Quenton Nelson


Quenton Nelson is an American football offensive guard for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Colts sixth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his first two seasons in the league, Nelson was named a first-team All-Pro selection and voted to the Pro Bowl.

Early years

Nelson is the youngest of four children of Craig and Maryellen Nelson, in which she noted Quenton to be a large baby at birth. He grew up in Holmdel Township, New Jersey and attended Holmdel High School as a freshman before transferring to Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, New Jersey, where he was an All-Star in basketball as a power forward/center. He committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football. He also supplemented his football and strength trainings with Taekwondo.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Notre Dame in 2014, Nelson played in all 12 games and made one start in 2015. In 2016, he started all 12 games. He was named a unanimous first team All-American after the 2017 season. On January 8, 2018, Nelson announced that he would forgo his last year of eligibility and enter the draft.

Professional career

NFL Draft

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Nelson was projected a top ten selection in the first round by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top offensive linemen prospect in the draft by Sports Illustrated and NFL analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Mike Mayock.

Indianapolis Colts

2018 season

The Indianapolis Colts selected Nelson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. On May 11, 2018, the Colts signed Nelson to a fully guaranteed four-year, $23.88 million contract, including a signing bonus of $15.45 million. On November 1, 2018, Nelson was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October, after he was part of an offensive line that hadn't allowed a sack in 156 straight dropbacks and had 200 rushing yards in back-to-back games for first time in 33 years. Nelson becoming the first guard to ever win the award, and he and Darius Leonard became the first teammates to win awards in the same season. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie and was named first-team All-Pro.

2019 season

In the 2019 season, Nelson appeared in and started all 16 games for the Colts. He played 1,042 snaps, allowing zero sacks and committing just three penalties; he earned a grade of 91.2 from Pro Football Focus. For the second consecutive season, he was named as a First Team All-Pro and earned a Pro Bowl nomination.