The Indianapolis Colts spent their offseason trying to remake their defense after the unit finished 30th in the NFL last season. They used six of their eight draft picks on defensive players and signed seven other players on that side of the ball during free agency.

@MikeWellsNFL Who in your opinion is the best defensive pickup from the offseason? (players that got signed and drafted) #coltsmail

— Colts Coverage (@Colts_Coverage) May 26, 2017

Mike Wells: Can I go with two players -- one signed and one drafted? I’ll go with defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins and safety Malik Hooker.

The Colts have been searching for a big body to anchor the middle of their defensive line for years after players like Josh Chapman, Montori Hughes and David Parry failed to have a significant impact at that position for them.

Enter Hankins.

The Colts want -- and badly need -- the 25-year-old Hankins to be able to stuff the run up the middle and also be able to get in the backfield to put pressure on the quarterback when the opportunity presents itself. And if Hankins can’t get in the backfield after the quarterback, they need him to at least force a double-team so that his teammates are free to get to the quarterback.

Hankins was part of the defensive unit with the New York Giants that tied for the third-fewest yards given up on the ground last season. The Colts were 25th in that category.

“He does have a pretty wide skill set,” Colts defensive coordinator Ted Monachino said. “We were doing some pass-rush things (recently) on the practice field and he is a big, loose athlete and it’s good to have a big, loose athlete in the front, so wherever we need to use him... He’s going to fit right into the depth immediately and he’s going to come in and try to impact our defense as soon as he can."

The common theme this offseason has been creating turnovers on defense. That’s where Hooker comes into play.

The Colts didn’t return a turnover back for a touchdown last season. Hooker returned three of his seven interceptions back for touchdowns last season at Ohio State.

Barring a situation where Hooker has to miss more time than expected -- he’ll be out until the start of training camp -- he should be in line to start next season. The Colts want him using his speed to roam the field chasing the ball down.

"I think that what we can expect mentally from Malik is to dive in with both feet and go full speed with the install and see how far he can get down the road in terms of film study and becoming a better pro," Monachino said. "I think that once he does start to go out and compete on the field I think that we can expect great things.”