Jordy Nelson on pace for History

Players are eclipsing milestones and breaking records in their careers every game, every week, every season. It comes with the territory of keeping track of statistics and information gathered through decades and decades of the NFL's existence.

The Packers will have a few players tackle a few milestones of their own, but the Kansas-bred Jordy Nelson will be aiming to do more than further heighten his statistical standing in 2017.

After being drafted in the second round in 2008, much like the previous big-name receiver the Packers had taken two years prior, Nelson's early years didn't bring much excitement. He served as the team's primary return man, including returning 36 kickoffs and 17 punts through his first two seasons alone. Eventually, he saw action in 29 of a possible 32 games with just two starts under his belt. His 66.05 catch percentage and 12.8 average yards per reception were enough for the Packers to keep him around.

Now eight years later, Nelson is knocking on the door of having the second-most receiving touchdowns in the history of the Green Bay Packers.

He finished his most recent season - 2016 - with 14 touchdowns, leading the league in that category. As if not impressive enough, he accomplished this feat a year following tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). His 152 targets was a career high and he started all 16 games for the Packers for the third straight year with the exception of 2015.

He'll be 32 years old at the end of May, and the wide receiver dubbed by colleagues as "White Lightning" hasn't shown any sign of slowing down.

Nelson currently has 63 career touchdowns, which is two behind Sterling Sharpe's 65. While not as efficient as Sharpe was in the seven seasons it took to reach 65 before his career was cut short, Nelson is knocking on the door after nine accrued seasons; eight that he has played in.

Sharpe, meanwhile, was on another level in the 48 games between 1992 and 1994 where he amassed 3,854 receiving yards and 42 touchdowns while catching 61.7 percent of his targets. To put that into perspective, Jerry Rice had 38 receiving touchdowns in that span while Sharpe was catching passes from a young, developing Brett Favre. 

The 2016 NFL touchdown leader is by no stretch of the imagination the same force on the field that Sharpe was during his years in Green Bay, but Nelson's last 48 games are somewhat telling. 

In his 48-game stretch from 2013 through 2016 (once again ruling out 2015), Nelson tallied 4,090 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns of his own. All while hauling in 65.2 percent of his catches. Of course, it helps to have Aaron Rodgers throwing you the football, but it's worth noting that Rodgers missed seven games in 2013. Nelson was catching passes from the likes of Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien and Seneca Wallace for a good portion of that season.

The Packers are gifted with someone with smarts on the boundary. Nelson has thrived in working the sideline on routes and perfected the art of running back towards Rodgers when the protection breaks down and the ball has to leave Rodgers' possession in a hurry. Not to mention, Nelson's footwork off the line of scrimmage has seemingly grown to an impeccable level as he matures. Having the same quarterback throwing to you for your ultimately your entire career under the same head coach in Mike McCarthy also helps, too.

The trek to greatness will continue for Nelson next season, and with 625 more receiving yards, he'll slip past Don Hutson for the fourth-most receiving yards in team history. 143 more yards on top of that and he'll also skate by Sharpe and move into third all-time. He'd sit only behind James Lofton's 9,656 benchmark and Donald Driver, who headlines the list with 10,137 yards.

One thing is for certain: nobody is touching Hutson's 99 receiving touchdowns, a record that may just stand the test of time.

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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

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Comments (9)

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worztik's picture

April 04, 2017 at 01:43 pm

Jordy rocks!!!

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4zone's picture

April 04, 2017 at 02:59 pm

I don't know bout that 99 being unreachable. 10 plus per year the next 4 years... Its doable.

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Lphill's picture

April 04, 2017 at 05:16 pm

Wonderful player , model citizen , role model , intense after every TD like its his first. A true Packer

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mjbrogno's picture

April 04, 2017 at 05:30 pm

We're spoiled by Jordy's ability as a player and definitely as a person

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NickPerry's picture

April 04, 2017 at 09:24 pm

Love Jordy Nelson. The minute he jogged out on the field in the NFCCG against Atlanta wearing a flack Jacket I gained even more respect for a man I already had a ton of respect for.

Like 4zone stated...99 TD's isn't out of the question. either. 100 TD's is a perfectly reasonable target as long as he stays healthy.

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Brian Mac's picture

April 04, 2017 at 09:57 pm

Check out Jordys college highlights at Kansas. It was obvious this guy was special. Just a joy to watch.

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croatpackfan's picture

April 05, 2017 at 03:06 am

Great review Zach!

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Since'61's picture

April 05, 2017 at 08:32 am

Jordy is the best of the best. Thanks, Since '61

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Rustyweezee's picture

April 05, 2017 at 05:23 pm

Lotta stats article. Jordy's pretty damn good, and fortunate as well to land in McCarthy's offense which fits him great. Besides, he's paired with Rodgers, whose accuracy and ability to extend plays has made Jordy's talent only better. Other talented receivers on the roster also helps a lot by drawing a share of coverage away from Jordy.

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