J.J. Nelson Set to Be Another Star in Bruce Arians' Wide Receiver Factory

Ten years ago, Bruce Arians was the wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was Arians' second year in the job, and he was mostly working with veteran receivers in an offense that didn't rely heavily on the position. The Steelers didn't draft a receiver that year, but they did pick up an undrafted player out of little-known Tiffin University in Ohio.

That receiver essentially didn't play during the regular season, but earned a spot on the roster and had the first catch of his career in the AFC Championship game.

Nate Washington wouldn't go on to be a great wide receiver. It wasn't a fairytale story. Yet, Washington did develop from a forgotten prospect playing football for a college that had never had a player make it in the NFL before, to a quality starter.

He was primarily just a deep threat during his early years, averaging over 15 yards per reception over his first three seasons, while struggling with drops. By the time Washington hit free agency and joined the Tennessee Titans, he had become a well-refined route runner and a reliable hands catcher.

Washington improved so much that he even went through a whole season with the Titans without dropping a pass later in his career.

Giving all of the credit for Washington's success to Arians would be unfair to the receiver. However, it's no coincidence that Washington overachieved so much after entering the league under the coach. Since then, Arians has consistently turned overlooked receivers into quality players in the NFL.

In Pittsburgh, Arians watched over the early years of Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown. He also had Santonio Holmes, but Holmes was a first-round pick. During his one season in Indianapolis, T.Y. Hilton established himself as an overachieving rookie before Arians moved on to Arizona.

Now as the Arizona Cardinals head coach, Arians has watched over the resurgence of Larry Fitzgerald's career while developing receivers such as John Brown, Jaron Brown, Michael Floyd and now J.J. Nelson. Of those four, only Floyd was a high draft pick, and he was picked before Arians was hired.

Nelson is similar to Nate Washington in the sense that he is a speedster who came from a small school and had to earn his place on the depth chart. He's not as tall, but has proven to be more effective early on.

With Michael Floyd ailing on Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, Nelson was the surprising contributor ahead of Jaron Brown. The 23-year old caught four passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. His play earned the praise of his quarterback, Carson Palmer.

Speaking to AZCentral.com, the MVP candidate said:

"

“I think everybody expected him to make the plays that he did, and I’m just glad to see him do it. I think he started to realize he’s not just a player, he’s a big-time player.”

"

The Cardinals don't necessarily need Nelson to be that good. They have one of, if not the deepest group of wide receivers in the league, without even including the rookie. It doesn't hurt to have another option though.

If Nelson is to become a big-time player, he'll do it by relying on big plays.

Credit: NFL.com

His biggest play against the Cincinnati Bengals came early on during the third quarter on 1st-and-10. The Cardinals were losing by 14-7 at this point of the game, so this was a crucial play to kickstart the offense and push them towards a victory.

Nelson lines up to the left of the offense with Darqueze Dennard across from him in close proximity.

Credit: NFL.com

Dennard let Nelson go as he released past him inside. The receiver was picked up by safety Reggie Nelson, but J.J. continued across the field into space where George Iloka had unwisely vacated his zone. Reggie had no chance of catching up to J.J. once the receiver approached midfield.

As he has done throughout this season, Palmer delivered a perfect deep ball for his receiver to run underneath.

J.J. was able to comfortably catch the ball without breaking stride before continuing to accelerate downfield. Reggie made a desperation tackle attempt, but couldn't prevent the receiver from reaching the end zone. He was dragged down just as he broke the plane for the 64-yard score.

Speed is often overrated in the NFL. Players need to be technically precise and stronger to be effective against the athletic defenders at the highest level. While Nelson isn't especially strong or technical, he's good enough in both areas to show off his speed.

Nelson's speed isn't just good—it's special. He ran a 4.28 40-yard dash time at the combine and it all translates to the field. In the Cardinals offense, he can act as a Mike Wallace type of complement while he continues to develop his game.

Wallace entered the league as a complement to Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes before developing into the Steelers' primary receiving option. He did so in Arians' offense, of course.

Although Wallace has special speed also, he didn't ever show off as much fluidity as Nelson has so far. Nelson made one impressive adjustment early in the game for his first reception. It was a play where he gained 23 yards on a 3rd-and-16.

He followed up with another reception for a first down on 3rd-and-long, but this time he showed off even more of his more natural athleticism and body control.

Credit: NFL.com

The Bengals aren't typically a team that relies on its ability to confuse quarterbacks with blitzes. In this moment, they felt compelled to because it was 3rd-and-14, relatively close to midfield when they were losing in the second half.

Blitzing Palmer meant that the Bengals gave Nelson a free release off the line with a defender alone in space across from him.

Credit: NFL.com

Obviously fearing Nelson's speed and attempting to play the situation, Dre Kirkpatrick stays deep at the snap and is tentative to close on Nelson even after the ball is thrown. Kirkpatrick conceded the slant route and expected to be able to make the tackle short of the first down marker.

Everything went as designed for the Bengals. They forced the quick, short throw and had a defender in position to make the tackle.

Credit: NFL.com

Kirkpatrick couldn't make that tackle though. He couldn't because of how exceptionally quick Nelson was to turn past him. Nelson is very light, so that becomes the talking point on this type of play, but it's more significant that he doesn't waste any motion in his movement.

Nelson is already a small target to hit. When he is so compact in his movements, it makes it even tougher to locate him in space.

Not only does the receiver turn away from Kirkpatrick, but he is able to extend the play towards the sideline for a first down and a 36-yard gain. Once again, this was a huge play for the Cardinals as it moved the offense into scoring position and prevented the Bengals from forcing a punt late in the third quarter.

The Cardinals were clearly comfortable going to Nelson in critical moments of a big game. They didn't fear his skill set or the potential pitfalls that come with limited experience. Palmer's confidence in Nelson can be traced back to training camp, when the receiver consistently stood out.

From Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com:

"

“J.J. looks like a different person,” Palmer said, “In OTAs and minicamp, he was a typical rookie. I think he was probably a little nervous trying to figure out where he fits in, does he belong, that kind of negative self-talk.

“Now he’s telling himself he’s the best receiver on the team. He’s playing like his 40 time. He’s catching everything. He’s making the routine catch, which he wasn’t before, but he’s also making the spectacular catch, which he wasn’t doing before.”

"

Arians himself deflected some of the credit for Nelson's early impression towards teammate John Brown (Smokey):

"

“Wherever you see Smoke, you see Fire,” coach Bruce Arians said. “That’s his nickname now. He’s always in Smoke’s hip picket, following him around, and that’s a good thing. Smoke’s been through it and he knows how to help him (Nelson) get to where Smoke is now and faster than Smoke got there last year.”

"

Even if Arians wants to credit those around him for the impressive play from his receivers, it's clear at this point that the head coach has an instinct for the position.

Much is made of Arians' work with quarterbacks, but for the most part he has always worked with high draft picks at the position, players who were celebrated as having a huge amount of talent before Arians worked with them. At receiver, it's different.

Arians has had some reputable talents to work with. However, it's his work with players such as Nelson is what makes him stand out from his peers. The Cardinals are quickly becoming a factory for wide receivers.