Jordy Nelson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Nelson was born in Manhattan, Kansas, to Alan and Kim Nelson, farmers who lived in Riley and had season tickets to Kansas State football games. The Nelson farm, established by his great-great-grandfather who immigrated from Sweden, has been in the family for four generations. He attended Riley County High School in Riley, Kansas, and played football for the Falcons. During his senior year playing quarterback, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,029 yards and eight touchdowns. Nelson also rushed for 1,572 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry with 25 touchdowns. He was named Flint Hills Player of the Year by the Manhattan Mercury. In 2003, he played in the Kansas Shrine Bowl. In addition to football, he was an all-state basketball player, averaging 17.2 points per game his senior year. Nelson was an outstanding track and field athlete and won a national AAU championship in the 400 meters as a 10-year-old. In 2003, his senior year at Riley County High School, he won the state titles in Class 3A in the 100 meters, with a time of 10.63 seconds, which is currently the fastest 100m time in state history for class 3A; 200 meters, with a time of 21.64 seconds; 400 meters, with a time of 48.79; and long jump, with a leap of 7.00 meters. Nelson became the third player from Riley County High School to make the NFL, joining Jon McGraw and Homer Hanson.

In Their Own Story

The air in Lambeau Field was thin and biting, frosting the breath of fans huddled against the Wisconsin chill. With the clock bleeding out in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks' defense tightened its vice, daring anyone to break through their secondary. Then came the throw: a perfect spiral from Rodgers, cutting a sharp arc against the gray sky. On the boundary, Nelson didn't just run; he calculated. As the defender lunged, hands clawing at the air, Nelson adjusted his stride with surgical precision. He snatched the ball away from the fingertips of the coverage, his concentration absolute. The moment he crossed the goal line, the stadium didn't just cheer—it erupted. A deafening roar rolled off the frozen turf, cementing a connection between quarterback and receiver that would define an entire era.

Reader's Guide

Nelson attended Kansas State University, where he played for coach Bill Snyder's Wildcats football team from 2003 through 2005. When Snyder retired after the 2005 season, Nelson remained with Kansas State and played the rest of his college career (2006 and 2007) under Ron Prince. He began his college career as a walk-on at Kansas State and took his redshirt year as a member of the Wildcats' 2003 Big 12 Championship team. For 2004, Nelson was set to play defensive back, but during spring practice following his first year, Snyder moved him to the wide receiver position. He did not record any meaningful statistics in the Wildcats' 4–7 season in 2004. In the 2005 season, Nelson caught 45 passes for 669 yards and eight touchdowns, leading the team in all major receiving categories. In his junior season (2006), Nelson was listed on the Biletnikoff Award watchlist, but injuries kept him off the field most of his junior year. He finished the 2006 season with 39 receptions for 547 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown, leading the team in receptions and receiving yards. In his senior season (2007), Nelson broke out and earned consensus All-American honors and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award after catching 122 passes for 1,606 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also threw two touchdown passes and returned two punts for touchdowns. At the time his collegiate career ended, he was second in school history in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns to Kevin Lockett in records going back to 1956.

Did You Know?

• Nelson was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft.
• He won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers in the 2010 season, catching a touchdown pass in the game.
• As of September 2025, Nelson holds the Packers franchise record for the most Lambeau Leaps performed by a player (27).
• He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2023.
• Nelson played one year with the Oakland Raiders after leaving the Packers in 2018 before retiring.