Indianapolis Colts’ rookie offensive lineman Jalen Travis only logged a handful of snaps in Week 1 against the Dolphins, but in a sense, his impact extended well beyond what he did on the field. When the mammoth offensive tackle was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 draft, the move was part of a larger plan to rebuild the offensive line.
With Travis able to provide depth at tackle, it allowed line coach Tony Sparano to move last year’s swing tackle, Matt Goncalves, to right guard. Goncalves had an outstanding game against the Dolphins in Week 1. The entire line did.
Time will tell whether this was an outlier against a very poor defense or whether the Colts' line is really witnessing a return to past dominance. For what it’s worth, though everyone recognized Miami entered Week 1 with major issues in the secondary, their front seven was supposedly very sound.
There are no unanswered questions about the defense of Indy’s Week 2 opponent, Denver. The Broncos are generally considered to have one of the league’s elite defensive units, especially when it comes to pressuring opposing quarterbacks. And because of that, Jalen Travis’ impact may have to be far more concrete in his second NFL game.
Can the Indianapolis Colts O-Line stand up to a ferocious Denver Broncos’ defense?
Jalen Travis was on the field for 14 snaps in his NFL debut. Half of them came on special teams, blocking on kicking plays. The other half came on offense. He reported as an extra lineman on one of those plays, and filled in for right tackle Braden Smith on the other six.
In a very limited sample size, Travis looked pretty good. His 6’8”, 339-pound frame gives him some physical advantages, especially in pass protection, where it is simply very difficult for edge rushers to get around him. But he also has to learn to balance his weight and set firmer anchors, things that can be more challenging for such a tall man.
Ideally, both Smith and left tackle Bernard Raimann will remain healthy all season. But that is highly unlikely in today’s NFL, especially given Smith's recent injury history. Travis is now the team’s swing tackle, and he will almost certainly be called on to step into the fray at some point this season.
Given that Smith has battled several nagging injuries in the preseason and that he had to miss a half dozen plays against Miami, there is a decent chance that Travis will need to take some crucial snaps against Denver.
If he does, he will be stepping into a hornet’s nest. Denver led the league with 63 sacks last season. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph blitzed on almost 30 percent of all passing plays last year, and his defense recorded an exceptional pressure rate. He is going to test Indy’s line regardless of who is on the field, and you can be sure that if he spots a rookie out there, he will crank it up even higher.
Jalen Travis was one of the best pass protectors in all of college football. His physical gifts are obvious. He went to Princeton for four years before transferring to Iowa State in 2024, so there’s a pretty good chance he is a smart player.
But this is the NFL. And these are the Denver Broncos. A team with six different defenders who recorded at least 5 sacks last season. The Colts, by comparison, had two such players. Cheat your blocking scheme left, and Jonathon Cooper – 12th in the league last year – is one-on-one. Cheat right and it’s even worse. Then someone has to deal with Nik Bonnito, who finished third in the league in ’24.
If Jalen Travis is called on against Denver – and there is a reasonable chance that he will be – his performance could go a long way in determining whether Indy can improve to 2-0.