Is WR Jordy Nelson a good fit for the Seahawks?
Mar 19, 2019, 10:34 AM | Updated: 10:36 am
WR Jordy Nelson will reportedly visit the Seahawks Tuesday. (Getty)
(Getty)
After a relatively quiet free agency, the Seahawks drummed up a bit of national attention when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Seattle will host Pro Bowl wide receiver Jordy Nelson Tuesday. The Seahawks are one of five teams who are reportedly interested in the former Packer.
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Nelson, 33, spent nine seasons with Green Bay before being released in March 2018. He signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Oakland Raiders days later, and finished the season with 63 receptions for 739 yards and three touchdowns. He was released by the Raiders earlier this week.
Would Nelson be a good fit for the Seahawks? Seattle leans into it’s rushing offense and has holes to fill on defense, but another receiver wouldn’t hurt – right?
For 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard, the answer to that question depends on two things: Nelson’s contract value, and his willingness to contribute on special teams.
“I think one of the bigger challenges in this move will be special teams,” Huard said during Tuesday’s morning’s Brock and Salk show. “That’s something that we don’t talk about hardly at all. Yes, Seattle signed a kicker. Yes, they have an All-Pro punter. But their special teams phase of the game, their coverage teams, were not very good. And your receivers, your defensive backs, your corners, your linebackers – I think that will be a point of emphasis here in the later stages of free agency. It’s a very competitive environment. And with Jordy Nelson… that has to come into consideration when you’ve got receivers like Jaron Brown and David Moore, who are willing to be special teams participants. They’ve got to be a cut above those guys.”
“Is he a fit at 6-3, 215 as a big receiver on the outside? Yes. He’d be a fit. But he’s got to be a minimum deal. It’s got to be something truly, truly unique. And what would be unique about him is, with other teams that are out there that may want his services, if he’s willing to come here on a minimum deal with incentives, then he’s a fit. To give him any money, even Jaron Brown money, around $2 or $3 million, I don’t think makes sense. This team struggled to cover kicks. This team right now has not signed back Neiko Thorpe, who I would argue is their best special teams player. Will they? I hope so. This group has to get better in that phase of the game… and a guy like Jordy Nelson does not bring that to the table at all.”
Nelson’s ties to Seahawks general manager John Schneider predate the latter’s tenure in Seattle. Schneider was a personnel analyst to then-Packers general manager Ted Thompson – and later acted as director of football operations – when Green Bay drafted Nelson in 2008.
