The Indianapolis Colts offensive line appears set for the start of the 2019 season, which includes Braden Smith working as the starting right tackle.
Entering his second season in the NFL, Smith will have the chance to entrench himself as the future at right tackle with another solid campaign. He has some areas to improve in, but head coach Frank Reich is already seeing a display of massive confidence.
“You can tell in Braden’s (Smith) demeanor, the confidence that he has. The whole beginning of the year last year he had to be starting that a little bit, questioning can I really do this? Can I play this position at this level?” Reich told reporters last week. “I think what he did last year just really set him and us up where we got the confidence in him, he has got the confidence in himself. He works extremely hard and I just think is going to continue to get better.”
Smith was working as the backup right guard to veteran Matt Slauson but was forced to move to right tackle for the Week 5 prime-time matchup with the New England Patriots. The Colts already had thoughts of moving Smith to the edge, and this was their chance to see it come to fruition.
Despite being drafted as a guard, Smith did extremely well working as the right tackle. He stepped in nicely to take over the starting role and never looked back.
Smith is now working with new offensive line coach Chris Strausser and senior offensive analyst Howard Mudd to refine his technique and work on the finer points of his game.
The Colts offensive line is expected to be one of the top units in the NFL with Smith being a major key to that development as the starting right tackle.
