Colts' Ryan Grigson Ranked as NFL's 11th Best General Manager

The offseason is the time of year where you'll find a number of different rankings, whether it be quarterbacks, head coaches, general managers, or something else.  Recently, Rotoworld's Patrick Daugherty released his rankings of the NFL general managers, and the Colts' Ryan Grigson came in at number 11.

11. Ryan Grigson, Colts

Last Year's Ranking: 18

You know Ryan Grigson for his "best" move — having a pulse the day Indy was eligible to select Andrew Luck — and his worst move, trading for Trent Richardson. (Jerry Hughes digresses.) What you might have missed was everything in between. T-Rich hasn't been Grigson's only failure. 2013 first-rounder Bjoern Werner has made zero impact, while veteran retreads Hakeem Nicks and LaRon Landry were mistakes even before the ink dried. But though Grigson has had plenty of high-profile failures, he's also had plenty of under-the-radar coups. From Florida International (T.Y. Hilton) to Canada (Jerrell Freeman), Grigson has shown a knack for finding talent in strange places. He's also signed some of the right veteran retreads (Ahmad Bradshaw), and had success with mid- to late-round draft picks (Donte Moncrief and Jonathan Newsome in 2014). You can focus on Grigson's (L)uck and misses, but don't let it distract from the fact that this is a roster that's gotten better every year, and came within a game of the Super Bowl last season.

While there might be some questions with a few of the other rankings (Bill Belichick is clearly the NFL's best head coach by a huge margin, but it's best GM too?  I wouldn't put him ahead of Baltimore's Ozzie Newsome or Seattle's John Schneider, that's for sure), but for Grigson, this ranking seems pretty accurate.  He's not among the league's best general managers, but he's also not among the league's worst GMs either - he's right around the middle of the pack, and that's where Daugherty ranks him.

He has had some high profile hits (Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Vontae Davis, etc.) and some high profile misses (Trent Richardson, Bjoern Werner, LaRon Landry, etc.).  When you look at the bottom line, Grigson took over a team that won just two games in 2011 and has built a team that has put together three consecutive 11-win seasons, three playoff berths, two AFC South titles, and three playoff wins - improving every year, too.  That's a pretty good resume overall.  But when looking at some of the individual moves that he has made, it becomes a less clear picture.  Give him credit for the Luck pick if you want, but that was owner Jim Irsay's call.  And Luck has covered over a lot of weaknesses for the Colts.  Grigson has missed too much for comfort, particularly with some of his biggest moves.

Regardless of your opinion on Grigson, it's perfectly fair to rank him 11th on this list right now, but it's clear that 2015 will be a big year for him.  He's had a very good free agency period so far and has nine draft picks in the upcoming draft.  If he hits those, the perception of Grigson will likely be much better a year from now, as combined with his free agency signings the Colts look to have their best team of the Grigson era yet.  This will be a big year for Grigson, but so far through his first three seasons, he certainly seems to be right around the middle of the pack when it comes to the NFL general managers.