But in addition to bringing in nine incredibly athletic players, the Colts built competition and depth up and down their roster on Day 3. While the Colts will continue to build their roster in the coming weeks and months through undrafted free agency and the veteran free agent market – as they’ve done in the past – the team’s offensive and defensive lines got deeper on Saturday, while strong competition looks to be on the horizon at tight end and cornerback after the additions of Mallory, Rush and Jones (in addition to cornerback Julius Brents, who was selected on Day 2).
There wasn’t a glaring need at tight end, but Mallory stuck out on the Colts’ draft board. And when the Colts went on the clock at No. 162, head coach Shane Steichen leaned over to Ballard and reminded him: “Chris, this guy’s really good.”
So the Colts took Mallory, and now will see how he competes in a tight end room also including Pharaoh Brown, Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletree and Jelani Woods.
“You never just want to pass up a good player,” Ballard said. “I mean, (Mallory’s) got length, he can run. He’s been productive in college. He’s a really good fit for what we want. It’s just going to create real competition at the position. That’s OK. That’s a good thing. That makes you better.”
At cornerback, the Colts are high on Rush – to the point Ballard was considering drafting him in the fourth round. But instead of moving off players in Freeland and Adebawore the team valued, or trading up to ensure they got him, the Colts let the draft come to them – even trading down from No. 138 and adding a sixth-round pick that became Leo – and snagged Rush at No. 141 in the fifth round.
Like Brents before him and Jones after him, Rush is a long, rangy cornerback who fits “our profile,” Ballard said. He possesses speed (a 4.37-second 40-yard dash) and ball skills (he’s a converted wide receiver), and along with Brents and Jones will compete with guys like Isaiah Rodgers Sr. and Dallis…
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