The Indianapolis Colts proved in 2019 that their improvements on the offensive line weren’t a fluke. The unit was strong in both pass protection and run blocking while being the backbone of their entire offense.
While there is debate as to how elite this unit was in 2019, Pro Football Focus handed out their rankings among all offensive lines in the NFL. The Colts were ranked as the third-best unit.
3. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Continuity on an offensive line is always a good thing. That’s exactly what the Colts got in 2019 with all five starters playing over 1,000 snaps on the season. A group that was much maligned when Andrew Luck was having frequent dates with the turf has quickly become one of the top groups in the NFL, led by Quenton Nelson. The Notre Dame product was the highest-graded left guard as a rookie last season when you include the postseason, and he’s back on top in Year 2. He’s been especially dominant in the run game — Nelson’s two-year run-blocking grade leads all guards.
Starting on the left side of the line, left tackle Anthony Castonzo and left guard Quenton Nelson were among the elites in 2019. Castonzo enjoyed his best season yet since entering the league in 2011 while Nelson was named a first-team All-Pro for the second time in as many years.
Center Ryan Kelly had a strong season as well. He played all 16 games for the first time since his rookie season and was a bully in the run game.
The Colts had some struggles on the right side of the line. Mark Glowinski regressed after a strong 2018 season and some that had an impact on right tackle Braden Smith. The second-year tackle was mostly strong for the majority of the season.
The Colts offense will be adding some offensive weapons to the group this offseason but the success of the unit runs through the offensive line.