For almost a decade (2008-2017), the signature play of the Green Bay Packers offense was MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers uncorking a deep, play-action shot play that was dialed up by head coach Mike McCarthy to Pro Bowl wide receiver Jordy Nelson.
Now, Nelson, a Packers team Hall of Famer who ranks fourth in team history in catches (550) and third in receiving touchdowns (69), admires what McCarthy's successor, Matt LaFleur, and Rodgers' successor, Jordan Love, are putting together on offense in Green Bay. Love's 32 touchdown passes ranked second in the NFL behind only McCarthy's Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott, in Love's first year in place of Rodgers as the Packers full-time starting quarterback. The 25-year-old quarterback broke Green Bay's single-game playoff records for passer rating (157.2) and yards per pass attempt (13) in the Packers' 48-32 NFC wild-card round win at McCarthy's Cowboys this past season.
"It's been fun to watch," Nelson said on Cheesehead TV on Tuesday when asked about the new era of the Packers with head coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love. "I think it will continue to be fun to watch the development of these young players that they have gathered over the last, I'll say handful of years if you will, and the confidence and consistency that they're starting to play with."
Nelson likes what he has seen so far, but he also wants to see Love and an offense that set post-1970 AFl/NFL merger records for the most catches (302), receiving yards (3,642) and receiving touchdowns by an NFL team's first- and second-year players in a single season to continue to churn out high-level play on a regular basis before fully anointing Green Bay's next generation, high-flying passing attack. Love and the youthful offense in which Christian Watson was the old man in the receivers room at 24 caught fire in the second half of the regular season and in the postseason, with Love throwing 23 touchdowns to only three interceptions as the Packers won seven of their final 10 games of the season.
Jordan Love 2023 season (including playoffs)
| First 9 games | Last 10 games | |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 3-6 | 7-3 |
Comp Pct | 58.7% | 69.8% |
Pass YPG | 223.2 | 261.6 |
TD-INT | 14-10 | 23-3 |
Passer Rating | 80.5 | 112.1 |
"I think that's [confidence and consistency] really where you can separate yourself as a good player and a great player if you're able to do it week in and week out," Nelson said. "I've seen it throughout the league when I played and since: I think everyone can have a 350-yard passing game with four touchdowns. Everyone can have that flash in the pan. A receiver can go for 150 and two touchdowns, but are you able to consistently do it week in and week out and string it together year in and year out? I think that's where you start separating yourself."
Now that the Super Bowl XLV champion has been retired for five seasons, last playing NFL football in 2018, he looks forward to watching the Packers on Sundays in 2024. Nelson said he actually plans to be at Green Bay's season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, versus the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 of the upcoming season.
"They have plenty of talent there, and they have guys that have been able to be slightly consistent, but if it's health reasons or other reasons, but to see if they can do it over 17 games for a whole season and then year to year, I'm looking forward to seeing if that progresses into next year," Nelson said.