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Colts: Darius Leonard’s custom cleats are perfect motivation for 2020

By Thomas Carannante

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 22: Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts waves to the crowd in the game against the Carolina Panthers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 22: Darius Leonard #53 of the Indianapolis Colts waves to the crowd in the game against the Carolina Panthers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Colts linebacker Darius Leonard made himself a pair of motivational cleats.

The Indianapolis Colts saw a revival on the defensive side of the ball a couple years ago when rookie Darius Leonard took the league by storm and was named an All-Pro at the linebacker position after his debut season.

In 15 games, he led the league with 163 combined tackles and 111 solo tackles. This was a guy who was overlooked leading up to the NFL Draft, but the Colts went ahead and made him the 36th overall pick (their first of the second round), only to be met with criticism.

A linebacker out of South Carolina State that early?! What’s going on?! Well, just over two years later, the Colts and Leonard are here to laugh in your face again. Leonard doesn’t forget the critics, which is why he made these motivational cleats for 2020.

My goodness, let’s break this down a bit.

Yup, we failed to mention that Leonard didn’t make the Pro Bowl in 2018, even though he was named a First-Team All-Pro! That made some sort of infamous history. Though he was honored with a selection last season, the damage was already done. You didn’t vote in the guy who led the league in tackles. SHAME!

Do we really have to get into the nonsensical Madden rankings now too? We’ve heard enough of that this offseason, with players expressing their discontent with what they feel are inaccurate evaluations. It’s a damn video game! But Leonard should seriously be higher than an 85. Fix this, EA Sports.

And finally, Bleacher Report analyzed the 2018 draft and said the Colts made arguably the worst pick when they selected Leonard as early as they did. Leonard ripped them back then, and he’s remembering them now. People don’t forget!

Whew, good thing he didn’t have the chance to put this on there, too, or else he’d be motivated to rip someone’s head clean off when we kick off Week 1. Forty-nine players better than arguably the top linebacker in the NFL?

We guess it’ll be another vengeful year for Leonard.

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