The Indianapolis Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard on Monday, and the decision creates a potential opportunity for the Green Bay Packers. Over the years, Ballard and Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst have shared similar scouting values and processes, especially in how much weight they put on athleticism and upside when building a draft board.

Now that Ballard is available, Green Bay could explore bringing him in as a consultant or as part of the front office. Adding an experienced evaluator to help Gutekunst with a similar philosophy could give the front office a valuable new perspective.

Shared scouting values

Ballard truly values athleticism, and that showed in how the Colts drafted during his tenure. Indianapolis and Green Bay were two of the teams that consistently picked players based on some type of athletic measurement. It wasn’t necessarily the Relative Athletic Score specifically, but both front offices clearly leaned on athletic testing as a key part of the evaluation.

That overlap is the main reason Ballard would make sense in Green Bay. He would arrive already speaking the same language as the people running the draft process, without forcing the Packers to change how they operate.

Room in the Packers front office

Green Bay lost Jon-Eric Sullivan this past offseason when he left to become the Miami Dolphins’ general manager. The Packers responded with several internal moves across the front office.

Milt Hendrickson was promoted to vice president of player personnel. John Wojciechowski is now the director of football operations, while Richmond Williams is the director of player personnel. Matt Malaspina is the senior player personnel executive, and Patrick Moore is the director of college scouting.

Despite these promotions, the Packers have some room to add an experienced executive who can bring a different perspective to the building.

Ballard has plenty of that experience. The 57-year-old started his NFL career as a scout with the Chicago Bears in 2001 and stayed there through 2012, finishing his time in Chicago as director of pro scouting. He then joined the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid, first as director of player personnel before a promotion to director of football operations. He left Kansas City in the 2017 offseason to become the Colts’ general manager, and he was named executive of the year in 2018.

Hits and misses in Indianapolis

The Colts certainly drafted several good players under Ballard, particularly early in his tenure. Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith, Shaquille Leonard, Jonathan Taylor, and Michael Pittman Jr. all became quality starters.

Beyond those hits, Ballard also found solid contributors, if not stars. That list includes Will Fries in the seventh round, Kwity Paye, Alec Pierce, Bernhard Raimann, Nick Cross, Josh Downs, and Blake Freeland.

The bigger questions about Ballard involved strategy and the inability to find a long-term answer at quarterback. When Indianapolis hired him, the expectation was that Andrew Luck would be the franchise quarterback for years. Instead, Luck decided to retire, and the Colts never found a replacement. The team played a combination of Jacoby Brissett, Brian Hoyer, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Nick Foles, Gardner Minshew, Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones, and Riley Leonard.

The big dart throw was with Anthony Richardson, whom they drafted with the fourth overall pick in 2023, and he was not the answer. Indianapolis eventually gave Daniel Jones a prove-it contract, then signed him to a mid-term extension. Ultimately, the lack of success with high picks at premium positions was the deciding factor in ending Ballard’s tenure.

A role for the short and long term

The quarterback struggles in Indianapolis don’t erase what Ballard does well. For the Packers, the appeal about having another trusted voice in the scouting process than it would be about roster-building strategy at the top of the organization.

Since Ballard was just fired by the Colts, a full-time role this year might be unrealistic, although a part-time consulting position could work for now. But with a reshuffled front office and a scouting philosophy that fits, Ballard could be a sensible long-term addition for Green Bay.