INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts identified defensive line depth as a critical need this offseason.

For years, general manager Chris Ballard has set his bar for the defensive line in the same place. Ballard wants to build a defensive line that’s truly eight or nine deep, the kind of line that just keeps coming, the way teams like the Eagles and Cowboys harassed quarterbacks last season.

To that end, Indianapolis added edge rusher Samson Ebukam and defensive tackle Taven Bryan in free agency, then used a fourth-round pick on the enormous upside of Northwestern ‘tweener Adetomiwa Adebawore.

But the real key to the Colts defensive line finally realizing Ballard’s vision has been inside the building for the past two seasons.

Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo, the team’s top two picks in the 2021 draft, have offered glimpses of the kind of game-wrecking presences they can be, flashes of the potential the Colts saw in 2021.

If the Indianapolis defensive line is going to take the next step — the Colts posted 44 sacks, two shy of the team’s Indianapolis-era record — Paye and Odeyingbo have to put it all together.

“Really like how Kwity and Dayo came on,” Ballard said this offseason. “Really, they’re still young players.”

Paye recorded six sacks and 29 pressures in 546 snaps, and Odeyingbo added five sacks and 28 pressures in 518 snaps, proving they can be effective pieces of the defensive line rotation.

But there are still questions both players have to answer.

Paye, who missed five games because of a high ankle sprain, has to stay healthy enough to be an impact player all season long.

“My goal going into year two was just being more confident, being more productive, being more aggressive,” Paye said. “The one thing that just bit me in the butt last year was injuries.”

Physically, Odeyingbo has been improving ever since he got past the torn Achilles he suffered while preparing for the Senior Bowl in 2021, and he looked like a different player late in the season, prompting the question of whether it’s a hot streak or a sign of dominance to come.

“I think it was just getting more comfortable in the NFL,” Odeyingbo said. “Obviously, getting a ton more playing time, getting confidence on the field and gaining the trust of my teammates and coaches. I think that was the result of all those factors.”

The two players have spent their offseasons trying to answer those questions.

Paye has dealt with injuries in both his seasons in the NFL. The Michigan product played in 15 games as a rookie, but a hamstring injury sapped his effectiveness for a significant stretch in the middle of the season. The ankle cost him five games last year.

“I did a lot of rehab on my ankle, because the high ankle sprain just bothered me,” Paye said. “Even after I came back, it was still lingering, so I took care of that. In the past, I’ve had soft-tissue injuries, so just making sure I stay on top of my yoga, my stretching, making sure I stay flexible. I’m just doing everything I can on my part to stay healthy.”

Odeyingbo hasn’t been forced to miss any time to injury since he returned from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered before the draft.

But it’s always been present. A lot of NFL players who’ve been through the same injury say it takes as long as two years to be back to full strength, and that matches up with the way Odeyingbo’s playing time and production grew last season.

The second-year defensive lineman played 166 snaps in the first nine games, then 352 in the final eight, in part due to injuries to Paye and Tyquan Lewis. The more he played, the stronger he felt.

“I feel like, obviously, throughout the season, I got more comfortable, both with the injury and then just being in the NFL, playing football again,” Odeyingbo said. “Even up to this point and through this offseason, I felt a lot of growth through the injury, and just my entire body gaining strength and gaining balance.”

Odeyingbo’s lengthy and enormous 6-6 frame always promised the possibility of carrying a lot of muscle, the same way Colts star DeForest Buckner does, and the younger player is starting to fill out into his body.

Focused on getting stronger this offseason, Odeyingbo put on 11 pounds of muscle, pushing his weight to 285 pounds, a size that allows him to play defensive end on running downs, then slide inside to form a freakish, lengthy duo with Buckner in the middle on passing downs.

“I enjoy playing all over the line,” Odeyingbo said. “I think I best help the team being able to be versatile and move around the line, with the way seasons go, having people get injured and different things like that.”

An Indianapolis defense with a remarkably young secondary needs Paye and Odeyingbo to turn the flashes of the 2022 season into consistent damage in 2023.

If that happens, and the young pair can take some of the attention off Buckner, the Colts might finally be close to realizing Ballard’s vision up front.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Can Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo take next step for pass rush?