Star Colts' Guard Named League's Best in Pro Football Focus Positional Rankings
Let it be known: Quenton Nelson is the best guard in football.
Pro Football Focus agrees with that statement, ranking Nelson — a three-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler — the best guard in the NFL heading into the 2021 season Monday as the analytics-based website continues its positional rankings.
In his first three years in the league coming out of Notre Dame in 2018, Nelson has posted grades of 79.7, 91.6, and 86.2 in PFF's grading metrics. Playing nearly 3,300 snaps through three years, Nelson has allowed just three sacks and committed just 21 penalties.
PFF's Sam Monson said it was easy to rank Nelson as the top guard in the NFL in the positional rankings.
The best of the best, Nelson was seen as a generational prospect at guard when he entered the NFL, and he hasn’t disappointed. According to PFF's wins above replacement metric (PFF WAR), the fourth-year guard has been the league's most valuable player at the position in every season of his career and has surrendered just three sacks in three years.
It's hard to believe this, but Nelson continues to get better and better each year in the NFL. He's already on a Hall of Fame trajectory and is easily considered the cream of the crop at guard now and long-term.
With a guy like Nelson holding down left guard for the next 10 years, the Colts are in great hands up front. It will be interesting to see just how big of a payday Nelson will get in a year or two, but it's safe to assume Nelson will play every year of his career in the blue and white, will eventually find himself in the franchise's Ring of Honor, and will someday have a Hall of Fame bust in the hallowed halls in Canton.
Along with Nelson, Colts' right guard Mark Glowinski cracked the top 32 list, coming in at No. 25 overall. Glowinski has developed into a steady starter the last three seasons for the Colts after being claimed off of waivers from the Seattle Seahawks in late 2017.
Since then, Glowinski has posted season grades of 77.7, 60.5, and 67.3 through three seasons with Indianapolis.
Here's what Monson had to say about Glowinski's ranking:
Aided by the players around him, Glowinski has been able to up his game and become a solid member of one of the best offensive lines in the game. Glowinski was capable as both a run-blocker and in pass protection this past season, coughing up just two sacks across 659 pass-blocking snaps with Philip Rivers as his quarterback.
It's worth noting that Glowinski heads into his final year of his contract and turned 29 in early May. The 2021 season will be a big one for the veteran guard as he's in line for an extension and is a key part of the Colts' run game.
Have thoughts on the PFF rankings of Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski? Drop a line in the comments below!
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