Stellar, Standard & Subpar: Kwity Paye In 2020

Kwity Paye has already been really good at Michigan, but it could go up to new heights in 2020.

Author:
Brandon Brown
Publish date:
Jul 6, 2020 10:00 AM EDT

We continue our series as we look at each potential contributor on Michigan's roster in numerical order and look at what would be a stellar, standard and subpar season in 2020.

We're on to No. 19, senior defensive end Kwity Paye.

Coming out of high school, Paye was viewed as slightly sawed off defensive end who could really run in a straight line but played a little stiff. He has obviously alleviated all of those concerns as a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and is poised for an even bigger season in 2020.

Last year, Paye recorded 50 tackles including 12.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks in 12 games. As a 6-4, 277-pound senior, Paye is not going to come off the field very much during his final go-round. The upcoming season should be his best yet, but what does that look like?

Stellar

A stellar season for Paye would be a damn good one and would probably land him on the All-Big Ten first team. He's going to play a lot, so the numbers should be there. Since he racked up 50 tackles including 12.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks in 12 games last year, he should shoot for 60 stops, 15 tackles for loss and at least eight sacks as a senior. That's a phenomenal season, but not out of reach for the veteran lineman who Don Brown has called the smartest defensive lineman he's ever coached.

Standard

Paye was really good in 2019 so if he has the same kind of year in 2020, you'd have to be happy with that. I'm sure he wants to play his best ball as a senior, and I'm sure the coaches are counting on him to be a little bit better, but if he finishes in the 45-55 tackle range with 10-13 tackles for loss and 5-7 sacks, that would be just fine. He's going to be a leader and potentially a captain and will play a lot of snaps. The production should be there, and a repeat performance from last season would put him in the discussion for All-Big Ten honors and should put him in a nice spot on NFL Draft mock boards.

Subpar

Paye has been very healthy throughout his Michigan career so it would be really unfortunate and quite a subpar finale if he were to somehow get dinged up.

If he remains available, a bad year seems impossible. However, if his production somehow takes a noticeable dip, say down to 40 or less tackles with single-digit tackles for loss and four or less sacks, that would be a disappointment considering his 2019 campaign.