INDIANAPOLIS – It's a puzzle that has been difficult to put together in past seasons.
This year though, the puzzle has a variety of pieces, some that could even fit into a couple of spots.
The Colts offensive line will remain in flux until the full pads come on in Anderson and the live bullets start flying in the preseason.
For now, we take a look at how the offensive line is shaping up through the OTA portion of the Colts offseason program.
- T-Anthony Castonzo:The locked in piece at left tackle has been this team's starter on the blindside since entering the NFL in 2011. Castonzo signed a long-term deal just before the start of last season.
- G-Jack Mewhort:After playing right tackle this time last year, Mewhort is back at his left guard spot. Mewhort started 14 games at left guard last season and his presence gives the Colts a left side they don't have to worry about.
- C-Ryan Kelly:Your center of the future will be in the middle of the line come Week One. After Andrew Luck had five different starting centers in his first three NFL seasons, Kelly will solidify the epicenter of the Colts line.
- C/G-Jonotthan Harrison:With Hugh Thornton sidelined and Denzelle Good missing the start of OTAs, Harrison has been getting most of the first-team reps at right guard. Kelly is the starting center, so Harrison's ability to play guard will be important when this team fills out their final roster in early September.
- OT-Joe Reitz:One shouldn't forget the job Reitz did at right tackle last season when the re-shuffling occurred in Week Three of 2015. Reitz is back at right tackle in this offseason program with Chuck Pagano singling him out for his consistency.
- C-Austin Blythe:The team's seventh-round pick, Blythe will likely have to follow a similar plan as Harrison. Blythe was one of the best centers in college football, but only played guard for one season at Iowa. Can he show the ability to slide over to guard in the NFL, thus making him a backup option as a rookie?
- T-Le'Raven Clark:Clark has been working as a reserve right tackle so far during the offseason program. The thinking with Clark was there would be a developmental period after he played in a spread offense in college. He's just now dealing with rep after rep in a three-point stance, not the two-point stance he lined up in at Texas Tech.
- T/G-Denzelle Good:We saw Good get back to work this week as the Colts finished out their OTA sessions. Playing guard, Good is getting used to a new position this offseason. It's an experiment the Colts definitely see potential in. We will see in Training Camp if Good can work his way into the first-team competition, after he's missed the bulk of OTAs.
- T/G-Joe Haeg:With the injuries to Good and Thornton, it's been Haeg who has snuck in some first-team reps at right guard. In college, Haeg was a four-year starter at tackle. The Colts feel he can play in the interior (or at tackle) and he's taken advantage of some early interior reps.
- G-Hugh Thornton:We have yet to see Thornton this offseason after he ended the 2015 year on injured reserve. Thornton has lost some weight this offseason and Jim Irsay calls the fourth-year guard the "X-factor" of the line group. Thornton is the most natural guard of this group, but he will have plenty of guys pushing for his starting spot in Anderson.
