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Indianapolis Colts guard Tanor Bortolini (60) walks onto the field Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, during Indianapolis Colts Training Camp at Grand Park in Westfield. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Colts' New Starter the X-Factor to Offense's Success?

Originally posted on Indianapolis Colts on SI
By Jake Arthur | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 12:30 PM ET

The Indianapolis Colts offense is undergoing a change this year.

While we've all become accustomed to seeing a new figurehead under center for the Colts, the offensive line typically maintains consistency. However, in 2025, Indy had two of the five starting spots to fill up front, and they did so by replacing center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries with Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves, respectively.

The Colts will usher in yet another season with a new quarterback in veteran Daniel Jones, but Bortolini has picked up the offense and progressed his game to a level that could become quite beneficial for the Colts' offense.

ESPN's Ben Solak took notice of Bortolini's growth this summer, which has the NFL national analyst imagining big things ahead.

Solak recently took on the task of identifying one X-factor for each team, with the caveat that it cannot be a quarterback, a rookie, or a coach, and Solak delivers a fresh option for the Colts in Bortolini:

"The quarterback position has dominated headlines in Indianapolis, but there's another, critical storyline to track: the offensive line. Ryan Kelly is not starting as the Colts' center for the first time since he was drafted in 2016. In his place is Bortolini, a 2024 fourth-round selection who played more than 300 snaps at center in relief of the injured Kelly a year ago.

Bortolini looked pretty solid, but a new center is a new center -- especially important when the quarterback is new, as well. We already saw a major protection miscue in the Colts' preseason with Anthony Richardson Sr. under center. When a young center takes the helm with a quarterback new to the system, as Week 1 starter Daniel Jones is, it's easy for assignments to get missed in pass protection -- and the running game can suffer the same errors.

I liked what I saw on Bortolini's film, and his movement skills will shine on screens and perimeter runs. How high is his ceiling as an anchor in pass protection and pre-snap processor? It remains to be seen."

Bortolini (6'4", 310, 23 years old) was drafted by the Colts in the fourth round in 2024 to be the Colts' heir apparent to Kelly, which occurred after just one year. However, Bortolini was able to get a head start on his development by seeing action as a rookie while Kelly dealt with injury.

Bortolini started five of the 12 games he was active for, which totaled 351 offensive snaps. He received a grade of 65.4 in run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked 10th among NFL rookie offensive linemen. However, his 64.6 in pass protection was seventh. Bortolini allowed just seven pressures on the quarterback, including zero sacks, and his pass-block efficiency score of 98.2 ranked third among rookie linemen.

Since becoming the Colts' starting center this summer, in two preseason appearances, Bortolini played 77 snaps, and was dinged for just one pressure.

The Colts hope that Bortolini's mental leap meshes well with Jones, whom they essentially chose to be their quarterback due to his mental acuity on the field.