INDIANAPOLIS –They are tasked with being central figures to future defenses in Indianapolis.
Selected with the Colts' first two picks of the 2017 NFL Draft, Malik Hooker and Quincy Wilson were thought to be instant impact guys at the professional game.
And right now, they are roommates as they embark on their first ever NFL Training Camp.
Defensive coordinator Ted Monachino is also seeing the late-night hotel room study sessions translate for Hooker and Wilson.
"When you saw what we saw on college tape, you knew that was the truth," Monachino says of the rookie defensive backs. "You see that carrying over in everything that they're doing. They're competing not only out here, but in the meeting rooms and in the weight room – everything that we're asking them to do.
"Both of those guys are old souls. When you talk to them, you're talking to a really mature man. I think that they've got a very high ceiling for both of them. We're really excited about where both of those guys are."
Even though Hooker and Wilson did not know each other prior to April's Draft, it didn't take long for them to forge a relationship.
"He's like my brother," Hooker now says of Wilson.
Both are in thick of open starting position battles in the secondary.
If healthy, Hooker is an expected starter. With his reps increasing, Hooker has made a strong early impression in his debut on an NFL practice field.
Wilson is trying to supplant Rashaan Melvin at corner. Currently, Melvin remains the starter, but Wilson received a decent amount of first-team work through the first week of camp.
During the spring, the Colts needed to see more out of Wilson
"When I got here I was just out of shape," Wilson admits. "But, I've been going about it real hard. I dropped a lot of weight. I feel like I still got a long ways to go, but I'm on the right track."
In a little more than a month, the Colts will be opening up their 2017 regular season.
Hooker and Wilson, the names called first back-to-back in April, could be lining up alongside each other in the starting defense.
Is the future now for the Colts' rookie defensive backs?
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