With Decision Looming, Kwity Paye A First-Round Pick In Mock Draft
Could senior defensive end Kwity Paye be the next veteran Michigan Wolverines football player to enter the NFL Draft?
This week, redshirt sophomore right tackle Jalen Mayfield opted for the pros, and senior cornerback Ambry Thomas joined him with an announcement on Thursday night.
PFF has tabbed Paye as a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, going to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 14 overall. He was the third edge defender to come off the board in the projection.
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"Paye was as hurt as any edge defender in the 2021 class by not being able to prove himself more this fall," PFF's Michael Renner wrote. "Still, if he runs anywhere close to his reported 6.37-second three-cone at 272 pounds, someone is going to take a chance on him early. However, he still needs to add a good deal to his pass-rushing toolbox — he generated 37 pressures on 316 pass-rushing snaps for a middling 77.8 pass-rushing grade throughout his lone year as a starter in 2019."
Heading into the 2020 campaign, Paye landed on two watch lists for coveted college football awards — the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (most outstanding defensive lineman) and the Bednarik Award (best defender in the country).
A two-time All-Big Ten honoree, Paye told the Detroit Free Press recently that he's still working out with Michigan's team, but has a decision to make soon.
"There’s so much uncertainty," Paye said. "I want to be with my brothers and I want to help this team and make this team the best it can be, but at the same time, you’ve got to look after yourself. I’m the provider for my family. I’ve gotten this far because I want to give my family a life that we’ve never had before."
Mayfield and Thomas will prepare right away for the draft. But if there is a spring season, there's a slim chance Paye might stick around and play before taking the next step, though he pointed out the toll playing two seasons in one year could take on his body.
"It’d be a long, long year if I were to do it like that," he said. "That’s something I’d have to take into account."
As Renner noted in the synopsis above, Paye could've benefitted from a 2020 fall season to showcase his skills at the college level one last time. Paye said even though there's no season, he feels more NFL-ready than he did a year ago, due in large part to his offseason regimen.
“I thought I could’ve been drafted last year, let’s say that, but I came back because I still had some things I wanted to develop and things I wanted to work on," Paye said. "This past summer, even in quarantine, there was no rest for me. There was no taking my foot off the pedal.
"This season was going to be my opportunity to show scouts that I worked on that. But COVID messed everything up. I feel like I’m NFL ready. Last year, I could’ve been alright, but this year, I feel prepared for sure."
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