The second of the Colts’ three second round picks, Banogu is an athletic defender who fits what the Colts want to do perfectly.
Chris Ballard loves drafting athletic guys with upside on defense. He did it a year ago with Kemoko Turay and does it this year with Ben Banogu out of TCU. Banogu has the potential to be a very versatile piece along the Colts’ front seven.
At TCU, Banogu was an edge rusher and lined up mostly at defensive end. But he did a lot of rushes while standing up pre-snap. He has familiarity with that, which is great. The Colts will probably look for him to play the SAM linebacker position and maybe occasionally the MIKE.
They don’t want to use him strictly as an edge rusher. They believe he has other talents that can be used. But it would be foolish to not let him rush the passer sometimes, as that is a big part of what his skill set allows him to do effectively. It won’t be all the time though.
Banogu is athletic enough where he can drop into coverage and do an effective job there. He should be more than adequate at covering running backs and tight ends, and might even be able to stay with some receivers. His versatility is why the Colts drafted him.
With him being so versatile, it allows the rest of the defense to become more complete. They should be better in pass coverage and in run coverage with him on the field. That leads to a better overall defense, and more wins.
It will be interesting to see where they line up Banogu initially in training camp. He has plenty of time to figure out where he is best suited to play between now and the start of the season. Wherever he lines up, offense will have to account for his presence.