The general consensus among draft analysts is that the Indianapolis Colts did well for themselves in the 2026 NFL draft. ESPN's Mel Kiper is among those who feel that way.

Following the conclusion of this year's draft, Kiper handed out grades to the 32 draft classes. The Colts were among the highest-graded teams, receiving a B+ from Kiper. Only five teams earned higher marks.

"Without the first-round pick, the Colts did pretty well here overall, getting a borderline first-round talent on Day 2," Kiper wrote.

At the Colts' two biggest positional needs coming into the draft, linebacker and defensive end, Ballard double-dipped at each position group.

CJ Allen is a Day 1 starter, while Bryce Boettcher will have the opportunity to compete for snaps with Akeem Davis-Gaither. At defensive end, Caden Curry and George Gumbs boost the depth and competition within that unit.

AJ Haulcy, Jalen Farmer, and Deion Burks will each be competing for snaps at their respective positions. Seth McGowan will compete for the RB2 role with DJ Giddens.

Relative to the consensus board, the Colts were able to find a lot of value with their selections.

Making this draft all the more impressive for Ballard is that he found several potential starters and boosted the depth at key positions of need without a first-round pick.

Of course, we won't know how good this class truly is for a few years, but given what the Colts needs were and where these players were taken, in this moment, this feels like a strong draft class for Ballard.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: 2026 NFL draft: Mel Kiper Jr. grades Colts' selections