The Colts cut linebacker Trevor Bates on Saturday, making him the only one of their eight draft choices from April that failed to make the initial 53-man roster this year.
If recent history is a guide, he won’t be alone on the outside of the active roster for very long. The Colts drafted 30 players between General Manager Ryan Grigson’s first year on the job in 2012 and 2015, but only 10 of them appear on the team’s first 53 of the year.
Other teams have a similarly low hit rate, but they have often changed General Managers, coaches or both during that span. Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano have both been on the job since 2012.
None of the players left were drafted in 2013. Guard Hugh Thornton is the only one of the seven picks from that season and he was placed on injured reserve Saturday, which may end his time in Indianapolis and close the book on a draft that has done little to recommend the talent evaluation done by Grigson and his staff.
The shortage of players from those drafts plus the first-round pick dealt for running back Trent Richardson in 2014 helps explain why Grigson’s job security was uncertain at the end of last season and illustrates an area where the Colts have to be better if they are going to build a consistent winner while Andrew Luck is the team’s quarterback.
