Quenton Nelson Named To NFL.com's 2020 'All-Analytics Team'

[Blue]

If you're a loyal reader of Colts.com, then you know that honors for Nelson are nothing new. In fact, it seems like he's making somebody's "best of" list or "All-NFL" team every couple of weeks.


Because of that, we'll be looking at Nelson's impact specifically among left guards, as that's the achievement being bestowed on him in Frelund's piece.


Nelson played 1,042 snaps in 2019, which was the 16th-most among full-time NFL left guards after he missed some time during Week 16 while entering the league's concussion protocol.


As he did in Frelund's model, Pro Football Focus ranked Nelson as the NFL's top left guard as well, finishing with a grade of 91.2.


In the passing game, Nelson was rock solid. His 82.8 grade finished fourth after he was one of just three left guards to allow zero sacks, one of six to allow two or fewer hits on the quarterback, one of eight to allow 18 or fewer hurries, and one of three to allow 20 total pressures.


PFF ranked Nelson tied for the third-highest grade in pass-block efficiency — which weighs how often a player allows a pressure in relation to their amount of pass-blocking snaps — with a mark of 98.2.


Nelson's true calling card is his junkyard dog-like abilities in the run game, as he earned the top spot in PFF's run-blocking grades with a 90.1.


The Colts ran the ball behind Nelson or to his right, in between him and center Ryan Kelly, 108 times in 2019 for 472 yards (4.4 avg.) and two touchdowns, as well as 25 first downs and 13 runs that went for at least 10 yards.


Nelson was the top performer for a Colts offensive front that ranked quite well across the league, especially as run blockers.


The offense finished second in the league in firsts downs via rush (131) and percentage of first downs via rush (27.8), as well as tied for fifth in runs of 20-plus yards (14), seventh in rushing overall (133.1 yards per game), tied for ninth in runs of 40-plus yards (three), tied for 10th in rushing touchdowns (17) and 11th in yards per carry (4.5).


Grade-wise, the Colts finished second as a group in run blocking (85.1) and 10th in rushing (78.7). They also ranked 13th in pass blocking (75.1) and tied for the ninth-fewest sacks allowed (32).


Nelson has clearly proven his worth since becoming a top-10 pick, and perhaps is even exceeding expectations.


Many would say that if you're going to take an interior offensive lineman that early in the draft then they better become a superstar.


So far, so good.