Schrock: Bears should see through Colts' weak draft smokescreen

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INDIANAPOLIS -- The Bears are open for business and the Indianapolis Colts might be at the front of the line for what general manager Ryan Poles is selling.

On Tuesday, Bears general manager Ryan Poles reaffirmed that Justin Fields will be his starting quarterback in 2023 and that he likely will look to trade the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Several teams are desperate for a long-term solution behind center, but the Colts, who sit at No. 4, have long appeared to be the Bears' most likely trade suitor.

While Colts general manager Chris Ballard telegraphed his desperation for a quarterback earlier this offseason, he was much more measured Wednesday as he tried to pump the brakes on the talk of Indy vaulting up to No. 1 to take a quarterback.

“I know this was coming up, because I know all the speculation out there,” Ballard told reporters Wednesday. “One, to move up, there’s got to be a guy worthy of it. This is what’s great right now: Everybody has just automatically stamped that you’ve got to move up to one to get it right. I don’t know if I agree with that. I don’t. But that’s going to be the narrative, and that’s OK. ... But I don’t know if that’s the right course of business. When we meet as a staff, and we say, ‘OK, this is what we need to do. This is the guy for the next 10 to 15 years,’ and we think he’s the right guy, sure we’ll do it.

"But who’s to say we won’t get one at four?”

Ballard kept it simple when asked what he would need to move up the draft board to select a quarterback.

"That we were just convicted," Ballard said. "That this is no freaking doubt the guy."

As the draft stands right now, neither the Bears at No. 1 nor Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 need a quarterback. On Tuesday, new Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort signaled that Arizona is open to trading out of the No. 3 spot.

With the Houston Texans sitting at No. 2 and the potential for a team to trade with the Cardinals and leapfrog them at No. 3, the Colts find themselves in a precarious spot as the pre-draft process ramps up.

But Ballard insists that having a division rival two spots ahead of him and the looming possibility a team could cut the line at No. 3 won't alter his calculus.

"You're aware of what's going on around you but -- I think as we work through this, you know, each guy has special qualities," Ballard said. "Is there a separating factor within their play that you think, 'OK, there's no doubt this guy fits what we want to do and we're ready to move up for him.' I'm not ready to say that yet. I'm not ready to say that there's that one that stood out."

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Bryce Young is the projected No. 1 pick and top quarterback in the class entering the combine. The only question about the Alabama product is whether his height and slight frame will be an issue at the next level.

Ballard has famously been very strict with the measurables he desires in a starting quarterback. But on Wednesday, it sounded like the Colts' general manager might be willing to change his ways this offseason.

"One that wins," Ballard said, laughing when asked what he values in a quarterback. "You want a guy with a fast mind who is accurate. We get caught up in arm strength, but you want a guy who is accurate and who makes plays when the game is on the line. I think we're seeing today they come in all different shapes and sizes. You look around the league ... you're getting a lot more athletes playing the position. They are going to come in different shapes, different sizes. Some tall, some short, some athletes. The ability to move, navigate from the pocket, escape from the pocket, make plays with your feet.

"We still are [stringent about measurables]," Ballard continued later. "I'm not going to say that we're not. But there's always exceptions. We've seen it at the quarterback position here in the past. We've had guys who are under six foot be successful. I know there's times I have griped that some guys can be too tall. Now, they're too short. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who do you believe in? Who do you believe you can build an offense around?"

If the Colts get wowed by Young or Stroud this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, Ballard will have to decide what "that guy" is worth. And if he can risk waiting to see if that player falls to him at four.

If he can't, the Bears will be waiting. Ballard did his best to stymy the scent of desperation coming from Indianapolis on Wednesday. But I'm not sure anyone is buying it. 

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