For the first time in his NFL career, Jordy Nelson is heading into training camp with another team aside from the Green Bay Packers. This has presented an entirely new opportunity to get comfortable with his surroundings and new teammates with the Oakland Raiders.
The bulk of that importance will be building his bond on the field with Derek Carr prior to the 2018 NFL season. With that in mind, Nelson voiced little concern that he can build a strong rapport with his new quarterback by improving it through practice the way he did with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, according to RDreamer of Silver and Black Pride:
“It’s going great. It’s just communication and getting the reps on the field. It’s no different than what Aaron [Rodgers] and I did for 10 years. We’ll continue to grind at it. It’s getting on the same page, understanding the playbook the same way and then getting the reps in on the field if it’s on air, one-on- one, seven-on- seven, team, all of that. It all adds up – just being comfortable with one another,” said Nelson.
Since Nelson’s arrival to the Raiders, that has been one of the primary focuses as he and Carr have already begun to work toward building that crucial on-the-field connection. Nelson is expected to take a huge role in the passing game filling the void left by the departure of Michael Crabtree.
The 32-year-old is coming off a season where he experienced a significant drop in production, which has provided him extra motivation to prove he still has plenty left in the tank to be a highly dependable asset in the offense. Prior to the 2017 NFL season, he had a streak of three consecutive seasons posting at least 85 receptions, 1,200 receiving yards, and eight touchdown catches.
This production came in the way of his strong connection with Rodgers as he had become the Packers’ most reliable target in the passing game. It had led to him and Rodgers setting the franchise mark by pairing up for 65 touchdowns between a quarterback and wide receiver. This type of success is something that the Raiders hope can be duplicated between Carr and Nelson over the next couple of seasons. Only time will tell if this can wind up developing into an effective connection in Oakland.
