Colts rookie is trying to force the door open and enter the starting lineup with his stellar play

The Indianapolis Colts drafted Tanor Bortolini with the 117th pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Once drafted, many (including myself) began to speculate that Bortolini could develop into the future starting center for the Colts. But it looks like Bortolini doesn't want to wait for the future, with him putting on a show when his number has been called to play in relief for

The Colts have found their center of the future in rookie Tanor Bortolini

Bortolini started the season as a healthy scratch on the Colts' inactive list for the first three weeks of the season. His first active game was also his first start, which came in the Colts' Week 4 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his first start, he had one penalty called on him and was credited with allowing one pressure and one QB hit against an impressive Steelers interior defense line group headlined by Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton.

He followed that performance up with his second consecutive start, which was against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he didn't allow a single pressure, hurry, QB hit, or sack. Ryan Kelly returned in Week 6 but had to leave the game early with an injury, which led Bortolini to make yet another appearance. He logged 23 total snaps, and against didn't allow a single pressure, hurry, QB hit, or sack.

Bortolini has lived up to the hype and has shown he is more than capable of holding his own when his number is called. But I think he has played himself into the conversation of being not just the team's future starting center but also a starter in the present. There are multiple ways the Colts could go about this.

The first would be giving him the position they expect him to man long term, which would be their starting center. If they went that route, I don't think it would be because they would be benching their long-term starter in, Ryan Kelly. They would instead move Kelly over to RG, where they have lost Will Fries for the season. If they aren't interested in moving Kelly over, though, they could have Bortolini start at RG to get him on the field this season and continue to let him develop as a starter, even if it would be out of his ideal position. In college at Wisconsin, Bortolini spent time all over with him playing center, right/left guard, and right tackle.

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