Seahawks' Macdonald Hypes Quenton Nelson as a 'Surefire Hall-of-Fame Guard,' Talks Trade With Colts

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is thrilled to have eight-time Pro Bowl left guard Quenton Nelson aboard via trade from the Indianapolis Colts, calling him a "surefire Hall of Fame guard with a great track record" in a chat with reporters on Thursday.

Seattle sent a 2027 third-round pick and 2028 fifth-rounder to the Colts for Nelson, who is a six-time All-Pro (three First Team and three Second Team). He's started 136 of a possible 140 career games (Nelson missed four games in 2021 with an ankle ailment).

Nelson has remained an elite offensive lineman this year, per Mark Chichester of Pro Football Focus.

"In pass protection, Nelson has surrendered just six pressures — including one quarterback hit and five hurries — across 275 pass-blocking snaps. His 2.2% pressure rate allowed ranks third among left guards and is less than half the 5.3% mark recorded by Seattle's current left guard, Grey Zabel.

"Nelson also has the edge in pass protection, winning 94.4% of his pass-blocking reps to rank fifth, compared with Zabel's 91.7% win rate, which is tied for 22nd."

Per PFF, the Seahawks have been 19th (a bit below average) in pass-blocking. Of note, Seattle quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Drew Lock have been sacked or hit 18.2 percent of the time on dropbacks, and that's the NFL's fifth-highest rate.

Overall, this looks to be a big win for the Seahawks on paper as they look to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

He's also arriving at a great time as the Seahawks welcome the 5-2 Chicago Bears into town for a Monday Night Football game. It's a huge matchup for Seattle as the team hopes to improve upon its 4-3 record and continue its fight for the playoffs.

Nelson is already in town and getting acclimated.

Kickoff Monday is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.