Nelson means business at guard
I NDIA N A POLIS» Quenton Nelson learned early in life that when you are the youngest of 39 nephews and nieces, you can’t be afraid to throw your weight around.
“It definitely shaped me, just getting picked on by being, I guess, the little guy in the family,” he said. “That shaped me into the person and player I am today.”
Luckily for Nelson, the socalled “little guy” who weighed nearly 11 pounds at birth and checked in at 6-foot-5, 325 pounds when he arrived at the NFL scouting combine this week, he’s always had the requisite physical tools to shove his way into the mix. Now, the former Notre Dame guard is pancaking his way into the conversation about the 2018 draft’s best overall prospect. It’s rare that a guard finds himself among the top five picks. In fact, it hasn’t happened in a generation, since Leonard Davis was drafted second overall by the Cardinals out of Texas in 2001.
Then again, Nelson is a rare breed. When asked Thursday about the mind-set that allows him to drive opponents into the ground at all three levels, the native of central New Jersey delivered an answer so chilling, it should send shivers down the spines of interior defensive linemen soon to be in his path.
“As a blocker, my mind-set is to dominate,” Nelson said. “I want to dominate all my opponents and take away their will to play the game.”
Their will to play the game. It was a statement made matter-offactly, without any hint of hyperbole, as if he was asking for extra pepperoni on his pizza. But the videotape backs up his desire to destroy.
Like the time he picked up an LSU defender under the helmet, slammed him to the ground and then squatted on him for good measure. Or the time he sprinted from his left guard position across the formation to squash a blitzing Georgia running back coming from the right side. Or the time he
pancaked a defensive tackle, linebacker and safety all on the same running play.
“He’s got a nasty demeanor,” said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, dispensing the highest of compliments for a player who will make his living in pro football’s mosh pit. “He finishes with an edge. He’s probably the best run-blocking interior offensive lineman I’ve seen in years.”
Plus, this is an NFL in which a defensive tackle, the Rams’ Aaron Donald, was named defensive player of the year. And others such as the Bengals’ Geno Atkins and the Eagles’ Fletcher Cox have also been wreaking havoc up the middle.
“You have guys who are dominating the NFL right now … who have just been working guys, and you need interior guys to stop them,” said Nelson, who put up 35 benchpress repetitions at 225 pounds Thursday. “I think I’m one of those guys.”
Nelson could have been the first lineman off the draft board last year, when only two of them — Garett Bolles to the Broncos at No. 20 and Ryan Ramczyk to the Saints at No. 32 — were selected in the first round. Instead, he returned to Notre Dame and further improved his stock as a mashing, run-blocking guard who also has the quickness and reach — his 83m-inch wingspan requires an Uber ride to traverse — to excel as a pass blocker.
Whether Nelson could be an option for the Broncos at No. 5 hinges, like nearly everything else for general manager John Elway and his staff over the next couple months, on how their pursuit of a new starting quarterback materializes.
Would signing, say, Kirk Cousins in free agency free up the Broncos to use that pick on a nonquarterback? What if they signed a less-heralded veteran quarterback in March? Elway said all options are on the table when it comes to finding their starting quarterback of the future.
But an option that allows them to draft a blue-chip prospect player such as Nelson could provide an immediate upgrade at a position of need. The Broncos found a solid starting guard in free agency last year when they signed Ron Leary. Still, depth is lacking. And the Broncos alternated left guards Max Garcia and Allen Barbre for much of last season.
Coach Vance Joseph said this week he wants the Broncos to build on the physical, run-first approach they began to solidify late last season. Selecting a rare breed such as Nelson at a rare spot in the draft could be a move in that direction.
“It’s like running behind a tow truck,” former Notre Dame running back Josh Adams said of playing with Nelson. “He’s going to move out anything that’s in his way.”