Horseshoe Huddle

Film Room: Will Fries Has Earned Key Role on the Offensive Line

Second-year offensive lineman Will Fries has looked like a completely new player in 2022. He has fully earned the swing IOL spot for this upcoming season.

Zach Hicks

Interior offensive lineman Will Fries was a seventh round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2021 NFL Draft. His position on the roster was far from guaranteed heading into last offseason, but he impressed the coaches enough in camp to earn a roster spot for the duration of the year. Despite being on the roster all season long, Fries spent most of the season on the inactive list, appearing only in 22 snaps in total.

Heading into his second season with the Colts, Fries was determined to take a more crucial role with the offensive line. Veteran Chris Reed was the team's main swing interior lineman in 2021, and he appeared in a whopping 522 snaps a year ago. With Reed departing in free agency, Fries knew that this was his chance to take control of that key role with the team.

I wrote a story piece on Will Fries last offseason and went into detail about his work ethic and commitment to the game. He further showed that commitment on the field when I asked him if he would be interested in a follow-up piece this offseason. He politely declined, and he told me that he wanted to hold off until he's "proven on the field."

Fries has been fully committed this offseason to refining his craft and he has gone out of his way to make that his sole focus heading into year two. With the preseason firmly behind us, I think it is safe to say that we have seen that hard work pay off thus far.

In today's film piece, I dive into Fries' performance in these three preseason games to show just how much this young offensive lineman has improved.

Week One vs Buffalo

Fries started the preseason off with a bang this year. He played a majority of this game, seeing 43 total snaps on the night. Of those 43 snaps, he was in pass protection for 28 of them. He allowed zero pressures in those snaps.

This was my first exposure to Fries this offseason and he looked like a completely different player. As a rookie, he looked overwhelmed (at times) by the raw power he was seeing in the trenches. In this game, he looked sturdy and confident on every single snap.

Week Two vs Detroit

Fries followed up his week one dominance with another steady performance against the Detroit Lions. He appeared in 40 snaps in this game, seeing 23 total snaps in the pass game. He, again, locked it down on the interior, as he allowed just one hurry in the game.

Fries moved all around the offensive line in this outing, seeing time early on at left guard before switching over to center to start the second half. Despite the shifting around, Fries was able to maintain his steady and sturdy play on the interior.

Week Three vs Tampa Bay

While this was a bit of a lighter game for Fries, he was able to maintain his level of play in this game. Serving as the team's starting right guard with the absence of Ryan Kelly, Fries saw action in 30 snaps (17 of which as a pass protector). He, again, allowed just one hurry on the night.

He didn't see a ton of time in this game, but he certainly looked like he belonged with the starters at the beginning of the game. While I don't think he should be starting over Danny Pinter at right guard, I do think that Fries has done more than enough this preseason to prove his worth on the interior.

The Bottom Line

Offensive lineman Will Fries came into this offseason as a man on a mission, as he was primed and ready to take over a key backup role with the team. I think it is safe to say that he has earned this opportunity. He has grown a lot in one offseason, and the film speaks for itself. In 98 pass blocking opportunities last preseason, Fries allowed one QB hit and seven hurries. In 68 pass blocking snaps this year, he has allowed just two hurries in total.

The role that Fries now occupies for the team is one that has seen the field quite a bit over the past few years. He may not be a starter, but second-year offensive lineman Will Fries has earned this extra opportunity in 2022.

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Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

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