Kwity Paye is the Raiders' Renaissance man.
An oft-terrifying edge rusher who belies his ability to disrupt a game with an eye for fits and pics, fashion and photography.
An elite athlete who calls what happens in the pocket on his way to the quarterback "beautiful chaos," while grinning and talking about his ability to "wreak havoc."
Paye, who signed a free-agent contract with the Raiders on March 12 after five seasons and 30.5 sacks with the Colts, is at once the most-accomplished sack master on the roster (non-Maxx Crosby division) as well as a quizzical and bemused observer who would just as soon take a picture of a clean fit as be on the delivering side of a vicious hit.
Kinda.
"I'm just out there, you know, just balling," Paye told me on the most recent episode of Upon Further Review.
"I love playing D-line. I love being in the pocket, muddying it up and, you know, just, just violence."
Paye beamed, and the smile should send shivers up the spines of opposing quarterbacks on the Raiders' schedule…especially if Crosby is being, well, Crosby on the other side of the defensive line in the Raiders' reimagined front under new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard.
Yes, the same Leonard who spent the previous three seasons coaching Crosby and the rest of the D-line as the Raiders' D-line coach.
Paye may be new to Leonard's scheme, but he's already taken on a teaching role for the other newbies on the team and Leonard has taken notice.
"I say all the time I've learned the most from players," Leonard said. "And when they take control of that, that's where the details get taught, what things look like in reality outside of a playbook, and that's what you want to see.
"I mean, it makes you feel good, to be honest with you."
It should.
"I feel like the players make the calls come to life and the DCs preach that all the time - they can call it, but we have to make it come to life," Paye said. "You have to be very selfless. You have to sacrifice yourself.
"Sometimes, the play is not meant for you and that's OK. You have to go ahead and sacrifice your body to make somebody else come free and get the sack, get the pressure, get the pick, whatever it may be. And that's just all coming together and [we're] trying to win."
Paye is new to the Raiders, but not the rigors and heartbreak of life in the NFL.
Or have you forgotten about Paye being on the wrong end of one of his new teammate's epic comebacks.
"Oh, man," Paye howled. "Don't even bring it up. Don't bring it up."
Thing is, we have to, right?
It was Dec. 17, 2022, and Paye's Colts were up on Kirk Cousins' Vikings, 33-0 at halftime, 36-7 late in the third quarter.
Cousins, who would finish with 460 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, led the Vikings to a wild 39-36 overtime victory…even as he was sacked seven times.
Once by Paye.
"We knew Kirk was a great quarterback and great commander," Paye laughed. "But you know, I'm extremely happy that he's on my team now. I'm extremely happy that he's gonna help us win a lot of games.
"He's a very cool guy, like around the locker room, but once he gets onto the field, he's a different person. He commands that offense like no other."
Paye, a proud Michigan man, has also had to swallow a little more pride - kinda - with the Raiders' No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza having led Indiana to the national title.
"You know, I was in Indiana for five years [with the Colts], so I became, lowkey, a Hoosier fan a little bit," Paye said. "But, [I'm] extremely happy that he's part of our team as well. We've got two ballers back there.
"[Fernando is] just a huge sponge, constantly trying to improve. Small things, like when he throws the pass and it's completed, you can see him practicing the throw again and again and again, as they're getting huddled up. [He's] trying to really be on the details with all of his stuff and, just a great guy."
Besides fashion, photography and football, the Raiders' Renaissance man is also into traveling the world, as evidenced by that offseason trip to Japan.
Now?
Paye is kicking around a nebulous but specific idea, a locale he can take his omnipresent Fujifilm camera before the Raiders return for training camp in late July.
"I was thinking about it but if anything, I'm going to try to get the guys together," he said with a growing giggle. "Maybe we could take a D-line trip somewhere."
And, like the closing credits of "The Hangover," only the D-linemen get to see the pics before destroying them?
Paye's giggle is a full laugh now.
"Maybe," he said.
