The plan is ultimately what sold him, and Matt Nelson sure is glad it did.
Nelson played 46 snaps at right tackle Sunday in the Detroit Lions’ 34-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing a position change and body transformation that was 18 months in the making.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa last spring, Nelson had never played offensive line until coming to Detroit.
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He started most of his final three seasons for the Hawkeyes at defensive end and had offers from several NFL teams to play that position, with the caveat that he could switch to offensive tackle — where he worked out at his pro day — if defense didn’t stick.