The Colts were well-represented on this latest all-breakout team by the popular advanced football grades web site PFF.
According to PFF, three Indianapolis Colts 2nd-year players have been named to their ‘PFF 2025 NFL All-Breakout team’—which are projected starting center Tanor Bortolini, edge Laiatu Latu, and linebacker Jaylon Carlies:
Center: Tanor Bortolini, Indianapolis Colts
Several organizations will have transitions in the middle of their offensive lines this season, including the Colts with Ryan Kelly now in Minnesota. However, the team has a strong succession plan via Bortolini.
As Kelly played in only 10 games, the former Wisconsin Badger filled in solidly in his first taste of the pros. Across eight contests as a rookie, Bortolini produced a 65.1 overall PFF grade, allowing only seven pressures and zero sacks. The 2024 third-round pick also placed in the 76th percentile in PFF run-blocking grade on gap runs and in the 85th percentile of negatively graded run-blocking plays.
The Colts have a long history of drafting and developing tremendous linemen, from Quenton Nelson to Bernhard Raimann to the recently departed Will Fries. Betting on Bortolini to follow that pattern seems like a wise investment.
Edge Rusher: Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts fell short of the measuring stick in 2024, in part due to a defensive line that finished 26th in pressure rate. Even if he didn’t play entirely as well as expected right away, Latu still performed like the team’s best edge rusher in his first year.
The former UCLA star ended his rookie campaign with a 72.1 PFF pass-rushing grade, 38 pressures and a 14% pass-rush win rate — the best mark on the Colts and third among qualified rookie edge rushers, trailing Jared Verse and Chop Robinson.
Indianapolis’ defense should fare better in 2025 after adding Lou Anarumo as DC and signing Charvarius Ward, Camryn Bynum and J.T. Tuimoloau, among others. Samson Ebukam‘s (72.6 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2023) return will also catalyze a defensive line that needs more consistent pass-rushers. Latu could evoke shades of his monster final collegiate season in his second year in the NFL.
Linebacker: Jaylon Carlies, Indianapolis Colts
Another Colt makes this list, underscoring the importance of young pieces on both sides of the ball for the team’s success in 2025.
Indianapolis linebackers compiled the 20th-best overall PFF grade as a unit last year, with Carlies the best at a 70.0 mark. Over 242 snaps, the Maryland product registered an impressive 83.1 PFF coverage grade to go along with a solid 10.5% missed tackle rate.
The Colts lost cornerstone E.J. Speed to the division-rival Houston Texans this offseason and didn’t do much to fortify the linebacker position. Carlies figures to start next to Zaire Franklin and could infuse playmaking and coverage prowess into the middle of the team’s updated defense.
The Colts’ 2024 draft class wasn’t the flashiest in its debut campaign. In fact, PFF recently ranked it as just the 24th most productive during this past season among all NFL teams.
That being said, it has the ability to generate a number of solid starters—if not more regarding potential upside, as both Bortolini and Carlies are expected to start at their positions of center and linebacker respectively, while Latu should see a large chunk of snaps as a pure pass rusher, even if he’s not the starter because of run defense downs.
PFF also didn’t name 2nd-year swing-tackle Matt Goncalves, who’s also expected to be the frontrunner to start at starting right guard this season in the wake of Will Fries’ departure.
If an NFL general manager can find 3-4 starters from a draft class, that’s normally regarded as a very strong haul, as they’re not just starters on a bad team that wouldn’t start elsewhere. I don’t believe that to be the case with any of Bortolini, Latu, and Carlies to-date.
That trio of 2nd-year Colts could be poised for breakout—that is, if you ask PFF.