Colt's Chris Ballard calls BS on criticism of Adonai Mitchell by unnamed sources

Late Friday night, a burr in the rear end of the Indianapolis Colts' general manager became too irritating to ignore.

Ballard, unprompted, went on.

His obscenity-laced comments were in reaction to critical comments from unnamed sources regarding second-round pick Adonai Mitchell.

"I read some of the (BS) that was said on TV,'' Ballard began, picking up steam. "Just the typical (expletive), excuse my language . . . our typical league. Unnamed sources. '(Mitchell was a) bad interview.' That's such (BS). I mean, it (expletive) is. It's (BS).

 "Like, put your name on it. I'm tired (of it). We tear these young men down. These are 21-, 22-year old men and if people can tell me they're perfect in their lives . . . it's crap. It's crap. This is a good kid and for those reports to come out . . . it's (BS).

"I'm sorry. I apologize for the language. I don't, but I do.''

The pre-draft reports and post-draft evaluations clearly struck a nerve.

The Colts did their due diligence. They met with Mitchell at the NFL Scouting Combine and many of their offensive decision-makers - coach Shane Steichen, coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, position coach Reggie Wayne - were at Texas' Pro Day.

"They were beating the drum for a while now,'' Ballard said. "Look, he's an extremely talented young man and I think we're all really excited to get him.''

Mitchell was irked that 10 receivers were drafted ahead of him, and that came across during a Zoom conference call with the Indy media.

"I'm pissed,'' he said.

It also was apparent when Ballard briefly chatted with him after making the selection.

The first words out of Ballard's mouth?

"I said, 'You tired of sitting around?''' he said. "The passion came out pretty clearly on the phone.''

Adding to the o-line

No one should have been overly surprised when Ballard used his third-round pick - No. 79 after moving up from No. 82 in a trade with Arizona - on Pittsburgh offensive tackle Matt Goncalves.

The selection adds a young prospect to a veteran o-line that returns all five starters from a year ago and includes 2023 fourth-round tackle Blake Freeland.

"You can never have enough good linemen,'' Ballard said. "I think he'll come in and he'll compete. He'll compete and put some heat on guys. I think guys get better when there's great competition.

"We have some really good players upfront, but he just adds to the group.''

Position coach Tony Sparano Jr. must determine whether the 6-6, 317-pound Goncalves is better suited to work at tackle or guard. His 24 starts at Pitt were divided between left tackle (13) and right tackle (11).

Goncalves started the first three games at left tackle last season before suffering a season-ending toe injury. He insisted he's 100%.

The trades

Ballard worked a pair of trades Friday.

In round 2, he moved down six spots, from No. 46 to No. 52 (Mitchell), in a trade with Carolina. The Colts also received a pair of fifth-round picks: Nos. 142 and 155.

In round 3, Ballard moved up to No. 79 from No. 82 to make certain he would get Goncalves.

"We did not want to lose him,'' he said.

The cost was minimal. The Colts sent Arizona a sixth-round pick (No. 191).

What's left?

Day 3 of the draft winds down Saturday with the final four rounds.

The Colts head into the day with five picks: No. 117 (round 4), No. 142 (round 5 from Carolina), No. 151 (round 5), No. 155 (round 5 from Carolina) and No. 234 (round 7).

"Just continue to try to draft guys that fit us that are good players,'' Ballard said.

You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.