Although we may not even be halfway through the current decade, Pro Football Network put together its all-decade team from the 2020s and featured two current members of the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts’ Quenton Nelson was one of the four guards who were selected, along with Zack Martin, Joel Bitonio, and Joe Thuney. DeForest Buckner was one of four defensive tackles to make the list, joining Aaron Donald, Chris Jones, and Cameron Heyward.
Since the 2020 season, Nelson has made all four Pro Bowl teams this decade and was an All-Pro in 2020, the third time in his career he was selected. In three of the four seasons this decade, Nelson ranked top-16 among all guards in pass-blocking efficiency, including two seasons when he was in the top-six.
Nelson would miss some time in 2021 and gave up a career-high in sacks and pressures in 2022, but he looked much closer to his All-Pro form this past year, allowing just one sack, ranking third in PFF’s pass-blocking grade and sixth in pass-blocking efficiency.
“That’s just huge,” said Bernhard Raiman of playing next to Nelson. “The communication on the field, for me personally it’s huge because I’m right next to him, but his leadership as a whole for the entire offensive line, and just the consistency.
“I know where he’s going to be in pass protection, I know how he’s going to step in the run game. I know how I have to fit in double-teams with him to move the defensive tackle, and that just makes my game that much easier.”
Buckner, meanwhile, has been a disruptor since he arrived in Indianapolis for that 2020 season. In his four seasons with the Colts, Buckner has made two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team.
Production-wise, he has averaged almost 54 pressures per year during that span, along with eight sacks. Buckner has finished in the top-14 of all interior defenders in total pressures in each of the four seasons, including twice in the top-10, and he’s been top-12 each year in pass-rush win rate.
“DeForest has been the epitome of what it means to be a Colt the last four years,” GM Chris Ballard said in a statement released by the team following Buckner’s extension. “As one of the premier defensive tackles in the league, he is a destructive force on our defensive line. DeForest is one of the pillars of our locker room. His hard work, consistency, and approach to the game are vital to the success of our team.”
In addition to the high level of play and production that both Nelson and Buckner have brought to the football field, each of them are leaders for this Colts team off of it, as both Raimann and Ballard described.
Buckner’s two-year extension that he signed earlier this offseason will keep him with the Colts through the 2026 season. Nelson, who signed a four-year extension in 2022, will also be under contract through the 2026 season as well.