The line of scrimmage is the focal point in football and it is at the line of scrimmage that games are won and lost.

The AFC is packed with some of the most explosive QBs in the league in Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson – to list a few. In order to slow these high powered offenses down, the defensive line must 1). Win at the line of scrimmage to stop the run and 2). contain running QBs and force pocket QBs to throw the ball early.

For the Colts, Deforest Buckner and Grover Stewart will continue to be dominant in the middle of the line, but the edge still needs to be consistent with getting pressure and keeping the outside contained. Here are five edge rushers to watch going into the 2023 season:

Kwity Paye

The Colts selected Kwity Paye 21st overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and although he does not have eye opening numbers, he does have a lot of potential going into his third year. He only played in 12 games in 2022 and with playing three fewer games than his rookie season, he still managed to put up better numbers with more sacks, more tackles for loss, and more solo tackles. The issue going forward for Paye is his health. If he can stay healthy, his trajectory will continue to soar as he will be a key factor to this defense. If he continues to have injuries as he has the last two years, the Colts still have some depth to work with as we’ll see below.

Samson Ebukam

The Colts signed former 49ers defensive end, Samson Ebukam, to a three-year deal in hopes that he can be a key contributor to this defensive line with Yannick Ngakoue no longer on the team. The 28 year old veteran was primarily a rotation player in 2022 behind Nick Bosa, but still managed 5 sacks and overall grade of 69.1 from Pro Football Focus. He is also a solid run defender which, paired with Buckner and Stewart, should help shore up the line and make it even more impenetrable.

Tyquan Lewis

Tyquan Lewis was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2018 NFL Draft and has not lived up to a second round status. Lewis’s main issue is that he struggles to stay healthy as he has missed 23 games in the last four seasons and was unavailable for practice this offseason recovering from a patellar tendon rupture suffered last October. When he does get a chance to play, it’s more of a backup role which is not said to diminish his ability but rather to highlight the fact that he has not produced as the Colts would’ve liked when they drafted him. With the signing on Ebukam and Paye and Odeyingbo coming back, Lewis might fall into a backup role again. However, training camp will be a good indicator to see if he is ready to take that next step or not.

Dayo Odeyingbo

Odeyingbo is an enormous 6’6″ defender and since coming off a torn achilles in 2021 prior to his NFL debut, he only continues to get stronger and faster. He went from playing in only 10 games his rookie year to all 17 games in 2022 and has also put on a little more muscle weight to fill out his 6’6″ frame. Odeyingbo’s trajectory, similar to Kwity Paye, is moving in the right direction and if he can stay healthy and pick up where he left off in 2022, the Colts are going to have a solid edge rusher for Gus Bradley to utilize.

Titus Leo

Picked in the 6th round of 2023 NFL Draft, Titus Leo is looking to compete for a role on this defensive line. He comes from a small school in Wagner College but impressed scouts with his speed and movement to the ball. The hope is that he can be a contributor to the defense line as a rotation player or a supporting role to the other starters. Time will tell for Leo, but from the scout’s perspective and his combine performance, he has all of the traits and tools to be a solid defender.