With the news coming out on Friday that Indianapolis Colts’ left tackle Bernhard Raimann being ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Jets, that likely means rookie Matt Goncalves will get his second NFL start.
When Raimann missed the Colts’ Week 9 matchup against Minnesota, it was Goncalves who started at left tackle. Then when Raimann exited this past Sunday’s game with a knee injury, it was Goncalves who took over.
Goncalves was a third-round pick by the Colts in this past April’s draft, and like many first year players, he is navigating the ups and downs that comes with making the jump from college to the NFL.
In his last two appearances, Goncalves has been credited with allowing six pressures and three sacks, according to PFF, along with being penalized once.
Goncalves was also beat by Bills’ edge rusher Greg Rousseau on the play where the ball was knocked out of Joe Flacco’s hands and resulted in a fumble recovery for Buffalo.
Going up against the defensive end position, a unit that is heavily rotated, Goncalves will be matched up with a few different members of this Jets’ front. However, one of the players to know and the one he may be matched up with the most is Will McDonald.
With Haasan Reddick back in the mix for New York, he has taken almost all of his snaps the last three weeks on the left side of the defensive line, which will match him up with Braden Smith. McDonald has then been moved to the right side of the defense, lining him up with Goncalves.
McDonald will enter this game with 39 pressures, the most on this Jets team, and that’s also the 11th most among all edge rushers this season. He also ranks seventh in PFF’s pass-rush productivity metric as well.
By ESPN’s metrics, the Jets’ pass rush overall has been inconsistent this season, with that unit ranking 23rd in win rate, which measures how quickly a pass rusher is able to beat his blocker within 2.5 seconds.
Against the run, however, the Jets have been stout, entering the Week sixth in run stop rate, and allowing 4.2 yards per carry.
The return of Anthony Richardson gives the Colts a major boost in mobility at the quarterback position, but as always, the name of the game is giving the quarterback time in the pocket to go through his reads and throw within the rhythm of the play.
Goncalves is going to be challenged and, of course, play a key role in giving Richardson that clean pocket to throw from.