Jalen Farmer and the impending competition on the offensive line.
Death. Taxes. And Chris Ballard being stubborn about the offensive line. The Colts kicked off their day three of the NFL draft by selecting Jalen Farmer— the big guard from Kentucky. Judging from the behind-the-scenes video that the Colts released, the Colts LOVE this guy. And it’s not just OL coach Tony Sparano Jr. either, the whole building seems really high on this guy. https://x.com/nerlens_/status/2052092900666712231?s=20 We’ll
get into his film in a second, but it’s worth exploring what this could mean for the Colts going forward. First and foremost, it means competition. I anticipate the Colts to experiment with different OL combinations and lineups on the right side of the line next year. That could mean Matt Goncavles potentially kicking to tackle so that Farmer could play guard, that could mean Farmer getting reps in training camp at tackle to be the swing tackle behind Jalen Travis, or it could mean Farmer plays guard and Jalen Travis is the right tackle with Goncalves moving to the bench as a swing tackle. The Colts made this pick for two reasons: First and foremost, you can never have too many offensive lineman. It’s clear they believe that and they practice what they preach. But the other is that it appears they have a strong desire to push Matt Goncalves. For never playing guard at the NFL level, I thought Matt was off to a strong start. But like a lot Colts in the second half of the season, he hit a wall and struggled a bit— From the Steelers game onwards.
I don’t think we should write off Goncalves, nor should we assume his season was all bad— because it wasn’t. But I do think the Colts want the ability to run it both ways and protect from both sides.
Some guys have natural strength on a football field. It’s something that just pops off the film. It’s easy to to dissect every unique movement when watching a player—lord knows I love to do it— but sometimes it’s as simple as.. this guy is just bigger and stronger.
On this rep Farmer knows he wont have the Center’s help because the slide is going the other way. He actually oversets and gets himself into a very bad position, but because he’s just stronger than the guy across form him, it doesn’t matter. At the NFL level you won’t be able to get away with this, there’s too many freak DT’s in the league who will punish you anyways. But what you can admire is the pure strength that can help limit the damage when you get beat on the initial phase of a rep.
With 35 inch arms as a guard you can see him get into DL frame early in a rep and use his combination of grip strength and raw strength to just stonewall guys. They don’t move.
I love his ability to down block in a gap scheme and just wash NT down entirely out of the play. He is a space-creator and a people-mover.
However when it comes to gap scheme, I don’t think he’s the do-it-all guard that can move like Quenton Nelson, so it will be interesting to see how the Colts adjust for that trend.
For example, the Colts have their Duo Wrap scheme that they’ve used as a “put-away play” late in the fourth.
It’s one that the Colts have exclusively ran to the right, and I don’t think Farmer is the type of mover to break that trend.
Bottom Line
Jalen Farmer offers the Colts some much needed competition across the OL and gives Tony Sparano Jr. ultimate flexibility in getting the best five guys out there on Sundays.
When it’s all said and done, I think it’s likely Goncalves will win the job and Farmer will start his career off the bench. But I don’t expect Farmer to make it easy either. He’s got a lot of traits that the Colts really admire and Tony Sparano Jr. has shown he can develop players that he has real conviction in.
If nothing else, the Colts added depth to their OL, knowing that they might not be as lucky when it comes to health as they have been— relatively speaking. It gives them depth at guard on either side, but it also gives them depth at tackle, because I think you feel comfortable with Goncalves spot starting there.
Farmer boasts plenty of raw strength and power that will give him the ability to keep the integrity of the pocket in pass protection and move people off the ball in the run game. Although I think what limits him is his ability to block in space. He is so big and powerful, I think he might struggle with combos up to the linebackers in the zone running game— especially at the NFL level where timing and athleticism is a premium. But he also would not be the first guard to overcome limited athletic ability in the zone running game and make it work with timing and precision.
