Jordan Darrin (J.D.) Nelson is the son of former Minnesota Viking and San Diego Charger running back, Darrin Nelson. J.D. attended Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California where he played running back and defensive back on the football team. He missed his junior year of high school due to a knee injury. As a senior, Nelson rushed for over 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns. He added 300 receiving yards. He was responsible for 2 interceptions on defense. He was named El Camio back of the year and team offensive MVP. He was selected to play in the Midwest Peninsula all-star game at the conclusion of the season.. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Oregon where he sat out the 2002 season as a redshirt. He saw action the following season primarily as a reserve defensive back and special teams player, finishing with 15 tackles and 1 pass break-up on the season. He earned a starting position as a sophomore, finishing second on the team in total tackles with 66 stops on the year. He also had a forced fumble, 4 pass break-ups, and his first career interception. J.D. was forced to miss most of spring practices in 2005 due to a knee injury. He started all 12 games for the second consecutive season as a junior, totaling 66 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 5 pass break-ups and an interception on his way to second team all-conference honors. J.D. had arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason which caused him to miss spring practices in 2006. He returned to have his best season as a senior, finishing with career highs in tackles (88), sacks (3), forced fumbles (1), and interceptions (1). He was named second team all-conference for the second consecutive season.

J.D. Nelson has been starting at safety for the past three seasons at Oregon. He has a good combination of strength and athleticism for a safety. During that time he has been a very durable player who rarely misses playing time due to injury. He is an intelligent player who is quick to read and react to what the offense is doing. He is a physical very physical safety and an extremely hard hitter. He will step up and support the run and is typically a sure tackler, although he will get a bit overaggressive at times which will cause him to miss the occasional tackle while going for the big hit. He needs to improve his coverage skills to become a more complete player at the next level. J.D. has a tendency to bite on the play-action pass and he lacks ideal recovery speed. Nelson lacks ideal height for the safety position and will have trouble when he is matched up against bigger receivers and tight ends. He had offseason knee surgery following his junior season. Though he has seemed to have made a full recovery, this is definitely something that will be looked into at the combine. J.D. Nelson has a chance to develop into a solid strong safety in time. He should be able to contribute on special teams immediately and he looks to be a second day pick in the 2007 NFL draft.