You may have noticed a telling quote from Colts offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. in "The Draft Plan," Colts Productions' remarkable behind-the-scenes look at how this year's draft class came together.
"Let me tell you this much," Sparano said after meeting with Kentucky guard Jalen Farmer at the NFL Combine, "draft him and I'll make it work."
The Colts' offensive line, more than any other unit in the NFL, is an example of not just drafting and making it work – but drafting and making it good. Sparano, now in his fourth year as the Colts' offensive line coach, has had a major hand in developing his group into one of the NFL's best O-lines despite having just one top-75 pick – and zero outside free agents – starting on it.
For a deeper look into what makes Sparano one of the NFL's top O-line coaches, check out his appearance on The Colts Show Podcast from earlier this year [YouTube].
Bernhard Raimann (No. 77 overall, 2022) is entrenched as the Colts' rock-solid left tackle, and earned a market-rate contract extension last summer. Tanor Bortolini (No. 117 overall, 2024) was Pro Football Focus' third highest-graded center in 2025, his first year as a full-time starter. Some combination of Matt Goncalves (No. 79 overall, 2024), Jalen Travis (No. 127 overall, 2025) and Farmer (No. 113 overall, 2026) will likely fill out the right side of the Colts' offensive line, with Goncalves starting at right guard in 2025 and Travis impressing in a handful of games at right tackle as a rookie.
Quenton Nelson, in fact, is the outlier in that group, having been selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Again: He's not just the only first-round pick; he's the only player who joined the Colts with a top-75 selection.
This composition of the Colts' O-line depth chart – which also includes a recent draft pick (Blake Freeland, fourth round, 2023) and an undrafted free agent who earned a roster spot as a rookie (Dalton Tucker, 2024) – makes it a major outlier among the rest of the NFL.
Among Pro Football Focus' 10 highest-graded offensive lines in 2025, only the Colts and Philadelphia Eagles' five starting linemen were all their own draft picks. The Eagles, though, are manned by a top-five pick (right tackle Lane Johnson), two second-round picks (center Cam Jurgens and left guard Landon Dickerson), a third-round pick (right guard Tyler Steen) and a seventh-round pick (left tackle Jordan Mailata). Dickerson was the 36th overall pick in 2021, while Jurgens was 51st in 2022 and Steen was 65th in 2023.
The Colts did have a second-round pick (Braden Smith, 2018 37th overall) at right tackle last year, to be fair, but when he left in free agency, the team didn't feel the need to expend major resources to find his replacement. They already had it in potentially Travis, who impressed Sparano both behind the scenes and on the field as a rookie last year.
The Colts' O-line, collectively, earned PFF's fourth-highest grade in 2025, while the Eagles were seventh. Within the rest of the top 10 – the Broncos, Rams, 49ers, Bears, Falcons, Panthers, Bills and Patriots – every team had at least one high-priced free agent/trade acquisition and/or multiple first-round picks in starting roles.
(The point of using PFF here is as a rough outline for the top offensive lines in the NFL; by no means is it gospel.)
What the Colts have proven over the last few years is they can build one of the NFL's best offensive lines without needing to invest high draft picks or major free agent dollars into the position. That frees those resources up for other positions of need – like when, in 2025, the Colts let center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries walk in free agency, used that money on safety Cam Bynum and cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. and successfully inserted second-year players in Bortolini and Goncalves into their lineup.
The Colts will continue to draft offensive linemen and believe Sparano can "make it work." He's proven he can. And he's proven he doesn't necessarily need a bunch of high draft picks to do so.
