Why the Colts are Secure at Left Tackle for the Future
As the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching search heats up and approaches a hire, they also have to contemplate offseason moves and re-signings.
One area that was surprisingly good for Indianapolis through their brutally bad 2022 season was the left tackle position. Initially, the season started with Matt Pryor, who immediately fell out of favor and was benched in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos for the rookie out of Central Michigan University, Bernhard Raimann. Raimann would struggle at first but quickly found his rhythm and consistently blocked at a high rate for the remainder of the season.
One of the worst parts to watch from the Colts' forgettable campaign under former head coach Frank Reich and interim head coach Jeff Saturday was watching one of the highest-paid offensive lines in the NFL ($41.9 million, per Spotrac) allow so many sacks and play so badly so consistently.
However, Raimann would finish the season as one of the best linemen on the team, finishing second in overall offensive grade (73.3) behind right tackle Braden Smith, run blocking (74.7), narrowly missing the top spot to Smith (75.0), and third in pass blocking (75.9), according to Pro Football Focus.
With names like center Ryan Kelly and left guard Quenton Nelson getting edged out in certain categories by a rookie left tackle who was thrust into the starting role five games in, it shows the potential that Raimann has and why he’s considered one of the up-and-comers at the spot.
However, Indianapolis should remember how awful of a choice it was to not bring in competition to fight Pryor and initial right guard Danny Pinter for the starting roles, resulting in the worst offensive line play of the season. For example, Pryor finished seventh out of eight in overall grade at 44.9 while Pinter was last with 44.7.
The Colts don’t necessarily need to draft a left tackle and “waste” a pick with a guy like Raimann commanding it. However, there should be a move to bring in a veteran free agent or someone a bit cheaper to make sure that Raimann is up to speed in his sophomore season. If for no other reason than to make him truly work to keep the blindside responsibility for a rookie quarterback.
There are so many decisions that must be made and areas that need to be addressed this offseason for the Colts, and we’re not even out of February. However, if there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s that Raimann showed flashes of quick improvements, fast hands and feet with pass-rushers, and an ability to correct mistakes, and in good time.
He will likely be securing the left tackle position for the future, but the Colts must make sure of that first by not making the mistakes of last season.
