Teammates have said Nelson comes back to the huddle afterward with a smile on his face, which Nelson disputes.

“I definitely enjoy it; wouldn’t say I get a smile on my face,” Nelson said. “No time to get all happy about it. There’s always the next play.”

Nelson was the sixth pick of the 2018 draft, an unusually lofty spot for an interior offensive lineman (he was only the second to go that high since 2001). But the days when guards and centers were just guys inserted to plug up the middle — while on-the-edge tackles were fawned over and cultivated — have ended. Especially if someone like the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Nelson, a unanimous all-American at Notre Dame, is available.

“ With N.F.L. teams now putting some of their biggest, strongest, fastest pass rushers in the middle at nose tackle, you better take someone like Nelson with the sixth pick if he’s there,” said Bob Wylie, who earlier this year left the Cleveland Browns after nearly 40 years as an offensive line coach in pro and college football. “He’s one of the two or three guys in the league who can execute a one-on-one block, and with no help, really knock his guy back.”

To Nelson, it’s the imperative of what he called “close combat.”

“I try to impose my will on my opponents,” he said. “If your man is consistently not making plays, he’ll get frustrated. His motivation goes down. You can see that.”

Those playing behind Nelson, most notably the passer, reap the benefits, which nowadays is usually the overarching objective. Nelson certainly should make life easier for Jacoby Brissett, who inherited the starting quarterback spot when Andrew Luck suddenly retired last month.

“Quarterbacks today have learned to feel the rush coming from the edge,” Baldinger said. “The thing that really bothers them is if they can’t step up in the pocket because there’s pressure coming up the middle. That’s where somebody like Nelson is so valuable. Sometimes, he’s blocking two guys on every play. He’s like a good plumber, fixing every leak.