Big Ten Football: 20 Best NFL players from Big Ten schools

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Super Bowl MVP New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) meets with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) after Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Ranking the 20 best NFL players from Big Ten schools, including Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson and Drew Brees.

Best NFL Players from the ACC / SEC / Big 12 / Pac-12

The Big Ten may not have had a quarterback taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since Kerry Collins was taken fifth overall by the Carolina Panthers out of Penn State in 1995, but the conference has still produced some elite signal-callers.

Drew Brees was taken with the first pick in the second round after leading the Purdue Boilermakers to the Rose Bowl. Russell Wilson was a third round pick after spending one season with the Wisconsin Badgers where he led them to a Rose Bowl. And Tom Brady may be the best quarterback of all-time, but was mostly an afterthought in the eyes of the NFL after leaving Michigan.

Besides the quarterbacks, the Big Ten can claim the best defensive player in the NFL in J.J. Watt and a future Hall of Fame offensive tackle in Joe Thomas who both went to Wisconsin.

Those five aforementioned players are just some of the best NFL players from Big Ten schools that will appear on this list.

Michigan and the Ohio State Buckeyes are Big Ten royalty but it was Wisconsin and the Penn State Nittany Lions to lead the way with five and four players, respectively, coming from those two programs.

Without further ado, here are the 20 best NFL players from Big Ten schools. After reading through the list of players, please offer up your thoughts and continue the conversation in the comments section and on our social media.