Colts Rookie of 2023 Review: S DE Daniel Scott Leo Titus, T Jake Witt

The Entire Image

Daniel Scott was viewed by the Colts as a basic special teams player with the potential to play defense as a rookie. Although Scott was always among his teammates during practice during his rookie season, he tore his ACL in June.

General manager Chris Ballard was pleased with the last section and cited Scott in particular at his post-season press conference in January.

Ballard remarked, “We were really excited about Scott.” “Let me tell you about him, he did not miss a single practice day after tearing his ACL during OTAs. I don’t know whether I’ve ever seen a child that simply spends every day from training camp in the same location mentally focusing and paying attention.

The Whole Picture

The Colts saw Daniel Scott as a basic special teams guy who could play defense in his rookie season. throughout his debut season, Scott was constantly with his teammates throughout practice; however, in June, he suffered an ACL tear.

Chris Ballard, the general manager, expressed his satisfaction with the final segment and specifically mentioned Scott during his January post-season press conference.

“We were really excited about Scott,” Ballard said. “Let me tell you about him: despite rupturing his ACL during OTAs, he did not miss a single practice day. I don’t know whether I’ve ever witnessed a child that just stays in the same spot during training camp every day to focus and pay attention.

Jake Witt has a truly unique football background, so the Colts decided to take a chance on him with their final pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Based on Witt’s exceptional athletic testing results for a 6-foot-7, 300-pound player and his desire to learn, the Colts concluded that drafting him would be more advantageous than letting him sign as an undrafted free agent and take a chance.

“I remember sitting in the draft room (in the spring) just watching his workout and I was like, ‘Dang, I’m going to draft this dude just off the workout,'” Ballard recalled. “Look, it will take him some time because he is raw. Recall the time we signed basketball player Mo (Alie-Cox) a few years ago.

“Now, Witt has some playing experience, but he weighs a whopping 6-7 and 300 pounds. He verticalized 37 inches and ran 4.8 inches. All the desirable athletic attributes are there in him. He’s not had a lot of football experience. So let’s see if we can help him grow. I believe we can.

“To help him out, we sent Tony (Sparano Jr.). Tony returned with a fervor, declaring, “Look, I think we can turn this guy into a player.” Then, after the draft, I saw there would be fierce competition, so I decided to screw it. All we’re going to do is draft him.”