Chris Ballard stuck to the basics on draft weekend.

The Indianapolis Colts general manager started up front and worked his way back.

Along the way Jack Doyle Jersey , Ballard found more protection for injured quarterback Andrew Luck, new and perhaps better pieces to fit the Colts’ revamped defense and finally some skill players to lower the burden on Luck.

The question remains – will it be enough to get the Colts back on track?

”You wish you could address every single need at a greater level,” team owner Jim Irsay on Saturday, the final day of draft weekend.

”There are areas we still need to strengthen up, there’s no question about that. But it’s going to be interesting to see just how much better we are. If Andrew Luck is healthy, and we think he will be, we’re going to have a pretty formidable football team. That’s the bottom line.”

The biggest strides were made in areas that have been problematic for years – the offensive and defensive lines.

Ballard indicated as much by repeatedly emphasizing how the offensive and defensive lines would be cornerstone features of the Colts’ rebuild.

So instead of making flashy moves on the first two days, Ballard skipped right over skill position players and bided his time until Saturday.

He wound up getting two of the best guards in this draft class, Quenton Nelson at No. 6 overall and Braden Smith at No. 37, and defensive ends Kemoko Turay and Tyquan Lewis as part of four second-round picks.

It was all part of Ballard’s plan.

He added two receivers, Reece Fountain and Deon Cain, and two running backs, the speedy Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins, with Indy’s first four picks on Day 3. Ballard closed it out by adding two inside linebackers in the seventh round.

Now all the Colts can do is wait to see how it all pans out.

”Our main focus was to get some young talent on the fronts and I think we did that Blake Bortles Jersey ,” Ballard said.

TRADING PLACES

Ballard made his first and biggest trade last month when he sent the No. 3 pick to the Jets and moved back three spots. In return, he wound up with two extra second-round picks this year and another in 2019.

He was far from finished. Ballard made four other deals over the past three days and finished the weekend making a franchise-record 11 picks in a seven-round draft.

Indy traded the 49th pick to Philadelphia, moving back three spots and got an extra fifth-rounder. Ballard then sent third and sixth-round picks to Cleveland to add a fourth second-rounder. Then the Colts swapped fifth-round picks with Oakland, moving down 19 spots to get a sixth-rounder and finally traded defensive end Henry Anderson to the Jets for a seventh-rounder.

HE SAID IT

”I just feel like I’m just an overlooked guy. I’m really, really overlooked. Obviously being at an FCS school, that is one of the reasons why,” said Fountain, who played at Northern Iowa. ”I really sure that I’m the biggest steal of the draft.”

HINES VERSATILITY

Hines posted the fastest 40-yard dash (4.38 seconds) among running backs at the NFL’s annual scouting combine.

He could be a lot more than just a breakaway back. Hines was recruited out of high school as a receiver and also returned kicks at North Carolina State. Because of his versatility, he’s been compared with Darren Sproles. Hines has embraced the comparison and could be a major upgrade for a team in need of playmakers.

”I can catch the ball, I can run the ball, I can do kickoff returns and punt returns,” he said. ”So you can expect to see me in different positions and hopefully making plays from different positions.”

STILL NEED

Only time will tell how many holes Ballard plugged this weekend. There’s still work left to do.

Indy remains thin at linebacker especially on the outside if John Simon and Tarell Basham remain at defensive end. The Colts didn’t address the secondary at all, could still use an upgrade at right tackle and may be on the lookout for another receiver.

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鈥?Josh McDaniels didn’t know what he didn’t know.In 2009, he was the baby-faced 32-year-old prodigy plucked out of Bill Belichick’s roost and Tom Brady’s shadow to serve as Mike Shanahan’s replacement in Denver J.J. Watt Jersey , holding down two jobs he’d never had: head coach and de facto general manager.He’d trade away his starting quarterback, draft Tim Tebow and win his first six games, including one against his mentor. But he was fired halfway through his four-year contract, losing 17 of his next 22 games and presiding over his very own videotape scandal.The Broncos blamed themselves for giving McDaniels too much power with so little experience. Denver then embarked on a renaissance under general manager John Elway and Peyton Manning.McDaniels spent a year with the Rams before returning for a highly successful second stint with Brady and Belichick, preparing him for his second NFL head coaching gig with the Indianapolis Colts , which will become official after the Super Bowl.Now 41, McDaniels still doesn’t look his age, but he says he is a much wiser than the brash coach who wore the gray hoodie in Denver eight years ago.McDaniels said he was a much better trainee and tutor in his return to New England, much more appreciative of the breadth of Belichick’s artistry and the depth of Brady’s genius .“It’s a unique perspective,” seeing things a second time after getting a firsthand look behind the coaching curtain, McDaniels said Wednesday, as he helped Brady and Belichick prepare for their eighth Super Bowl.“Bill does a tremendous job of understanding the pulse of his team. He relates to everyone very well and I’ve been able to see that and look at that through a different lens. When we need a push, he pushes us. When we need love, he loves us. When we need a pat on the back Brian Dawkins Jersey , he does that. When we need to run hills, we run hills,” McDaniels said.“He just has a tremendous ability to understand when to do what as a head coach. And he serves us in so many ways to make us better coaches, to make the players better players. He’s there to help us, he doesn’t take it away from us. Believe me, I make tons of mistakes in my role and he’s there to help.”McDaniels didn’t think it was possible, but he now holds Belichick in even higher regard than he did during his first stint from 2006-08, because he now realizes all the juggling head coaches have to do.“Before you leave and you do that, it’s hard to say that you know what he’s going through because you really don’t,” McDaniels said. “I’m very happy for the experiences that I’ve gone through. A lot of the failings in my career have been some of the best teachers that I’ve had. I’ve really learned a lot from them, I think I’m a better person, a better coach, a better communicator, a lot of things because of the things that I haven’t done well.”One thing he’s done exceptionally well is working with Brady Marcus Cooper Jersey , who’s going for his sixth Super Bowl ring Sunday when the Patriots play the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles .McDaniels has long held that working with Brady made him a better coach, because he always had to be prepared to answer the quarterback’s incessant questions, to justify the smallest of his decisions, to explain what everyone’s role was on every single play.“We haven’t treated each other any differently. He treats me with the respect of a coach and I treat him like I need to make him a better player,” McDaniels said. “And I think that’s the only way to do it. I know his experience and his understanding is above all others as a player. But I don’t really focus a whole lot on that. I focus on the next team, the next week, the next practice, our scheme, what we’re trying to do and he’s very respectful of that. And we listen and learn from each other.“We have a tremendous relationship and it’s been an honor of my lifetime in coaching to have an opportunity to work with a guy like that as long as I have.”.