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.
Darius Leonard’s custom Jordans for camp 👀 pic.twitter.com/HjFtXBbkn5
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 1, 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!
The Maniac checks in at No. 50. @dsleon45 | #NFLTop100
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) July 28, 2020
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.
Thank You, Adam Vinatieri – a letter to a Colts legend
A heartfelt tribute to an Indianapolis Colts legend. From one fan to another, we all say one thing: Thank you for everything, Adam Vinatieri.