As the NFL prepares for the 2023 season, PFF believes that one of the Indianapolis Colts young players is poised for a breakout year.
The Indianapolis Colts are a pretty young team with several talented players. The older core of those players include veterans like Jonathan Taylor, Shaquille Leonard, and Quenton Nelson, all established stars in today’s NFL. There’s also a younger group that Indy has with several guys that are poised to become stars.
Recently, one of those younger players was named by Jim Wyman of PFF in the recent All-Breakout Team, a yearly starting lineup of players that predicts which young players will breakout in the upcoming season. Wyman listed Colts second-year offensive lineman Bernhard Raimann as one of the team’s tackles, predicting a big season for the young left tackle.
Colts LT Bernhard Raimann named to All-Breakout Team
Wyman noted that while Indy’s line as a whole was pretty bad in 2022, Raimann played rather solid. Highlighting Raimann’s growth as a rookie, Wyman used Raimann’s blocking grades to paint the picture.
"Raimann, who was consistently solid across the board, finishing with a 73.3 offensive grade, 74.7 run-blocking grade and a 71.4 pass-blocking grade. After a 48.5 pass-blocking grade against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, Raimann didn’t have a single game below 70 the rest of the season."Jim Wyman (PFF)
Concluding his case, Wyman argued that if Raimann can build off this rookie season, and “the rest of the offensive line bounces back to what each member has historically been capable of,” then the Colts will be in good shape and Anthony Richardson will be well protected.
That’s certainly what everyone in Indianapolis is hoping for. Putting a rookie quarterback behind the line that Indy had last year is a recipe for the disaster. And while the names on the line will pretty much be the same, there’s optimism that the outcome will be different. Quenton Nelson had an extremely uncharacteristic year, and Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith also played below their usual standards.
Raimann needs to name the second-year leap that most professionals make, and the rest of the line has to get back to their best football. Additionally, someone must step up at right guard. If that happens, and the offensive line is more reminiscent of the 2021 unit than last season’s line, the rushing attack will be back in a big way and the passing game should also be improved. That could lead to the Colts having several breakout players.