Colts Veteran Earns Elite Spot in NFL Rankings

Change has been the only constant for Quenton Nelson since the Indianapolis Colts drafted him with the sixth-overall pick in 2018.

New coaches, fellow linemen, quarterbacks -- the quarterbacks (Nelson has had six different starting quarterbacks for opening week) -- Nelson is just about the only thing that's remained a constant over these last seven years.

As such, just as he was recognized among the best of the best in the NFL at his position when he entered the league, Nelson is still revered that way.

Recently, ESPN has been surveying executives, coaches, and scouts around the NFL for their votes on the top players at each position group. Nelson came in third among all interior offensive linemen, behind only Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey and Dallas Cowboys guard Tyler Smith:

Nelson competed with (Zack) Martin for the top spot over multiple years, and now that Martin is retired, Nelson takes his place as the highest-ranked guard or center with at least seven NFL seasons in the NFL.

Nelson is building what could become a Hall of Fame case, making the Pro Bowl every year since 2018. The Colts thought Nelson bounced back with a resurgent 2023 after a down 2022 (for his standards), and he remained solid in 2024 with a 94.4 pass block win rate and 77.1 run block win rate, the latter tying for first among the top 10 interior linemen.

The Colts are consistently a quality running team despite the lack of quarterback stability, and Nelson is a big part of that.

'Honestly, nobody else has really taken the top spot from him,' an NFC executive said. 'I don't think there's a dominant interior OL right now. He's the closest thing.'

And his durability should be commended. Nelson has played at least 16 games in every season but 2021, when he played 13 games.

'He's more vulnerable with edge pressure than he used to at this stage of his career,' a veteran NFL defensive coach said. 'But he's still really strong and stout at the point of attack.'

Last year, in 17 games (team-high 1,083 offensive snaps), Nelson earned an overall grade of 81.3, per Pro Football Focus, including a 79.7 in pass blocking and an 81.7 in run blocking. All three grades ranked in the top 10 in the NFL among guards. In 568 pass-blocking reps, he allowed 20 pressures (nine hurries, eight hits, three sacks) for a pass-block efficiency rating of 98.0%. Nelson ranked third in the NFL among guards in sacks allowed, eighth in hits allowed, and 20th in pressures allowed.

Nelson earned a Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro selection for his performance.

For his career, Nelson has started all 112 games in which he's appeared, earning a Pro Bowl each year along the way, as well as five All-Pro nods (three First-Team), and he hasn't shown many signs of slowing down.

Nelson was also recently named the No. 4 guard in the NFL by PFF.

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