Pro Football Focus recently went position-by-position, picking one player from each group to have a breakout season in 2024. At left tackle, PFF chose the Colts’ Bernhard Raimann, who is coming off of an impressive sophomore season.
Raimann played 1,012 snaps for the Colts last season, surrendering just four sacks and 34 pressures. Out of 50 eligible tackles, Raimann ranked 20th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric and 12th in run-blocking. His pass-blocking grade from PFF was also the ninth-best among tackles.
“One of the hardest working guys I’ve been around,” said center Ryan Kelly during training camp. “I think truly that left tackle position I think, above and beyond everybody else, can be a little detailed, micro-oriented.
“I think for him, what he’s really trusting is his athletic ability, which is a big thing for him. He hasn’t played football since he was a little kid, so it’s been a short time compared to most.”
In addition to his work ethic, the experience that Raimann has gained over the last two seasons, playing over 1,700 snaps during that span, has been crucial to his growth, allowing him to adjust to the play speed of the NFL and, in general, getting more comfortable with what he’s asked to do.
“You get more comfortable with the O-line because you’ve just bonded over the years and you have some great memories and you build some great relationships with those guys,” Raimann said.
“But also, you get used to more of the speed and we have great defensive linemen that we go up against every day. We’re lucky to be able to compete against them every day. But you do get used to it more and more and then you can focus on yourself more.”
Raimann also mentioned the continuity along the offensive line, specifically lining up next to Quentin Nelson, has been an important factor in his development as well because of the communication and leadership elements Nelson brings along with knowing exactly where he’s going to be on any given play.
While all eyes will be on quarterback Anthony Richardson and the playmakers around him, as GM Chris Ballard said prior to the draft, success begins in the trenches with blocking and protecting.
Along with Raimann, the Colts are returning all five starters from a unit that in 2023, ranked top 10 in yards per rush and pass-blocking efficiency. In ESPN’s recent rankings, the Colts offensive line was listed as the fourth-best overall unit.
