The Green Bay Packers are looking like the team to beat in the NFC North this year. They’ve had a pretty decent draft and a pretty good offseason on top of a squad that had plenty of talent before they added on. One of the reasons the team was expected to be among the best of the best before the the offseason even began is wide receivers like Jordy Nelson.
One year removed from an ACL tear, Nelson hauled in 97 passes for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns. This year, he’s expected to be even better and the NFL Network clearly agrees. The network has slowly been unveiling its Top 100 players for the 2017 season and Nelson has made the list at number 48.
Green Bay wide receiver looking for more hardware
Nelson is already the league’s reigning comeback player of the year thanks to his performance after ACL surgery. It’s hard to imagine what a list without a receiver that caught nearly 100 passes would look like so his addition in this group is hardly a shock.
The Kansas State grad has had more than a few scouts say he looks even better than he did before he suffered the injury. It’s a well-known addage that the year after the year off an injury of the magnitude which Nelson suffered is the one in which a player really returns to form.
It’s hard to think what kind of numbers Nelson could put up if his 2016 season was still somewhat hampered by recovery.
The one big question mark is whether or not this numbers might go down, simply because the Packers have more weapons. The franchise signed not one but two top of the line tight ends in order to give quarterback Aaron Rodgers more targets. If they are targeted more, Nelson could see his receptions drop despite being in better condition.
Several Packers players make the list
Nelson is the fourth member of the Packers to make the NFL Networks top 100 list so far this season. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is ranked number 77, while Clay Matthews comes in at 82 and Mike Daniels is 84. It’s a safe bet there will be a few more of Nelson’s teammates on there as the list continues to count up to number one.
Rodgers figures to be inside the top 20, if not the top 10 and there are a few other offensive players who could find themselves included as well.
This is the fourth time Nelson has made this particular set of rankings. He missed the list entirely last year thanks to the ACL injury. In 2015 he was ranked at number 18, while he was 83rd in 2014 and 80 in 2012. If he can come close to his 2016 numbers, expect him to be higher next year.
