Indianapolis Colts: 3 new additions who will exceed expectations
By Mike Luciano
1. DE Kwity Paye
Paye was picked in the first round out of Michigan, as the Colts made him a cornerstone of their defense. While his stats didn’t blow the door off of anyone during his time in Ann Arbor, he has the physical profile of someone who can develop into a truly dominant edge rusher at times.
Paye can explode off of the line, use his power to push tackles aside, and defend the run better than most raw pass rushers. Paye is rough around the edges, but there aren’t a ton of pass rushers available at pick No. 21 with his combination of traits that would’ve fit better in Matt Eberflus’ defense.
Kwity Paye has the profile of a future star for the Colts.
While Indianapolis did take Dayo Odeyingbo in the second round and signed Isaac Rochell in free agency, Paye is clearly the star that they hope will replace Justin Houston. He’s got miles to go before he can replace him, but he has enough of a solid foundation to do so with enough coaching.
Paye needs someone to help with his plan as a pass rusher, as pure speed and power are not going to help him beat NFL tackles with any degree of regularity. If they can unlock that dominant pass rusher inside of Paye, Ryan Tannehill may end up on his rear end several times when they face off.
