Will Fries Starts Strong in Week One Loss to Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Anthony Richardson is the talk of the town heading into week two, and rightfully so, but there are plenty of other young players on this roster that showed out against the Jacksonville Jaguars. One of those players is right guard Will Fries.
Fries, 25, is a former seventh round pick out of Penn State who is now entering his third year in the NFL. He started last season as a reserve player, but was quickly inserted into the starting lineup once interim Head Coach Jeff Saturday took over. While it was far from perfect, Fries did show the potential to be a starting right guard in the NFL in limited action a year ago.
The Colts had the opportunity to upgrade the right guard position over the offseason, but they elected to ride it out with the young player. Fries rewarded that confidence with a very solid week one showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. There were still a few miscues overall, but Fries certainly took a step forward in his first start of 2023.
Imposing His Will
One of the better ways to see if an offensive lineman is playing with confidence is watching how they finish blocks. Are they just getting to their spot and calling it a day or are they finishing blocks with aggression?
Last season, Fries did a lot of the former. He got to his spot, did his job, and that was the end of the play. In week one however, we saw Will Fries finish quite a few blocks with nasty intentions.
For a player that relies on his size and strength tremendously, this is the type of style Will Fries needs to deploy. He needs to be a physical tone setter on the right side that makes defenders think twice about coming near him. He made his presence known to the Jaguars on multiple occasions this past weekend:
Aggressive Setting Prowess
Will Fries is a long and powerful guard that operates well when he can get hands on his assignment early. Once he is able to make first significant contact up front, it is usually a successful rep in pass protection for the third year guard.
The way the Colts operate their pass protection (against a normal four man rush) is to have each player be man up on their assignment/gap with the center sliding to either the right or the left (depending on the blocking call).
The backside guard in these protection calls is asked to aggressively set the defensive tackle to their side. There is no giving ground in these pass sets, so making first contact is vital for success in these situations.
Will Fries is well suited for these types of blocks, as he is powerful and controlling in those backside one on ones. He mostly held his own this past Sunday on these isolated blocks, and he looked excellent in doing so:
Anchor Improving Every Day
One of the more important aspects of playing offensive line in the NFL is having a strong anchor. Defensive players are too strong and too fast nowadays, so offensive lineman need to have the balance and the strength to brace against these powerful rushes.
Will Fries is still a work in progress with his anchor, but it took a notable step forward in week one against the Jaguars. There were several snaps in this game that would have been clear losses last year for Fries that he was able to salvage with a strong anchor. That kind of growth is exactly what we needed to see from Fries early in the year.
He still had his fair share of down moments, but it was great seeing Fries win ugly on a few occasions in pass protection:
Still a Work in Progress
While Fries put together a strong week one outing, there are still a few areas to clean up overall. He still tends to play a bit too high and this can result in him losing his balance far too often. His lateral quickness was also a concern (especially on defensive stunts) and it is something that needs to be corrected going forward.
Will Fries has some limitations in his game that he is still learning how to work around, but overall this was a positive showing for him. Hopefully he can continue to grow in his lateral ability:
The Bottom Line
Will Fries was seen by many as the Colts' weak link on the offensive line heading into the season. While he still may not be on the par of guys like Braden Smith or Quenton Nelson, Fries was hardly a liability in week one against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The third year guard looked powerful, confident, and aggressive in week one of the 2023 season. He still has some areas to clean up overall, but this was as promising of a start as one could hope for for Will Fries this year.
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