It’s Senior Bowl week and during the Chris Ballard tenure as general manager, quite a few of the Indianapolis Colts’ draft picks have participated in the event.
The Senior Bowl is an invite-only, All-Star college football showcase for the top draft-eligible prospects who are either seniors of fourth-year juniors who have graduated.
The event is held in Mobile, Alabama and consists of a week of highly competitive practices, where one-on-ones are emphasized and concludes with an All-Star game on Saturday.
General managers and scouts from all 32 NFL teams flock to Mobile for this event. For many, it’s the first opportunity to see these prospects live and the Senior Bowl also allows for NFL teams to meet with the prospects as well.
From 2017, Ballard’s first year as GM of the Colts, through 2023, Indianapolis had made 67 total selections in the NFL draft during that span. Of those 67 picks, 26 of them participated in the Senior Bowl–or roughly 39% of Ballard’s picks.
Included in this group are Alec Pierce, JuJu Brents, Bernhard Raimann, Will Mallory, Shaq Leonard, Blake Freeland, Michael Pittman, Bobby Okereke, and others.
From the Colts’ 2024 draft class, Laiatu Latu, Tanor Bortolini, and Jaylin Simpson were all Senior Bowl participants as well.
So as the week unfolds, keep tabs on who is standing out at practice and in Saturday’s game because, as recent history tells us, there are future Colts players in this event.
To preview each of the position groups and the Colts need this offseason, follow the links below:
Quarterbacks
Linebackers
Running backs
Tight ends
Wide receivers
Cornerbacks and Safeties
Offensive line
Defensive line
