Colts' Dayo Odeyingbo Flashes Star Potential vs. Steelers: Film
The Indianapolis Colts were criticized by many in the draft community when they selected Vanderbilt pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Just three years later, the Colts appear to be reaping the rewards of taking a shot on the young pass rusher.
The Colts gambled big time with Odeyingbo in the 2021 draft, spending a top 55 pick on a player that never surpassed 5.5 sacks in a college season and was also coming off of an achilles injury earlier in the year. Regardless, the Colts stuck by their young prospect and watched him grow into the player that he has become now.
There has been a steady rise in play from Odeyingbo each and every season in the NFL, and now the Colts could be looking at a budding star heading into a crucial stretch of the 2023 season. He simply dominated a must-win game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Saturday.
Pro Football Focus had Odeyingbo with a massive 27.4% pass rush win rate against the Steelers to go along with three pressures and 1.5 sacks. He raised his season sack total to 8.0, which places him second on the team behind just veteran Samson Ebukam (9.5). Odeyingbo also has 6.0 sacks in the Colts' last six games played.
Odeyingbo is emerging as a star for this Colts' team, and his ascension is exactly what Indy needs during this crucial final stretch.
Pittsburgh Film
Odeyingbo primarily lined up against Steelers' right tackle Broderick Jones in this match-up. Jones was the Steelers' first round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft and had been performing modestly in his first season of play. Unfortunately for Jones, he ran into a freight train on Saturday afternoon.
The fascinating aspect of Odeyingbo's performance is the damage he did rushing off of the edge. At roughly 285 pounds, Odeyingbo is a hybrid rusher that rotates a good bit inside to the 3-tech position on passing downs. The Colts kept him out wide in this game, and he feasted on the rookie tackle all afternoon long.
This first clip is simply absurd for a man of Odeyingbo's size. He explodes off of the ball from his wide-nine position and wins the edge against Jones instantly. Jones attempts to make contact on the explosive pass rusher, but Odeyingbo effortlessly swats it away with a nasty cross-chop move.
Odeyingbo then turns the corner and runs down Mitch Trubisky for the sack on the play. This sack was, unfortunately, called back for a defensive holding in the secondary but it showcases exactly how special Odeyingbo can be in this league.
Odeyingbo didn't win with just speed in this game. He mixed in quite a few power rushes off of the edge to keep his match-up guessing, and off-balanced, as well.
He starts this next rush with a little bit of speed to power, knocking the rookie right tackle off-balance from the jump. Odeyingbo then counters back to the inside with a powerful swim, which frees himself up to jump in for the half sack on the play.
Odeyingbo did go back to the speed rush later in this game though, as this was easily where he did his most damage. This rush may be his best of the entire game despite failing to register an actual stat with the move.
Odeyingbo starts a bit slow out of his stance by design in order to open up his assignment across from him. Once he lets the tackle settle into his position, Odeyingbo accelerates downhill and glides past the rookie with another nasty cross-chop move.
The fluidity and the precision on this rush is simply unheard of for a player of Odeyingbo's size.
Odeyingbo capped off his fantastic day with a sack late in the fourth quarter. He was beating Jones all game long with speed and power to the edge, so this final move was set up from the start of the game.
Odeyingbo starts in a wide stance to the outside but quickly shoots the B-gap between the tackle and the guard on the stunt. Jones over-sets to the edge out of fear of Odeyingbo's speed rush, and is caught way out of position as Odeyingbo crashes inside for the sack.
Following a Season Trend
Odeyingbo's explosion this past weekend was a welcoming sight, but it wasn't like this breakout was unexpected. The young pass rusher has been doing this in spurts all season long, so seeing yet another dominant performance from him was halfway expected.
The 24 year old pass rusher torched the New England Patriots for 3.0 sacks in a game this season. He also had 1.5 sacks against the Los Angeles Rams back in week four while making his mark in the Carolina Panthers' game as well.
Odeyingbo is taking the next step as a pass rusher for the Colts, and the sky is truly the limit for what he can be in the NFL.
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