The Indianapolis Colts pass rush saw an uptick in production thanks to the work of veteran Justin Houston, but the front office is just as excited for the progression of the young pass rushers in Kemoko Turay and Ben Banogu.
Both second-round picks in each of the last two drafts respectively, the Colts have optimism for the future outlook of these two pass rushers. Turay was on fire before suffering a season-ending injury while Banogu had some flashes here and there in a limited role.
But when looking at the outlook of the duo, general manager Chris Ballard has a lot of optimism with them.
“I think they have big upside. Losing Kemoko Turay was a big hit. I think you saw it. You saw it against the Chargers. I think you saw it against Kansas City. Neither one of those teams could block him. He was a fastball that we needed,” said Ballard on Thursday. “I thought he really took another step. You always see a pretty big step between Year 1 and Year 2. Sometimes it takes a little longer with pass rushers. He took the step in the right direction and he’s worked his butt off to get healthy.”
Turay really looked like he was primed for a big season in 2019. He recorded 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits through four games before ending his season on the injured reserve list.
With Banogu, there wasn’t a whole lot of excitement from the TCU produce. He had a nice few rushes but failed to really carve out a role in the defense during the second half.
“Flashes from Ben, but need more. I think he’ll continue to develop. He has some of the same stuff Kemoko has,” Ballard said. “It’ll be fun to watch those two continue to develop.”
In 16 games, Banogu had 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hits. Though the Colts initially wanted to use him as a SAM backer, he played most of the season at defensive end.
The Colts pass rush was decent but inconsistent. The hope is the upside with Turay and the development of Banogu will come to fruition during the 2020 season to go alongside the veteran Houston.