Colts add pass rusher with Kwity Paye at No. 21 overall

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kwity Paye just wanted a chance to hear his name called during the NFL draft.

The Indianapolis Colts made it possible.

General manager Chris Ballard took the highly touted pass rusher with the 21st overall pick Thursday night, capping an incredible story that began with Paye's mother fleeing Liberia’s civil war near the turn of the century.

The 6-foot-2, 261-pound Paye fills a major hole for the Colts.

Ballard has been looking for a young, consistent pass rusher ever since he took the Indy job following the 2016 season, and there was an even bigger need this year after the Colts failed to re-sign their two starting defensive ends, Denico Autry and Justin Houston.

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So when Paye slid through the top 20 picks, Ballard ended a three-year run of trading first-round picks. Indy moved down three spots in 2018 before taking All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, traded out of the first round in 2019 when they selected cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and sent last year’s first-rounder to San Francisco for All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.

Ballard also has a penchant for taking players with remarkable stories, making Paye a perfect fit.

He was born in a refugee camp in Guinea before coming to America. Here, he became a citizen and learned how to play football well enough to wind up at Michigan. There, he turned himself into an NFL prospect and on Thursday, the payoff came when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Paye's name as the Colts' selection.

Indy could have gone in a decidedly different direction with Virginia Tech offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw still available. He would have likely replaced longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo, who retired in January.

But with two starting spots open on the defensive line, the greater need was finding someone who could make an immediate impact.

Paye earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2019 when he had 50 tackles, 12 for loss, with 6.5 sacks in 12 games. Last season, he was chosen as a captain was an honorable mention all-conference selecting, recording 16 tackles and two sacks while missing two games because of injury.

He was the 2016 Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year as a two-way star.

The Colts are scheduled to make one pick on Friday, No. 54 overall. Their third-round pick went to Philadelphia in exchange for quarterback Carson Wentz in March.

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