Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts draft Kwity Paye at No. 21 overall

Episode Date: April 30, 2021

On today's episode, Evan and Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed provide their instant reactions to Kwity Paye becoming an Indianapolis Colt after being drafted No. 21 overall. How does Paye fit in the Colts' defense? Hint: it's an incredible prospect-team fit.We go over why Paye stood out so much as a potential Colts draft pick, plus examine how Paye somehow slip down the board to them.Now, expect the Colts to address left tackle in the second round. A lot of great prospects will be on the board to address the need to replace Anthony Castonzo.All of this, plus so much more, as Indy drafts their newest pass rusher. Colts fans, rejoice! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome to your late night edition of Locked On Kicks here on Thursday night. First round NFL draft is coming to a close. We are on the clock, or we're recording this. Steven Reed of Stampede Blues with me. As you can tell, I'm pretty ecstatic. Steven, I know you're ecstatic by the sound. A lot of Colts Nation is as well. But Quiddy Pay, somehow, someway, slipped through the cracks and he got to the board for the Indianapolis Colts number 21. And the Colts have drafted their first pass rusher in the first round since Bjorn Werner in 2013 but

Steven I think this is going to be a lot different outcome than Bjorn Werner was because man we've been talking about Quidipe for months in this podcast and his fit in this defense a blue star prospect great character great on-field production at the tape this is just a perfect fit all around and they have Quidipe and DeForest Buckner next to each other. Like, oh, my God, Steven. Like, this is an incredible night for Colts fans. This should be over the moon right now. Evan, I'm like, as everybody knows, I don't go at a loss for words very often,

but this is one of those times where I was just, like, jumping up and down, like, shaking. So excited about this pick. It's see, Quiddipay is such a perfect pick and there is zero reason he should have been here at 21 overall. Like there is no reason he should have been here. He should have gone 11 to the giants and he should have gone 20 to the

giants. Like the fact that the, again, again, we talked about this briefly. There's got to be something going on with Dave Gettleman because he traded back in the first round, which he never does. And then he took a wide receiver, which he never does. And it's just – I'm just so happy that Miami took Jalen Phillips and then the Raiders did Raiders things and took Alex Leatherwood.

I'm just shocked that Quidipe is right here. And I am so pumped because he is an absolute perfect fit for this defense. And he and DeForest Buckner are just going to destroy people. It's going to be so much fun for the Colts

defense. For the Colts defense, for the Colts fans to watch this defense just go and get after it now with such just an elite athlete at the edge position. And not only that, he plays the strong side. So you still get those young guys to get it going and get their snaps with Trey and Vanigoo. It's just such a perfect pick. I just love it so much. This is one pick here.

We mentioned this on the podcast before, Steven, talking about Quidipe more in depth, but he's one of the best, not only pass rusher in this draft, he's one of the best edge defenders in this draft as far as covering the run, too. I know Colts fans. This isn't like Kamoko Ture or Taekwon Lewis or Ben Vanigoo. I have a hard time seeing Quidipe come off the field.

I think it's going to be like the four-spoken, where he's playing at least 75%, 80%, 90% of the snaps in those games because he's an elite run defender too. Like this guy is a near perfect prospect. He is perfect. He's perfect for this defense. And he's a great character. He's a hard worker.

He's explosive. Michigan moved him all around that defense. And so that's one of the primary reasons that he didn't have great production at Michigan is because they literally were moving him from defensive end to to linebacker to de-tackle they're moving him all over and he never really got a chance to play the defensive end and excel. And when you gave him a chance to just pin his ears back and go, he was crushing quarterbacks. And if he wasn't getting the sack, he was pushing them out of the pocket.

He was getting pressures. He was getting hits. He was forcing quarterbacks to throw a little bit earlier than they wanted to. And he's a nonstop hustle guy. Like we talk about Matty Ruflus and he's got that loaf system. Quidipe is never going to be a loafer. It's just not in his nature. And the fact that he fell to 21 to the Colts, again,

I'm just over the moon with how lucky the Colts are and Chris Ballard is right here where it's the perfect player and the perfect team and at the perfect time it's it's awesome I just so excited and this came with a lot of luck too like we just talked about off the air before we started here but the Colts got very lucky with Quiddy Paye getting to them at 21 it seemed like a consensus top 18 player in this draft. I thought Miami was his floor. But with the way this draft played out, we saw teams like Dallas go for Micah Parsons, a linebacker, even though they have Jalen Smith late in Vander Esch. Sounds like Vander Esch is actually going to be declined on this fifth-year option.

So they go for a linebacker there. You have the Jets trade up for Elijah Vera Tucker instead of a pass rusher there at 14. You have the Cardinals take Zayven Collins instead of a pass rusher there. A. You have the Cardinals take Zayvon Collins instead of a pass rusher there. A Leonard Linebacker taking Isaiah Simmons last year. You have Alex Leatherwood, who is more of a second-round pick, go to the Raiders there to help pay slide down the board a little bit more. Miami took Jim Phillips with his medical and character concerns over Quidipe at 18 for the first pass rusher off the board. And then the New York Giants, who we all thought was a great for Quidipe,

they went ahead and took Kadarius Toney a wide receiver out of Florida after trading down from number 11 overall and that's how that Quidipe got there Stan they had needed a lot of luck for it to happen but a lot of teams I just feel like didn't value pay the way the Colts did because like you just mentioned Steven and Matt Eberflus' defense Quidipe is like a carbon copy dream of what Iberflues and Chris Bauer want in their pass rushers. Like he has the bend of a player like Ture and Banigou. He has the aggressiveness of a Tyquan Lewis.

He has everything. He has the motor of a DeForest Buckner. He's like all those guys put together. I don't want to put too much hype into Quidipe right now because it's right after the pick happened, but this is a guy I've been hammering the board for for the last few months on the podcast. And I have a hard time not thinking to myself,

putting Quidi Pei next to DeForest Buckner and Steven, if I have a way to go on DraftKings or Fandu, whatever betting site you use locally in Indiana, for defensive rookie of the year, I have a hard time not thinking Quidi Pei is one of the favorites right now. That's a great point. He's going to get every opportunity here. And when you look at the rest of the defensive players,

you didn't see a defensive player go until, what, J.C. Horn at eight overall. You don't have that dominant guy. And normally your defensive rookie of the year outside of you know normally your defensive rookie year is guys that can really change the game in terms of like rushing the pass or Darius Leonard was a bit of an exception but sometimes you'll you'll see it with corner or safety but normally it's those addressers and Quidipe is Qu he pay was my highest rated address or in this class. I again, like you said, there's a lot of luck that goes in Miami, I think, took the wrong defensive end with Jalen Phillips and Jalen Phillips. We've talked about this on the podcast

before. He's got every opportunity to to be a top 10 talent. I just don't there. There's just a lot of red flags there that just didn't make me feel comfortable with Quidipe. I feel a thousand percent comfortable with him and how he's going to develop. And then he's going to work hard to be able to, to develop and become a great addresser. I'm just, I'm just over the moon right now to have this happen. And I thought for sure the Giants were going to take Quidipe there at 20 overall and just dash my dreams and have the Colts be sitting there at 21 looking at like Christian Derrissaw or Caleb Farley or somebody like that where they're having to take a guy

that maybe they didn't necessarily want to take. And once Quidipe was there at 21, to me that was the pick. Obviously to Chris Ballard and the Colts that was the pick. And it would have taken just an absolute king's ransom for them to move off of that because we've talked about this before, like Jacksonville wanting to move up for Travis Etienne and not Jacksonville, but Buffalo trying to move up for Travis Etienne, who ended up going to Jacksonville because nobody in that range wanted to trade.

If Quiddie Paye's not there, the Colts are dropping back. I almost guarantee that. But the fact that he was there, Chris Fowler just pounced. He just waited for his opportunity and took it. I don't think any Colts fan should be upset about this pick. You've still got a tremendous amount of depth there for the second round for an offensive tackle or a potentially pass catcher. The one hope that I had was that they'd be able to get an extra second or third round pick with a possible trade back. But I would take quitty pay over a trade back any day. And that's just how I feel about him. Investing can be complicated, but whether you're a beginner or you've been

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and you can get your first $5,000 managed for free by going to Wealthfront.com slash LockedOnNFL. To get your first $5,000 managed for free for life, go to Wealthfront.com slash LockedOnNFL. That's W-E-A-L-T-H-F-R-O-N-T.com slash LockedOnNFL to start growing your savings. Go to Wealthfront.com slash LockedOnNFL to start growing your savings. Go to Wealthfront.com slash LockedOnNFL and get started today. Yeah, this is an incredible pick for the Annapolis Colts.

And according to Zach Keefer, who was the first one to break the news, the Colts, according to him, were very excited. Quidipe was on the board there, and there was really no talks about trading down. You probably saw the same thing I did. Steven, like that picture of the Colts we had during the draft of Chris Fowler standing up and Ed Dodds just relaxing with his feet kicked back on his desk. I have a feeling that they knew this whole time

Quidipe was going to be there for him. It was just a hunch, but just the way how relaxed they seemed to warm throughout the night. I feel like they probably thought he was going to be there. And we talked before on the podcast discussing Quidipe last month, but a guy who looked very familiar at the pro day, we couldn't see his face.

But I think at this point, I think it's fair to confirm that Ed Dodds probably had Michigan's pro day because it looked just like Ed Dodds. We just couldn't see his face because his hat was covering him. But it just seems like this is the guy they locked in on from day one and they knew he was going to be there. Yeah. I don't know whether that's going to be the – that was – they knew he was going to be there.

I think they hoped he would be there. I honestly don't think they thought he was going to be there. I really don't. I think that they were pretty certain he was going to go well before that. But as the night went on and as the picks started to come in and you saw where other teams went and the surprises, you kind of were like, well, maybe, you know, maybe he might be there.

And then it got to Miami and they took Jalen Phillips and you got a little excited because you knew you had, you know, a handful of really good players that were going to be available to you there at, at 21. I mean, Jeremiah, Wusu, Caramora, you, Christian, Daris, Cody pay, obviously Greg Newsome is in there. You've got all of these, you know, all of the offensive tackles at this point are still there. I'm just, I'm just beyond shocked. And I think the Colts are pretty shocked too, that they were there,

that he was there. It's just such a great pick. I don't know how to – I'm just muddling words now and putting them all together. I feel really confident about this pick. It's one – to toot my own horn, it's one that I made for the Colts on a SiriusXM Moving the Chains fan mock draft. I represented the Colts in that.

And I took what he paid, and those guys were like, they really liked the pick. I gave my rationale and talked about there being a lot of depth at offensive tackle in this class, and that's where they would probably address it is round two. This is just a perfect fit for the Colts and what they do and who they are as a franchise. I'm just beyond elated about this pick and that it's Quidipe

at a defensive end, a huge position of need, and it's arguably the top defensive end in this draft. Let's pivot off of Pei for a second now, Stephen. And for the last few minutes of the show, this is going to be a quicker reaction show today. It's getting our initial thoughts on Quidipe. We'll obviously dive in more on Quidipe throughout the weekend and throughout this offseason here on Locked on Colts.

But going away from left tackle at 21, not surprised when you see Quidipe still on the board there at 21. Easy pick for the Colts to make at 21. Quidipe is there. You have your immediate star pass rusher on board there. You pass on Christian Derusaw there at 21. You have a couple other guys sliding on the boards. Looks like here we still have guys.

Derusaw went, Cole picks later. But we still have guys like Dylan Radins, Liam Eikenberg, Sam Cosme. You also have Spencer Brown out of Northern Iowa. You have Brady Christensen out of BYU. Tevin Jenkins is still there. Yeah. Tevin Jenkins is still there. Yeah, Tevin Jenkins is still there, too. Like, it seems like the Colts are playing the board perfectly here, where the run here on offensive tackle still could happen late in the first

round. As we're recording this, the Ravens are on the clock at 27. Greg Newsome actually just went 26 to the Browns. But you have to think that the Colts are pretty much guaranteed one of those guys is going to be there at 54. And with the way this – how athletic this left tackle class tackle class is like they're going to be getting a day one book and start a left tackle 54 I have a really good feeling it might be a guy like Sam Cosme there I I do too and I think that would be just an absolute perfect fit for for what they do

and it's something that we've you you pointed out to me at the beginning when we first saw that Carson Wentz uh intro video of Frank Reich having Sam Cosme's pro day up there and then you've got you know after that you see the next time they show that video it's a little blurry and then when you see it in the um with the next pick video it's totally blurred out and so you kind of think all all right, are you guys like just really bad at hiding this after you put it out there the first time you might as well have kept it up and just let people see it because now it just looks suspicious. But Cosme would be a great fit for the Colts over at that left tackle spot. Another guy that I think will

potentially be there is Walker Little out of Stanford. He's a guy that we've talked about before. Brady Christensen is also a sneaky guy that meets the athletic traits that the Colts look for at the offensive tackle position. And you're going to be walking out of day two, assuming there's no other trades that the Colts make to trade up. And you're going to be walking out with your, basically your starting defensive end with pretty pay. And then more likely than not your left tackle of the future.

I would, as a Colts fan, I would be just incredibly confident in that and, and what Chris Ballard's done. And I'd be just over the moon about where this franchise is going. And I'm so, so excited about, about what we've got here. Colts fans, bet online is the fastest and easiest way to bet on all your sports action.

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so no one can lock on Colts to send you over there. A main selection, reliable low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Go to rockauto.com right now, Colts fans. Absolutely. Yeah, this is a home run scenario for the Colts getting quitty pay at 21. There's a good chance, we'll know by the end of the first round here, probably the next third or so minutes, who's going to be on the board at the top of the second round.

But with the way this is falling, they're going to be getting a day one starter at left tackle at 54. The depth of this offensive line class that Chris Bauer mentioned in his pre-draft press conference is elite. It's one of the best, more deeper classes we've seen in years. So, Stephen, just to put a bow on this quicker episode here before we wrap things up, probably in the last few minutes of the show here, just looking back on it, I mean, we never saw a chance of quitty pay run his three cone but i'm just looking at his three cone

again now on twitter that austin gill probable focus put out in january a 6.373 come forget to turn 60 pounds i'm just watching it again right now like he's a freak i don't know if old fans know this but this guy is an absolute physical specimen freak. And they're going to be thinking like, Holy moly, how in the world does this guy get to 21? Because the traits of this guy is unbelievable. It's, it's, it's sick. It really is. And I'm so glad that he didn't run an official three cone because I don't

think there's any way he's there at 21. It's, it's just, I feel like to end this episode, like we feel like, I have to say like, ladies and gentlemen, we got him. That's, we got him. We got the edge rusher that we wanted. And he's just an athletic freak that's gonna be able to bend and turn that corner.

And you're gonna let him develop with Brian Baker Baker coaching him up there at the defensive end position and he is just going to be just such an explosive playmaker for the Colts defense and I don't think I'm being hyper or you know throwing out too much hyperbole here but like you said I think he could be a defensive player of the year or defensive rookie of the year candidate. And I don't think that that's going over the top here. Yeah. And that's the crazy part. Like he could be an easy D Roy candidate, the fit on and off the field. The Colts is absolutely perfect. He's one of my top blue star guys in this draft. The Colts, once again, the blue star trend continues with the team captain freak athlete kind of mold and getting

him a 21, Stephen. Any closing thoughts here for Raptors today, Sean? I know you just said we got him, and that's a really good way to end it. But, I mean, Colts fans, this isn't like winning the Super Bowl. It's the NFL draft, I know, and he hasn't played a minute in the NFL yet. But I just have a really, really, really good feeling about Koyepe hitting and hitting big time for this Colts team because he fits partly on and off the field.

I think he could be an eventual team captain for this defense. Like him and Darius Leonard in the locker room and DeForest Buckner. You add in Julian Blackman, Bobby Okereke, Curry Willis. Just last point here, I mean, adding Quiddie Paye to the mix, Stephen, like the way that Chris Bowers rebuilt this defense in the last four drafts is really incredible. I mean, Grover Stewart in 2017, even 2018 and beyond. The way that Chris Bowers rebuilt his defense

with just freak athletes across the field, Quiddie Paye has the length too. And Quiddie Paye is a guy to me, I think he'd be a 10 plus sack guy next year. But adding Quiddie Paye to the mix of the young core, the Colts now have a place on defense. The way Ryan Grigson left it in 2017 and the way Chris Bowers has it now,

it's an incredible, incredible turnaround. It really is. It's night and day in terms of the types of players that the Colts have brought in and how Chris Ballard, it just shows that he knows what he's doing, guys. He really does. He didn't, you know, invest heavily in the defensive end position in free agency,

and it ended up working out. You know, invest heavily in the defensive end position in free agency. And it ended up working out. You know, he traded for Carson Wentz to get his quarterback. When you look at, you know, what the Bears gave up to move up to get Justin Fields, which I don't think was a lot to move up from 20 to 11 to go get Justin Fields. I still would probably rather have the Carson Wentz trade because it lets me keep this pick here and lets us address one of the biggest needs on this team with one of the highest character players in this draft. Like I said, like we said all this episode, Pretty Pay is a perfect fit. And we got him.

We got our guy. And Chris Ballard and everybody over at West 56th Street has got to be absolutely ecstatic because this is literally the perfect fit. It's a dream scenario for the Colts. Steven, we're going to be having you back on tomorrow

to recap the 54th pick in the draft, but in the meantime, the dream scenario for 21 indeed did happen. Quiddy Paye, the edge rusher out of Michigan, is officially an Indianapolis Colt now. Pairing him next to DeForest Buckner and Darius Leonard and the rest of the crew on defense is going to be very exciting throughout the fall years at Indianapolis.

But in the meantime, thanks everybody for listening on today's podcast. We'll be talking to you guys tomorrow to recap the second and third round of the NFL draft for the Indianapolis Colts.