Indianapolis Colts left guard Quenton Nelson was ranked as the top interior offensive lineman in the NFL in a survey conducted by ESPN.
“Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 2
Age: 25 | Last year’s ranking: 1In collecting the ballots for each position, Nelson got the highest percentage of first-place votes of any player outside of Aaron Donald. The dominance label is used loosely, but Nelson has that ability.
“It’s power, athleticism and want-to; he’s determined to not lose that block,” a veteran NFL linebacker said. “He came out of the gate saying, ‘I’m a No. 1 pick, I’m the best and I’m gonna [pummel] you.'”
The one knock on Nelson last season was he tried too hard for the splash play — the big pancake — and missed a few blocks as a result. “You can bait him into being overaggressive,” the linebacker said.
Some coaches believe Nelson improved in that area, with five run-block whiffs on 416 running plays, which is a good clip. Nelson’s 78.9% run-block win rate led all interior linemen, and his 95.5% pass-block win rate ranked third among guards.”
This comes as no surprise. Nelson has been constantly touted as the best guard in the game after earning three consecutive All-Pro nods to begin his career—something no other guard has ever done before.
Center Ryan Kelly didn’t make it in the top-10 ranking, but he garnered an honorable mention.
“Ryan Kelly, C, Indianapolis Colts: “He’s got everything you need: Strength, athleticism, smarts. A good interior guy can push him back some, but he can return the favor too.” — AFC exec”
This duo will continue to look to dominate in the trenches as new quarterback Carson Wentz gets assimilated with his new team.
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