The Indianapolis Colts have a stout and reliable starting offensive line, but the preseason showed they might be in a lot of trouble if one of the key guys gets hurt. That might not be the case at right guard, though.
The Colts seemingly found their guy in Matt Goncalves. He's held his own pretty well in the interior after kicking off his career at right tackle, but that type of positional versatility could also help the team if they ever need to move him around.
That's also because of how they feel about Jalen Farmer. The rookie out of Kentucky looked like a developmental piece at first, but general manager Chris Ballard seems to feel quite confident about where he is in his development right now.
The Indianapolis Colts are high on rookie RG Jalen Farmer
“We really like where Farmer’s headed,” Ballard told the media. “He’s headed in an upward trajectory.”
Farmer is an absolute unit of a human being. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 312 pounds, he's a brick wall who can move grown men from point A to point B against their will as if they were toddlers. He's shown enough promise as a run-blocker, and he was impressive in pass protection.
Finding value in the mid rounds of the NFL Draft is always a home run, more so for teams that didn't have a first-round selection. Of course, the Colts will feel much better about their offensive line if they don't have to turn to their No. 133 pick right out of the gate, but the mere fact that they're comfortable with that thought speaks volumes about Farmer's body of work.
He missed some time in training camp with a knee injury. However, he showed some promise in the preseason, climbing to the second level and opening up running lanes for Seth McGowan. He showed strong hands in pass protection and the ability to be an absolute bruiser in the running game.
Also, Ballard claimed Farmer had swing tackle potential earlier in the offseason. That might not be the plan anymore, but maybe he can contribute in more than one spot.
The Colts have already learned the hard way what a shaky offensive line can do to a quarterback. Ballard has hung his hat on bolstering the trenches to keep the signal-caller out of harm's way; he won't survive another Andrew Luck-type situation.
But with so many lingering questions about the backups and one of the best running backs in the game also needing someone to create running lanes for him, striking gold with seemingly raw physical specimens like Jalen Farmer is exactly the type of move that might help him hold onto his job for a bit longer.
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