Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: Romello Height is an Oddly Perfect Fit for Lou Anarumo

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts could bolster their pass rush room with a productive edge rusher from Texas Tech, but not the one you're thinking of. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to Locked-on Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network around. Hello, everyone, my name is Zach Hicks, your resident film nerd of Horseshoe huddle.com. and your boots on the ground in Indianapolis this week. We are back with yet another prospect spotlight video for you guys. And today we're going all the way down to Texas Tech to talk about Romelo Heights, the edge rusher who posted over 10 sacks this past season with that top tier defense,

Starting point is 00:00:56 one of the best defenses in all of college football last year. Now, he wasn't as productive as his counterpart, David Bailey, who is all likelihood going to be a top 10 pick. but Ramello Haid had a very good season in his own right. Very fascinating career, though, if you look back on just his journey through the college ranks, a bit of an older prospect, 24 years old. I think he's going to be 25 as a rookie and spent time at Auburn, USC, Georgia Tech, and then finished off this last year at Texas Tech.

Starting point is 00:01:26 So he took full advantage of the transfer portal and was basically a mercenary for hire the last couple years, come in here, rush the passer for you and do what I do. He measured it at the combine today at 6'3, 239 pounds with 32 and 2.25 inch arms as well. And we're going to see some of his workouts on display later today. He should attest as one of the better movers, especially with that weight. And yeah, Romelo height is a guy that I've been a bit lukewarm on in this process. Obviously, when you're playing alongside someone like David Bailey, it's going to open up a lot more opportunities for you.

Starting point is 00:02:04 but it's no question how talented height is on film. He is a very bendy and elusive pass rusher with fluid hips and the ability to win inside and out and also turn the corner on the edge. I've actually seen some analysts that I respect in the industry talking about height being a better overall pass rusher than David Bailey just because of the natural fluidity that he has in his game and the ability to be a speed rusher, kind of like another shot at like a Kamoko Turay who missed earlier in Chris Ballard. it's tenure. I don't know if height is, you know, going to be cursed with such a bad injury that

Starting point is 00:02:39 Ture was cursed with, but kind of a similar type of shot of a player where a little undersized, a little skinny, off ball line, or a guy who can play some off ball linebacker, play off the edge, and rush the pastor with his blend of speed, quickness, and also kind of longer arms for his skinnier frame. Finished last season with 11.5 tackles and 10 sacks, again, for that that Red Raider defense that was just lethal all season long. to opposing offenses. And yeah, again, I think there's just some really interesting aspects of the game. Like I mentioned with the fluidity that in his ability to rush the speed rusher,

Starting point is 00:03:13 I think he does use his arms fairly well. Again, he's a guy with over 32 inch arms off the edge, which is pretty good for his size, use them to set up his speed moves. And then I think he's one of the better coverage ends in this draft as well. He can sink his hips into coverage. He can get into passing lanes if asked to drop. And when we look at this Colts defense, last year, they were asked to, they asked her defensive ends to drop into coverage at a near like 10, 11, 12% rate.

Starting point is 00:03:41 I mean, I think Latu was actually at like a 13% rate last year of dropping into coverage. So if you want to get a little bit faster on defense quicker and just more agile on defense, I think a player like Ramello Haight allows you to really buy into this like Brian Flores style of approach that Lou Anerumo certainly attacked the NFL with last year. So not exactly what Lou has looked for in the past, and we'll get into a little bit more to close out this show, but he is a guy who can do the things that Lou was asking his defensive ends to do. When we look at what Sansonabucom was having to do in coverage last year as a defensive end,

Starting point is 00:04:17 that's just not feasible. But Romelo height, a guy who, again, is 230 pounds, 239 pounds with the fluidity, with the quickness of his feet, with his long arms, this is a guy who can get into those passing lanes and be a productive player on the backside. of Laotu Latu. So yeah, again, I'm not going to say, I'm not going to sit here and say, like, this is a guy you take at 47 and you say, okay, our edge rush is fixed because Romelo Heights's coming in here.

Starting point is 00:04:43 But when we're talking about adding waves of past rushers to the Colts, I think a player like height can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem like we saw with some of those guys last year. So he is a big part of adding speed and just finesse. And even, even again, like a little bit younger. I know he's an older prospect, but an older. prospect is still younger than the quitty pace. Taekwon Lewis is in Samson, Ebukoms that the Colts had last season. So get a little bit younger, get a little bit

Starting point is 00:05:10 faster in the front seven. And a player like height who should test fairly well this evening, I would add a little bit more of that quickness and that ability to win quick as a pass rusher and generate pressure in that front seven. I think that's what the Colts are looking for this off season. So Romelo height, I think the film is pretty good overall. Again, the pass rush that can win inside out with this quickness and his and his and his explosion off the snap. But coming up, we're going to talk about his overall fit with this Indianapolis Colts team and how he is a very big, like, very different player from what Louan Arumo has liked in the

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Starting point is 00:09:14 highlight individual players in the 2026 NFL NFL draft that we think fit this Colts team and guys that you should keep an eye on come draft day. We've talked about a lot of edge rushers, a lot of linebackers, a couple of receivers in here. I've snuck in a couple offensive linemen as well. So we are getting through the gauntlet of players. just like these players are going to be getting through the gauntlet at the NFL combine this week. So we'll see how a player like Romelo height test this evening.

Starting point is 00:09:41 But just to talk about him more as a player, again, I mentioned the speed and the quickness. And that is something that Lou Anirumo really hasn't valued much in his career as a defensive coordinator. We look back to his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, and they're getting these 260 plus defensive ends from Trey Hendrickson, Cam Sam Sam Sam Sam Hubbard. and we even come over here to Indy with JT Tuamolo and Layat to Lotu. He has liked the bulk at defensive end, but we saw this change in Luan Remo last season where he asked his defensive ends to drop into coverage a bit more than he ever really has. He brought blitzes more than he ever really has in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:10:21 He has leaned into this like Brian Flores level of approach where we're going to show a lot, we're going to do a lot, we're going to drop different guys into coverage. And even if we are bringing four, you don't know who the four. you don't know who the four guys are that we're bringing. And to do that kind of style of defense, you kind of need the guys that Brian Flores has at defensive end. We look over at the Minnesota Vikings, right? And they're doing this style of attack with Dallas Turner,

Starting point is 00:10:47 a freak athlete who can run like a linebacker, Andrew Van Ginkle, a guy who played a lot of outside linebacker in his career. Jonathan Grenard played a lot of outside linebacker at Florida. Like these are these hybrid super athletic players. and we look at what the Colts were doing with that last year. Layatu Latsu is very capable of doing that with his three interceptions and his ability to get into these passing lanes. But after that, Quiti Pei, mostly a down lineman,

Starting point is 00:11:13 Samson Abucam, I think if he were five years younger and not having a torn Achilles could have been fine for this, but that's just not the nature of the reality right now. And then Tyquan Lewis, a guy who, again, like five years earlier, maybe could have been better, but he was a bit older. So I think that the Colts want to keep going in this path with their defense, Yes, you want to have some bulk at defensive end. But a player like Ramello Height who moves like a linebacker but can also rush the passer with his speed,

Starting point is 00:11:39 I think can be a big asset for this team. It can be your Andrew Van Ginkle type of player. You know, like, and honestly, if Ruehle He turns into a Van Ginkle type of player, that's a very productive career for him. He's been a very good player in the NFL. So I'm not trying to make that one-to-one comp there. But what I am saying is if you want this style of approach on defense, You can't be putting 265, 270-pound guys on the end unless they're these superb,

Starting point is 00:12:06 like superstar athletes that you're getting out of the draft. It can't be 30-plus-year-old defense events. So if that is the path that Lou Aniruma wants to go with this defense, I think a player like Romero-Hike could fit exceptionally well, even if he does break the mold that Anurumo has gone with in his entire career. So that's why I'm kind of highlighting Romero-Hite today, where it's like maybe going into last season, I wouldn't have even thought of Romolo height, but after seeing what Lou Aniromo did in

Starting point is 00:12:35 2025, it makes me think about it in a different way. And that's the ever-changing process of evaluating the draft, of doing stuff like Build a Ballard and really evaluating what these guys do, is they change their philosophies quite a bit and you have to roll with the punches. And I think that this could be something that Lou Aniromu is changing with. In terms of where the Colts would have to get a player like height, you know, I have seen his projection all over the place. like everybody in this draft class. He could be someone who does go in the middle of the second round, but he could also be a player who goes in round three or round four.

Starting point is 00:13:08 I mean, we have seen NFL teams, particularly the Colts, actually, be a little bit wary of players who use a transfer portal like this to bounce around a place to place. The Colts actually haven't taken many transfer portal players since it became just the Wild Wild West and college levels. So we could see a player like height fall into like round four and I think if he's there, that this is a perfect place to take a chance on him. I know we're saying this about most guys on here, and the Colts need 30 round four picks to really draft all of them.

Starting point is 00:13:39 But I think he could be an intriguing fit here if you get into like late day two, early day three, just because again, he fits what the Colts want to do. And if you're just going to have him as a sub pass rusher that can occasionally drop into coverage and be an asset on blitzing, you can mug them over the A gaps on some of these blitz designs and do some really fun things with him. I think this could be a really cool fit with the Colts. So while it's not a perfect fit on paper, not a perfect one-to-one fit, and definitely break some of Ballard's molds with the transfer portal in recent years,

Starting point is 00:14:08 I think Romelo Haidt with his production last year and with what the different aspects of what he could bring to the Colts could be an intriguing fit in the 2026 NFL draft. But I'm going to let you guys see him tonight at the NFL Combine. Again, we're going to get linebackers and defensive linemen working starting at 3 p.m. So this should be up before 3. 3 p.m. So I am still talking about the future then.

Starting point is 00:14:30 But watch how he tests at these things. Watch how he runs the circle drills and how his hips bend and how his ankles bend and just see that fluidity on display and see if you come away a fan of Romelo height as well. But thanks again for tuning in today to this bonus episode of Locked-on Colts. We'll be back yet again tomorrow and also later today as well. Make sure you subscribe to our show so you get all the latest episodes. If you don't already, follow at Lockdown Colts. at Jake Arthur and a fel and at Zach Hicks to all on social media. And if you never mess an episode, then remember the everyday air club is built for you.

Starting point is 00:15:01 Get locked on Colts audio ad free plus members only Discord access and much more. Head to lockdowncults.com to join the club or follow the link in our show notes right now. Jake and I will return later today with our normal show or normal 30 minute show talking all about the Anthony Richardson trade request. So make sure you are checking that out.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: Romello Height is an Oddly Perfect Fit for Lou Anarumo

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