3 NFL Draft prospects to watch for the Colts — Week 6

In this weekly series, we’ll break down three prospects who could be great fits for the Indianapolis Colts.

In this series, I’ll be breaking down three intriguing prospects that the Colts should take a strong look at. These prospects could be blue chip first round prospects or diamond in the rough late round guys. This series will run weekly until the draft.

This is the final edition of this series.

Chop Robinson — Edge Defender — Penn State

Chop is many things but he is especially two things: quick and explosive. He can beat you to the corner with a couple of steps and he shows great bend and fight to break through blocks and pressure the quarterback.

On top of the two traits named above, he has fast, violent hands. While the hand technique and the moves he possesses need to improve, the violence and timing shows great promise. He also showed he can play on the edge or as a stand up 3 tech (similar to how the Cowboys use Micah Parsons). He can win inside or outside. That type of versatility could prove to be valuable, especially on pass rushing downs where the Colts don’t need Grover Stewart in the game. When he gets a head of steam, he is tough to slow down and despite not registering a lot of sacks, he creates a lot of pressures and hurries in the backfield.

He’s still a relatively raw product and his stats doesn’t necessarily match the tape. There are a few reasons such as him getting double teamed and not playing a full slate of snaps from game to game. Penn State often used him in pass rush situations and didn’t always play him against the run, which is telling. He gives off a “bull in a China shop” vibe when he plays and could be a little out of control at times. His ceiling is sky high (top 10 in the NFL), but his floor is that of a modest rotational pass rusher. He’s very much a risk/reward type of player.

If you look at his athleticism and his profile, he looks like a Chris Ballard draft pick. The issue is that pass rusher is probably 6th on the list of needs so will the Colts use their 1st round pick on a position that’s not really a need. Teams always need pass rushers and while the Colts have depth at the position, they lack a true pass rushing star on the edge. One can argue that reinforcing the defensive line will help the secondary. Despite it being low on the list of needs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Colts took a defensive end with their first round pick.

Rome Odunze — Wide Receiver — Washington

Odunze’s stats are good as they get. Not just the basic stats, but contested catches, deep catches and yards per route ran he ranks as the best receiver in the class. His drop rate is also amongst the lowest in the class.

When watching the tape, many things stand out: firstly, he has tremendously strong hands and I would argue he has the best hands in the entire class. He wins in traffic and he high points the ball as well as anyone in the last few drafts. He tracks the ball extremely well in the air and adjusts for catches. His play speed and quickness are very good and he can make a ton of plays in space.

I’d like to see him get some separation when playing against tight man. This could be done through releases, stutters and speed changes, but his great ability to win in traffic comes because he is often in traffic! In the NFL, the cornerback play gets stronger so winning in traffic becomes a lot more difficult; he will need to learn how to separate against man.

Odunze, in many other classes, is the top receiver. However, in a class with Marvin Harrison Jr and Malik Nabers, there’s a very good chance that most teams have Odunze as the third best receiver. If that’s the case, he might slide outside the top 10 despite being a top 10 worthy talent. If that happens, the Colts could be in a prime position to do a small trade up to get him or if they’re lucky enough, have him drop to them at 15.

Terrion Arnold — Cornerback — Alabama

Arnold doesn’t check off a lot of the athleticism boxes that Chris Ballard cherishes. He isn’t over 6 feet, doesn’t have long arms, doesn’t have tremendous top end speed and is on the lighter side. He is, however, a physical player who is wiling to get his hands early and plays very well in press.

His foot quickness and matching ability are second-to-none. He moves well with the receiver and stays tight to them 15 to 20 yards down the field. He also reacts quickly to when the receiver makes a cut. When targeted this season, quarterbacks had a 50.7 passer rating and against the highly routed LSU offense with 3 high draft picks, he had a 40.7 passer rating allowed. He allowed only 2 touchdowns on 79 targets all season. What’s also impressive is the fact that he only had 3 penalties throughout the season.

Arnold is system dependent. He’s not as good when playing off the ball and doesn’t display ball hawk instincts. If you put him in a zone system where he’s playing 6-7 yards off the ball and you expect him to jump on routes, then you will be disappointed. If you play a lot of man and want to utilize his skills as a press corner, then you will be happy with how things turn out. One of his weaknesses is being a bit too handsy at times; it hasn’t hurt him much with penalties, but as the level of competition takes a big jump, the room for error becomes extremely small.

It’s not likely that the Colts take Arnold as not only is he not an athletic fit, but his specialty in man wouldn’t fit so well in the Colts’ base cover 3 system. So while he’s a very good player who can be a star in the right system, don’t expect to see him in Colts blue next season.

Links to Previous Editions

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5