Have Colts Decided On New Left Tackle?

The Colts' most recent depth chart update indicates they're moving toward a new left tackle this season.

The Indianapolis Colts have struggled to find the correct starting-five combination along their offensive line this season.

They've got the three veteran pillars in Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Braden Smith, but figuring out who should be the other two players and where they should line up has proven to be a challenge.

It took six weeks but the Colts finally got a solid performance out of their line last Sunday and it led to them putting up their most points (34) and second-most yards (434) on the season.

Although rookie Bernhard Raimann started the game at left tackle, veteran Dennis Kelly took over late in the first quarter. The latter performed so well that the Colts decided to abandon the rotation that they had planned.

“We were going to go with Bernhard," head coach Frank Reich said about the Colts' left tackle situation on Sunday. "We were going to alternate him (Kelly). And then Strauss (offensive line coach Chris Strausser), we talked about it late in the week. We said, ‘Okay, how much are we going to?’ We could see Dennis has been getting better but really felt like we wanted to make a commitment to Bernhard. But, I mean, you’ve got to prove it. And Bernard is doing fine. But what happened is Dennis got in there and he just looked good.”

Now, as the Colts head into Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans, their new, unofficial depth chart bears Kelly's name atop the left tackle position.

Through the first four weeks of the season, Matt Pryor started at left tackle for the Colts. The team's line was struggling, and although Pryor wasn't necessarily the biggest issue at the time, changes still needed to be made.

Raimann then started in Weeks 5 and 6 before giving way to Kelly last week. The rookie is raw and very much still developing so they'd like to continue getting him involved, but Kelly has clearly been the Colts' best option.

Between the three players, here is how their season breaks down so far according to to Pro Football Focus' grading system:

Pryor

• 411 snaps | 47.9 overall grade | 39.0 run blocking | 55.6 pass blocking | 94.7% pass-block efficiency | 23 pressures allowed | 3 penalties

Raimann

• 121 snaps | 53.4 overall grade | 50.6 run blocking | 66.2 pass blocking | 95.3% pass-block efficiency | 7 pressures allowed | 4 penalties

Kelly

• 70 snaps | 70.2 overall grade | 64.5 run blocking | 71.2 pass blocking | 99.0% pass-block efficiency | 1 pressure allowed | 1 penalty

Kelly (6'8", 321, 32 years old) has been active for 119 games (51 starts) in his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, and now the Colts. He's played 2,655 snaps at right tackle, 534 at left tackle, 428 at right guard, 179 at big tight end, and 126 at left guard. If the Colts need him to play elsewhere, he can, but for now it seems as if they plan to keep him at left tackle.

“Finding the chemistry and the vibe is good," Reich told reporters Wednesday when asked about keeping the same lineup from last week. "I thought all six of those guys played well, Dennis played well. We’ll see how it goes here in the beginning of the week, but we would anticipate staying like we were but really, really glad to have Dennis and what he’s doing. Also, Bernhard, we think he’s going to continue to develop.”

What remains to be seen is how long will Kelly be the Colts' left tackle, and how much Raimann might eat into those snaps.

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