The Indianapolis Colts continued the defensive rebuild by taking Florida cornerback Quincy Wilson in the second round of the NFL Draft.
Two picks in and the Colts have filled glaring needs in their secondary. With the addition of Florida’s Quincy Wilson, the team finally has a player who can be a capable number two to Vontae Davis.
Wilson might be the definition of a lockdown cornerback. Opposing QBs posted a passer rating of just 29.9 when throwing his direction. He also finished the season with three interceptions, nine passes defended, and a sack.
At 6-1 and 211-pounds he’s a big physical presence at the position. His coverage skills are solid, but at times he’s a bit too aggressive with receivers which might draw flags in the NFL. But that aggressiveness translates to good run support and he can be an edge setter from the cornerback position.
There are some that believe he might shift to safety to maximize his playmaking ability and natural ball skills. But considering the Colts first round pick, it is clear he’ll stay at cornerback.
Pro Football Focus compared to Kansas City’s Marcus Peters, high praise and interesting considering Chris Ballard had a hand in draft Peters. Here’s what they said:
"Player comparison: Marcus Peters, Kansas City ChiefsWhether or not Wilson can make an impact in the NFL early in his career like Peters did remains a big question mark, but like Peters he is more than willing to gamble to try and make a big play. That led to nine interceptions from Peters as a rookie, but also saw him 1,057 yards on throws into his coverage."
Many scouts had a round one grade on Wilson, but the depth of secondary players in this draft drove him into the Colts lap in the second round. The Colts were awfully thin at CB and Wilson can come in on day one and push for a starting spot.
This is another player who can actually help make coach Chuck Pagano’s defense work. Pagano defenses are at their best with an opportunistic secondary, and Ray Lewis, also Ed Reed. But since two are retired and headed to the Hall of Fame, Pagano will have some young studs to hopefully mold into the impact players they can be.
With safety Malik Hooker in the first round, the Colts have two potential playmakers who can force takeaways and flip the field. This has already been a great draft for the Colts and they still have plenty of picks to go.
Defensively, the Colts desperately need to find a pass rusher (you’ll see EDGE a lot) or all of these pass defenders will be for naught.