With training camp and the 2019 preseason fast approaching, there is no better time to take a look at each NFL teams’ cornerstone players. Looking at the Indianapolis Colts, there is a healthy mixture of both youth and experience. Regardless, both the young and experienced will need to play a pivotal role to help the Colts return to the playoffs in 2019.
2019 Indianapolis Colts: Three Faces of the Franchise
Andrew Luck
Fans have lots of different opinions on which position is the most important, but quarterback almost always wins the argument. With no quality play from the quarterback, a football team cannot and will not function on offense. Just ask the 2017 Colts, who went 3-13 in a year when Andrew Luck missed all 16 games with a shoulder injury.
Luck is the backbone of the Colts’ offense and is, for some reason, one of the more underappreciated passers in the league. Luck is undoubtedly an elite passer, but fans just do not seem to recognize him as such, despite the numbers certainly backing it up.
Luck’s best season came in 2014 when he led the Colts to a playoff berth after an 11-5 season. Luck threw for a career-best 4,761 yards and 40 touchdowns to 16 interceptions. The four-time Pro Bowler completed 61.7 percent of his passes that season. For his career, Luck has started in 86 games for the Colts, posting a 53-33 record. He has thrown for 23,671 yards, 171 touchdowns to 83 interceptions and a 60.8 pass completion percentage.
Quenton Nelson
He was drafted sixth overall. He started all 16 games. He made the Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro rosters. He transformed the Colts’ offensive line. And he did it all as a rookie. Quenton Nelson‘s rookie season was one of the most remarkable campaigns put together by a young offensive lineman in quite some time.
Playing offensive guard in the NFL is not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, but Nelson makes it look like it’s something everyone should be able to do. Equipped with God-given talents, Nelson is sure to be one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL for the next decade or more, and the Colts are beyond fortunate that it will be for them.
Darius Leonard
Like Nelson, Darius Leonard was also a Colts 2018 draft pick. Taken in the second round, Leonard performed better than most, if not all of the rookie linebackers in the NFL last season. Leonard started 15 games for Indianapolis last season and joined fellow rookie sensation Nelson on the 2018 Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro rosters.
In an unforgettable rookie campaign in 2018, Leonard led the NFL with 163 total tackles, recorded seven sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and eight passes defended.
Between Leonard and Nelson, the Colts are beyond happy to have two clear cut studs from the same draft class on both offense and defense for the foreseeable future.
