The Indianapolis Colts continued their theme of adding more speed to this team by selecting USC defensive back Marvell Tell at No. 144 overall during the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
This marked their second consecutive selection of a defensive back, as the Colts also selected Khari Willis in the fourth round on Saturday.
Under Chris Ballard’s watch as general manager, the Colts have preferred safeties who are fast and have the potential to become versatile play-makers. And Tell certainly highlighted a few of those traits during his stay at USC.
Here are four things to know about the Colts’ new defensive back:
Tell makes the Colts’ secondary bigger
Among the many traits that are looked at with defensive players, especially defensive backs, is their height and weight. And those looks only get deeper, when a player is taller or bigger than expected.
Tell’s arrival in Indianapolis means the team added more height on their backend. At 6-foot-2, the California native can provide a huge hand in defending bigger receivers and winning those jump ball situations.
At the moment, the Colts have six defensive backs who are at least 6-foot-1. There is also a chance he moves to cornerback, which is a conversation the Colts had with him before making the selection.
He’s capable of taking one to the house
Having any defensive back who can create turnovers is ideal, but those who can do so while also scoring in the process? Priceless. That rare ability is what enabled the Colts to draft safety Malik Hooker in the first round, two years ago, and similarly enough, Tell can do the same thing to an extent.
As the multi-time All-Pac 12 selection intercepted four passes over his last two seasons, he scored one defensive touchdown and routinely picked up yards after his turnovers.
It’s one thing to force a turnover. But to gain yards and possibly score is game-changing for any defense, especially in the NFL.
There will be various ways for Tell to contribute
Immediately after being drafted by the Colts, Tell got on a conference call with the media and spoke of his conversations with the team. And a huge part of those talks was directed to what Tell can do as a Colt.
While he’s better known as a free safety, Tell said the Colts have mentioned the possibility of him playing cornerback and seeing a lot of action on special action. That last part is huge as Tell actually has four years of experience playing on fourth downs.
If Tell is able to maintain his versatility, that will definitely help his chances of making the team despite being a fifth-round pick in a crowded defensive back group.
Elite athlete
One of the common themes the Colts harped on during the 2019 draft was finding plays with athletic traits that can translate to the league. Tell falls perfectly into that mold given his size, speed and traits.
Moving to cornerback might be the best spot given his elite length and wingspan. He also ranked no lower than the 95th percentile in the broad jump, vertical jump and three-cone drill, which proves he’s an incredible athlete.
There is plenty of development that needs to take place, but Tell at least brings athleticism to the defense.
