Countdown to Kickoff: Profile on Indianapolis Colts No. 78 Ryan Kelly
The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a look at Indianapolis Colts rookie center Ryan Kelly who will be counted on to improve the protection for their franchise quarterback.
There are exactly 78 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.
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The Countdown to Kickoff series began with a look at No. 99 Joey Bosa and has continued on everyday since (check out all of the posts here).
There were plenty of strong choices to profile at number 78, including Ryan Clady, Jermy Parnell and rookies Jack Conklin and Jason Spriggs. However, it was an interior offensive line rookie who stood out as the most here.
Let’s take a look at Indianapolis Colts rookie center Ryan Kelly.
A three-year starting center for the dominant Alabama dynasty, Ryan Kelly enters the NFL as a well-established player up front. A quick and aggressive offensive lineman, Kelly shined in both pass protection and opening up holes for a powerful rushing attack.
After being named a consensus first-team All-American and the Rimington Award winner as the nation’s best center, the Colts obviously made Kelly a high priority by taking him as the 18th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.
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Last season, the Colts struggled mightily at protecting the passer. In fact, franchise quarterback Andrew Luck only played in seven games in 2016 as he struggled with injuries all season long.
Luck spending a majority of his time flat on his back or on the sidelines is obviously not an ideal situation for the Colts, making the offensive line a priority.
Kelly as the Colts’ starting center instead of the mix of Khaled Holmes and Jonotthan Harrison is an absolutely massive upgrade that will be felt all across the offensive unit. The Colts’ offensive line is still far from perfect, but adding Kelly to the mix is a huge step in the right direction.
The Colts’ organization knows first-hand how important a strong quarterback-center combination can be. Jeff Saturday was the Colts’ starting center from 2000-2011, showing an incredible rapport with legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.
While Saturday was an undrafted free agent who the Colts signed from the streets, I think it is likely that they considered all of the success that he had with Manning when the Colts selected Kelly in the first round this off season.
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Kelly is an extremely strong and stable offensive lineman whose experience at Alabama is obviously going to help him at the next level. He is a ready-made starting center who will likely have appears to have a great rapport with Luck already.
“He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around, obviously,” Kelly said of Luck, according to Kirk Larrabee of 247 Sports.
“He can connect with pretty much everybody, a very wide-topic kind of guy. It’s been good. It’s been really good, and I’m just kind of developing and learning to be a professional. Obviously watching him every day makes it a lot easier.”
The intangibles and ability to start immediately is obviously amazing, but Kelly’s skills at the center position are also elite. He can reach the second-level in the run game with ease and will immediately be a strong pass protector on the inside.
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Kelly’s ability to shine early will go a long way towards determining the success of the 2016 Indianapolis Colts.