Since 2011, the tandem of Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson was always in my top three when it came to discussing quarterback and receiver tandems. Within a span of two or three years, Jordy went on to establish himself as one of the best wide receivers in the National Football League. In 2015, he tore his ACL in the preseason and was lost for the year and his absence was more than noticeable and his impact on the Packers offense, more so Aaron Rodgers and his numbers weren’t what we’ve become accustomed to seeing. On Tuesday, the Packers made one of the biggest moves of free agency by signing free agent tight end Jimmy Graham, but it led to the release of Jordy Nelson. On Friday, he signed a two-year deal with the Oakland Raiders.
I sometimes think defenders underestimate him and what he’s able to do on the football field. He has unbelievable speed and he can breeze by anybody. You need to know where he’s at on the field at all times because if you don’t, he will make you pay for it. He’s such a smart receiver and he knows where to be in order to make a play. His foot is always on the gas and I love his release off the line of scrimmage to get free. He can run over the middle and he’s one of the better receivers at stretching the field and he works to get open, I guess that just came with playing with a quarterback who loves to extend plays with his feet most of the time. When you’re defending him and you think you have an interception, he finds some way to come away with the football and it shocks you. I’ll never forget one of his more memorable touchdowns. This was in 2014 and the Packers were playing the Patriots. It was a two-minute drill and Rodgers saw that Jordy had a straight man to man look on Darrelle Revis and he got him and was able to breeze by him and score.
I like this move for the Raiders because it gives them a veteran wide receiver for Derek Carr and a tandem of Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson could be a lethal one for defenders to limit. He gives the Raiders a consistent threat in the red zone and they’re also hoping this signing will bolster up their pass offense that struggled during the 2017 season.
