The Colts used their second-round draft pick on cornerback Quincy Wilson last season, and for most of the year they didn’t get much out of him. Although he was handed a starting job in Week Two, he was benched after that and didn’t see the field again until Week 12. The Colts’ coaches said he had to practice better in order to play.
Now Wilson is acknowledging that he was out of shape last season, and not mentally strong enough for the rigors of the NFL. Wilson told the Indianapolis Star that he has internalized the coaching he heard last year is going to be a better practice player in 2018.
“You just gotta treat every practice like it’s a game,” Wilson said. “You can’t just go out there and feel like I can be whatever today. Every day, you gotta prove it.”
Interestingly, Wilson said the pre-draft process itself contributed to him being out of shape at the start of the offseason: Wilson said he was being flown around to so many team facilities that he struggled to find time to work out. That might sound like an excuse, but it’s also the reality that the NFL asks a lot of players before they actually get to the league, and much of what the NFL is asking them to do isn’t conducive to being completely focused on performing well when the offseason work starts.
Wilson said he believes he’s a better player now than he was a year ago. The Colts hope he’s one of many players who make them a better team than they were a year ago.