Colts rookie Kwity Paye continues amazing journey to the NFL with second preseason sack

Colts rookie Kwity Paye has a sack in each of his first two NFL games. It’s just a small part of his amazing journey.

Michigan edge-rusher Kwity Paye was viewed by most analysts as an athletic freak but a bit of a work in progress as a 2021 draft prospect. Paye ranked third in Touchdown Wire’s list of the top edge defenders in the class, and our Mark Schofield noted that while Paye was still putting his toolbox together, he also flashed great quickness and effort to get to the quarterback.

Detroit Lions left tackle Tyrell Crosby and backup quarterback Tim Boyle would likely agree. With 13:34 left in the first quarter of the preseason match between Paye’s Colts and the Lions, Paye blew right past Crosby, sacked Boyle, and caused a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth.

After sitting out the first preseason game, Paye showed his mettle right away in Week two by lapping Vikings left tackle Rashod Hill for this sack of Kirk Cousins.

Paye, selected 21st overall in the 2021 draft, looks to be a big addition for a Colts defense that ranked 18th in pressure rate in 2020 with 23.3% of their pass defense snaps leading to pressures, and had just 40 sacks all season — the Steelers led the league with 56.

If the transition from the NCAA to the NFL is generally tough for most players, Paye has had it tougher than most already. His family escaped from a refugee camp in Sierra Leone before he was born, and he was born in another refugee camp in Guinea. Paye’s family moved to America before he was old enough to remember it, but the horrors his family had experienced are still with him.

“Well first, he has got good tape,” COlts general manager said on the day his team selected Paye. “That’s number one. To get put on the board in the first round, you have got to have really good tape. Then you’ve got to go through the rest of the process. What his backstory tells you is this kid – he’s got some survival skills and when it gets hard in this league, he’s going to be able to handle it. This is a hard league. It’s hard and you’re going to fail. Players are going to fail, you’re going to have some bad moments and you have got to have something inside of you that allows you to push through it.

“I think it’s one of the really good things that our scouts are able to do is to find those types of players. From Quenton (Nelson) to Braden (Smith) to Darius (Leonard), you can go down the list of guys who have had their – they might not have had the first start to their careers great but they just kept battling and they have a confidence level that they are going to be good players in this league. I think Kwity has that.”

So far, with a sack in each of his first two NFL games, Paye is showing that no challenge is insurmountable.