Kwity Paye Shines in Colts' Loss: Film Room
The Indianapolis Colts have become the NFL's circus in the past week, from the puzzling decision to bring in an ESPN Analyst to coach the team to the disastrous press conference on Monday night. Any and all talk regarding these players is going to be overshadowed by the mess behind the scenes.
That being said, there was still a game this past Sunday. The Colts were beaten down by the New England Patriots in Foxboro, but young pass rusher Kwity Paye had himself a dominant showing. That may seem like a glass-half-full perspective on everything that has happened this past week, but we have to talk about something good on this site.
Paye finished the day with four pressures and a sack against the Patriots. His pass rush win rate of 18.5% was one of the highest rates of his young career up to this point. He also had four stops in the run game on the day.
Run Defense Prowess
Kwity Paye has always been a solid run defender in the NFL, but he has taken that to the next level in 2022. He is currently Pro Football Focus' fourth-best run-defending edge defender, with an overall grade of 81.8 on the year. He has a total of 11 run stops on 102 run defense snaps on the season.
The impact that he has on the defense is simply massive in this department. In games that Kwity Paye has started, the Colts' run defense has allowed an average of 3.2 yards per carry to opposing running backs. In games that Paye has been out, the team has allowed 5.12 yards per carry.
Paye is an impact pass rusher for the team, but he is also one of the more important players to the team's run-defending efforts.
Rushing with Power
Kwity Paye is an insanely unique athlete. He is as agile as an undersized edge, yet he is built like a tank on the outside. This helps him tremendously as a pass rusher, as he can win by either using his speed or by using his power at the point of attack.
On this rush below, Paye converts speed to power to collapse the pocket from his edge position. He drives the right tackle into the quarterback's lap, and then he quickly disengages once he gets into optimal positioning.
This was his lone sack of the day, but it was an outstanding rushing rep to finish off the play for the sack.
Rushing with Speed
While winning with brute strength is always a plus, Kwity Paye was drafted for his insane twitch and his speed. He boasts elite get-off and bend off of the edge, and those two traits were fully on display in this game.
Paye looked plenty explosive in this game, despite it being his first action since injuring his ankle back in week five. He closed the space between himself and the right tackle in a hurry, and his hand usage was even more impressive.
Notice how precise Paye is with his hands in these two clips below. His chops are well-placed, and he uses his powerful mitts to disengage in order to turn up the field. These are quality wins off of the edge, and they are ones that look like a legit number one edge rusher in the NFL.
The Bottom Line
Pass rusher Kwity Paye still has a ways to go before he hits elite status, but Sunday was an excellent game from the young player. He looked like he had an extra gear off of the edge, and his hands were picture-perfect in disengaging from offensive linemen.
In a lost season for the Colts, the most important thing going forward is the development of young talent on the roster. If Paye can continue improving for the rest of the year, the team may have finally found a long-term edge rusher for the first time since Robert Mathis.
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