Colts Trade Conditional 2017 Pick For DL Billy Winn
By Dave McKee
Colts general manager Ryan Grigson is still tinkering with the 53-man roster. Mostly, his focus is on restructuring a stronger and more athletic defensive line.
The Colts have made a trade with the Cleveland Browns. Relax, it was not a first-round pick. Instead, this was a smart move to add talent to the defensive line. The Colts had only five defensive linemen after the final cuts on their first 53-man roster.
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On Friday, Grigson traded a conditional late-round 2017 conditional pick to the Cleveland Browns for defensive end Billy Winn. He was drafted by the Browns in 2012 in the sixth round. The former Boise State standout was a four-year starter for the school from 2008 through 2011. Winn was a member of the winningest four years in the program’s history. Under head coach Chris Petersen, Winn and the Broncos went 50-3 over the four-year span. For his college career, Winn totaled 133 tackles, 36.5 tackles-for-loss, and 16 sacks.
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Winn Started 10 of 16 games his rookie year for the Browns and has had consistent production in each of his first three seasons. Winn tallied a career-high 31 tackles in 2014 and even had a field goal block against Tampa Bay. Unfortunately for Winn, he became buried on the Browns roster with recent acquisitions like Randy Starks (Free agency) and Danny Shelton a first-round draft pick.
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Despite Winn’s consistency, he suffered an injury early in training camp which caused the Browns to devalue his role with Starks and John Hughes III at defensive end.
Winn’s addition comes days after Grigson added DT T.Y. McGill who was claimed off the waiver wire from Seattle. Winn will need time to adapt to the terminology and work his way into the rotation for the Colts, but that should not take long as the scheme for defensive linemen does not vary as greatly as it might at other positions.
New #Colts DL Billy Winn had himself a decent preseason, with a +2.5 @PFF Run-Defense grade, including 5 tackles + 2 QB hurries in 54 snaps.
— Jeremy Stevenson (@MyColtsAccount) September 11, 2015
As a defender, Winn grades highest as a run stopper but was a solid pass rush threat in college. For all intensive purposes, he has the potential to be a stabilizing force on the defensive front. He rated higher against the run in 2014 than former Colt, Cory Redding.
This is a solid addition to the trenches. This is especially true considering that the only defensive lineman on the roster with regular season snaps is veteran Kendall Langford. I still do not think Grigson is finished retooling the roster, but this is a good start. At 26, Winn is a low-risk-high-reward acquisition who could develop quickly into the starting rotation with Langford and rookies David Parry and Henry Anderson.
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