Chris Ballard took a swing in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Bryce Boettcher is already making it look a lot smarter.
The Colts went against the grain when they used a fourth-round pick on the Oregon linebacker, even though many around the league expected Kyle Louis to be the next linebacker off the board. Boettcher came with questions because of his baseball background and the idea that he might not have been as advanced in his development as some of the other names in the class. None of that looked especially important in his preseason debut.
Against the New England Patriots, in a 13-13 tie, Boettcher was everywhere. He may have been the most impressive and steady player on either sideline, and that’s not the kind of sentence you expect to write about a rookie in his first live action.
His best traits showed up right away. Playing with the second-team defense, he flashed the sideline-to-sideline range the Colts were hoping to get, chased down the ball with force, and kept showing up around the run game. He played fast, he played angry, and he simply outworked people.
One sequence stood out in particular. Boettcher diagnosed the Patriots’ play before the snap, found a sliver of space, and blew up a running back for a huge tackle for loss before the ball-carrier had much of a chance to react.
It was the kind of play that turns heads because it comes from more than just athletic ability. It comes from feel.
That edge has been showing up throughout camp, too. The Colts have seen enough of that energy to know he’s pushing the veterans in front of him, even if the depth chart says he’s still climbing. It’s also the kind of presence this defense needed more of at times last season.
Second-round rookie C.J. Allen has gotten most of the attention from this draft class, and that makes sense.
But Boettcher may be forcing his way into the conversation as another first-year linebacker who can matter early. If he strings together two more strong performances over the next couple of weeks, he could play his way into Lou Anarumo’s starting defense.
There are still reasons to keep expectations grounded. Boettcher has technique work ahead of him, and fourth-round rookies usually don’t arrive ready to change everything right away. But fight, athleticism, and determination are harder to find, and he’s already showing plenty of all three.
He finished his final season at Oregon with 136 tackles, sixth-most in the nation and the most by any Duck since 1979. No one should expect that kind of production to carry over immediately. Even so, he’s already done enough to prove he belongs and to earn more chances with the first and second defenses in the coming weeks.
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