Joint practices this week for the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears were a mixed bag from a performance stand point.
It was a great opportunity for young guys to get valuable reps against players they haven’t seen before. Here are three players I felt did the most to improve their stock.
Kwity Paye is a guy we haven’t heard a lot about this off-season. While it hasn’t been because he’s struggled, it’s purely been because of how difficult it is to evaluate the trenches in training camp. In the first preseason game against the Buffalo Bills he only had one true pass rush snap in the two series that he played.
For joint practices, he played really well, winning a few reps in 11v11. Entering Year 3, no one has ever questioned Paye's ability. It’s always been his health that has hindered him. This is a big year for Paye, and hopefully this training camp is a pre cursor of what’s to come this season.
The rookie slot wide receiver from the University of North Carolina has been absolutely lights out this training camp. Although arguably the most productive wide receiver from college in the entire draft, most people figured Josh Downs would take some time to adjust to the speed of the NFL. That has simply not been the case.
Downs has hit the ground running and was absolutely cooking multiple Bears' DBs in 1v1’s. His ability to win one-on-one situations and find soft spots in zone coverage has been a real weapon for him in joint practice and preseason.
What a ride it’s been for the third-round pick from Maryland. After being drafted at 20 years old and struggling to form good practice habits, Nick Cross essentially had a redshirt season last year. Fast forward to now and the coaches can’t stop raving about him.
The Colts coaching staff have played Cross at both safety spots and even used him at slot corner. Cross is athletic enough to be a Swiss Army knife and excel at multiple positions. On the first day of joint practice, Cross had two interceptions, and on the second day of 11v11, he deflected a ball across the middle and it was intercepted by E.J. Speed.
Cross is definitely one to watch moving forward as I’m growing more intrigued into what his role can be this season.
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