Stampede Blue
With the 51st Annual Senior Bowl is starting next week, there are plenty of new prospects fans should get acquainted with. With a new Defensive Coordinator in Indy, lets start off with some sleepers who could fit Lou Anarumo’s new scheme and add competition to the roster.
The NFL Pre-Draft Cycle Season is about begin, kicking off with All-Star games like the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl. Fans seem to be already familiar with names like Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts, Ole Miss’ Princely Umanmielen, Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart and Nic Scourton, and UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger, as they have littered mock drafts posted online taken in the Top 50. In Watts’ case, they are some of the most common players to be mocked to the Colts.
But how about a few sleepers? Players who for one reason or the other, aren’t getting the same attention online? They might not be Round 1-2 targets, but in the mid rounds these players could provide some valuable competition to the roster.
Colts General Manager Chris Ballard has been good at finding these lesser-known players and turning them into contributors or even starters.
Let’s dive into some under the radar sleepers that fans should acquaint themselves with:
A former 0-star recruit, Kone started his collegiate playing career at Iowa Community College before transferring to Indiana State, then finishing his collegiate career at Western Michigan for the last 2 seasons.
Despite his unheralded start to his collegiate career, Kone has worked hard to turn into a strong starter for the Western Michigan Broncos. As their starting outside corner the last 2 seasons Kone has allowed:
His 6’2 and 190lb. frame fits with what the Colts new defense wants to emphasize, and he has displayed a knack for press coverage with bail technique and highly smooth hips to transition in and out of breaks. He mirrors very well, and can anticipate in both man and zone coverages.
A high effort player on tape, Kone has shown a lot of effort plays across the field and in pursuit. He is not afraid to match against top receivers, flashing early in 2024 against Wisconsin and Ohio State. He allowed just 3 catches for 39 yards with 3 pass breakups in 9 targets across those games, also racking up 10 tackles in that span.
He was not asked to play to his press strengths often in his college scheme, with a lot more off experience. He has shown ability in man and cover 3 concepts, but needs more experience in a complex coverage scheme as well as more often being asked to use his length rather than exceptional mirroring ability in press.
Kone on tape needs development in tackling technique, often leaving his feet and lunging in tackle attempts. He needs better eye discipline, as...
