After starting for four seasons in Madison, Nelson will look to continue his career in the pros.
Height: 6020
Weight: 203 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.38 seconds
Vertical jump: 39.5 inches
Broad jump: 126 inches (10’6”)
Short shuttle: 3.92 seconds
Three-cone drill: 6.62 seconds
Bench press: 14 reps
*All testing numbers are from the Wisconsin Pro Day held on March 9th.
Strengths: Nelson is a big time athlete, blew up the Pro Day from a testing perspective. Has a ton of experience, started for parts of four seasons. Opportunistic as a playmaker, has also shows glimpses of high level football IQ. Effective in both single high and two high alignments as a safety.
Weaknesses: Nelson has been good when on the field for the Badgers, but he’s missed a lot of time with injuries. Nelson can also be a bit over zealous in coverage, and will at times over run his zones and also over pursue, and miss tackles in space because of it. Inconsistent tackler, more throws his body at the runner rather than form tackling.
Wisconsin safety Scott Nelson, who ran 4.38 at Pro Day with 39.5 vertical, had virtual meeting today with the Los Angeles Chargers, per a league source. Previously, worked out for Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers and several teams doing homework on him. #Chargers #NFLDRAFT
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 12, 2022
Summary: Nelson is an intriguing prospect for multiple reasons. His high end athleticism will give him ample opportunities to catch on, but his ball skills and attacking nature from the back end of defenses is also fun and should be a potential developmental option for teams. He’ll also be good on special teams, despite not playing them a ton at UW, because of his athleticism and ability to play gunner on punt and on kickoff coverage. He’s a single high free safety, something that’s tough to come by in modern football.
Ideal Scheme Fit: Multiple defense that allows him to use his athleticism as both a single high free safety as well as two high defenses that rotate weak/strong to allow him to occasionally rob.
Projected Round: Round 7/Undrafted Free Agent