INDIANAPOLIS – Come next Friday around 9:00 p.m. EST, the Indianapolis Colts will be scheduled to go on the clock with the 59th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The Colts War Room will be buzzing with the hope that a name, on a board that took endless hours and months to assemble, is eye-catching enough to make a phone call to New York.
If not, the Colts will turn to another phone and entertain trade possibilities that could enhance their current amount of five draft picks in 2014.
"We want excitement when we are turning that card in. We want guys high-fiving, not doing limp handshakes," Ryan Grigson said on Thursday.
"If there are guys that fall to us that we are kind of luke on, you would love to trade back and acquire some more picks because then I feel like we can get those guys later that fall to us in the other rounds."
No draft in recent memory has had so much uncertainty near the top of it with the opening night less than a week away.
An extra two weeks of time for this year's draft has only added to the smoke screens and late risers/fallers dominating the headlines.
Grigson doesn't have time to worry about all the rumors.
"The hay's in the barn. We're not going to sit here and create paralysis by analysis. We're looking at different avenues on how we can be productive on draft day with just five picks."
His staff has used the added preparation time for the 2014 draft to further evaluate prospects that might not even hear their name called next weekend.
Last year, 76 undrafted players made it on NFL active rosters and the Colts had six of those in Daniel Adongo, Jack Doyle, Josh Lenz, Xavier Nixon, Sheldon Price and Da'Rick Rogers.
Those names have Grigson and his staff eager to find more undrafted free agents that have the ability to contribute to a playoff roster.
"I think after the draft (and) with the depth of this draft, I feel that's really an area to really target," Grigson said of the undrafted free agents.
"We're going to really streamline that process, go and try to get those guys we covet who are still sitting on that front board of ours and go after them with guns blazing to hopefully create that top 61-man roster with the practice squad."
Back-to-back 11-win campaigns have the Colts in a position to be patient come next week.
Glaring weaknesses aren't seen on the Colts roster. Adding adequate depth and creating more competition is always in play and that will be the focus whenever the Colts are on the clock.
"If there's somebody out there that has a chance to make us better, we'll explore that. If there's nobody that's either sitting there or no one on the street, we're not going to just plug someone in who has name recognition," the Colts GM said.
"That's why we have a staff of scouts and good personnel men, football men and coaches around to make those decisions on who we feel we should give those chances to."
