In the Frozen Tundra Expansion Draft the Colts had one player on the roster, Quarterback Joe Flacco. There were 8 minutes until the next Baltimore pick and although there were many great choices available it was wildly unclear who specifically might be available once the Colts were on the clock. Watching and waiting, three elite defensive players vanished from the draft board. Haloti Ngata, Mario Williams then Justin Tuck all disappeared and now it was the Colts turn to pick. Although there was still a group of impact players to choose Baltimore didn't hesitate and grabbed Halfback Matt Forte. Halfback Darren McFadden went off the board as the sixth pick in round 1 and it didn't appear that there was another impact runner available in expansion. At least not one who could carry a full game workload of carries. Drafting a runner in the middle of the rookie draft was clearly somewhat of a gamble with absolutely no assurance of being able to land a strong ball carrier. With roster spots being valuable I didn't want to have to piecemeal a backfield so in my opinion Forte was a good fit for the Colts. Matt Forte was somewhat of an underrated running back entering the 2011 NFL season. Behind a mediocre Chicago Bears offensive line Forte rarely had wide open running lanes so yardage was hard to come by. In addition Matt didn't have the elite sprinter speed of a back like McFadden and lacked the Barry Sanders type of shake-n-bake that makes the highlight reels. Probably Forte's greatest claim to fame in his early career was his durability. What may go unnoticed, if you don't follow the Bears on a regular basis, was that Forte is a legitimate threat to take either a hand off or a pass and proceed 50 or more yards into the end zone. Minus the fanfare Matt Forte is, in my opinion, a franchise back. Perhaps once his offensive line can open holes on a more regular basis Forte can ascend to Pro-Bowl status. In any case I was happy that he was available to add to my franchise.