The Indianapolis Colts used a premium pick in the 2021 NFL draft on defensive end Kwity Paye, hoping he could turn into a cornerstone piece of the front seven.
While his rookie season wasn’t immaculate by any standards, the young pass rusher showed enough promise to have hope for his bright future. He wound up with 4.0 sacks on the season while registering the third-most pressures among rookie defensive ends, per Pro Football Focus.
PFF also believes that Paye has the ability to break out in 2022 and listed him as their early choice for the Colts.
Paye led all rookie edge defenders in pass-rush grade this past season at 71.3. Removing screens, run-pass options and play-action dropbacks, Paye ranked 31st of 108 qualifying edge defenders in pass-rush grade. The first-round pick has rare tools for the position, but he still has so much room to grow from a technical standpoint. Despite that, he managed to have a productive rookie campaign. With more polish, Paye should raise his first-year grade substantially.
Paye flashed that insane athleticism and upside during stretches of the 2021 season. He would also have his quiet moments when he made no impact on the game. But that’s all a part of the growth of a pass rusher.
The Colts will be bringing in a new defensive coordinator after Matt Eberflus left to take the head coach job with the Chicago Bears. Whomever the Colts bring in to fill that void will need to get the best out of Paye and the rest of the edge rushers.
There is still plenty of hope that Paye can turn into a cornerstone piece of the front seven and hopefully that starts with a breakout campaign in 2022.
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