2017 Positional Preview: Offensive Guard
By Andrew Ites
With Andrew Luck recovering from yet another injury, the Colts’ offensive line becomes more important than ever before, especially at the guard position.
Andrew Luck has been unable to begin throwing with training camp only a couple of weeks away as he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. Luck has suffered from multiple serious injuries already in his five-year career, and it is imperative that he receives better protection from his offensive line.
Much like the offensive tackle situation, the Colts have one very good guard on the left side of the line and a major question mark at the other position.
Jack Mewhort is set to start at the left guard position where he has excelled in his three NFL seasons. He has been a bright spot on the Colts’ offensive line after being taken in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Mewhort is recovering from a chondral defect in his knee that has affected his meniscus and bone. He was able to get reps with the first-team offense during OTA’s, which is an encouraging sign that he should be good to go when the Colts open training camp.
While the Colts’ left side of the O-Line ranks near the top of the league, the right side is a different story.
The battle for the starting right guard spot will be between Joe Haeg and Denzelle Good.
Good started 10 games at right guard last season, but he didn’t perform particularly well.
Haeg made 14 starts as a fifth-round rookie in 2016 shuffling between left guard, right guard, and right tackle. Haeg outplayed Good last season, but it remains to be seen who is the favorite to start at RG when Week 1 rolls around.
If one of the young options at right guard can step up and play well next season to pair with Mewhort, guard could be a position of strength for Indianapolis in 2017.
In case you missed it, here are the other articles in our positional preview series:
Quarterback