Colts GM Chris Ballard Went on a Profanity Laced Tirade Ripping Apart The "Anonymous Sources" Trying to Tear Down His 2nd Round Selection in Adonai Mitchell

Tell him Chris Ballard! Whether the "sources" are right or not, the man certainly right about one thing. The anonymous source thing is dog shit. If you're gonna come out and say something about a player, say it with your chest. Put your name on it. Don't just float out some rumors you heard to some beat reporter and say, "Make sure you don't put my name on this in case this is complete bullshit. I would sure hate to end up looking stupid." That's extremely cowardly. Personally, if I'm going to say something bad about a prospect in any sport, I'm going to say it proudly. "My name is John Rich and I don't think we should draft Karl Malone because he got a child pregnant."

See, it's not that hard. Maybe the anonymous sources are right about Adonai Mitchell. I'm sure there's something to it. Almost always when there's smoke there's fire. But I wouldn't hate some sort of blanket rule where if you're going to report something about a player, you gotta put your name on it. An anonymous source can mean anything. It could quite literally be a water boy. Or some University of Texas booster who heard through the grapevine that Adonai Mitchell was a dick in practice one time. Good on Chris Ballard for calling him out.

And what exactly are the character concerns these anonymous sources speak of? Well apparently Adonai Mitchell is a type 1 diabetic. 

SB Nation - One pre-draft report cited that Mitchell, a Type 1 diabetic, didn’t manage his condition well and that could be the cause of friction.

“When his blood sugar’s off, he’s rude, he’s abrasive, he doesn’t pay attention in meetings. It’s why you get really, really shitty character reports coming out of Georgia and Texas. But when his stuff is normal, and they get him normal by lunch time, he’s out at practice high energy, best practice player, loves football.”

It went on to say that Mitchell’s disregard for managing his blood sugar was likely a trait of being immature. It’s unclear whether or not this factored into the pre-draft process, but Ian Rapoport did point out on NFL Network that he heard from several teams that Mitchell came off as being disinterested during meetings. 

I guess that's probably true? I mean it makes sense. I know that's a thing at least. When people have erratic blood sugar, it can cause mood swings. Adonai Mitchell was probably an asshole a time or two. But who isn't? Plus, he's a wide receiver. Maybe low-blood sugar gives the guy an edge. Who doesn't like a wide receiver with a little edge?  All of the great wide receivers are at least a little off their rocker. Oftentimes they've fallen off completely and thrown their rocker off their balcony. Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Antonio Brown. All were crazy. All were fucking incredible NFL players. Some of the best we've ever seen.

Luckily for Adonai Mitchell, I'm willing to bet the Colts have the personnel to help Mitchell keep his shit together. And it's not like his condition prevented him from being a stud at Texas either. I think I love this pick even more now. I very much love Chris Ballard taking the mic and swearing up a storm to have his 2nd round draft pick's back. Sure, he's having his own back as well. I mean he's the one who drafted the guy. He's the one taking the risk. But I still love to see it. 

So maybe there's some red flags around the kid. But I love the bold move by the Colts. I love their whole strategy in the draft up to this point. They grabbed 2 players with talent that exceeded where they were selected in the draft. Clearly there's reasons they fell. Clearly drafting them is a bit of a risk. In the first round they took edge rusher Laitu Latu out of UCLA, who was at one point "medically retired" with a severe neck injury before fighting his way back on the field. Now in the second round they drafted rude and abrasive Texas WR Adonai Mitchell. A player with 1st round talent.

I love the bold moves. It could absolutely backfire, but I'm all for swinging for the fences with your picks. Fuck playing it safe. Go for the home runs. I'm very satisfied with the Colts draft so far this year. Keep up the good work Chris. Welcome to Colts nation Adonai Mitchell #neigh