Colts 2019 rookies: Ben Banogu

We continue to look at the rookies the Colts had this season. We move onto their second draft pick, who was taken at 49th overall.

2019 was a very defense-heavy draft. All but one of their draft picks were for the defense. Their second pick of the draft was Ben Banogu from TCU. Banogu was a linebacker at TCU, but moved to defensive end for his rookie year in Indy.

Banogu wasn’t great in his first year. He only recorded 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his rookie year. He didn’t play a ton of snaps though. The most snaps he had was in Pittsburgh, where he played 53% of the defensive snaps. He never started a game, but did show flashes of his athleticism.

Banogu was drafted mainly on his speed coming off the edge. He was thrust into a crowded defensive line as a rookie and struggled to perform well enough to see the field consistently. The good news for him is that he will only get better as time goes on.

A full offseason with the Colts will do him well. He needs to get stronger and watch more film. Watching film will help him get better leverage so he can use strength as well as speed to get to the quarterback. They need someone other than Justin Houston who can sack the QB consistently.

Banogu didn’t have an immediate impact in his rookie year like Darius Leonard did last season, but he still has time to blossom into an effective pass rusher.