 1 pick and Houston expected to draft a quarterback at No. 2, Young might not make it to the Colts, assuming they stand pat at four.
Following their failed Matt Ryan experiment, which came on the heels of similar reclamation projects with Carson Wentz and Philip Rivers, the Colts find themselves in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, something they haven’t had since Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired in 2019.
For all we know, Irsay could be devising an elaborate smoke screen, throwing teams off the scent with a masterful bait and switch. But if the Colts have indeed identified Young as the cream of this year’s quarterback crop, teams bullish on him will either have to trade up or pivot to someone else, perhaps Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud or Kentucky product Will Levis.
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