INDIANAPOLIS — Big guys aren’t supposed to move the way Tanor Bortolini moved Sunday.
Bortolini released off the line as the lead blocker on a Tyler Warren screen, initially didn’t see anybody coming and then spotted Titans safety Amani Hooker running at full tilt towards the rookie tight end.
The second-year Colts center planted his left foot, took three running steps and launched, picking Hooker off Warren a split-second before impact, springing the rookie for a 20-yard gain.
“Big-time, big-time play,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “When it started to unfold, it was man-to-man coverage and the safety was dropping down from depth, and (Bortolini) got out there quick and made the huge block to create the space. That play versus man – it’s OK, but it turned out to be really good.”
People rarely talk about a center making a play call right.
But Bortolini is quickly developing into one of the NFL’s best centers, blossoming into the type of offensive lineman playing well enough to earn a Pro Bowl berth at the end of this season, Bortolini’s first as a starter.
The NFL’s best centers bring something to the table that allows them to play above the position’s normal requirements.
Bortolini moves far better than almost any other center in the league.
“Some of the things that we’ve done in the run game with him – getting him out, pulling him, getting up to the second level defenders, has been a big part of our offense,” Steichen said. “(Bortolini) out in space has been tremendous. He can move really well for an offensive lineman, and he understands leverage of the defense and where he needs to get.”
Bortolini has always had the athletic potential to be one of the NFL’s best centers.
A talented player at Wisconsin, Bortolini turned heads at the 2024 NFL scouting combine with one of the best performances a center has ever produced. Bortolini ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds, posted impressive numbers with a broad jump of 9 feet, 4 inches and a 32.5-inch vertical, then set a record in the 3-cone drill.
Bortolini completed the 3-cone drill in 7.16 seconds, breaking Philadelphia legend Jason Kelce’s record for the event and displaying the change-of-direction ability that allowed Bortolini to close down on a sprinting Hooker in the open field Sunday.
By the time he was done, the Wisconsin product had posted a relative athletic score of 9.98, making him one of the most athletic centers ever drafted.
The Colts offensive line room, led by offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr., hasn’t let Bortolini forget it, ribbing him about his combine numbers as soon as he reported in Indianapolis.
Despite all that athleticism, Bortolini still had some growing pains as a rookie. Bortolini initially started five games in place of former Colts Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly in 2024, but after a concussion forced him to miss a game late in the season, Indianapolis decided to stick with veteran Danny Pinter in the role the next week.
Bortolini had all the tools.
He had to get the details right.
“I think it’s just trusting your ability,” Bortolini said. “There’s certain details you’ve got to be locked into, like on screens, not going downfield on that one is big, because if I do, it’s going to change my angle coming back on the safety. If you watch a lot of screens, that’s where guys get undercut, that’s where guys get beat, the play gets destroyed before it even gets going.”
Bortolini also had to master everything a center must do at the NFL level.
The leader of the offensive line, Bortolini is responsible for setting the protection and making calls. A year spent learning from Kelly set up Bortolini to take a big step forward this season.
Indianapolis held an open competition between Bortolini and Pinter at the start of training camp; Bortolini won the job quickly by proving his knowledge of the game had quickly caught up to his raw tools. He’s played 96% of the snaps this season, coming out only when the Colts have been up big in blowouts.
“Confidence-wise, I’m feeling a lot better about things,” Bortolini said. “You play next to guys week in, week out, you get a comfortability playing next to them. You get a better understanding of what they’re thinking each play, how they’re going to set, what their footwork’s going to be. … Year 1 to Year 2, there’s a big jump and a lot of growth that happens.”
Bortolini has become one of the keys to Jonathan Taylor’s MVP-caliber season so far.
Taylor leads the NFL with 850 rushing yards, regularly breaking big runs, and one of the reasons is that the Colts can send their center on the hunt in the open field, taking away linebackers and giving Taylor room to run at the second level.
“When you have athletic linemen, linemen that can really move in space, it makes it so much easier for you to set up your blocks,” Taylor said.
Bortolini’s also the offensive line’s resident source of joy.
When the Colts score, Bortolini often explodes with emotion, running up and down the sidelines in celebrations the coaching staff loves to see.
“You need guys like this to bring the energy that other guys feed off of,” Bortolini said. “It’s fun to be that guy for this team. I like to think maybe I am.”
Bortolini’s block on the Warren screen was just one of the plays he’s made the past couple of weeks.
The Colts center could be seen walling off defenders on the second level on Taylor’s second touchdown run, blowing defensive tackles out of the hole on others.
But sometimes those contributions get missed. When Taylor’s at his best, it’s hard to look away from the running back.
The Warren block was impossible to miss.
Everything Bortolini brings to the Indianapolis offensive line on one play.
“We like that play all around,” Cooter said. “It’s been a good football play, but when you get man coverage, it’s a little bit feast or famine. You got a chance to maybe hit a big one if that center can get that block and really be athletic enough to go get that block. But defenses, they like to take their shot on getting that sort of negative yardage play.”
When the center is making those kinds of plays, he’s usually a Pro Bowler.
Bortolini should be in that mix this season.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Colts C Tanor Bortolini could be a Pro Bowler in first year as a starter
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
