Ball State DE Anthony Winbush Has Official Pre-Draft Visit with Colts

The Indianapolis Colts will leave no stone unturned as they host pre-draft visits with, both, the top talent available as well as with prospects throughout all stages of the NFL Draft. With such an interesting group in the upcoming draft it has the feel of a year in which some under-the-radar diamonds could be uncovered.

Chris Ballard has taken an extensive look at Day 3/UDFA potential and that continues as Ball State pass rusher Anthony Winbush has earned himself an official visit with the Colts following his pro day Wednesday Tony Pauline has reported. Winbush improved his bench reps from 25 to 29, reportedly ran his 40-yard dash in the 4.7 range and put together a vertical of 36 inches.

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Coming in at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, Winbush would be one of the more undersized edge rushers but certainly hasn’t lacked any production that teams like to see from their prospects. He has tallied 75 tackles, 27 for loss, and 20 sacks over the past two seasons, getting into the top 5 in the NCAA in sacks last year with 11.5 to his credit, and led the country with 5 forced fumbles in 2017.

Pauline reports that he was to take on linebacker and defensive line drills in his pro day which likely serves him best moving forward.

The Colts have been looking for speed to add to the front seven in conjunction with Matt Eberflus’ scheme being implemented. Winbush adds some real intrigue as to whether the Colts see him as a late-round defensive end target, or possibly outside linebacker who could add some pass rush potential to a new-look linebacking corps.

Only Antonio Morrison, Anthony Walker and Jeremiah George are coming back with any starting experience among the inside linebackers. The tentative outside backers like John Simon and Jabaal Sheard, whose actual 2018 positions are somewhat unknown at this time, can expect a healthy dose of acquisitions to continue the breeding of competition as the team attempts to transition defensively.

Winbush certainly brings the desired intensity through his game play and appears to be a Ballard-type if he can play bigger than his stature while maintaining his speed and focus on the football.