Dennis Ray Nelson (born February 9, 1946) is a former professional American football player who played tackle for seven seasons for the Baltimore Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Nelson was a four-year football letter winner at Illinois State University, a first-team Little All-American pick by the Associated Press on offense in 1968, a two-way all-conference tackle, and was drafted in the third round of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. He was a starting tackle in four of his six years with the Colts in the NFL, and was a member of the Colts' Super Bowl V winning team. He came out of retirement for one season to play for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976, and had his jersey retired by ISU on October 10, 1995.^[1]