Chad Reuter of NFL.com put together his All-Rookie team on offense, selecting a rookie from each position group on that side of the ball who will make an immediate impact, which included the Colts’ fourth-round pick Tanor Bortolini at guard.
Reuter acknowledges that Bortolini may be the team’s long-term answer at center depending on Ryan Kelly’s future with him set to hit free agency next offseason, but believes Bortolini can make an early impact at right guard, taking over for Will Fries at some point.
“Don’t be surprised if he gives veteran Will Fries a battle for the right guard spot,” wrote Reuter. “Bortolini’s plus athleticism and toughness might get him on the field much sooner than many would expect from a fourth-round pick.”
Bortolini seriously impressed at the NFL Combine, posting a near-perfect Relative Athletic Score of 9.97, which included a 4.94-second 40-yard dash.
At the NFL level, Bortolini can play all three interior positions. During his final two years at Wisconsin, he surrendered just two sacks and 17 pressures. This past season specifically, he ranked 28th out of 200 eligible centers in pass-blocking efficiency and 70th in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
“To me, with Wisconsin, you know you’re getting, smart, tough, reliable offensive lineman,” said Colts’ area scout Tyler Hughes. “He’s a guy that started at four different positions for them. He played guard last year, then once (Joe) Tippman left, he bumped inside to center.
“The best thing about him, I’m sure you guys saw his personality, he’s outgoing, a jokester, but his nickname is ‘Badger,’ and that’s kind of the staple of their program. So when you get the nickname Badger, he represents the program extremely well and what we want in our locker room.”
Along the offensive line, the Colts are returning all five starters from last season, including Fries who played 1,125 snaps, a unit that ranked top 10 in pressure rate and yards per carry.
Fries would allow four sacks and 30 pressures. He would rank 28th out of 82 guards in pass-blocking efficiency and 38th in run-blocking grade.
Bortolini would really have to impress during training camp to overtake Fries for that starting spot. Until we see otherwise, I fully expect Fries to start come Week 1, but if the right guard spot does turn out to be up for grabs, I’m also not so sure we can exclude Matt Goncalves from the conversation, someone who the Colts believe can play inside.
If it were me putting together this All-Rookie team, I would have been much more willing to put Adonai Mitchell on this list over Bortolini. I know this is a loaded rookie receiver class that Mitchell will be competing against, but his path to making an impact is far more clear than what Bortolini’s is. Mitchell should be a factor right away.