Colts' Matt Goncalves Ready for Starting Opportunity in 2025

The Indianapolis Colts lost a major contributor on their offensive line this offseason, as starting right guard Will Fries signed a massive five-year, $88 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings. After a draft season filled with speculation over whether the Colts would take a guard with a top pick, the plan now appears to be to move former third-round selection Matt Goncalves into Fries' spot.

Goncalves, 24, spent most of this past season playing offensive tackle. He saw his first bit of real action in Week 9 against the Vikings, starting at left tackle in place of the injured Bernhard Raimann. Goncalves held down that job for a month before kicking over to right tackle to close out the year while Braden Smith dealt with a personal matter. In total, Goncalves appeared in 566 snaps as a rookie, with just one total snap coming on the interior.

The move inside could be a challenge for Goncalves, as he has taken a grand total of just 45 snaps on the interior dating back to his college debut in 2019. He has almost exclusively been an offensive tackle in his life, but now the Colts will be relying on him to step in and fill the shoes of arguably their best offensive lineman heading into the 2025 season.

With the weight of the world on Goncalves' shoulders, can this young player step up and hold on to the job in his second year of play? Let's dive into his film and find out.

Positives

Pulling in Space

Goncalves is a fantastic athlete who possesses so much explosiveness in a massive frame. This makes him a deadly player out in space and a major asset in the run game in general. The Colts became aware of Smith's looming absence heading into their Week 14 bye last season, so they came prepared out of the break with a new wrinkle in their run game with Goncalves in mind.

The Colts rolled out so many run designs with the right tackle pulling out in space in the final month of the season. The results were quite staggering as well, as Goncalves' ability to displace on the move created so many huge run lanes for Jonathan Taylor to exploit. The biggest advantage obviously came on a 70-yard touchdown run against the Tennessee Titans back in Week 16.

Goncalves moving to right guard will open up even more opportunities to use him on the move and as a puller in the run game. Having him alongside Quenton Nelson at guard could give the Colts the best pulling guard combination in the NFL heading into 2025.

Matt Goncalves became the Colts' starting right tackle post bye week last season. The Colts had a clear plan for him in the run game; get him on the move as much as possible.

The results were pretty good for the Colts in that final month on the ground pic.twitter.com/fjl6DFkfR5
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 9, 2025

Flashes in the Run Game

Goncalves was a pretty solid run blocker for most of last season, especially when factoring in that he was a rookie who had to bounce back and forth between the two tackle positions. Among all rookie offensive tackles last season, Pro Football Focus graded Goncalves as the number three run blocker in the league. He was particularly stout on gap run calls, grading out as the site's number one run blocker among all rookie offensive tackles in this regard.

His flashes on film are super promising, and he he does a fantastic job of using his frame and his body to wall off defenders at the point of attack. His pad level can be a bit of a concern, more on that later, but does a good job of mitigating this with an explosive first step and a strong first punch. As long as he continues to develop those two traits further, he should be able to grow exponentially as a run blocker.

His potential as a run blocker is very high in this scheme, and he could become a true weapon on the right side of the line alongside Smith next season.

Matt Goncalves had some really good moments as a run blocker last season. Needs to get his pad level down a little bit, but I'm excited for his move to right guard next season pic.twitter.com/lVCEUqIL1P
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 12, 2025

Winning at the Second Level

Clearly, Goncalves impressed in the run game because there is one more point to highlight in this area of his game. The Colts ask a lot out of their offensive linemen in the run game, and players are tasked with making difficult blocks at the second level of the defense to create space. This level of difficulty only increases for the guards on the interior. While Goncalves primarily played tackle last season, he showed some outstanding ability to make these second-level blocks on film.

Despite his massive frame, Goncalves constantly located his assignments at the second level and created room for his running backs. This should translate well to the interior and serve the offense immensely this upcoming season. A lot of his game is still a work in progress, but Goncalves should be a day-one contributor in the run game who raises the overall floor of the offense.

I was impressed by how Matt Goncalves located linebackers at the second level last season. Connected on quite a few of these blocks at the second level in his limited time pic.twitter.com/3u7jOgDugE
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 12, 2025

Success in Angle/Jump Sets

Goncalves struggled mightily in pass protection last season, but he did appear to perform better on more aggressive sets on the outside. When the Colts let him jump defenders and make first contact, he tended to have much more success than he would on vertical sets/more passive pass sets. This is yet another aspect that bodes well for the move inside, as Goncalves won't be asked to give nearly as much ground from the interior.

Obviously, there are different challenges that come with a move inside, but the biggest concern on Goncalves' film last year came from his ability to bend with pass rushers and match speed rushers when they had room to operate. As a guard, Goncalves will be able to dictate more in pass protection, which should help him mitigate the biggest issues on his rookie film.

Matt Goncalves had his struggles in pass pro last season, but he was at his best when he could get on players in a hurry with jump sets and aggressive angles. Think this will translate well to guard (even though he'll be tasked with bigger players than he saw at OT last year) pic.twitter.com/MdSluGORUK
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 12, 2025

Negatives

Pass Protection

This was just touched on above, but Goncalves really struggled in pass protection as a rookie, so much so that the move to guard might feel necessary. To properly contextualize his play a bit more, Goncalves did miss most of his senior season at Pitt due to injury, so he basically went from a year out of live-action football to playing against the best players in the world. The results certainly showed a massive jump in competition.

Goncalves gave up 22 pressures last season in 305 pass blocking snaps, and everything looked difficult for him on the outside. He was far too passive in his pass sets, he exposed his chest too easily for defenders, and his overall flexibility was a major concern. He did improve a bit down the stretch, but even then, he had to rely on a lot of ugly wins to get the job done.

The move inside should mitigate some of the flexibility concerns and allow him to play a more assertive brand of football in the pass game, but this is certainly something to watch going forward. Goncalves still needs to grow a lot more as a pass blocker next season to hold down the starting job in 2025.

Matt Goncalves had some rough pass blocking moments last year at offensive tackle. Exposed his chest way too much, played too upright and stiff, and lacked the ability to counter when in disadvantageous situations. Improved late in the year but his early reps were tough pic.twitter.com/FdU7gc3VQA
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 17, 2025

Leverage Concerns

Goncalves is a fairly developed run blocker who should be a solid contributor this next season, but his pad level and overall leverage do give me some concern. He found ways to work around it late in the year, but he struggles to displace players at the point of attack due to his size and stature. It's rare for an interior offensive lineman to be 6'6" for a reason, and Goncalves will have to find ways to work around his tendency to play a bit too high and tight.

Fries had similar issues in his first few seasons with the Colts, so it should work itself out with time, but it is another aspect to keep an eye on with Goncalves. He's moving inside against massive defensive tackles, so any minor loss in leverage can lead to a run play getting blown up. He needs to continue refining his hands and his first step to properly mitigate this concern going forward.

My biggest concern with Matt Goncalves moving to IOL is how he tends to lose leverage a bit too quickly in the run game due to his massive frame/lack of flexibility. A 6'6" 327 pound guard has to find ways to win even when leverage is lost. Will def take some time pic.twitter.com/SEYDhTh6pE
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 17, 2025

The Bottom Line

Goncalves had an up-and-down rookie season for the Colts, but he showcased enough to give me confidence in this move to right guard. He possesses outstanding size, explosion, and spatial awareness to be an asset in the run game, and I'd expect his pass blocking to improve with a more assertive role on the interior.

There is reason to doubt this move, as Goncalves' tendency to play a bit high and tight could give him trouble on the interior, but I feel like this is the best move for him long term with the Colts. He has near identical measureables to Fries, and the Colts invested a top-100 pick in his last draft season. The time is now to see if Goncalves can step into that starting role.

My expectations for Goncalves in 2025 is a solid starting right guard that excels in the run game and has some inconsistencies in the pass game. As long as he can hit that level this upcoming season, I feel like everyone will be happy about this move going forward.