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Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is entering a crucial third season in the league and continues to be one of the more intriguing upside players on the roster.
Even though he may not be holding a starting role on the defensive line going into training camp, Pro Football Focus expects Odeyingbo to be among the players to take a step forward in 2023.
Odeyingbo tore his Achilles during the pre-draft process in January, but the Colts were impressed enough with his resume to still select him in the second round in 2021, and their patience started to look smart down the stretch in 2022.
Odeyingbo started playing meaningful snaps in Week 10, and from that point on, he recorded multiple quarterback pressures in every game but one. At 6-foot-6 and 276 pounds, Odeyingbo also sets a strong edge, earning a 69.9 run-defense grade over the stretch that ranked 19th among edge defenders.
Now finally getting healthy reps under his belt and a full offseason to focus on improving his game and not rehabbing an injury, Odeyingbo could take another step and provide consistent production on a talented Colts defensive line loaded with potential.
It will be interesting to see where Odeyingbo fits in the rotation along the defensive line. Through minicamp, the starting defensive ends were Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam, who was signed in March during free agency. The latter is expected to be the replacement for Yannick Ngakoue at the LEO position.
Over the final eight games in 2022, Odeyingbo played fewer than 50% of the defensive snaps just once. In that span, he recorded 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits.
Entering his third season, Odeyingbo should be in for a pretty similar role that he saw during the second half of the 2022 campaign.
And if the Colts can get a breakout season, it would mean a whole lot for a pass rush that has plenty of potential going into its second year under defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
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