Jordy Nelson: Packers Teammates Wrong in Thinking Teams Still Sleep on White WR

Any edge Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson had on opponents who underestimated him because he was white is gone. Teammates may think defenders are still sleeping on him, but his productivity on the field has absolutely nothing to do with his race.

When Greg Jennings and matchup nightmare Jermichael Finley are on the field and the best quarterback in football is conducting the offense, it's hard for defenses to account for Nelson all the time.

It's not because he's white, it's because he's a talented player in an ideal situation.

Any defensive back who has encountered Nelson in the past knows all too well what he is capable of. His athleticism is no longer surprising. Those encountering Nelson for the first time who were too blind to recognize his talent on film only need a play or two to realize that they are in for a long day.

Nelson isn't a scrub. Before he established himself, that might not have been a universally accepted fact. Nobody is denying it now, with Nelson accruing 633 yards and seven touchdowns already this season.

White wide receivers have to deal with the same sort of ignorance black quarterbacks do. Just as teams know they have to fear Michael Vick and Cam Newton while they are in the pocket, teams know they can't sleep on Nelson.

Jennings told the AP,

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"Seriously, a lot of it has to do with the fact that guys look at him and say, ‘OK, he’s the white guy, he can’t be that good.’ Well, he is that good, he’s proven to be that good and it’s because of the work and the time that he’s put in—not only on the field but in his preparation off the field.”

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Nelson is a household name now. This notion that DBs see him as just another white guy is absurd.

Rodgers said on WAUK-AM that,

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“I was talking to ‘Wood’ in the fourth quarter and he said, ‘When you see Jordy out there, you think, “Oh well, he’s a white wide receiver. He won’t be very athletic.” But Jordy sort of breaks all those stereotypes,’” Rodgers said. “I am not sure why he keeps sneaking up on guys.”

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If Nelson were black, he would be racking up the same numbers. He's a talented receiver in an offense that allows a receivers to rack up ridiculous stats. Race isn't as big of an issue as the Packers are making it out to be.