Left Tackle Anthony Castonzo Named PFF’s Most Underrated Player on the Colts

According to Pro Football Focus, Indianapolis Colts starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo is the most underrated player for head coach Frank Reich’s squad:

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: LT ANTHONY CASTONZO

The decision by Castonzo to stave off retirement for at least one more year, keeping one of the best offensive lines in the NFL intact, was one of the biggest developments in what has been a busy offseason for Indianapolis. The fact that Castonzo has never made the Pro Bowl is more of an indictment on the selection process than it is on Castonzo’s play. He has been one of the most reliable left tackles in the game for years now, grading at 76.9 or higher in every season of his career excluding his rookie campaign in 2011. He may not be the best player on that offensive line anymore with the emergence of Quenton Nelson as one of the league’s best young players, but Castonzo’s consistently strong play is still underappreciated up front for the Colts.

The former 2011 first round pick (and last first rounder of Hall of Famer general manager Bill Polian’s Colts tenure) has been a bookend for Indianapolis since entering the league.

The 31 year old offensive tackle has made 132 career starts over the past 9 seasons, protecting the Colts quarterbacks’ blindsides. He’s been incredibly durable, having only missed 5 games over the past four seasons (all in 2018).

This past season, Castonzo received a +81.3 grade overall (the 8th best among all offensive tackles)—including a +84.4 pass blocking grade. His overall grade in 2019 was the third highest of his career, as he’s consistently been one of the better left tackles in all of football.

Last season, Castonzo had arguably the best year of his highly productive career, blocking for one of the league’s best offensive lines. Castonzo allowed just 3 sacks and 34 total QB pressures—while committing a mere 2 penalties in 2019.

He was very worthy of being named to his first Pro Bowl—along with his Colts teammates: starting center Ryan Kelly and Quenton Nelson along the offensive line, which unfortunately, didn’t happen for the veteran left tackle.

Nevertheless, Castonzo was rewarded with a 2-year, $33 million deal earlier this offseason, as he held off on his retirement for at least a few more seasons.

While wrongfully maligned by some of the Colts’ fan base earlier in his career for being overpaid, outside of maybe one down season, Castonzo has consistently been very good to elite playing one of the league’s toughest positions at starting left tackle—where reliable options are routinely few and hard to come by.

Castonzo is a very deserving candidate for such a distinction like this from PFF, but another name that could be potentially thrown into the hat for the Colts would be slot cornerback Kenny Moore.