Trio Of Colts Named To NFL.com's ‘All-Under-25 Team’

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GUARD QUENTON NELSON


“Offensive guard: Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts (23 as of Sept. 5). The Colts keep giving, with the presence of Nelson, who graded out as PFF's fourth-best run-blocking guard and anchored an Indy line that properly protected Andrew Luck for the first time in Earth's history. A nasty football lifer, Nelson would make any gridiron list around -- forget the age requirement.”


It’s not sexy to take an interior lineman as early as the sixth-overall pick in the draft, but it’s what the Colts did with Nelson in 2018, and there are no regrets. As Colts general manager Chris Ballard has said, if you have the chance to select a true impact player, it doesn’t matter what position they play.


Nelson was one of the highest-regarded offensive line prospects of the modern era, and he actually lived up to the hype.


He made clear progress each week of the season, even showing some of his trademark nastiness that made him such an eye-catching prospect to begin with. Despite that, new Colts senior offensive assistant Howard Mudd told reporters that Nelson still craves teaching, as he felt his fundamentals slipped throughout the season.


Nelson was named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for his performance in October — the first interior offensive lineman in league history to earn such honors.


Of the Colts’ primary starting five offensive linemen, Nelson was the only one to both start all 16 games and play all 1,136 snaps. In that span, he allowed just three sacks, four quarterback hits and 17 hurries, which graded him out as the sixth-best guard in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.


Nelson was a stud in pass protection, leading the team in pass-blocking grade while allowing just 23 pressures on a whopping 730 pass-blocking snaps.


Individually, Nelson earned the top grade from PFF among all rookie offensive linemen (74.3). He was the sixth-highest-graded overall offensive guard overall and the second left guard.


Like Leonard, Nelson was highly decorated by season’s end, his Rookie of the Month award being accompanied by a First-Team All-Pro nod from the AP, was named Second-Team All-Pro by PFF, and he made both the PFWA and PFF’s All-Rookie Team. Nelson did, however, make his first career Pro Bowl.


Together, Leonard and Nelson became the first rookie teammates to be named First-Team All-Pro by The Associated Press since Hall of Famers Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers for the Chicago Bears back in 1965.