On the first day of OTAs for the Indianapolis Colts, what did the starting offensive line combination look like?

Wednesday gave us our first glimpse of the Indianapolis Colts going through team drills during the opening OTA practice, and when it came to the offensive line configuration, it was as expected.

According to Jake Arthur of Horseshoe Huddle, the Colts‘ first team offensive line unit consisted of Bernhard Raimann at left tackle, followed by Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, and Braden Smith.

The second offensive line unit was made up of Blake Freeland at left tackle, followed by Josh Sills, Danny Pinter, Dalton Tucker, and Jalen Travis.

Offensive line coach Tony Sparano has said that Bortolini will be competing with Pinter for the starting center role, and Goncalves will be competing with the other guards on the roster–likely Tucker and Sills–for the right guard job.

Bortolini appeared in eight games on offense as a rookie, which included five starts. On the year, Bortolini ranked 15th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric and was 22nd out of 40 centers in run-blocking grade.

Goncalves, meanwhile, has little in-game guard experience. In his college career at Pittsburgh, Goncalves played just 44 snaps at guard and had only one snap there as a rookie with the Colts.

However, during practices last season, Goncalves had guard reps and improved as the year went on.

“I look at his skill set and the skill set that he has,” Sparano said. “He’s a big man. He’s got power. He’s got length and he’s really, deceptively very light on his feet. He’s quick. He can get out in space, you saw some of the stuff he did in the run game out in space last year was very good. That about his skill set excited me, plus he’s a really tough physical player. For our guards, that is non-negotiable, they gotta be that way and he is that way.”

Naturally, all eyes will be on the quarterback competition, but consistent success for the Colts offense, regardless of who is under center, starts with steady offensive line play providing a run game to lean on and time in the pocket to throw.

The Colts are banking heavily this offseason on the internal growth and development of Bortolini and Goncalves to provide that stability.