The Indianapolis Colts need to improve their skill position players in the 2021 NFL Draft, as they need someone that can either replace TY Hilton or give Chris Ballard and Frank Reich more speed outside.
If speed is the main goal, they can’t do much better than Auburn’s Anthony Schwartz.
Schwartz is equally at home going over the middle and lining up to run the 100 meters.
In fact, he had to make a decision before this season if he would pursue football full-time or train for the Olympics.
Schwartz chose the gridiron, and another solid season under the deposed Gus Malzahn helped confirmed in the eyes of many that he is more than just a burner. He’s a quality NFL-caliber receiver and returner who could be a major boost to any team that wants to add some more juice to their squad this offseason.
The speedster has reportedly met with Ballard and the Colts virtually, a sign that his game-breaking athletic ability is exactly what the team is looking for. The blend of the fast Schwartz and the physical Michael Pittman Jr. could be an intriguing combination.
Anthony Schwartz’s speed could help the Colts’ offense become more dynamic.
The gold medal winner, who helped the Americans win gold in the 4×100 relay at the 2017 U20 Pan-American Championships and the 2018 U20 World Championships, has PRs of 10.07 seconds in the 100m, 20.41 seconds in the 200m, and 38.88 in the 4×100 relay.
Schwartz has been used as both a slippery underneath receiver and vertical target. While his numbers don’t make your eyes pop out of your head, his speed made teams play extremely cautiously against Auburn, and anytime they didn’t have two safeties back deep, he’d run right by anyone.
He’s still very much a raw player, however. He needs to learn how to beat physical corners in ways that don’t include simply running by them. While he needs some help as a route-runner and hauling in passes that aren’t right on the numbers, his speed will be a problem in the pros from Day 1.
Time will tell if Schwartz is more at home on a starting block or wearing a helmet and shoulder pads. However, if he wants to make a go of it in the pros, he couldn’t ask for a better landing spot than Indianapolis given all of the offensive coaching talent. Speed is at a premium in the modern NFL, and no one in this class is faster than someone who almost ran as a full-time profession.