The Indianapolis Colts made an easy decision when they drafted Kwity Paye with the No. 21 overall selection back in April.
If you don’t believe us, allow us to direct your attention to the collective reaction from general manager Chris Ballard and the rest of the Colts’ war room after the Giants selected wide receiver Kadrius Toney at No. 20 overall, clearing the way for Indy to pounce on Paye.
Since the draft, we’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about Paye. From a character and player standpoint, the Colts nabbed someone who fits right into their culture.
Taking that into account, it’s easy to understand why fans are struggling to contain their excitement for Paye and what he could bring to Indy’s defensive line.
At this point, the hype surrounding the Michigan product is palpable. As if generating more hype is even possible, Zach Hicks of Sports Illustrated revealed that Paye’s been working out with defensive line trainer Eddy McGilvra over the last few weeks.
Even better? The comments McGilvra made about Paye’s progression.
I sat down with DL trainer Eddy McGilvra @DLcoachEd to talk about his work with Kwity Paye this offseason. He gave me some great tidbits on Paye’s favorite rush move and how Paye is approaching his rookie season: https://t.co/PL9tKLVQur
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) July 13, 2021
Kwity Paye’s trainer is loving what he’s seeing from the Colts rookie.
The one critique of Paye leading up to draft night was that he needed to develop more pass-rushing moves and refine his overall technique. That’s exactly what the 22-year-old has been working on with McGilvra … on top of improving his two greatest strengths, of course.
"“He really likes going speed to power with his inside long arm move.” McGilvra said. “His twitch off the ball is elite for a guy coming out of college, so we worked on transitioning his get-off to some speed to power and worked on some combinations off of the long arm to give him some tools in his bag.”"
Fans in Indianapolis will also love hearing that McGilvra raved about Paye’s character and willingness to be coached and criticized. The former Wolverine is a sponge when it comes to soaking up knowledge and nothing proves that more than how he spent his time in Los Angeles when he wasn’t receiving pass-rushing pointers from McGilvra.
According to the DL trainer, Paye worked with Packers left tackle David Bahktiari, who also attended the camp, and the two players talked at great length about the rookie’s rushing stance and how it differs from some of the elite defensive ends Bahktiari has lined up against.
#Colts DC Matt Eberflus was gushing about how Kwity Paye looked on and off the field.
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) June 2, 2021
Not only has Paye stood out in practice, but he’s picking up the playbook very quickly as well.
Seriously, what more could Colts fans want to hear about Paye? Not only is he the spending summer break between minicamp and training camp training to fine-tune his technique and arsenal of moves, but he’s learning from one of the NFL’s best left tackles.
We hate to put weighty expectations on a rookie pass rusher — most typically need at least a season to adjust to the speed of the NFL — but everything we’re hearing about Paye thus far suggests he could be a difference-maker for the Colts’ D a lot sooner than we expected.
Colts: Projecting a realistic rookie season for Kwity Paye
Colts fans are setting high expectations for Kwity Paye, but what would a realistic rookie season look like for the 2021 first-round pick?