Jamarcus Jermaine Nelson (born April 24, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA (C-USA) and participates in Division I of th ...

, earning first-team All-American honors in 2014. He was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in the fifth round of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. He also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Early years

Nelson attended Midfield High School in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, where he led them to the state Class 4A quarterfinals after finishing 11-2 during the regular season in 2009, recording 55 catches, 1,049 yards, 214 yards rushing, five interceptions, and 19 touchdowns. He was named The Birmingham News Metro-West Player of the Year. He was listed as the No. 27 state prospect on Birmingham News Super Seniors list and was selected to The Birmingham News All-Metro West Offensive Team. He was also named to the ASWA First-team All-State. As a

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

star, Nelson was a two-time Class 4A state champion in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

(best of 10.49 seconds). He also captured the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

title with a time of 21.76 seconds. In addition, he was a highly regarded

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Midfield, earning team MVP and All-region honors. He was a two-year letterwinner in both track and basketball.

College career

Nelson was named a member of the

2014 College Football All-America Team The 2014 College Football All-America Team includes those players of American college football who have been honored by various selector organizations as the best players at their respective positions. The selector organizations award the "All-Am ...

by the

Walter Camp Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', and

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

as a

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. Nelson was also

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player of the year and first-team All-conference as a wide receiver.

Professional career

At the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, Nelson had the fastest 40-yard dash with a time of 4.28 seconds, .04 seconds shy of the then-combine record of 4.24 seconds held then by Chris Johnson. Nelson was drafted by the

in the fifth round, 159th overall, of the

. In a 2015 game against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, Nelson scored his first career touchdown with a pass from quarterback

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

. He finished his rookie year with 11 receptions for 299 yards and two touchdowns. In 2016, Nelson played in 15 games with six starts, recording 34 catches for 568 yards and six touchdowns. He also had four rushing attempts for 83 yards and a touchdown including a run for 56 yards for the touchdown in Week 14. In Week 2 of the 2017 season, Nelson recorded five receptions for 120 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown catch in Arizona's 16–13 overtime win over the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. Nelson finished as the Week 2 yardage leader among all eligible receivers and won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In 2018, Nelson had a career-low seven receptions for 64 yards and no touchdowns on the season.

Oakland Raiders

On March 15, 2019, Nelson signed with the

. In week 3 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, Nelson caught 4 passes for 36 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season as the Raiders lost 34-14. He was released on October 10, 2019.

San Francisco 49ers

Nelson was signed by the

on August 15, 2020. He was placed on injured reserve on August 30, 2020, with a knee injury. He was released with an injury settlement on September 6, 2020.

Buffalo Bills

On January 1, 2021, Nelson signed with the practice squad of the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and was released three days later.

Indianapolis Colts

On February 1, 2021, Nelson signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 6, 2021. He was released on November 1.

References

External links

UAB Blazers Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, J. J. 1992 births Living people American football wide receivers American football return specialists Players of American football from Jefferson County, Alabama UAB Blazers football players All-American college football players Arizona Cardinals players Oakland Raiders players San Francisco 49ers players Buffalo Bills players Indianapolis Colts players