Colts GM Chris Ballard is staying the course despite recent struggles

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballad is seemingly prepared to stay the course, even if he loses his job over it.

After several questionable moves ahead of the 2024 campaign, James Boyd of The Athletic questioned whether he was the right person to lead the franchise's direction. Ballard responded, saying that missing the postseason three straight years hasn't been easy to swallow, but it won't cause him to stray away from the plan put in place.

"Like it's easy to vacillate and go with what the world wants you to do, but you need to believe in something or you don't," Ballard told Boyd. "It's what we believe. It if gets me fired, so be it."

While the last three seasons have been tough for Ballard and the Colts, the franchise hasn't seen much success overall with him crafting the roster. Since taking over the role as GM in 2017, Indianapolis has gone 54-60-1, going 1-2 in the playoffs.

Perhaps the most criticized moves by Ballard recently are ones he didn't make. For instance, he failed to improve an inexperienced secondary that finished 16th in the NFL against the pass in 2023.

This year's group returns virtually unchanged, featuring three starters 23 years old or younger, including safety Nick Cross (22) and cornerbacks JuJu Brents (23) and Jaylon Jones (22). According to Pro Football Focus, in coverage, Jones (55.8, 102nd) and Brents (64.5, 69th) graded among the bottom half of qualified cornerbacks (20 percent of snaps played), as did Cross (63.2, 55th) compared to other safeties in the NFL.

"They don't become players without playing," Ballard said via Stephen Holder of ESPN. "They've got to play."

Meanwhile, two secondary players Ballard selected in the 2024 draft, Jaylin Simpson (S) and Micah Abraham (CB), did not crack the 53-man roster. Furthermore, he decided not to upgrade either position with the team's $19.3M in cap space.

Ballard defended the choice to leave the secondary as is. But it won't take long to find out if it was the right move, as the Colts will face challenging opponents early and often this season.

Over the first eight weeks, Indianapolis will take on the division rival Houston Texans twice (Week 1, Week 8), powered by C.J. Stroud and a boatload of weapons, including wideouts Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. Meanwhile, they'll also match up against Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers (Week 2), the Chicago Bears and No. 1 pick Caleb Williams (Week 3), Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 5) and the Miami Dolphins, led by Tua Tagovailoa (Week 7).