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INDIANAPOLISA label you frequently see associated with fourth-round draft pick Khari Willis is that he excels as a ‘box safety.’

 

And that make sense for what the Colts are looking for down the road, with the physical Clayton Geathers, who also is known for his play closer to the line of scrimmage, entering another contract year this fall.

 

But the Colts think strictly placing the ‘box safety’ label onto Willis is unfair.

 

There’s a reason why Chris Ballard had Willis has one of the 3 or 4 best safeties in the entire 2019 Draft.

 

“Guys that call him a box safety I think are doing him a little bit of a disservice,” Chad Henry, the Colts area scout for the Midwest, says of Willis. “If you look at what he did for (Michigan State) he played all over the place. I think he’s probably most natural in the box, but the kid is so smart.

 

“He was really a utility player. He was the starting strong safety. The good thing about his evaluation, you got to see him do everything. You got to see him play back. You got to see play nickel, the slot and man cover tight ends. He’s exceptionally smart, and you can see it in his play. You can see him on film telling other guys what to do. The more you watch, the more you appreciate what he is.

 

“We were kind of laughing when people say he’s just a box safety.”

 

Where Willis immediately fits into the 2019 puzzle remains a bit murky though.

 

During the spring, Willis was often running as a third-team safety. Willis is in a position group where the Colts really, really like the guys above him on the depth chart.

 

From starters Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers, to reserves Matthias Farley and George Odum, it’s going to be tough for Willis to quickly move up that depth chart here in 2019.

 

As early as next year though, Willis is a guy who could be viewed as a starter.

 

The defensive versatility is just one aspect of Willis’ game that the Colts fell in love with during the scouting process.

 

Of the more than 300 prospects that Henry said he scouted in his region last year, the character of Willis ranked in the top 3 or 4 of any player.

 

“He’s a unique kid,” Henry says. “The city of Indianapolis is going to love him as much as the Indianapolis Colts are.

 

“That transfers into his football character. He’s a guy the coaches really trust up there. He’s played free safety, played nickel guarding the slot, I think he’s faster than people give him credit for. I was taught a long time ago, ‘slow safeties usually get you beat, dumb safeties always get you beat.’ He’s the polar opposite of both.”

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