Jim Irsay said on draft weekend he expected the Colts to extend Darius Leonard and Braden Smith, two second-round picks from the 2018 draft. The Colts have gotten to work on one of those contracts.
Smith’s agent has entered talks with the Colts on a long-term deal, Stephen Holder of The Athletic notes. The fourth-year right tackle is going into a contract year and is set to make $2.43M. His salary will likely be much higher in the future.
The right tackle market moved Wednesday morning, with Ryan Ramczyk's Saints extension giving the NFL a new benchmark for the oft-overlooked position. Ramczyk is now tied to a $19.2M-per-year deal, which tops Lane Johnson's average annual value figure ($18M). No other right tackle earns more than $14M annually, but the Panthers may factor in to this equation soon. They have just more than two weeks to extend franchise-tagged right tackle Taylor Moton.
A right guard at Auburn, Smith transitioned to right tackle as a Colts rookie. The former No. 37 overall pick has emerged as one of the league’s top young tackles and has helped the Colts form a top-tier offensive line. Pro Football Focus graded Smith (43 career starts) as a top-20 tackle in each of the past two seasons.
While Smith likely will not top Ramczyk’s price, he stands to be an eight-figure-per-year player on an Indianapolis O-line that should have three of those in the not-too-distant future. The Colts already have Ryan Kelly tied to high-end center money ($12.4M on average), and they should be expected to make Quenton Nelson the NFL’s highest-paid guard. It is difficult to do more to state a case for such a contract; Nelson is 3-for-3 in First-Team All-Pro appearances and has not missed a game. The Colts do have the 2018 first-round pick signed through 2022, via the fifth-year option. Because Smith was drafted a round later, he will likely beat his higher-profile line mate to a big-ticket extension.
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