Jordy Nelson Scouting Report

Jordy Nelson came to Kansas State as a walk-on and will leave with his name stamped all over the school's record books; with it, a definite NFL future. Nelson redshirted in 2003 and didn't see any action the next year as a member of the defensive backfield. But, he moved to offense in 2005 and immediately had an impact in the K-State offense, catching 45 passes for 669 yards and eight touchdowns and garnering second-team All-Big 12 honors in the process. Last season, he struggled with injuries and was limited to 39 catches, 547 yards, and a single touchdown. Nelson had eight 100+ yard games: including performances of 209 and 214 yards, six games with 10 or more catches and wasn't held below four catches or 82 yards in any game this season - on the way to compiling 122 catches, 1,606 yards, and 11 touchdowns. His catches and yards totals ranked him second in the nation behind Texas Tech freshman Michael Crabtree, who he joined on the AP All-America first team. His best games were a 15-catch, 209-yard day in a win over Missouri St. and a 14-catch, 214-yard day against Iowa St. He didn't just put up big numbers against lesser teams, catching 12 passes for 176 yards and three scores against Oklahoma St., 12 for 116 and a score in an upset of Texas, and his most notable performance of the year was when he had 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown against Kansas -- getting the better of his matchup with star corner Aqib Talib, who is likely going to be a first-round pick in 2008. Nelson's got excellent size and hands and although his timed 40 isn't going to blow you away, he's got more than enough to blow by his defenders. He's going to give it his all on every play. He's got excellent moves, so he can turn a 5-yard slant into a 50-yard score in a hurry. He can also be a contributor on special teams, as he had punt return touchdowns of 89 and 92 yards this season, even though he wasn't the primary punt returner. He's also been an impact member of K-State's special teams unit throughout his career and could be a real asset there if he doesn't see a lot of playing time at receiver early on. Nelson helped out his draft stock tremendously with his monster senior year and even though the Wildcats won't be playing in a bowl game, he has a couple more chances to prove himself to the scouts -- at the Senior Bowl and at the NFL combine. If he continues to impress, he should be off of the board on Day 1 and could very well jump into the second round. Update (2/13/08): After seeing his stock rise during an All-American season, Nelson helped his draft standing even more with a strong week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile last month. Nelson only made one catch for 12 yards for the North team in their 17-16 loss, but that one pass he caught was the only one that was thrown to him all game long. Impressing the scouts on hand during the week of practice is what could have him in the first-day range heading into next week's combine. Update (3/12/08): In last month's combine, Nelson (who measured in a 6 feet, 2 1/2 inches and tipped 217 pounds on the scales) ran a best of 4.49 in the 40-yard dash, which likely quelled some questions about his timed speed. At this point, Nelson looks like a solid first-day pick and could very well go as high as the second round.