1) Introduction: Jordy Nelson has been a hot commodity for the Packers offense ever since last year’s postseason run to the Super Bowl, and his knack for the big play this year caught league-wide attention. As a man among talent at his position, he seemed to constantly be in competition with James Jones for the third wide receiver spot behind Jennings and Driver. Opportunity came knocking, though, when Jones’ free agent status and late re-signing basically allowed Nelson to slip ahead of him on the pecking order.
2) Profile:
Jordy Ray Nelson
Position: WR
Height: 6-3
Weight: 217 lbs.
AGE: 26
Career Stats: http://www.packers.com/team/roster/Jordy-Nelson/ba46e536-2782-4f2d-ba7b-334998fb3bbf
3) Expectations coming into the season: After Jordy Nelson’s postseason success the previous year, he looked to be a bigger cog in the 2011 Packers offense. There were quite a few people who expected him to have a breakout year, though they probably didn’t imagine it would be as spectacular as it was.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Jordy had a number of long touchdowns that put him in the spotlight this year, but it was his career-best 93-yard touchdown against the St. Louis Rams that really stood out. He also played a banner game against the Detroit Lions with Matt Flynn under center, catching 9 passes for 162 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 6 first downs. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, however, Jordy Nelson had perhaps his worst performance. Two early pass interference calls (though questionable) seemed to affect his play from that point forward, and some began to question his abilities without Greg Jennings there to help draw away coverage.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: When everything was said and done, Jordy Nelson tied Greg Jennings for a team-leading 71 receptions, ranked 6th in the league with 18.3 yards per catch and 3rd in the league with 15 touchdowns, and led the Packers receiving corps with a 69.6% catch rate. You can also add to the mix a total of 438 yards after the catch. He proved himself to be a reliable deep threat capable of making athletic catches along the sidelines and using his size effectively against defensive backs.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: For as amazing of a regular season as Jordy Nelson had, he became just another receiver in the playoff game against the Giants. Hauling in only 3 of his 7 targets, he amassed just 39 yards and 7 total yards after the catch. They did account for three Green Bay first downs, but in the end it just didn’t match his usual level of play.
Season Report Card:
(A+) Level of expectations met during the season
(A) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(B-) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade for the year: A-
——————Chad Toporski, a Wisconsin native and current Pittsburgh resident, is a writer for AllGreenBayPackers.com. You can follow Chad on twitter at @ChadToporski
Follow @ChadToporski——————
Spot on Chad. Jordy is going to be even better in 2012.
Thanks, Ron. I sure hope so!
Q: Did Jordy struggle with press coverage?
yes, which is why he wasn’t a big factor in the Chiefs game and the playoff game. He has to improve on keeping the DBs from getting into his body (keep them at arms’ length, so to speak…
Thanks Al. I thought that was the case, but wasn’t sure. I hope Jordy (and the other WRs) can improve in this one area, as the Chiefs game and the playoff loss to the G-men will be the blueprint teams try to use against the Packers in 2012.
Good review – Jordy was a huge factor in our regular season success. I would go A-or B+.
Agree on the A-. He was an important contributor to one of the leagues best offenses. His twisting sideline catch against the Giants was among the handful of best plays during the year (how did he get his feet in bounds?). It was a tougher play than Manningham’s SB catch.
Long-strider who runs good routes. Seems to get past defenders as well as anyone, except maybe Jennings. Great value player.
That play was pretty amazing. As a fan of his for a couple years now, this was a great season to watch him finally break out.
DO U GUYS LIVE HERE OR WHAT? SAME GUYS ALL THE TIME! LET OTHERS IN & GET A LIFE!
don’t follow this at all… You want to comment, then go ahead. Nobody’s preventing you from getting your opinions out there. There’s no limit on number of commenters. Go ahead, let’s hear what you have to say!
Jordy Nelson and JJones were the two most improved players for GB this season. Driver was usual depedable receiver, Jennings at top of his game as usual, but even as Finley disappointed, Nelson and Jones excited fans with excellent play.