5 New Indianapolis Colts Who Will Have Huge Impact in 2016
By Kyle Nishida
Defensive Tackle Hassan Ridgeway
Hassan Ridgeway was the Indianapolis Colts’ 2016 fourth round pick, and he will probably be an immediate contributor for them in this regular season.
The defensive line was arguably the best unit for the Colts in 2016. Veteran Kendall Langford set a good standard of excellence for the entire group in route to seven sacks in 2015.
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Meanwhile, 2015 rookies David Parry and Henry Anderson were pleasant surprises and made up for the absence of highly-paid veteran Arthur Jones.
The Colts are hopeful Ridgeway will have a similar impact as Anderson and Parry. Due to Anderson and Jones still recovering from injuries, Ridgeway will have an opportunity to play early and often. He certainly has the skills to make impact as a consistent rotation player.
While Ridgeway is a solid run stopper, he has received more praise for his pass rushing ability during the draft process. According to Pro Football Focus, Ridgeway had the fifth best pass rush productivity amongst all draftable defensive tackles.
The Colts definitely need more defensive players with pass rushing skills. They only accumulated 35 sacks as a team (tied for 10th worst in the NFL) in 2015.
Ridgeway has starting potential, but he is still not ready to assume that sort of role. Luckily, the Indianapolis Colts are only asking him to be contributor in their defensive line rotation.
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Ideally, they will use Ridgeway in pass rushing situations because he was a solid interior pass rusher in college. If the Colts let him focus on that skill set, Ridgeway will be an impact player for them in 2016.