The Indianapolis Colts' fanbase had some high expectations for first-round pick Kwity Paye coming into the season. Honestly, why wouldn't they? The front office was gushing about this pick for months after the draft.
Isaiah Dunn Jersey The only problem was that Paye was a bit of a raw pa s rusher that didn't have a ton of production in college. He was more of a projection pick rather than an immediate impact player. Still, Paye had some big shoes to fill, since he was taking over for veteran Justin Houston (who signed with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency). It has been a predictably slow start for the talented edge rusher, as he totaled just eight pre sures in his first six games. That all changed on Thursday against the New York Jets, though, as he accumulated seven pre sures in that game alone. So in today's film room, I take a look at Paye's first standout game with the Colts and talk about how this could be a sign of things to come for the young player. This feels like the first time this year that Paye has been able to really fire off and attack off the edge in the pa s game. Some of his other starts have featured more contain rushes that focused more on keeping quarterbacks stable and in the pocket. The gameplan in this one, though, was attack all game long from Paye. He lined up in the wide-nine alignment for most of the night, which allowed him to fire off downhill on the overmatched offensive tackles. He flashes his elite athleticism in this first clip. He explodes out of his wide-nine stance and quickly swipes the hands of veteran offensive tackle Morgan Moses. Once he wins inside, he accelerates to the quarterback and delivers a huge hit on third down. Even when
John Franklin-Myers Jersey he wasn't showing up in the stat sheet, Paye was having a positive impact as a pa s rusher in this game. On this next clip, he was slanting down to the inside on the stunt call. He crashes to the 'B' gap next to left tackle George Fant with great speed and acceleration. He
Folorunso Fatukasi Jersey nearly gets a sack on the rush, but does force the QB to slide up in the pocket. Once the quarterback slides forward, defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth is there to clean up the play for a sack. This next clip may be the best rush of Paye's young career. He showcases his strength, his motor, and his ability to bend on the outside all on one play. Scroll to ContinueThe Jets became wary of Paye late in the game and started chipping him in obvious pa sing situations. He fights through the chip well on this play before engaging with the left tackle. He puts on a quick head-fake and gets the corner on the much slower tackle. He dips around the outside and nearly gets to the quarterback for another hit/sack.I really enjoyed how Paye mixed up his rushes throughout this game. It kept the offensive tackles off-balance and he was able to hit on a couple moves that the tackles just didn't see coming. Fant and Moses attempted to quick-set Paye in this game to offset his power and speed. Paye did a great job of recognizing this and attacking the inside on many of his rushes. Here, Paye notices the quick jump-set and is able to counter with a swift swim move to the inside to send the veteran Fant to the ground. Paye was simply all over the place in this game. He showcased so many of the traits that made
New York Jets T Shirts the Colts select him with the 21st pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. This next clip is just another move in Paye's arsenal. After a quick head fake, he starts to work his long arm into the chest of Moses. Once he is in good position, he quickly clubs away Moses' hands and works himself around the edge to the quarterback. The quarterback does a nice job of sliding up to avoid the pre sure, but this was another play where Paye nearly had his first career sack. I completely understand the frustrations from some Colts fans when it
Jermaine Johnson II Jersey comes to Paye's play this season. He had some pretty big shoes to fill, and he simply hasn't produced up to this point. An important thing to keep in mind is that young pa s rushers take some time adjusting to the speed and power of NFL offensive tackles. Paye has had his flashes and Thursday was an excellent outing that showed that he is steadily getting better. The key for Paye going forward is to compile these types of performances and become a player that can win off of the edge consistently. I am personally very impre sed with his play thus far, and I think he is only going to keep getting better and better.
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