Pro Football Focus, football’s leading analytics source, released its list of the most underrated player on every NFL team. While the honor went to some household names, many teams’ award went to the unsung heroes on the roster; as was the case for the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts’ offensive line has not been an issue for the team since drafting Quenton Nelson in 2018, receiving perennial top-five rankings from PFF. For this reason, it’s easy to overlook a unit who quietly does most everything right. PFF crunched the numbers and determined that left tackle Bernhard Raimann was the most underrated player on the Colts.
“Former first- and second-round picks Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith and Ryan Kelly are typically the first names referenced when discussing the Colts’ offensive line, but the 2022 third-round pick has earned his place in that conversation and, arguably, been the best of the bunch coming off a career year in 2024,” PFF published.
PFF then defended their claim with stats from the 2024 season.
“Raimann led the team in PFF pass-blocking grade (82.0) in 2024, ranking 14th among offensive tackles in that regard. He was one of just six offensive tackles to rank in the top 12 at his position in both PFF pass-blocking grade and run-defense grade in 2024, leading to a top-10 PFF overall grade (85.1) at the position,” PFF concluded.
A Deeper Dive Into The Stats
The Raimann love started just one week after the 2024 regular season concluded, when PFF published an article highlighting each teams ‘secret superstar’. In the article, the honors once again went to the left tackle.
“Raimann can easily get overshadowed by one of the game’s best in Quenton Nelson, but he’s developed into a rock-solid left tackle himself — giving up only 15 career sacks on 1,159 pass-blocking snaps,” Bradley Locker wrote.
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-secret-superstars-every-nfl-team-2024-season?referrer=shared-from-app#14
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-secret-superstars-every-nfl-team-2024-season?referrer=shared-from-app#14
New Look Offensive Line
The Colts have been spared from the disease that plagues many NFL teams: a bad offensive line. Some would say Indy has been spoiled in that department since drafting a likely future Hall of Famer in Quenton Nelson, and long time tackle Braden Smith in the same draft seven seasons ago.
But all good things must come to an end as the Colts were forced to make a hard decision this offseason. With center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries both set to get paid this offseason, Colts’ general manager Chris Ballard elected to let them both walk. In doing so, each player ended up on the Minnesota Vikings signing for a combined total of more than $100 million.
Many think the decision to let Fries walk is due to the fact that Raimann will be due for a massive extension after this season and the Colts think they have enough talent in the locker room to fill the gap.
“Despite being one of the youngest offensive linemen in football this past season, Bortolini graded out as PFF’s 18th-best center,” SI’s Zach Hicks wrote. “Bortolini has done enough already to show that he is at least ready for a shot at the starting center job… it makes sense to go cheaper at the center position to round out the offensive line.”
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