Insider: Who are the Colts targeting at cornerback?

INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Ballard had heard the rumors, he’d read the reports, he’d weighed the concerns. Still, he wanted to do it his way. He wanted to meet with Marcus Peters himself and decide if he was worth the risk.

It was 2015. Ballard was director of player personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs. Peters was a first-round talent and, potentially, a first-round headache; he’d been booted off the University of Washington team for repeated run-ins with the coaching staff. He’d thrown fits on the sideline and been benched. Some scouts saw him as uncoachable. Some NFL squads took him off their draft board altogether, deciding he wasn’t worth the risk.

Ballard did his homework. He spent a day and a half with Peters and his family in Oakland.

He returned to Kansas City sold.

“John,” he told his boss, Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey, “we’ll be fine. Marcus is a good guy.”

MORE COLTS:

Insider: New Colts regime has different take on character risks

What can the Colts expect from the No. 15 draft pick?

Buoyed by Ballard’s word, the Chiefs rolled the dice: They took Peters 18th overall.

He’s been a Pro Bowler his first two years in the league, a linchpin of the Chiefs’ stout defensive unit.

Ballard, since hired as the Indianapolis Colts general manager, recalled this story recently in a podcast with The MMQB’s Peter King. King wanted a draft story that spoke to Ballard’s knack for ignoring the outside noise and gambling on a prospect who was considered a character concern. Ballard told him the story about Marcus Peters.

This decision came 12 years after Ballard was on a staff that rolled the dice on another cornerback. Ballard was with the Bears then, convinced this kid from tiny Louisiana-Lafayette was their man. They grabbed Charles Tillman in the second round of the 2013 draft and watched Peanut last 11 seasons in Chicago.

“People criticized us for it,” Ballard told King on the podcast. “(But) I knew what he stood for. Great human being. Great football player. Great Chicago Bear. I knew that he would work to get to his ceiling.”

MORE COLTS:

Former Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez thinks Roger Goodell should be fired

Colts first-round pick 10 years ago reflects on draft, injury-shortened career

Now Ballard chases the next Marcus Peters, the next Charles Tillman. The Colts are in desperate need of a starting cornerback, this season and in the years to come. Vontae Davis is entering year No. 9. (He’ll be a free agent, by the way, come next March.) Who lines up opposite Davis when the Colts open the season in Los Angeles Sept. 10?

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess.

“We, no questions, need a young corner,” owner Jim Irsay said in March. The Colts have, strangely, picked only one corner since Chuck Pagano became coach in 2012. That was D'Joun Smith. He didn't last two years in Indy, and that's one of the reasons the Colts are in such desperate need for help at that position.

The Colts were sixth from the bottom in passing defense in 2016. They’ll be drafting a corner this week. Maybe two.

MORE COLTS DRAFT:

Draft preview: Which RB will the Colts take?

Ranking all the Indianapolis Colts' drafts

Here’s who they might target:

>> Marshon Lattimore, Ohio State: Would be a steal if the Colts grabbed him at No. 15. Highly unlikely the top corner in the draft falls that far. Still, as past drafts have proven, you never know.

>> Gareon Conley, Ohio State: Slightly overshadowed by Lattimore, Conley owns NFL size and speed – he’s 6-feet and ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at the combine. Those are premium traits for a premium position. Ballard likes those kinds of traits.

But Conley could put Ballard's risk-versus-reward skills to the test: TMZ reported Tuesday that the former Ohio State corner has been named in a police report in Cleveland by a woman who accuses him of sexual assault. Conley has vehemently denied the allegations.

>> Marlon Humphrey, Alabama: Lauded for his physicality, Humphrey has been knocked for his skills in press coverage – an absolute must in Chuck Pagano’s scheme. Still, if coached up, could be a viable starter for the Colts in Week 1.

>> Kevin King, Washington: At 6-3, King boasts rare height for an NFL cornerback. But what is seen as a strength could also hinder Witherspoon, especially against smaller, shiftier wide receivers (like Antonio Brown, who torches the Colts on what seems an annual basis) who could fly by him at the line of scrimmage.

>> Ahkello Witherspoon, Colorado: Another 6-3 prospect, Witherspoon is tall and thin, which is worrisome considering the physicality he’ll face at the next level. Nonetheless, Witherspoon is an exceptional athlete and has the speed needed for the position. Likely a second- or third-round pick.

>> Cordrera Tankersley, Clemson: Would be the second Clemson defensive back taken by the Colts in the past two drafts, following safety T.J. Green. Tankersley’s eight interceptions are appealing, his eight pass interference penalties not so much. Could be a mid-round pick the Colts develop.

Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at  (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.