NFL: 5 top stars who could sign contract extensions before 2021 NFL Draft

#2 Quenton Nelson, Offensive guard (Indianapolis Colts)

NFL Pro Bowl

Quenton Nelson just might be the NFL's best offensive guard. Taken off the board with the Colts' no. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the former Notre Dame star has barely missed a beat, allowing just three sacks in his career to date, according to PFF.

Nelson has also been named in the Pro Bowl in each of his first three years in the league, the first Colt in history to achieve the feat.

Quenton Nelson:🔹3 seasons played🔹3 sacks allowedTotal pass-blocking snaps: 1,822 💪 pic.twitter.com/h0g18rWoPv

— PFF (@PFF) March 30, 2021

Nelson is out of contract at the end of the season. But the Colts will probably exercise his fifth-year option, which would see Nelson earn north of $13 million in 2022 if it gets to that point.

The Colts have some $30 million of available cap room heading into the 2021 NFL Draft. It would make sense for them to try and keep the savior of the team's offensive line in Indianapolis for the long run, so that's why it makes the list of deals likely to be done before the draft.

The money is there, so why risk losing a diamond member of the offensive line?

#3 Darius Leonard, Linebacker (Indianapolis Colts)

Houston Texans vs Indianapolis Colts

Darius Leonard is one of the best players on the Indianapolis Colts' roster. He is one of the top defensive players in the entire NFL since he was drafted the 36th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Leonard was snubbed of Pro Bowl honors as a rookie, despite leading the NFL in tackles made. Since then, the athletic linebacker has been selected to the Pro Bowl two years in succession and is the only player ever to register at least seven interceptions and 12 sacks in his first two years in the NFL.

As with Quenton Nelson, the Colts' OL listed above, Indianapolis simply can't afford to allow a player of Leonard's caliber to escape their roster if they hope to get their mitts on another Super Bowl in the near future.

Leonard needs a new deal, and, as with Nelson, it looks like one could be on the horizon, especially if the tweet from Zak Keefer quoting Colts owner Jim Irsay is anything to go by:

Irsay: "Now with Carson in, I see a lot of the main, main pieces set who can bring us a Lombardi Trophy in the next decade." Hints at there are "key" players on that are getting extensions (soon). My bets: Darius Leonard, Braden Smith, Quenton Nelson, maybe Nyheim Hines.

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 18, 2021

I'm with Keefer on this one: Leonard simply has to be one of the 'main pieces.'

With more than $30 million in available cap space, it seems a good bet that Darius Leonard will sign a big extension in Indianapolis soon enough, likely ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft.