Colts in Attendance for Western Michigan DB Sam Beal’s Pro Day

With the 2018 Supplemental Draft set to take place on July 11^th, a buzz is beginning to build. Unlike in most years, there is significant interest in a few of the prospects who will be a part of the draft. If you aren’t sure what the Supplemental Draft is, head over here to get a great breakdown of the specifics of what it is and how it works.

The Indianapolis Colts have now attended the workout for, or have conducted interviews with all three of the top defensive backs in the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft. Recently the Colts met with Brandon Bryant and Adonis Alexander and earlier today, Sam Bryant was next on the docket.

It’s not just the 14 teams who attended Bryant’s or the handful doing their process with Alexander, showing that analysts and league personnel agree that Beal might be the most sought after player available.

The word among scouts when comparing Beal with fellow cornerback Darius Phillips, who was drafted by the Bengals in the 5^th round of the 2018 draft, is that Beal is the better player. At 6’0” and 178lbs, Beal is the prototypical size of the new NFL cornerback. He is a fluid player and has the kind of quickness and length that combine to make him a coveted addition to needy secondaries.

The question is, what kind of grade does Chris Ballard have on him? If he likes him as much as many teams appear to, Ballard may take a flier on him. He had good luck plucking Nate Hairston from the 5^th round of last year’s draft, and if he could get an athletic 21-year-old to add to his cornerback room at a reasonable cost, it would go a lot way to speeding along the process of this roster’s defensive rebuild.

Which leaves the last question: how much will he be willing to give up to get Beal? Matt Miller at Bleacher report has Beal listed as a first round pick in the 2019 draft in his way too early predictions. If Ballard views him as a possible round 1 talent, what would he be willing to give up for him? Having an additional 2^nd round pick from the Jets trade may make Ballard a bit more likely to take a risk with a mid-round pick for a player of Beal’s skill level.

The Colts need help in the secondary without question, but whether they feel the largest need for a corner or someone who predominantly plays safety remains to be determined. At any rate, it seems as though Beal is in a pretty good position for someone to take a shot at him.

Beal began his time at Western Michigan as a WR and was moved to DB over the past two seasons. Beal racked up 92 total tackles and 2 interceptions in 24 games as a member of the secondary.

The Colts hold the No. 3 slot in the bidding process due to their draft position from the 2018 NFL Draft.