Seahawks acquire All-Pro G Quenton Nelson from Colts for two draft picks

• Seattle lands an elite guard: The Seahawks have agreed to acquire Quenton Nelson from the Colts for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. Nelson has earned an 85.7 PFF overall grade through seven weeks.

• Major pass-protection upgrade: Nelson has allowed just six pressures across 275 pass-blocking snaps in 2026, with an 81.9 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 94.4% pass-block win rate.

• Offensive line changes ahead: Nelson's arrival could shift Grey Zabel to right guard and affect Anthony Bradford's role, while Indianapolis is set to turn to rookie Jalen Farmer at left guard.

The Seattle Seahawks are adding one of the NFL's most accomplished interior offensive linemen as they look to strengthen their offensive line for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Seattle has agreed to acquire eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Nelson, 30, arrives in Seattle having earned an 85.7 PFF overall grade across 468 offensive snaps in 2026, continuing a stretch of high-level play that has seen him finish among the NFL's six highest-graded guards in each of the previous two seasons.

The move comes as Seattle looks to improve an offensive line that ranks 19th among 32 units in PFF pass-blocking grade (65.0). Through seven weeks, the group has combined to allow 15 sacks, 31 hits and 72 hurries. Seahawks quarterbacks have been sacked or hit on 18.2% of dropbacks, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.

Nelson remains one of the NFL's top-performing left guards

The former No. 6 overall pick has continued to perform at a high level in both phases of the game in 2026, earning an 81.9 PFF pass-blocking grade and an 82.3 run-blocking grade. Those marks rank second and third, respectively, among qualifying left guards through seven weeks.

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.

The Notre Dame standout has also gone 430 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack, a streak dating back to Week 14 of the 2025 season. It's hardly unfamiliar territory for the veteran guard, whose previous streaks include a remarkable 1,676 consecutive snaps without surrendering a sack, the fifth-longest such run in PFF history.

By comparison, Zabel has gone 108 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack, dating back to Week 5 of this season. His longest career streak stands at 451 snaps, a run that began and ended in 2025.

The difference is similarly apparent in the running game, where Nelson has earned positive grades on 22.3% of his run-blocking snaps (third) and negative grades on 12.2% (11th). Zabel, meanwhile, has recorded a 12.3% positively graded run-blocking rate (28th) and a 13.3% negatively graded rate (16th).

Nelson has been particularly effective on zone runs, earning a league-best 91.3 PFF run-blocking grade across 98 zone-blocking snaps. He has received positive grades on 32.6% of those plays, compared with a 15.8% negatively graded play rate.

His production has been less pronounced on gap runs, where he has earned a 64.3 run-blocking grade across 77 snaps.

Nelson's arrival would likely trigger a reshuffling along Seattle's offensive line. The veteran has spent nearly his entire NFL career at left guard, logging 9,101 snaps at the position compared with just eight at left tackle. He has never played a snap at center, right guard or right tackle in the NFL.

That could leave Zabel as the more likely candidate to change positions. Although he primarily played left tackle at North Dakota State, Zabel has some experience at right guard.

A move to right guard would also affect Anthony Bradford, who has held Seattle's starting job at the position since 2023. Bradford recently returned from injured reserve after missing five games with a knee injury and is in the final year of his rookie contract.

Bradford has struggled mightily in pass protection throughout his NFL career. He earned a 38.9 PFF pass-blocking grade across 419 snaps in 2023, followed by a 48.5 grade across 392 snaps in 2024 and a 32.2 grade across 661 snaps in 2025. Those struggles have continued into 2026, with Bradford posting a 22.9 pass-blocking grade across 60 snaps in two games. His continued difficulties could make him the odd man out if Seattle adds Nelson.

The Seahawks have not confirmed how they intend to align their starting offensive line following Nelson's arrival.

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Quenton Nelson‘s PFF career grades

Nelson has consistently ranked among the NFL's highest-graded guards since entering the league, earning an overall grade of at least 79.0 in six of his first eight seasons.

His best season came in 2019, when he earned a 91.2 PFF overall grade, second among 89 qualifying guards. More recently, Nelson earned an 81.3 grade in 2024 and an 84.7 mark in 2025, ranking sixth and fourth at the position, respectively.

Nelson's value extends beyond his PFF grades

Nelson's value is also reflected in PFF's Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric, which measures a player's contribution relative to a replacement-level player.

The veteran guard has generated 0.27 WAR through the first seven weeks of the 2026 season, ranking first among 97 qualifying guards. That continues a career-long trend of high-level production, with Nelson leading all guards in WAR in five of his nine NFL seasons.

He ranked first at the position in each of his first three seasons, producing 0.48 WAR in 2018 and 0.58 in both 2019 and 2020. Nelson returned to the top of the position in 2024 with 0.26 WAR before finishing third among 138 guards with 0.55 WAR in 2025.

Colts turn to rookie Jalen Farmer

Indianapolis, meanwhile, is set to replace Nelson with rookie guard Jalen Farmer, whom the team selected out of Kentucky in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft with the No. 113 overall pick.

Farmer played exclusively at right guard during his college career, meaning the move into Nelson's former position will represent a change in alignment.

In his final season at Kentucky, Farmer earned a 69.8 PFF overall grade, including a 72.4 pass-blocking grade and a 67.4 run-blocking grade across 818 offensive snaps.

He surrendered 14 pressures, including three sacks, across 457 pass-blocking snaps in 2025.

Nelson departs Indianapolis in the final year of his contract, which carries a $16 million base salary in 2026. The Colts did not reach an extension agreement with him before the season.

For Seattle, the trade adds one of the league's highest-graded left guards to an offensive line dealing with performance concerns and injuries, including an ankle injury to left tackle Charles Cross.

For Indianapolis, it marks the end of Nelson's spectacular tenure with the franchise and opens the door for Farmer to take over at left guard.