When a player is widely regarded as the best in the NFL at their position, it's easy for nearby teammates to be overlooked.
That's the case for the Indianapolis Colts, as Quenton Nelson is rightfully considered the best guard in football but he just so happens to have one of the NFL's best centers right next to him in Ryan Kelly.
Mark Schofield of TouchdownWire recently ranked Nelson as the No. 1 guard in the NFL, and now he's got Kelly listed as its No. 8 center:
8. Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis Colts
Ryan Kelly has played five seasons in the NFL.
He has allowed just four sacks.
While two of those came in 2020, it does not diminish what Kelly has accomplished over his career. Kelly is very adept at finding work in pass protection, as highlighted by OL guru Brandon Thorn here:
You’ll see that trait, along with his awareness in pass protection and his lower-body anchor, in this selection of plays from 2020:
Nelson isn't the first interior offensive lineman taken by the Colts early in the draft in recent memory. In 2016, they invested the 18th-overall pick in Kelly after he anchored the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line for the three years prior.
Early in his career, Kelly couldn't catch a break with injuries, missing 13 games combined in his second and third seasons. It kept him from reaching his potential, but he has stayed relatively healthy since and has become the player that many expected he would be.
Kelly has started all 66 of the games in which he's appeared, totaling 4,214 offensive snaps.
Pro Football Focus credits him with 73 allowed pressures on the quarterback in his career, including 54 hurries, 15 hits, and 4 sacks. That's resulted in a pass-block efficiency rating of 98.4.
In 2020, he allowed 12 pressures (7 hurries, 3 hits, 2 sacks) and had an efficiency rating of 98.7.
The Colts have also had success behind Kelly in the run game. For example, last season the Colts ran through the A-gap (between the center and guard) 146 times, totaling 705 yards (4.8 avg.), 36 first downs, 21 runs of 10-plus yards, and 2 touchdowns.
Between Nelson and Kelly specifically, the Colts ran the ball 80 times for 464 yards (5.8 avg.), 21 first downs, 13 runs of 10-plus yards, and 2 touchdowns.
The Colts hired Hall-of-Fame center Kevin Mawae as an assistant offensive line coach this offseason, and he recognizes the special traits of Kelly.
“I think he’s a great player," Mawae told reporters. "I’ve watched him – I’m an LSU guy, so I don’t like him from that standpoint because he’s an Alabama kid but he was a great player coming out of college and he has all the tools to be a pretty special player, a unique player. He’s a smart guy. I watched him on film, and I know what he is capable of doing but he’s a guy that could be that pivot guy for many years in this league.”
Kelly was named to the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020 and was also named a Second-Team All-Pro in 2020.
Is Kelly properly rated on TouchdownWire's list? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!
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