Player Profile

Matt Nelson

DE • 6'8" • 295 lbs • Cedar Rapids, IA, USA

Ball-hunting defenderSplash play profile

Matt Nelson shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 18.3 disruption score.

Usage Score

3.7

Efficiency

18.3

Consistency

58.1

Season Value

25.2

Career Arc

Season-by-season value trend

Best season by value score: 2018 Postseason · Iowa

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Quick Facts

Career Teams
1
Seasons Tracked
7
Primary stop by seasons
Iowa
Best season by value score
Best season by value score: 2018 Postseason · Iowa
Peak game by takeover score
Peak game by takeover score: Rutgers

Matt Nelson, DE. Best season Best season by value score: 2018 Postseason · Iowa. Matt Nelson shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 18.3 disruption score.

Player insights

Lead takeaway

Best season by value score: 2018 Postseason

Iowa paired 9 primary output with 18.3 efficiency.

Supporting note

2018 Postseason role shape

impact-led usage with 18.3 efficiency.

Supporting note

Career value stayed steady

2018 Regular Season tracked close to the prior stop by season value score.

Supporting note

Peak game by takeover score: Iowa State

Win with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet. It landed in the 100th percentile of the selected season.

Season Explorer

Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.

2018 Postseason · Iowa

Games

12

Havoc Plays / G

0.8

Efficiency

18.3

Usage

3.7

Consistency

58.1

Best Game by takeover score

Mississippi State

Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.

Game-by-Game Trend

123456789101112

Chronological game order.

Game by game trend chart. Mississippi State: 0.5. Northern Illinois: 1. Iowa State: 2. Unknown: 0. Wisconsin: 0. Minnesota: 0. Indiana: 1. Maryland: 1. Penn State: 1.5. Purdue: 0. Northwestern: 1. Nebraska: 1

Volume vs Efficiency

Low volume / high quality

High volume / high quality

Low volume / lower quality

High volume / lower quality

Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.

Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Mississippi State: 4 by 21.7. Northern Illinois: 4 by 26.7. Iowa State: 3 by 32.5. Unknown: 1 by 4.2. Wisconsin: 1 by 4.2. Minnesota: 2 by 8.3. Indiana: 1 by 14.2. Maryland: 1 by 14.2. Penn State: 6 by 40. Purdue: 3 by 12.5. Northwestern: 2 by 18.3. Nebraska: 3 by 22.5

Split Comparison

Wins0.9 · n=7 · +0.3 vs Losses
Losses0.6 · n=4 · -0.3 vs Wins
First Half0.6 · n=6 · -0.3 vs Second Half
Second Half0.9 · n=6 · +0.3 vs First Half

Game Log

Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.

12 games

Featured metric

Havoc Plays

Top game by takeover score

Iowa State

Best efficiency game

40 vs Penn State

Result
Tue 1/1vs Mississippi StateW 27-22410.5000
Fri 11/23vs NebraskaW 31-2832001
Sat 11/10vs NorthwesternL 10-1421001
Sat 11/3@ PurdueL 36-3832000
Sat 10/27@ Penn StateL 24-30620.5001
Sat 10/20vs MarylandW 23-010001
Sat 10/13@ IndianaW 42-1611001
Sat 10/6@ MinnesotaW 48-3122000
Sun 9/23vs WisconsinL 17-2811000
Sat 9/15vs Unknown11000
Sat 9/8vs Iowa StateW 13-331110
Sat 9/1vs Northern IllinoisW 33-741001

Career Arc

Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.

  1. 1

    Iowa

    2014-2018

    Opening stop

Season Progression

2014201520162017201720182018
SeasonTeamPrimaryEfficiencyUsageDelta
2014 Regular SeasonIowa0
2015 Regular SeasonIowa00
2016 Regular SeasonIowa1123.77.811
2017 PostseasonIowa6132.9-5
2017 Regular SeasonIowa6132.90
2018 PostseasonIowa918.33.73
2018 Regular SeasonIowa918.33.70

Signature Performances

Top Games

#1 Featured game

Rutgers

Win with backfield disruption leading the way.

5

Primary metric

5 disruption/tackle impact with 66.5 takeover score.

#2

Northwestern

2

Primary metric

Loss with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.

2 disruption/tackle impact with 51.2 takeover score.

#3

Iowa State

2

Primary metric

Win with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.

2 disruption/tackle impact with 49.1 takeover score.

#4

Penn State

1.5

Primary metric

Loss with 1.5 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.

1.5 disruption/tackle impact with 40.9 takeover score.

#5

Unknown

2

Primary metric

Game with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.

2 disruption/tackle impact with 32.7 takeover score.

Top Seasons

#1 Season by value score

2018 Postseason · Iowa

9 primary output · 18.3 efficiency · 3.7 usage

25.2

#2

2018 Regular Season · Iowa

25.2

9 primary · 18.3 efficiency · 3.7 usage

#3

2016 Regular Season · Iowa

17.1

11 primary · 23.7 efficiency · 7.8 usage

Milestones

1

Impact games

1

Splash games

0

10+ tackle games

Bio, Recruit, and Data Context

Recruit Profile

3★

Class 2014 · Rating 0.8647

Xavier · Cedar Rapids, IA

Committed To
Iowa
Commit Date
Jan 1, 2014

Career Facts

1

Career teams

7

Seasons tracked

96

Career Tackles

Data Context

Coverage spans 7 tracked seasons, 36 games, and base opponent context only. Derived metrics fall back to raw production when share or rating context is missing.

Career Metric Focus

Switch the career lens without tearing down the page.

Quick Answers

Matt Nelson quick answers

Recruiting profile

3-star recruit

Position
DE
Teams played for
1
Seasons tracked
7
Career tackles
96