Indianapolis Colts first-rounder Kwity Paye intent on making immediate impact

INDIANAPOLIS – The first time Kwity Paye took the field in the NFL, it was a little lonely.

Paye was the only healthy defensive end available for the Indianapolis Colts’ stripped-down rookie minicamp last month, putting him in essentially a one-on-one session with defensive line coach Brian Baker.

The past two weeks, the Colts’ first-round pick has felt the full weight of playing in the NFL. Indianapolis' defense might not be facing off against the offense yet, but Paye has now spent two weeks lining up next to All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.

“You can trade off the vets, learn how they make the calls, learn how they play the game and learn from the interior, as far as how you should rush and how you should play certain things,” Paye said.

Paye admitted the feeling of being in the NFL hasn’t fully set in yet. The other day, the rookie woke up and realized he doesn’t have to go to class anymore; all he has to do is play football.

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And if he’s going to make an immediate impact for the defensive line this season, Paye knows he has a lot of work to do in the two months leading up to the start of training camp at the end of July.

“As soon as I got drafted, once I got that iPad, I was in my iPad, looking at the plays and the calls, taking notes, just trying to learn the defense as fast as I can,” Paye said. “Learn the playbook faster, because we all want to contribute to the team as much as we can.”

Paye is lining up at right defensive end, something of a shift for him after playing the weak side exclusively during his days at Michigan. 

The position is also an opportunity.

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The Colts do not plan to bring back Justin Houston, the team’s starter at the position the past two seasons, and the other young defensive ends in line for the role are trying to overcome different kinds of adversity. Kemoko Turay is still trying to come back from the devastating ankle injury he suffered in 2019; Ben Banogu has struggled to crack the rotation in two seasons.

Paye’s draft position (21st overall) clearly shows the Colts believe the rookie can be a starter, and he has the history as a run defender to play on all three downs right away, something that has been tough for players like Turay and Banogu in the past.

The Colts veteran defensive linemen can see the potential, even in two weeks of practices that haven’t featured any work against opposing offensive linemen.

“Being able to see Kwity, being able to introduce myself and see him going through drills, he was moving around really good,” Buckner said.

But Paye knows he has a long way to go to make the transition from college.

First, he must spend the next two months getting up to speed on the Colts defensive scheme, and when training camp begins, he has to quickly develop a counter move to the speed and power he relied on as a pass rusher with the Wolverines.

Paye has already tried to soak up as much knowledge as he can from Baker since being drafted, and he plans to stay in touch as much as possible over the summer.

“It’s been cool, just being able to try new stuff out, try to find myself,” Paye said. “Work different pass rush moves, working with Coach Baker and try to have a counter for every pass rush that I have.”

There will be time in August to see how Paye develops as a pass rusher.

For the moment, though, it’s been enough to see that Paye has all the tools to stay in the lineup next to Buckner if he can put it all together in the fall.

“Kwity, he’s fast, he’s explosive off the ball,” defensive end Tyquan Lewis said. “You can just tell, just by his first step, he’s a great young player coming up.”

The rookie has gotten his feet wet the past month.

The real work begins in training camp.