Green Bay Packers: Ted Thompson’s top 30 draft picks of all-time

2. Jordy Nelson (Ray’s pick)

When Ted Thompson drafted Jordy Nelson out of the University of Kansas in the second round (#36 overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft, we probably didn’t get too excited.

He was a big receiver who had speed and could jump, but he wasn’t one of those guys who made headlines and were being touted by draft experts as someone who could become one of the best in the league.

Since then, things have changed a bit.

Nelson earned the number one receiver spot with the team and became one of Aaron Rodgers’ most reliable and favorite targets.

And that was before he blew out his ACL, forcing him to miss all of the 2015 season.

But it was the Packers offense that was to miss Nelson most.

We all know how good the duo of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb was in 2014, with both receivers going over 1,000 yards and helping to lead the Green Bay Packers to the franchise’s fourth straight NFC North Division championship.

It was a helluva year for the two Packers stars, but was also a record-breaking individual year for Nelson.

In fact, with Nelson’s six catches for 86 yards in the season’s finale, he officially surpassed Robert Brooks‘s all-time single season record of 1,497 yards on 102 catches.

Nelson finished his 2014 season with 98 catches for 1,519 yards (15.5-yard average) and 13 touchdowns.

The Manhattan, Kansas, farm boy has long been overlooked as one of the best in the game, despite the fact that he’s caught pass after pass and had big game after big game.

It really wasn’t until he was out of the lineup in 2015 that people realized just what he brought to the team and the game.

In addition to his single season franchise record, Nelson also registered seven touchdowns in that season of 2014 that went for 40-plus yards. That’s better than the likes of Elroy Hirsch, Bob Hayes and Jerry Rice – all Pro Football Hall of Famers.

That’s some pretty good company.

It will most likely be some time before another Packers receiver registers more than 1,500 yards in a single season like Nelson did that season.

In fact, he was the first Packers receiver to surpass 1,500 yards. That’s a pretty special accomplishment.

Nelson caught passes for more than 100 yards in seven games that year, with his best performance coming in Week 2 against the New York Jets, when he caught 209 yards in passes.

In Week 10 against the Chicago Bears, Nelson caught six passes for 152 yards and then in Week 14 against Atlanta, he caught passes for 146 yards.

Those were his three best days.

And what we were all expecting coming off that season was nothing but better in 2015.

Nelson, in his patented “aw shucks” demeanor, isn’t about to boast about his accomplishments, but he is clearly an elite receiver.

In his career, Nelson has caught exactly 400 passes for 6,109 yards.

If that’s not elite, I don’t know what is.

He and Aaron Rodgers have also developed a chemistry over the past few years that is better than any in the entire league.

That’s probably the biggest reason that Nelson will have a huge role in 2016. The Packers and Rodgers will look to him week after week to be the guy to make the big play.

And if 2016 is anything like 2014, look for Nelson to once again put up monster numbers … and give the Packers a chance at a run at the Super Bowl.

In a piece I wrote a while back about the Rodgers and Nelson connection, I utilized a graphic that was previously published by The Washington Post that compared all of the best QB/WR duos in the NFL and concluded that the Rodgers-to-Nelson connection was far and away the best.

And if you look closely, this graphic doesn’t take into account the record-breaking season Nelson had in 2014.

With Nelson’s return this coming season, you can bet that Rodgers and Nelson will pick up where they left off.

Unless something unforeseeable occurs, these two will be together for at least the next three seasons.

It can only get better.

Next: No. 2 (Freddie's pick)