Any signs of Jordy Nelson slowing down? Raiders’ Derek Carr has your answer.
Jordy Nelson hit training camp practice in Napa for the first time as an Oakland Raider on Friday, and head coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr came away encouraged by what they saw from the veteran receiver.
“I saw Jordy run good routes,” Carr said. “For the most part, we know what Jordy can do and the thing you keep hearing about is he can’t run anymore. That’s false. I can tell you that he’s one of the fastest skilled guys we have still. He’s still Jordy Nelson, that’s for sure.”
It has been two seasons since Nelson was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year after missing all of 2015 because of a torn ACL he suffered in a preseason game with Green Bay.
Last season, his numbers dropped significantly partly because of not having Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center due to an injury in Week 6. Nelson finished with 482 receiving yards and six touchdowns after topping 1,000 yards in 2013, ‘14 and ‘16.
“He’s wired in,” Gruden said. “You can tell why he was a security blanket for Aaron Rodgers for all those years. He’s proven to us that he can run. We can line him up anywhere we want, and he can run any route we draw up.”
The 33-year-old finished his Packers career with 7,848 yards and 69 touchdowns since getting selected in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Nelson hit free agency and signed with the Raiders on a two-year, $15 million deal.
“He’s a guy that is easy to throw to him because he’s open,” Carr said. “There’s some guys that are good at running some routes, but the guy will be there strong at catching the ball or whatever. ... He just gets open.
“He’s very smart. He’s constantly on the coaches and yells, ‘I need to know my adjustment.’ He’s pushing the envelope that way as well. I can’t say enough good things and I can’t believe Green Bay let him go, but I’m glad he’s here.”