The Indianapolis Colts made major changes to the starting offensive line unit ahead of the Week 5 matchup against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night.
The main starting lineup included Matt Pryor at left tackle, Danny Pinter or Will Fries at right guard and Braden Smith at right tackle.
Here is the new starting offensive line, which includes major changes at those three positions, including a rookie third-round pick getting his first career start:
- LT Bernhard Raimann
- LG Quenton Nelson
- C Ryan Kelly
- RG Braden Smith
- RT Matt Pryor
This is a major shake-up. The struggles at right guard and left tackle essentially forced the hands of the coaching staff to make this change.
Raimann was a third-round pick for the Colts in the 2022 NFL draft and even though he has limited experience as a starter throughout his entire football career at the position, he has the athleticism and movement skills to reach a high level at the position.
The move that puts Smith at right guard is interesting. He hasn’t played up to the typical standard he set at the position when he took over as the starter during his rookie season in 2018. Smith entered the league as a guard but impressed so much at right tackle that he spent his entire career up to this point at the position.
Pryor moves from left to right tackle, which might be a better move for him considering he has spent the majority of his career on the right side of the line.
We’ll see if this move has any positive impact on the offense, which entered this game as the lowest-scoring unit in the NFL, but something had to be done.
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