Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Quenton Nelson was the only offensive lineman named to ESPN writer Mike Clay’s 25 under 25 team – a list of the 25 best players in the league who are age 25 or younger.
Nelson has had an incredible start to his NFL career as the starting left guard for the Indianapolis Colts, where he was drafted sixth overall in the 2018 draft.
Nelson immediately took over as a starter for the Colts, and has played all but one offensive snap in the last two years.
He was a Pro Bowler and a first team All-Pro in his rookie season, but amazingly he’s playing even better in year two.
Here’s an excerpt from Clay’s article, where Nelson came in at No. 5.
The lone offensive lineman on our list, Nelson has been the driving force for the emergence of the Colts’ line as one of the league’s best units. The Notre Dame product has been on the field for all but one of Indianapolis’ offensive snaps since he was selected with the sixth pick of the 2018 draft. His 94.1% pass block win rate ranked 11th among guards during his rookie season and sits at 93.7% (11th best) this season.
Nelson was named to the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro during an outstanding rookie season, and he’s on track for significantly more award recognition over the next decade.
Nelson starred at Notre Dame from 2014-2017, and was named an All-American in his final season with the Irish. He has a chance to be one of the best offensive linemen in the league, and perhaps of all-time, if he keeps this pace up.
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