Fantasy Football: 8 Offensive Line Takeaways From 2016
The Colts Showed Improvement Throughout the Season
As a whole, the Indianapolis Colts' offensive line was some hot garbage this year. They finished 30th in Sack NEP per drop back, topping just the Browns and the Los Angeles Rams. That means they probably need to invest some resources up front, but things did at least get better as the season went along.
Finishing 30th in Sack NEP per drop back can actually go down as an accomplishment for the Colts. They were dead last -- by a wide margin -- in the stat for a good chunk of the year, and it looked like another year of constant battery for Andrew Luck. Something seemed to change in their Week 10 bye, though, and it helped them perform significantly better down the stretch.
This table shows how the team fared both before and after the bye. The before-bye stretch is a nine-game sample while there are seven after the bye.
| Split | Drop Backs | Sacks | Sack NEP | Sack NEP/P | Sack Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before Bye | 380 | 33 | -66.18 | -0.17 | 8.68% |
| After Bye | 248 | 11 | -19.40 | -0.08 | 4.44% |
It's clear that the team performed better after the bye than before it. What's most interesting about that is one of their top offensive lineman -- left guard Jack Mewhort -- missed each of the final three games due to injury. Tackle Joe Reitz was supposed to fill in for an injured Denzell Goode around that time, but he also got hurt and missed the final three games.
They were essentially a mess in the health department, yet they still managed to flash improvements. That's abundantly confusing, but it's also encouraging for a unit that has taken its fair share of flack.
Rookie center Ryan Kelly likely played a sizable role in this turnaround. He started all 16 games, and the Colts finished fourth in Success Rate on runs up the middle. He, Mewhort, and left tackle Anthony Castonzo can be solid building blocks for a revival up front. If the team just adds additional help on the right side, they could turn what was formerly a weakness into a strength, and the stretch run of 2016 was a solid step in that direction.
