Film Room: Could Matt Pryor Be the Colts' Left Tackle of the Future?
The Indianapolis Colts came out flat in a game that they had no business losing this past Sunday, as they fell 23-20 at home to the Las Vegas Raiders. This was an ugly loss, and the type of loss that they have avoided, for the most part, this year.
Before completely closing the book on this anomaly of a game, there was one interesting storyline to watch in this one. Offensive lineman Matt Pryor started this game at left tackle, filling in for the injured Eric Fisher.
Pryor has been a versatile chess piece on the offensive line for the Colts this season. He started three games at right tackle when Braden Smith was out earlier in the season, while also starting a game at right guard in relief of Mark Glowinski when he was on the Covid-19 list.
This game was a big one for his future with the team, though. With Fisher having an up and down season, this game was a bit of a tryout for Pryor potentially being the team's left tackle in the future.
How did he perform? According to Pro Football Focus, he was outstanding. He was graded out with an elite grade of 87.7 on the day. He surrendered just two pressures in 32 pass blocking snaps, while mostly being lined up against a very good pass rusher in Yannick Ngakoue.
Could Pryor be the left tackle of the future after this showing? I break down his film in this article and give my opinion on that important question.
Run Blocking
This is the area where Pryor really excelled on Sunday. He was powerful at the point of attack and moved defensive ends with ease in the run game. His combination of size (6'7" 340 pounds) and athleticism allows him to quickly displace defenders and create lanes for the Colts' running backs.
This block below was his best of the day. He quickly gets his hands on the defensive end and drives him to the outside off of the snap. It is easy to see just how strong Pryor is in the run game on this clip, as he creates a huge hole for Jonathan Taylor to hit on the outside.
Pryor just wore down the defensive ends of the Raiders all game long. I would like to see him get a little nastier and finish these players into the ground going forward, but it is hard to complain about this performance. He was simply dominant at the point of attack all game long in the run game, and he made his presence known on the left side of the line.
Pass Blocking
While being a strong run blocker is great, the true test was how Pryor held up in the pass game against this impressive edge duo that the Raiders have. He mostly lined up against Ngakoue, a player that this team has struggled to block ever since his days with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
For the most part, Pryor held up well in this game. He wasn't really tested for the most part, due to the Colts' quick passing game, but he rarely let Ngakoue have any space on his rushes.
I'm not going to break down each clip individually, since they were just quick passes that didn't really threaten Pryor, but these clips illustrate what I am talking about. He did a good job of containing a very good pass rusher, while not facing many dangerous rushes overall.
Can He Be the Future at Left Tackle?
This is a tough question to answer off of just one game. I feel the same way that I felt going into the game about Pryor's potential at the position. He is a quality player that can certainly be a suitable left tackle if the Colts need him to jump out there.
Is he long term starter quality at the position? I don't know yet. This game didn't really test him in pass protection and that is really the most important aspect of playing the position. I am still optimistic about his ability at the position, but it is hard to draw conclusions off of how this game went.
The Colts will have a tough decision to make in the offseason when it comes to bringing back Eric Fisher and/or Matt Pryor. I personally would like to see more of Pryor at left tackle, but I know that this is likely the only game we will get.
While I can't make a sweeping judgement after this game, I do like a lot of what I have seen from Pryor this season and he has certainly earned a second contract with the team after the year.
Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.
