Indianapolis Colts Bjoern Werner a natural at OLB?

The Indianapolis Colts, for my money, got a solid value pick with the 24th selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, as they were able to snag former Florida State Seminole star defensive end Bjoern Werner off of the board there to help bolster their pass rush. Without Dwight Freeney, Werner’s addition and added youth into the Colts defense was needed, and he could have solid success right off the bat for the Colts as a rookie.

Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is high on Werner, and he called him a “natural” at the outside linebacker position. Werner is set to be the showcased pass rusher in the Colts 3-4 defense, and it is encouraging to hear that he has looked good there. Many worry that Werner will only be an effective pass rusher with his hand-on-the-ground, but he could be on his way to disproving that notion. Although I still believe Werner is best as a 4-3 DE, he can still be effective as a 3-4 OLB and some of those concerns are a bit overblown. I mean, it’s not exactly wise to go against Ryan Grigson, Pagano, and the Colts organization either.

Pagano said to the Indianapolis Star,  “He doesn’t make many mental (mistakes), so we’re going to keep throwing stuff at him and use him in a bunch of different roles. He can be effective not only in the run game, but when we get to third down, he’s going to be a hard guy to block.”

Great stuff there from Pagano, and Werner has always been a guy who doesn’t make stupid mistakes out there. The Colts will likely align Werner everywhere, and I think we’ll see him get time with his hand on the ground or as an edge rusher. The Colts won’t restrict him to one role, and Werner is smart enough to pick up the different alignments, roles, and know what is needed of him.