The Colts made a clear bet this offseason: get younger, get more athletic, and hand the right tackle job to Jalen Travis.
That move came with a real change in the lineup. Indianapolis let longtime starter Braden Smith leave in free agency, opening the door for Travis after he finished the final four games of last season in Smith’s spot.
Smith had been the Colts’ second-longest-tenured offensive starter behind left guard Quenton Nelson, and while he never reached Pro Bowl status or got much national shine, he had built a reputation as one of the league’s more underrated tackles. He was solid in both the run game and pass protection.
But age and durability pushed the Colts in a different direction. Smith is 30, and injuries kept him from playing a full season after 2019. So Indianapolis moved on and turned to Travis, the second-year player who now sits in position to become the team’s new starting right tackle.
That shift has already put Travis on a bigger stage. He was included on a list of 10 second-year NFL players under the most pressure to perform in 2026, with analyst Dalton Wasserman pointing to both the opportunity and the expectation around him.
"Unlike the other 2025 draftees on this list, Travis wasn’t as heralded in terms of round. However, he’s likely to play an instrumental role for the Colts in 2026," Locker wrote.
Travis, a fourth-round pick, logged 316 snaps as a rookie, mostly at right tackle. The early returns were encouraging.
He posted a 72.2 overall PFF grade, gave up just one sack across 165 opportunities, and finished with a 72.6 run-blocking grade. His work on gap concepts stood out even more, with an 88th-percentile run-blocking mark.
The numbers backed up the eye test, too. Travis ranked fourth among rookie offensive tackles last season with that 72.2 overall grade.
His 72.6 run-blocking grade was second, his 71.2 pass-protection grade was third, and his pass-block efficiency of 96.1% tied for third. He allowed only one sack.
"With longtime stalwart Braden Smith heading to rival Houston this spring, Travis is now in pole position to be the Colts’ new starting right tackle," Locker continued. "Given Indianapolis’ penchant for developing quality offensive linemen, the Iowa State product could step up to the plate swiftly in his second year. No matter what, Travis should boast a significantly larger role for a team that’s in the microscope following a late-season collapse - and which figures to compete in a tough division yet again."
Inside the building, there’s confidence that Travis is ready for the jump. Nelson praised both the player and the person, calling him a worker with rare traits.
"Yeah, he's really just been a dog since he's gotten here," Nelson said. "Works his tail off.
So detail-oriented and wants to be great, and a great human being as well. But I mean, just like his intangibles are crazy there.
There's stuff with him you can't coach, like he's physically gifted and the way he can move at that size and his strength and power can really be imposing on defensive linemen. He's got long arms, his punch, pass.
"I'm really impressed with him, and I thought he stepped up big for us last year, and that's what he's going to do this year. He's gonna stay on track and be even better this year. "
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