Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye enters a crucial season as he goes into his third campaign in the NFL.
The former first-round pick has shown plenty of flashes during his first two seasons while dealing with some nagging injuries. As he looks for that breakout performance, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report dubbed him the Colts’ most promising building block.
It should be noted that the players used for this list must be currently on their rookie contracts, haven’t received an extension and haven’t made the Pro Bowl. It also excluded incoming rookies (so no Anthony Richardson).
It’s a close call between Michael Pittman Jr. and Kwity Paye for the Colts, but Paye gets the nod because there’s been less time for him to show us his ceiling.
Pittman has three years of solid production despite a less-than-ideal quarterback situation but Paye is a serious breakout candidate in his third season.
The 24-year-old upped his sack total from four in his rookie season to six as a sophomore despite playing in three fewer games. Paye suffered a high ankle sprain against Denver in Week 5 which kept him out of the lineup for three games.
When he returned in Week 9 against the Patriots he got another sack but re-aggravated the injury again a week later. He missed the next before returning for the final five games of the season.
It’s hard to get momentum going when dealing with an injury that obviously slowed the pass-rusher.
Despite the adversity, Paye managed to increase his numbers and show off his improvement.
If he can build on that while staying healthy, he’ll prove to be a building block for a defensive line that already has veteran talent.
The Colts defense boasts an intriguing front seven, and the X-factor of the unit very well may be Paye. If he puts together a breakout season of double-digit sacks, the entire unit would be better because of it.
Paye has 10 sacks through his first two seasons, and the flashes certainly are there. He’s close to breaking out, but he has to put it together in 2023 if the Colts defense is going to take a step forward.
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