The resurgence of the Indianapolis Colts offensive line was one of the biggest surprises from last season.
Now, the expectations are much higher. Going into the second season under head coach Shane Steichen and offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr., the Colts offensive line is regarded as elite.
This is especially true in the eyes of Pro Football Focus’ Zoltan Buday, who ranked the Colts’ front five as the third-best unit in the NFL.
“The Colts’ offensive tackle duo is arguably the best in the league, as left tackle Bernhard Raimann and right tackle Braden Smith each finished among the seven highest-graded offensive tackles in 2023. Veteran Ryan Kelly put together the best season of his career as the highest-graded center in pass protection. Continuity is also on the Colts offensive line’s side, as all five starting offensive linemen return for 2024,” wrote Buday.
Only the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles offensive lines were ranked ahead of the Colts.
Having the bookend tackles of Raimann and Smith certainly makes life easier on the entire offense. Smith dealt with injuries throughout the 2023 season, but he was still one of the best tackles in the NFL when on the field.
The bounce-back campaign from Kelly was a huge reason for the line’s resurgence as well. He’s entering a contract year so the motivation is certainly there to keep it going.
The Colts offense revolves around it’s budding star at quarterback, but the offensive line is the engine of the entire unit.
