AFC Notes: Chris Ballard, Jim Irsay, Cal McNair, DeMeco Ryans, Colts, Texans

Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard talked about where he stands heading into the draft and which positions have stood out to him thus far.

“History, I just go off history. And you know, the more picks you have, the better chance you have to hit. Now, of course, you’re not going to hit on all of them, but it gives you more of a chance to hit,” Ballard said, via Coral Smith of NFL.com. “Look, we’ve moved up, we moved up for Jonathan Taylor. When we see one that’s in striking distance that we think we can go get, we’ll do it. But it’s got to work out. And then you’ve got to have too, you’ve got to have somebody that wants to make the trade.”

“There’s a few positions that’s got some real depth. Like the O-line in this draft is really excellent, and there’s depth throughout. I truly believe you’re gonna get a really good player in those mid-rounds and even some later, because of the depth of the group. And wideouts very similar. Those two position groups stand out, they’re both really good.”

Colts

Colts owner Jim Irsay will not be present in the team’s draft room as he recovers from health issues. Despite rehabbing from major lower back surgery, Irsay will still be able to have a presence as usual.

“The main thing is I’m just following my doctors’ orders and just making sure the bottom line is just to get back to 100% and to do the things they say,” Irsay said, via ESPN’s Stephen Holder. “I’m just being a good patient and trying to make sure I can get back sooner than later. I’ll get back on the golf course sooner than later.”

“I don’t really see it as any different for the draft. We defer to Chris in the end. … I’ve always kind of sat back and watched.”

• Aaron Wilson reports the Colts are among the teams that are showing interest in Louisville OT Willie Tyler.

Texans

Last year in the draft, the Texans pulled off a shocking move to trade up and own the second and third overall picks. Houston owner Cal McNair and HC DeMeco Ryans gave insight on how it happened.

“Nick is very conscientious of setting things he should do. We didn’t know if we would be able to accomplish that within those goals and guidelines he put up for himself,” McNair said, via ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime. “We were waiting, holding our breath as the phone calls went back and forth. When they traded up, working together, they were fully committed to both of those players. It felt like to me, the gas is on, let’s go. That was a big moment for me.”

“We had talked about it for a while, to know exactly what it would take to get Anderson,” Ryans added. “I’m happy we didn’t have to worry about it getting out. If teams kind of know what you’re doing, maybe teams try to jump ahead of us and Arizona could kind of drive the price level up a little bit. What I love about last year’s draft, we had two guys we really liked. We were able to do whatever it took to go get both of them.”