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HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 27: (left to right) Indianapolis Colts guard Dalton Tucker (68), Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly (78), Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Blake Freeland (73), Indianapolis Colts guard Tanor Bortolini (60), and Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Matt Goncalves (71) are on the sideline in the first quarter during the NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans on October 27, 2024 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Colts are about to finish the offseason with some post-draft free agency moves, marking the 10th offseason under Chris Ballard. The decade of Ballard’s management has been a wild rollercoaster ride, albeit not all of it due to Ballard himself. But after this Ballard decade, how does the Colts roster stack up from 2026 compared to 2016, the last year of the Grigson era?
In this position by position series, we breakdown each spot of the Colts roster to see if the Colts are better or worse than their counterparts from a decade ago. If you want to find our previous entries of this series, you can find them below:
We are going over Centers next!
2016 Cs: Ryan Kelly, Jonothan Harrison
2026 Cs: Tanor Bortolini, Jimmy Morrissey
There is another position of parallel’s between 2016 and 2026 counterparts. Both then-23 year old rookie Ryan Kelly and third year 24 year Tanor Bortolini are younger Centers who head into the year with plenty of optimism. Ryan Kelly was highest drafted Center for the Colts since 1956 and the top interior Offensive Lineman in the 2016 class, with expectations to be the long awaited heir to Jeff Saturday. Tanor Bortolini is one of the more athletic Center prospects in NFL history and after being mentored by Kelly himself as a rookie, broke out as the starter in 2025 and could have a big year 3.
This is once again a battle of positions of strength between the two decades of Colts.
In Ryan Kelly’s rookie year as a pass protector, the former Alabama Crimson Tide allowed:
- 20 Pressures (3.21% Pressure Rate)
- 3 QB Hits
- 0 Sacks
- 80.2 Pass Pro Grade (14th / 40 qualifying Centers)
Ryan Kelly was already one of the better pass blocking Centers in the NFL as a a rookie, keeping Andrew Luck very clean up the middle pass rush lanes and allowing 0 sacks despite Luck’s 2.86 Time to Throw being the 8th slowest among qualifying QBs in 2016. A slow release from a QB means either the QB had to buy time a lot for plays downfield to develop and avoid the rush, or they were slow to process. In Luck’s case, it was the former, as the Colts OL didn’t give him a lot of clean pockets.
Still, Ryan Kelley did his part as a rookie to try to give Luck a pocket to step into against pressure.
What held Ryan Kelly back from being considered one of the very best Centers was being around league average as a run blocker in his rookie year. He graded out as a run blocker in 2016:
- 68.2 Zone Grade (21st / 42 qualifying Centers)
- 60.3 Gap Grade (32nd / 42 qualifying Centers)
- 68.5 Run Block Grade (Tied 23rd / 42 qualifying Centers)
Ryan Kelly was a decent run blocker, but with him Castonzo and Mewhort each having a clear preference for Zone concepts it led to the Colts run that a lot more than gap in 2016.
Fast forward to the present and the Colts have a lot of reason for optimism in Tanor Bortolini after his first full season as the Colts starting Center after his mentor Ryan Kelly left for the Vikings in 2025. Bortolini had flashed his ability to start in place of the injured Kelly in 2024 as a rookie, but 2025’s breakout cemented the Colts confidence in the young center going forward.
Tanor Bortolini in 2025 allowed:
- 17 Pressures (3.23% Pressure Rate)
- 5 QB Hits
- 0 Sacks
- 66.2 Pass Pro Grade (20th / 41 qualifying Centers)
But Bortolini’s biggest asset isn’t his pass protection, even though that does show considerable upside already. As a road grader, Bortolini has been a major asset to clear holes for Jonathan Taylor on the inside as well as get out in space for pulls.
Bortolini’s 2025 grades as a run blocker:
- 76.9 Gap Grade (3rd / 41 qualifying Centers)
- 85.2 Zone Grade (3rd / 41 qualifying Centers)
- 88.2 Run Block Grade (3rd / 41 qualifying Centers)
Bortolini proved to be one of the NFL’s best interior run blockers in 2025 and was a big reason for Jonathan Taylor having a 20 TD season in 2025.
Advantage: 2016 Colts
The decision was very tough between the two Colts Centers. Tanor Bortolini could be even better in year 3 of Tony Sporano Jr’s coaching in 2026 than in 2025, but with Ryan Kelly there is the hindsight bias of him becoming an eventual Pro Bowl Center (even if we try to eliminate the bias and stick to just 2016).
But ultimately Ryan Kelly’s pass protection and harder assignment gave him the slight edge over Bortolini.
Bortolini allowed virtually the same pressure rate as a rookie Ryan Kelly (separated by only 0.02%) and also allowed 0 sacks, but his grade is far lower as a pass protector. The reasons for it:
- Colts were a more run heavy and Play Action heavy offense in 2026 compared to 2016.
- Colts ran more screens in 2026 than in 2026.
- Bortolini had Quenton Nelson as a help blocker on his left side.
- Daniel Jones’ Time to throw in 2025 was exactly 0.1 second faster than 2016 Andrew Luck’s.
Bortolini also had the easier assignment as a run blocker, blocking for a prime Jonathan Taylor exploding through his gaps instead of a 32 year old Frank Gore. It’s not to wholly diminish Bortolini’s dominance as a run blocker, as he was still moving defenders out of the way consistently. But he simply had the more explosive and faster running back of the two.
Bortolini still is a good blocker in his own right, but he certainly had an easier assignment in 2025 than Ryan Kelly did in 2016. The biggest unknown is how much Bortolini will develop in 2026, as he could either take another step on a path to Center stardom, or suffer regression/injuries. Kelly has the advantage of hindsight, and Bortolini has the unknown of projection.
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