Cardinals rookie receiver J.J. Nelson somehow overran an overthrown ball
Aug 26, 2015, 12:20 PM | Updated: 2:35 pm
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver J.J. Nelson (14) pulls in a pass as San Diego Chargers cornerback Richard Crawford (35) defends during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
If you’d like to comprehend what having 4.28-second speed in the 40-yard dash feels like, then soak in Arizona Cardinals receiver J.J. Nelson’s account of his 57-yard reception this past weekend against the Chargers.
Nelson made an appearance on the “Off the Edge” show on Arizona Sports 98.7 and explained how he had to catch up to an overthrown ball by quarterback Carson Palmer.
The more ridiculous part of it?
Nelson said he ended up over-running the throw.
“First, like you say, it was a go ball,” Nelson told “Off the Edge’s” Bertrand Berry. “The defender, he was off coverage at least 10 yards. I got to break this cushion. After I broke the cushion, I looked up for the ball, and it looked like it was going to sail over my head. So I was like, ‘man, I got to accelerate, I got to find a way to get to this ball.’ So when I looked back, I felt like I overran the ball — that’s what made me catch it like by my hip and I ended up falling.”
Palmer said after the game that he believed he’d overthrown Nelson and that the rookie wideout put on the nitrous to catch up to the ball.
The video backs Nelson’s explanation. If Palmer indeed overthrew the ball then Nelson, who clocked a 4.28 seconds in the NFL Combine’s 40-yard draft this year, somehow made up ground and then some.
“I wish I stayed on my feet and got into the endzone,” Nelson added. “At that point in time, I was like, ‘I just got to make this play.'”
