Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly was a Pro Bowl selection from 2019-2021, but he wasn't selected last season.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked Kelly as the 16th best center heading into 2023 after a disappointing 2022 campaign.
It’s been three years since Kelly earned a PFF grade above 70.0, but he’s still good enough to rank among the top half of centers in the league. He ranked 16th at the position in PFF grade last season and was inside the top-21 in both pass and run blocking grades. -- Gordon McGuinness, PFF
It could be argued that Kelly's 2021 selection to the Pro Bowl was based on name recognition after back to back selections the two-years prior.
Kelly's grade from PFF in 2021 was a career-low 56.9 after posting at least a 69.0 four of the previous five seasons.
Kelly's 64.3 last year was an improvement over his 2021 Pro Bowl season, but still well below the lofty mid-70 grades he put up in 2018 and 2019.
He turned 30-years old last week, still in the prime of his career. Kelly wasn't the only player to post sub-par numbers last season. Guard Quenton Nelson had a career low 68.4 grade from PFF, well off the 91.2 he posted in 2019.
Did Nelson and Kelly all of a sudden turn into mediocre offensive linemen?
Likely not.
There's reason to believe with better quarterback play, especially with a running threat like Anthony Richardson, and play calling via new head coach Shane Steichen, the Colts offensive line can return to being a strength of the team.
That includes Ryan Kelly and Quenton Nelson returning to form while second-year left tackle Bernhard Raimann continues to develop.
The Colts could have saved roughly $8 million this year if they had moved on from Kelly according to Spotrac. They've invested heavily in the offensive line, and they're backing their Pro Bowl center for at least one more season.
After a full reset this offseason at quarterback and coaching, we'd bet Kelly's ranking heads back to the single digits after the season.
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