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Draft talk is heating up this week, with the first round kicking off Thursday night. As teams prepare for the new technical hurdles and attempt to place themselves in the best position to come away victorious on draft weekend, there are a number of rumors beginning to swirl. While it would be foolish to believe everything you hear leading up to the draft, there might be something in one of those rumors.
Former NFL GM Mike Lombardi has put out there that Malik Hooker might be on the trade block for the Colts, signaling a potential end to his time in Indianapolis.
More players available...Malik Hooker, Indy, PJ Hall Oakland, Rasul Douglas Phila, Adam Sheehan, Chicago. It's going to be a fun week.
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) April 21, 2020
The Colts 2017 first round pick was heralded at the time as a potential Ed Reed type player who could be a transformative presence on the back end of the Colts defense. Hooker was raw coming into the league and has been banged up for much of his time in the NFL, losing most of his rookie season to an ACL/MCL tear.
It would be odd for the Colts to seek to move on from Hooker, but also not inconceivable. This is a draft class with limited options at safety, and for teams looking to add talent, Hooker might fetch a good asking price. His ideal fit is as a single high safety where he can use his range to impact the game, and with the hiring of Frank Reich and Matt Eberflus, the Colts operate primarily out of a two deep safety look.
Additionally, it is now being reported that the Colts may be seeking a trade partner for cornerback Quincy Wilson.
The #Colts are looking to trade 2017 second round pick, CB Quincy Wilson, according to @AlbertBreer
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 21, 2020
Wilson was a bust for GM Chris Ballard. He started 0 games in 2019, making only 11 tackles in 9 games.
If he isn't traded, it's also possible Wilson gets cut after the 2020 Draft pic.twitter.com/URdlqnpcrA
This is far less surprising. Wilson has struggled under two different coaching staffs, and while he offered versatile depth and got time at both safety and corner, his play was never good enough to keep him on the field when players returned from injury.
His practice effort was questioned by two different coaching staffs, and he made a very pointed effort to change his image over the past offseason, but still never managed to see the field in a meaningful way, while Rock Ya-Sin gobbled up snaps as a rookie, and Marvell Tell even saw the field more consistently than did Wilson.
The Colts are clearly looking at potential ways to add picks their arsenal after having given up their first round pick to bring in DeForrest Buckner. Giving up two defensive players could spell how they feel about the defensive backfield in this draft class.
Ballard made no bones about his desire to add some more picks during his pre-draft press conference.
“To be honest with you, I would like more picks. I feel very confident. I’d like more picks. We’ll see if that happens or not, but I feel confident in our group. I feel confident in our work and what we have done, and we think we are going to acquire good players.”
With that information, it is clear that we’ll need to watch the Colts closely in the coming days, because there could be moves coming, some to unexpected players. Hang on Colts fans, it is going to be an exciting week!