The Indianapolis Colts were not sure where they planned to play Ben Banogu when they took him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Fortunately, it appears they now have a better idea of his position moving forward.

Banogu had started at linebacker during rookie minicamp before the Colts moved him to defensive end. According to Kevin Bowen of 1070 The Fan, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has since revealed that is where he will stay:

“We thought that moving him now to play end is probably the best starting point for him relative to who he is, what he brings to the table and where can he impact our defense the most, the earliest,” Eberflus said. “We looked at him a little bit in drill work [at linebacker]. We kept looking at him. We put all of our heads together; it was the whole defensive staff. It was [G.M.] Chris [Ballard]. It was [head coach] Frank [Reich]. Then we decided, ‘Hey, let’s put him here [at defensive end], and then we can build it from there.’ Can he do different things and put him in different spots? No question he can do that. But let’s get his feet on solid ground at one spot and then kind of develop him from there.”

Banogu spent the bulk of his career at TCU playing defensive end. However, he was later invited to the Senior Bowl as a linebacker and remained there throughout the draft process. This could be why the Colts initially had him pegged as a linebacker going into their offseason program.

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They are now hoping Banogu will be better utilized at defensive end moving forward. Fortunately, the transition should not be too difficult considering the similar skill set needed to play on the edge. Despite some early confusion, it is clear that Indianapolis has given this situation plenty of thought.

Banogu will have a chance to make an immediate impact in the Colts' talented defense. Expectations are now higher than ever for this group following a stellar 2018 campaign. It will be interesting to see if they made the right call on Banogu's position.