If we don't come away with a CB in the first two rounds, I will be highly disappointed.

Never say never, but it's extremely unlikely. In his 7 drafts w/ the Colts Ballard has moved up 4 times. 2 of them where he had to give up minimal draft capital to move up 3 spots in/into the 2nd round (JT and Lewis trades), and 2 more where mid round picks were involved (Willis and Cross). For good or for bad I really doubt Ballard will ever give up the draft capital it takes to move up in the 1st round.

Worth it IMO if we can get one of the elite WRs or if it looks like Bowers will be gone by the time we draft.

Yeah, if we take a WR in the 1st or 2nd then mentioned 2nd WR would have to be a later round pick. Remember Dulin is coming off an ACL tear so could very well start the season on the PUP. Also, since Dulin is such a good STer it doesn't kill us to keep 6 WRs, especially if said late round draftee can play STs as well. With that being said if the BPAs on day 3 are all at other positions then we should be all means draft them.

Pre-draft press conference seems to indicate they want to trade down.

It appears to be a plentiful year for both CB and WR. Given that in a typical year, CB is the 3rd most selected position and WR is the 5th, I'm hoping they go CB first round and WR in the second. The adage "best player available" should actually be "best player available in a needed position".

Even without Ballard's comments it's a pretty good assumption. Trading down is fine I guess as long as Bowers is drafted before us and we still get (preferably) BTJ or someone like Latu, or one of the top CBs. What I really don't want to see us do is trade down multiple times and end up drafting a bunch of good, but not great guys. We have plenty of good players on the roster already. What we need are true difference makers.

I wouldn't hold my breath. Ballard's comments on our CB group are very similar to what he said about the OL last year. To give him credit, he was right about the OL.

In the early rounds I mostly agree and Ballard seems to follow this which is why we trade down so often. For day 3 picks though I think you should just go w/ the BPA; at least for rounds 5-7. Those are such a crap shoot anyway that you really shouldn't handcuff yourself.

Interesting. I finished listening to it earlier and I came away feeling less confident they'd go for a WR at #15/trade up. I think Bowers would be undeniable if he somehow falls to us. But besides that, he said a few things...

A.) He mentioned WR and OL specifically as having great depth in this class - suggests to me that he can land a solid WR + pick(s) with a trade-back.

B.) He said it wasn't a "weak" defensive class, but it's heavy offense, and they have 19-21 1st round grades - suggests to me that spending the #15 overall on a top-3 defender (according to their board) would be a priority over a top-5 WR.

C.) As he's done before, he emphasized that protection over skill positions (that whole thing about Andrew Luck being able to get the ball to anybody, he just needs to not die) - suggests he still doesn't feel pressed to reach on a WR.

I do like the idea of Brian Thomas... I'm not sure I like it better than Cooper DeJean/Quinyon Mitchell unless it's slight trade-back where we could still snag him + a pick.

I refrained from actually voting until now.

I still want to see them trade up. It doesn't have to be Harrison, but if one of these playmakers is on the board - I want them.

It's not a hill I'll die on. If they choose to trade down, so be it. I just want a difference maker out of this draft, desperately. I don't care what position.

In the second I think Max Melton and TJ Tampa are the only two guys. Maybe Cam Hart depending how far he has risen. After that it’s later round guy that fit their model.

That's why the Quinyon Mitchell/R2 WR (My personal choice is Ricky Pearsall) combo is, in my opinion, the best option unless they're going to trade up for someone like Rome Odunze if he falls to 8 or 9 overall. The drop from BTJ to Pearsall is not that much in my opinion, whereas the drop from Mitchell to Tampa or Melton is a cliff.

That's what I'm thinking. Bowers > Top CB > Trade Down WR + Pick.

I'm curious what you guys think about DeJean. Mitchell just jumps out like a perfect fit for us and I'd be super excited with him. He's like classic top-shelf CB.

But I've also been watching/reading more of DeJean lately... I was under the impression he was an iffy prospect because I had read people suggesting he move to safety.

No way. Looks like they played off a lot at Iowa (like Bradley will call), and he looks to have some tremendous instinct/savvy. He has really good ball skills and is a really good return man (new kickoff rules). He also looks like the best tackling DB.

Athletically, he's a stud. He doesn't have the top-end speed of Mitchell (4.33), but coming off a broken leg he posted a 4.43. And every other test was virtually equal, if not better, than Mitchell's.

I'm not saying I'd necessarily take him over Mitchell, but he's extremely intriguing to me.