Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser answers the questions of Indianapolis Colts fans (and anyone else who emails him at IFROehser@aol.com . . .)

Hey, Oehser…

Great job on the report. A quick question about offensive tackle depth in your position-by-position breakdown. Behind Tony Ugoh and Ryan Diem, you have only Charlie Johnson making the roster. Of course, Johnson was a starter at guard last season so he could easily be the top backup there, too. It seems like to me having only one backup at OT and possibly simultaneously playing him at another position is taking a lot of risk at an important spot, especially given the number of O-line injuries we’ve had in the past couple years. On the other hand, if we had a fourth tackle on the roster, coaches wouldn’t have to worry about depleting their depth at that position when plugging Johnson in for an injured guard. Have the Colts kept this few tackles in the past or do you predict this year will be unique because of all the interior linemen we’ve drafted recently?

Thanks, Eliah.

Oehser: Very, very good point. Lining up a depth chart for the Colts on the offensive line is always tricky when offensive line coach Howard Mudd is involved because of his ability to move players from position to position. If Johnson would be forced to play at guard, obviously that changes the dynamic of the tackle position and that possibility is why Corey Hilliard, Dan Federkeil and Michael Toudouze matter very much at training camp this season. The Colts typically have solved the roster issue at offensive tackle in recent seasons by having some combination of those players available on the practice squad and with that trio likely not on in the practice squad this season, it’s very likely that because of the depth issue at tackle at least one of that trio will be on the active roster. For the purposes of the breakdown, I left them off because if everyone is healthy, the Colts in the past have gone with as few as seven offensive linemen and Johnson’s flexibility currently gives them that option. That’s probably not as specific an answer as would be ideal, but the versatility of all of the Colts’ offensive lineman makes setting a depth chart at the position a non-specific process sometimes.