What does a breakout year look like for Colts defensive end Kwity Paye?
Kwity Paye is expected to have a breakout year in his second season with the Indianapolis Colts but what does that look like?
All offseason, just about everyone has predicted Kwity Paye will have a breakout season in his second year with the Indianapolis Colts. The 2021 first-round pick is coming off a solid rookie season but he now has a year of experience and is surrounded by more talent, so he has to take the next step.
The question is, what exactly does that next step look like? In order for Paye to prove all these people right, what does he have to do for his 2022 season to be considered a breakout year? Let’s look back at what he did as a rookie.
Kwity Paye worked his way into the starting lineup in his first season, playing in 15 games and starting all 15. In those games, Paye recorded 32 tackles, three tackles for a loss, four sacks, 10 quarterback hits, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble. Not overly impressive, but promising for a rookie.
What do those numbers have to look like for next season to be a success for him? Well, considering that he’s a defensive end, it’s hard to really measure success with just numbers. Sure, we can say 10 sacks will be good but sometimes good defensive linemen don’t always run up the sack total. The best way to measure Paye’s second season is his impact on the defense.
Kwity Paye can be impactful without getting sacks
Paye has to be able to consistently get after the quarterback, and sack count only tells part of the story. While Kwity should improve on his four sacks from last season, it’s important that Paye develops into a player that makes quarterbacks uncomfortable in the pocket.
Whether or not he’s finishing the play with a sack, Paye must be able to win his matchups and either force the quarterback’s process or actually get him down on the ground. His name shouldn’t be an afterthought of any Colts games. If 51 is jumping off the screen because he’s consistently present in the backfield and is making passing the ball tough for opposing offenses, then he’s having the kind of breakout year that everyone expects.
Most of the time, sacks do eventually come to players with that type of presence, however, it’s important to not get caught up in just the box score. With Indy’s loaded defense, and offenses’ ability to get rid of the ball, Kwity Paye may not pile up a lot of sacks. But, it will still be evident if Paye has developed to the next level by the way he impacts the game.
