-- If you want to even try and replicate the kind of chemistry shared between a wide receiver and his former MVP quarterback for the better part of 10 seasons, you're going to have to get a jump on it sooner rather than later.

That's what Jordy Nelson has been doing with his new quarterback, Derek Carr.

The Oakland Raiders started their veteran minicamp last week and Nelson and Carr have already been hard at work hoping to recreate the same bond Nelson and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers shared. That same bond that led to the most touchdowns between a quarterback-receiver duo in team history.

If the Raiders somehow struck gold with Nelson, who turns 33 years old in May, and reached a similar plateau of success, that'd make his two-year, $15 million dollar deal look all the more like a bargain.

"It's going great," Nelson said last week, according to SilverandBlackPride.com. "It's just communication and getting the reps on the field. It's no different than what Aaron [Rodgers] and I did for 10 years. We'll continue to grind at it.

"It's getting on the same page, understanding the playbook the same way and then getting the reps in on the field if it's on air, one-on-one, seven-on-seven, team, all of that. It all adds up; just being comfortable with one another."

Nelson's 10th season in Green Bay was nothing close to a celebration of hitting double-digits with the same organization. It was more so a dismal showing of Nelson's descendence into the latter stages of his career.

He wasn't able to break free of coverage as fluidly, nor was he the same downfield threat he was in the prime of his career. Still, he was impactful.

With Rodgers throwing to him all of 2016, Nelson led the league in touchdown receptions in his season returning from a torn ACL suffered in 2015.

He was the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, and he was on pace to accomplish the same feat in 2017 with a league-leading six touchdowns through the first five games before Rodgers' collarbone injury sidelined him for the rest of the campaign sans one game.

Having the Packers' second-string quarterback in Brett Hundley failing to establish a connection with Nelson couldn't help, either. But now, Nelson gets a fresh start in the bay area with a quarterback in Carr whose gradual, promising rise has been well-documented since entering the league in 2014.

"It's really cool," Carr said. "It's fun because when I was in college, I would watch Aaron [Rodgers] play all the time. I'd try to have some of the same mannerisms, getting it out quick, stuff like that."

While Rodgers and Carr universally agreed to be two completely different quarterbacks in terms of both skill and playing style, Carr reached a five-year, $125 million dollar extension with the Raiders last summer, setting his annual salary at $25 million.

Rodgers, however, is due for his own extension. It was rumored to come sometime during training camp, but with two years still left on the then-record deal signed in 2013, there's no rush on the Packers' side of things to get the deal done.

Rodgers' $22 million in annual earnings currently ranks ninth amongst 101 qualifying quarterbacks.

"Now listening to the mental side of things, how they worked together and him coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, what do you think about this, or this depth' learning that stuff has been really cool."