Most essential Colts No. 10: Are we taking Quenton Nelson for granted?
In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They relieve the pressure on everyone.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be ranking the 15 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2024. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.
To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:
1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?
2. What does the Colts' 2024 ceiling become if this player hits his?
With the return of Anthony Richardson from shoulder surgery, the Colts’ outlook is on the future but also on the present after a 9-8 season fell a fourth-down conversion short of winning the AFC South. This list will primarily look at 2024 value, but certain players' development for the long-term can help to break ties along the way.
Here's the list so far:
12. Laiatu Latu, defensive end
14. Zaire Franklin, linebacker
Today, we continue with No. 10, Quenton Nelson.
Position: Left guard
Age: 28
Experience: 7th season
Last year's rank: No. 7
Why he's here: This is about as low as you'll see Quenton Nelson on a list like this, but it only speaks to positional value and how high other players need to climb in order for the Colts to hit expectations.
Entering his seventh season, Nelson has about as good of a resume as a guard could have. He's played 95 of 99 games, reached the Pro Bowl every year and made the Associated Press First-Team All-Pro three times. The Colts rewarded that production with what at the time was the biggest contract for a guard at four years and $80 million.
He's a devastating open-field run blocker who can also hold his own against a penetrating three-technique and dig out a looping defensive end with superb control. He showed that pass protection last season by allowing just two sacks on 642 backup reps, per Sports Info Solutions. That kind of protection should not be underrated for a quarterback who still needs to prove himself as a passer -- and that he can stay healthy.
Outside of the first half of 2022, when he was working with a regressed Ryan Kelly and a mess of a left tackle spot, the play Nelson has demonstrated has been immaculate.
The factor holding him back is positional value. Nelson is a guard, and though that can elevate a run game and raise the floor of a passing game, it's a systemic enough spot that it's never impossible to replace. On pure ability, Nelson would be a handful of spots higher on this list, as he's a perennial Pro Bowler firmly in his prime. But it's hard to judge his impact as more than fringe-top 10 when we have seen the ceiling plenty already, and the Colts haven't reached more than nine wins with it in the past three seasons.
The 2022 season did show how much one lost guard can wreck an offense's plan. Richardson's mobility should negate some pressure issues, but playing a long stretch without Nelson is not the place they will want a developing young passer to be in.
Nelson's ceiling likely brings out some of the ceiling in Jonathan Taylor, which we've seen reach heights of nearly 2,000 yards. Combine it with Richardson's rushing upside and you have a dominant ground game if the key pieces can stick together. Nelson is one of those.
Nelson will never be the cog of the offense's machine, but he's a much-needed part.
Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Most essential Colts No. 10: Are we taking Quenton Nelson for granted?
