The Pick Is In: Colts Select Vanderbilt EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo
Well, that was a surprise.
With the No. 54 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Chris Ballard and the Colts grabbed Vanderbilt EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo, passing on a couple of offensive tackle prospects and corners in the process.
Odeyingbo, who tore his Achilles in January, is expected to miss the first month or so of the regular season and projects more as a developmental piece for 2022.
At Vanderbilt, Odeyingo played in 44 career games for the Commodores, starting 29 of them. On the field, Odeyingo posted 125 tackles, 31.0 tackles for loss, 12.0 sacks, one interception, one forcedfumble, two fumble recoveries and 22 quarterback pressures and finished fifth in Vanderbilt history in tackles for loss.
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Facing a likely redshirt year, it will be interesting to see if Odeyingbo puts on 10-15 pounds and sticks inside long-term, pushing Tyquan Lewis out of town, or if he sheds some weight and moves outside full time, pushing Ben Banogu off the roster.
It's not the pick fans were clamoring for, and it certainly came as a surprise, but Ballard loves his twitched-up pass rushers.
All that said, there's a reason pass rush is such a need right now for the Colts and should speak volumes about the 2018 and 2019 draft classes, grabbing Lewis, Kemoko Turay, and Ben Banogu.
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