A year ago, the Colts used their third- and fourth-round draft picks to add a pair of offensive linemen in Pitt's Matt Goncalves and Wisconsin's Tanor Bortolini. Neither player had a path to starting as a rookie, not with a rock-solid and entrenched starting five of Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and Braden Smith ahead of them.
But the Colts' additions of Goncalves and Bortolini last year were a prime example of a tried-and-true piece of draft analysis: Your needs today are not your needs tomorrow.
Goncalves (eight starts at left and right tackle) and Bortolini (five starts at center) were needed quite a bit as rookies, as it turns out – another check mark in the box of "you can never have too many offensive linemen." But with Kelly and Fries signing with the Minnesota Vikings as free agents this spring, Goncalves and Bortolini will each have an opportunity to compete to start on the Colts' offensive line in 2025 at right guard and center, respectively.
For offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr., though, his view of those two second-year players isn't different than what it was a year ago, when he knew he had to get both ready to play if needed.
"My job is to develop all the players that are here and to help them become the best players they can be," Sparano said. "… Whether a guy's a starter or a primary backup to begin the season, to me, they're one in the same because at som point, a lot of those backups wind up having to start."
The Colts are moving Goncalves to right guard after he played all but one of his 564 rookie-year snaps at left tackle (230) and right tackle (333). While Goncalves exclusively played tackle in college at Pitt, the Colts drafted him in 2024 with the thought he could play either tackle or guard in the NFL.
As a rookie, Goncalves saw snaps in practice at every offensive line position except center, as Sparano prepared him to step in if needed at either guard or tackle spots.
"I'm really excited," Sparano said. "I've got a ton of faith and confidence in his ability to go in there and do that job at a really high level. One of the things that I really loved about him in the draft a year ago was I thought that he was a player that had unique flexibility that way where he could play tackle or guard at a really high level. We picked him where we picked him for a reason, and that's because he's a really good football player with a lot of ability, and he's only going to get better.
"... He's a big man, he's got power, he's got length and he's really deceptively very light on his feet for his size. He's quick, he can get out of in space. You saw some of the stuff he did in the run game in space last year was very good, so that about his skill set excited me. Plus, he's a really tough, physical player, which for our guards is non-negotiable. They gotta be that way, and he is that way."
Goncalves at right guard will compete with 2024 undrafted free agent Dalton Tucker – who started seven games in place of Fries as a rookie – and veteran Josh Sills. He won't be handed the starting job and will have to earn it through OTAs (which start next week) and training camp; Sparano said Tucker and Sills are both capable of being NFL starters for the Colts.
At center, Sparano said he was "really pleased" with how Bortolini played over his five starts at center, which began with a Week 4 game against four-time first-team AP All-Pro defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bortolini was tagged by Pro Football Focus with just one pressure allowed in 35 pass blocking snaps; he did not allow a sack in 351 pass blocking snaps as a rookie.
"I saw a young player that got better each time he went out there," Sparano said. "The game wasn't too big for him. Athletically, he has a ton to offer in terms of what he's able to do on the move, in terms of how he's able to to mirror people in pass protection. Very smart player for his age, too — a rookie — with the amount that the center has to handle in this league, really poised player. He's got a unique ability — he can really get himself into some good spots in the run game, fit in with great leverage and combinations, get underneath defenders and really create angles for him to create movement, which is unique. And then really does a good job maximizing his length and his quickness in pass protection."
Bortolini will compete with veteran Danny Pinter – who started Weeks 13 and 15 at center last season – to start at center this season. The Colts haven't penciled in a center other than Kelly, who started 121 games from 2016-2024, as their starter since the 2015 season.
"I thought (Pinter) did a nice job for us and played at a high level," Sparano said. "And to me, competition, we've talked about a lot around here, makes everybody better."
