Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.
Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.
I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is interior offensive lineman Matt Goncalves. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.
2023 Season Review
The Colts traded up in the third-round of this year’s draft to select Goncalves, the tackle out of Pittsburgh.
The 2023 season for Goncalves was shortened due to a toe injury that required surgery. Over his college career, Goncalves played nearly 1,800 snaps with 697 at left tackle and 973 at right tackle.
In 2022, he allowed no sacks and 17 pressures over 399 pass-blocking snaps. He would rank 56th out of all tackles in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric and 55th in run-blocking grade. Goncalves was penalized just four times in his career.
“First of all, he’s very intelligent,” said Colts area scout Chad Henry. “He has high instincts, and he’s played left and right tackle. He’s a very dedicated student of the game. I mean, this is a guy that he’s very passionate about every area of the process. He’s a football guy. He’s also well coached and he’s a guy that takes the coaching and utilizes it.
“Again, I think consistency was one of the strongest points of his film. He’s a guy that you can count on to not get stupid penalties, not get frequent penalties because he knows how to play. He’s got really good savvy. His feel stood out to us as well.”
2024 Season Preview
Goncalves was a full participant during OTAs and minicamp, and based on reports from those in attendance he saw his playing time coming at right tackle.
With the Colts returning all five starters along the offensive line from a unit that bounced back in 2023, ranking top 10 in pressure rate and yards per rush, Goncalves may have the opportunity to develop and provide depth off the bench this season.
Although Goncalves spent almost all of his time in college playing tackle, one of the reasons why the Colts drafted him was because of the versatility they believe he possesses, believing he can play guard as well.
“I can play all over. I’ve played left tackle, I’ve played right tackle, I’ve played guard,” said Goncalves. “The expectation is kind of wherever the team needs me to go, and if I need to play right tackle or guard, I can definitely jump in and do one or the other. … Wherever the team needs me to play, I could fit a crucial role for them.”
Looking ahead to next offseason, right guard Will Fries is set to be a free agent, so potentially we could see Goncalves competing for playing time there. Braden Smith is also only under contract through 2025 and comes with a cap hit near $20 million next season, so Goncalves could be a long-term answer at right tackle as well.
In addition to Goncalves’ versatility, across the board the Colts believe that he is a perfect fit for their offensive line room.
“If I’m giving this guy a nickname,” said Henry, “it would be ‘The Blueprint’ because he is the pure, exact blueprint of what we want in an offensive lineman in our room. I don’t know that there was an offensive lineman on the board that fits our room better than this guy. Big, smart, tough, strong, mean, high giving a (expletive) factor, versatile, dependable, really cares.”
