Indianapolis Colts: Front office places trust in acquired offensive tackles
By Daniel Davis
The 2021 NFL Draft is over, and though many fans expected the Colts to take a young tackle at 21st overall, they selected one of the best pass rushers instead.
The Indianapolis Colts front office has gone all-in on the defensive front, in fact, selecting young pass-rushers with their first two picks instead of a young offensive tackle.
This means that Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich must have faith that the veteran tackles they acquired in free agency can fill the hole left behind by Pro Bowl LT Anthony Castonzo.
The Indianapolis Colts must have faith in their free agent LT options.
Indianapolis signed two offensive tackles in free agency, Sam Tevi from the Los Angeles Chargers and Julién Davenport from the Miami Dolphins, both on one-year prove-it deals.
Tevi played left tackle exclusively in 2020 while playing left and right in 2019, allowing the Colts have to flexibility in case Braden Smith has to take snaps at that vaunted LT position. Tevi played over 1,000 snaps in both 2019 and 2020 at left tackle and started 44 games over his four-year career with the Chargers. Drafted in 2017, Tevi is 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds and started his career at Utah as a defensive tackle before being moved to the opposite side of the ball.
Davenport played with the Texans in 2017-18, then with the Dolphins in 2019-20, spending all four years as a left tackle. Davenport was acquired through trade by the Dolphins in 2019 and played all 16 games in 2020 for Miami (14 at left tackle and a pair at right tackle). In 2018, he played all 16 games at left tackle for the Texans, including one playoff game.
The #Colts are signing former #Panthers guard Chris Reed to a one-year veteran benefit deal, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 1, 2021
So a year after injuries ravaged the Indy o-line, they continue to amass experienced options: Sam Tevi, Julién Davenport and now Reed, who started 14 games in 2020.
While Davenport always seemed like a solid a depth signing, I’d be lying if I claimed I thought the Colts wouldn’t draft an offensive tackle to compete with Tevi for the starting spot. However, with the Colts electing to likely not re-sign Justin Houston, they went with two pass rushers in the first two rounds, cementing the idea that they are comfortable going into the season with two veteran tackles.
Seeing as how the Colts are just a few pieces away from a strong playoff run in January 2022, signing a few veteran offensive tackles to an already great offensive line must seem like the best move in their current situation.
