If their careers ended today, how many current members of the Indianapolis Colts would have a good shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Â The answer is one. Quenton Nelson.
A recent opinion piece by FanSided’s Zachary Rotman includes Nelson as one of 18 locks for future induction amongst current players. I appreciate the certainty and agree Nelson has an excellent chance, but I’m not sure he is really a lock were he to retire tomorrow.
Nelson’s resume is outstanding, and there’s an excellent chance he has already done enough. Eight seasons. Eight Pro Bowls. Six All-Pro selections – three First-Team, and three Second-Team. Hardly ever misses a game. You know, now that I look at it written down like that, maybe he is already a lock.
These three current Indianapolis Colts have the best shot of reaching the Hall of Fame
Then again, there’s the case of Marshal Yanda. I imagine fans of the Baltimore Ravens have long considered Yanda a Hall of Fame lock. The problem grows out of the fact that it is very hard to statistically compare offensive guards like Nelson and Yanda.
In Yanda’s 13-year career, he played about fifty games more than Nelson currently has. He was only a First-Team All-Pro twice to Nelson's three, but Yanda was Second-Team five times. Like Nelson, he went to eight Pro Bowls.
We assume that Nelson, who just turned 30, will maintain his current standard for at least several more seasons. If he doesn’t, there’s a chance he could be surpassed by a host of other quality linemen, the likes of Marshal Yanda, who have longer careers.
Perhaps Nelson has already secured his spot. His career compares favorably to 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, who only played eight seasons. But they were eight dominant seasons in which he was typically recognized as the best in the game.
Nelson is almost at that level already. Suffice it to say that if he is not already a lock, one or two more quality seasons will get him to that level with no lingering questions.
What about Jonathan Taylor? Right now, he is probably the current Colts player with the next best shot. Taylor only has one All-Pro selection and three Pro Bowls, but he also has a second-place OPOY on his ledger.
In 2021, he led the league in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and total yards from scrimmage. He was beaten out for Offensive Player of the Year by Cooper Kupp, who won the receiving triple crown.
If he retired today, Taylor’s six seasons would not be good enough. But he has combined to run for more than 3,000 yards in the last two years, and if he can keep up that pace for three more seasons and reach 12,000 rushing yards, it will be hard to keep him out.Â
12,000 rushing yards is a clear threshold for a running back. Only three players who have reached that mark are on the outside, and one – Derrick Henry – is still playing.
Henry will get in five years after he retires. Adrian Peterson may have to wait a bit longer, but he will also eventually get in. Frank Gore, who played for a very long time and is perceived by some as more of an accumulator, may be the one exception to the 12,000-yard threshold.
If JT does get there, chances are he will have another All-Pro selection or two. He will get in at that point, but it still requires three more upper-level seasons.
Sauce Gardner is harder to predict based on his brief career. Suffice to say that back-to-back First-Team All-Pros to begin his career, as well as a Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, gave him an excellent start. He has not achieved league-wide recognition in the last two years, but he is still recognized as one of the best pure cover corners in the NFL.
Gardner should have plenty of years left, and if he manages a couple more All-Pro selections, his resume will look very good.
That’s it amongst current Colts. The rest either fall just short – like DeForest Buckner’s three Pro Bowls in ten seasons – or are way too young. Perhaps ten years from now we will be talking about Tyler Warren, Laiatu Latu, or Tanor Bortolini in these terms.
Those players have gotten off to promising starts. But I suppose we should let them make their first Pro Bowl before we start measuring them for a bust in Canton.
Remember, Colts fans are still waiting for current wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne – tenth all-time in receiving yards and eleventh in total receptions – to get the call from Canton.
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