Indianapolis Colts left guard Quenton Nelson failed to meet the extremely high expectations of an elite player in 2022, but there are plenty of reasons to believe he will bounce back in 2023.
His track record speaks for itself as one of the best guards in the league, and NFL.com’s Adam Schein labeled Nelson as one of the players “guaranteed” to improve during the upcoming campaign.
Last season was … weird. A first-team All-Pro in each of his first three NFL campaigns and Pro Bowler in each of his first four, Nelson started his Colts career on a Hall of Fame track. But last year was strangely ordinary. Yeah, he still made his fifth Pro Bowl, but that was a reputation nod. According to every measuring stick, Nelson was far from elite. By PFF’s count, he allowed five sacks — a higher total than his first four seasons combined (four).
Now, to be fair, everything was a hot mess in Indianapolis last season, with the Colts stumbling to a highly disappointing 4-12-1 season. But Nelson took immediate accountability for not playing up to his standard.
“I gave up a decent amount (of pressure),” Nelson told The Athletic’s Zak Keefer back in January. “I need to be better in 1-on-1 protection.
“Everything’s fixable. I plan to have my best year next year. It starts with the offseason. I truly believe I can do that.”
And I truly believe in Nelson. With Shane Steichen taking over at head coach and No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson poised to receive the reins under center, the Colts could field a devastating ground attack with a healthier season from 2021 NFL rushing king Jonathan Taylor. I can see it now, with Nelson blowing open holes once again as a road-grading force. The man just turned 27 years old this offseason, after all — he’s still squarely in his prime.
Nelson is still one of the top guards in the NFL even if he didn’t play to the expected standard we’re used to seeing. Returning to form shouldn’t be an overly difficult task, especially if his down year can be attributed to coming off injuries among other issues across the offense.
With Shane Steichen taking over as head coach, there are plenty of reasons for optimism moving forward. And if Nelson can return to form, it would mean a great deal for an offense looking to pull itself out of the gutter.
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