Three Offensive Tackles That The Colts Could Target in Free Agency

The Indianapolis Colts are gearing up for arguably the most important offseason of the Chris Ballard tenure. After a disappointing 2021 season, and with major questions still at the quarterback position, this front office needs a home run offseason to get back on track.

The first order of business in the offseason is free agency. Ballard mostly sat out of this phase in 2021, as he only signed four players that would make the opening day roster (Isaac Rochell, Eric Fisher, Antwaun Woods, and Julie'n Davenport). Of those four signings, only Fisher saw real action as a starter for a majority of the season.

While this is an offseason that will, hopefully, change Ballard's mindset a little bit when it comes to free agency, I highly doubt that he starts dealing out massive contracts to top free agents. In his five years with the Colts, Ballard has only signed one outside free agent to a contract worth more than 10 million dollars a year (Justin Houston in 2019).

With all that in mind, this new series for the site will try to identify some potential fits for the Colts in free agency without just listing all the 15+ million dollar a year players that Ballard will never look at.

The next position we are going to look at is offensive tackle. With the Colts' top two left tackles from a year ago (Matt Pryor and Eric Fisher) set to be free agents, the team could look to revamp the position yet again. This is a spot where Ballard has typically been okay with spending, as he paid nearly 12 million dollars in free agency last year to fix the left tackle position.

Today, I dive into three players that the Colts could pursue in free agency to fill this potential void:

Duane Brown, Seattle Seahawks

If the Colts want to spend a little bit extra to fix the left tackle void, Duane Brown would be the perfect veteran option for the team. Brown is a former All-Pro that is in the twilight of his NFL career.

Brown had a bit of a down season, by his standards, in 2021. He finished the year allowing eight sacks and 22 hurries in 585 pass blocking snaps on the season. This is the most sacks that he has allowed in a season since his rookie campaign back in 2008.

While this could be an alarming trend for the veteran left tackle, I would still take a shot on him with the Colts. He would still be a massive upgrade over Eric Fisher in the passing department and that would be a huge help to whichever quarterback is back there for the team in 2022.

It may be a pipe dream that Brown even hits free agency in this weak offensive tackle class, but he would be the high-end player that I would look at on the market.

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Cam Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars

If the Colts want to go with a high-risk, high-reward option in free agency, Cam Robinson of the Jaguars could be an interesting fit. The former high second round pick has had an inconsistent career up to this point, but he did just churn out his best career season in 2021.

He finished the year allowing just one sack and 22 hurries in 573 pass blocking snaps. While there was still plenty of room for improvement in his game, he finally started to flash the upside that the Jaguars were sold on back in 2017.

Robinson was playing on the franchise tag this past season, so he could be a pricey option that proves to be a little bit out of the Colts' price range. I'm, personally, not sold on this being a great option for the team, but it is certainly a swing on upside.

Robinson has the ability to be a franchise left tackle. He just needs to stay healthy and find consistency. Maybe he could find those two things with the Colts.

Cornelius Lucas, Washington Commanders

This last option is my favorite for the Colts in this weak class. Lucas was deployed as more of a spot-starter this past year, but he has always been known for being a strong pass blocker.

He finished this past season allowing three sacks and just 18 hurries in 354 pass blocking snaps. Those numbers certainly leave something to be desired, but it is pretty solid for a player that saw reserve snaps at both left and right tackle.

If the Colts were to pursue Lucas, it would ideally be for more of a backup role. Whether that means bringing back Pryor or Fisher, Lucas is best suited to be an emergency swing tackle in case of injury.

Overall, this offensive tackle class in free agency is very weak. The Colts would be best suited to bring back one of, if not both of, Eric Fisher and Matt Pryor for 2022. The other options are either swinging on a high priced free agent or grabbing a depth player like Lucas.

Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

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