Ranking the 20 best NFL players from Pac-12 schools, including former Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Marcus Mariota.
Best NFL Players from the ACC / Big Ten / Big 12 / SEC
This list of the best NFL players from Pac-12 schools features Super Bowl winners, former No. 1 overall picks, a two-time league MVP and a handful of future Hall of Fame players.
The USC Trojans had the most players represented on the top 20 with six players named to the list, including former Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer who was named a second-team All-Pro last year with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Oregon Ducks came in second place with four players but none in the top 12. The Stanford Cardinal had three players named in the top seven and tied the Cal Bears for third place with three players named. The Washington Huskies had a pair of players named while the UCLA Bruins and Arizona Wildcats each had one player named.
- USC Trojans – 6
- Oregon Ducks – 4
- Stanford Cardinal – 3
- California Golden Bears – 3
- Washington Huskies – 2
- UCLA Bruins – 1
- Arizona Wildcats – 1
Honorable Mention goes to All-Pro special teams performers Michael Thomas and Johnny Hekker. I also wanted to give the lifetime achievement award to Terrell Suggs who missed all but one game last year but had 22 sacks the previous two years. His 106.5 career sacks are the fourth-most among active NFL players.
So without further ado, here are the 20 best NFL players from Pac-12 schools. After reading through the list, please leave your thoughts and reactions in the comments section to continue the conversation.
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20. Jurrell Casey – Third round pick out of USC in the 2011 NFL Draft is a hidden talent because he plays for the woeful Tennessee Titans. Casey has 28 career sacks from his defensive tackle, including 22.5 over the last three years and was rewarded with his first trip to the Pro Bowl after getting seven sacks in 2015.
19. Alex Mack – Former first round pick out of Cal started the first 85 games of his career with the Cleveland Browns before an injury cost him the last 11 games of 2014. Mack recovered and returned to the Pro Bowl (third overall) in 2015.
18. Jonathan Stewart – Injuries have stalled what looked like a promising career for the former first round pick out of Oregon. He’s missed 23 games over the last four years. He was on pace for a 1,200-yard season last year but missed three games and finished with 989 yards, his second-best single-season output.
17. Marcus Mariota – Last year’s No. 2 pick out of Oregon has a bright future ahead of him after completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 2,818 yards and 19 touchdowns. The Heisman winner also added two rushing touchdowns and one receiving score for the Titans. He should be a top-10 player on this list next year.
16. Desmond Trufant – First rounder out of Washington in the 2013 NFL Draft is one of the best young corners in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons standout has started every game of his career and has 44 career passes defended in 48 games. He was selected to his first of what could be many Pro Bowls in 2015.
Next: No. 15-10
15. Max Unger – Former second round pick out of Oregon in the 2009 NFL Draft was the top center in the NFL in 2012-2013 with the Seahawks. He was traded to the New Orleans Saints last year in the Jimmy Graham trade and had his best season since 2013 after he missed 10 games in 2014.
14. Cameron Jordan – The lone bright spot on the porous Saints defense. The former first rounder out of Cal has 38 sacks in the last four years and two Pro Bowl selections.
13. Kyle Long – Former first round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft out of Oregon barely played for the Ducks but has been one of the best guards in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro in 2014. He’s the face of the Bears.
12. Clay Matthews III – Former first rounder out of USC is a six-time Pro Bowler with 67.5 career sacks. He is a two-time second-team All-Pro and was a first-team All-Pro in 2011 after making a career-high 13.5 sacks.
11. Everson Griffen – The former fourth round pick out of USC is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. Griffen made his first Pro Bowl in 2015 after picking up 10.5 sacks. He had a career-high 12 in 2014 in his breakout season.
Next: 10. Marcus Peters
Marcus Peters was a very talented cornerback with the Washington Huskies and likely would have challenged for All-American honors had he not been dismissed from the program for off-field reasons.
He slid to the No. 18 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft because of his character concerns stemming from being booted off the team, but the Kansas City Chiefs took a risk on the Peters and he rewarded them with a second-team All-Pro honor.
Peters led the NFL with eight interceptions, 280 return yards, and two touchdowns as a rookie and he figures to only get better as he figures out the league. You just don’t see players coming into the NFL and make the kind of impact Peters did at the cornerback position. He could be a fixture on the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams for the next decade.
Next: 9. Anthony Barr
Anthony Barr was taken with the No. 9 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. The UCLA product was one of the best edge rushers in the nation after the Bruins converted the former fullback to his outside linebacker position.
He had 23.5 sacks and 41.5 tackles for loss in his two years as a defensive player at UCLA and earned consensus All-American honors. Even though those prolific sack totals haven’t followed him from Westwood to Minnesota, he made his first Pro Bowl last year.
Barr had 68 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception while making 14 starts. His ranking is based on his upside over established pass rushers, Griffen, Matthews and Jordan but he’s one of the NFL’s rising stars at any position.
Next: 8. David DeCastro
David DeCastro was a consensus All-American his final year at Stanford and was the No. 24 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He looked like he’d quickly establish himself as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL as a rookie but a knee injury ended his rookie year after only four games.
DeCastro returned from the injury and has made 47 starts and only missed one game in the last three years. He was named to his first Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his young career in 2015.
He’s only 26 years old and as long as he stays healthy I think DeCastro can be a first-team All-Pro for the foreseeable future.
Next: 7. Ryan Kalil
Ryan Kalil just completed his ninth season in the NFL and it was arguably his finest season as a pro since the Carolina Panthers took him with the No. 59 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
It was certainly his finest season from a team perspective as he was one of the leaders on the team that played in the Super Bowl. Kalil may have been better in 2011 when he made his third straight Pro Bowl or in 2013 when he was a first-team All-Pro for the first time, but 2015 is definitely in the conversation.
Kalil has made five Pro Bowl teams since 2009 and is a two-time first-team All-Pro and two-time second-team All-Pro. He’s the best center in the NFL.
Next: 6. Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer won the Heisman Trophy in his senior year with the USC Trojans and was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Palmer looked like he was headed toward challenging Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the best quarterback in the NFL in 2005 when he led the Bengals to an 11-5 record. He led the NFL in completion percentage and touchdown passes that year but a torn ACL suffered on the first attempt in the playoffs derailed that trajectory.
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He was unable to approach those heights again with the Bengals or with the Oakland Raiders who traded for him, but he had a career season at age 35 with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015.
Palmer threw for a career-high 4,671 yards and 35 touchdowns and led the NFL with an 82.5 QBR. He was the most efficient he had been in his career and led the Cardinals to a 13-3 record and he was named to his first Pro Bowl since 2006 (third overall) and was a second-team All-Pro.
Next: 5. Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck was a two-time Heisman finalist at Stanford and was the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts and the burden of replacing Peyton Manning.
Luck made an immediate impact with 4,374 yards and 23 touchdowns as a rookie as he helped lead the Colts back to the playoffs after an 11-5 record. Luck cut his interceptions in half the next year from 18 to nine and was much more efficient as a passer, boosting his completion percentage to 60.2 and a second straight 11-5 season.
The third year was the best year so far for Luck who tossed an NFL-high 40 touchdowns and a career-high 4,761 yards and a career-high 96.5 quarterback rating. The Colts went 11-5 for the third straight year.
Luck got beat up and was injured last year but before he missed the final nine games of the year was 2-5 and his interception rate was a career-low 4.1 percent. That doesn’t worry me and think it is a blip on the radar for Luck who should revert to the form he showed in 2014, so long as he gets a semblance of protection from his offensive line.
Next: 4. Richard Sherman
Richard Sherman is arguably the best cornerback in the NFL. At worst, the Stanford product is in the conversation with Darrelle Revis and Patrick Peterson. The latter two entered the league with high expectations accompanying their first round draft pick status, but Sherman was a fifth round pick out of Stanford in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Sherman played wide receiver at Stanford before changing positions to cornerback where he has started every game the last four years and made four straight Pro Bowl teams. Sherman was a first-team All-Pro in 2012 when he had eight interceptions and backed that up the next year with an NFL-best eight picks for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Quarterbacks aren’t challenging Sherman as much over the last two years since he’s established himself as a shutdown corner but still has six interceptions over that time and 25 passes defended.
The three-time first-team All-Pro may or may not be the best cornerback in the NFL, but he’s certainly one of the best NFL players from the Pac-12.
Next: 3. Tyron Smith
Tyron Smith was the No. 9 pick out of USC in the loaded 2011 NFL Draft where 15 of the first round picks that year have made at least one Pro Bowl roster. Smith came into the league as a young 21-year-old left tackle but he’s played like a 30-year-old vet since stepping onto the field for the Dallas Cowboys.
Smith has started all but one game in his NFL career that he missed due to injury and is the best offensive lineman on the best offensive line in the NFL. He has made the Pro Bowl each of the last three years and has been a first or second-team All-Pro in that same time frame.
He’s still just 25 and only beginning to scratch the surface with how great he can be. He moves around like a tight end and is as graceful as they come at left tackle. It’s early in his career, but 10 years from now we could be talking about Smith being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Next: 2. Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in the NFL and it’s not even close. After six NFL seasons, you can make the argument that Gronkowski is the best tight end in NFL history. We’ll wait for his career to finish before making those bold statements, but he’s certainly on track for that to be the case.
However, there were serious concerns about Gronkowski’s NFL future when he was coming out of Arizona in 2010. He had a back injury that saw Gronkowski slip to the No. 42 pick where the New England Patriots wisely took the risk on the player who had 16 touchdowns in 22 college games.
The player with a larger-than-life personality had the football skills to match and had 10 touchdowns on 42 receptions in a platoon role as a rookie while making 11 starts. The player is affectionately known as “Gronk” and led the NFL with 17 touchdowns the next year on 90 receptions and 1,327 yards.
Those numbers are still career-bests for Gronkowski who returned to top form after only playing in 18 of a possible 32 games from 2012-2013.
Gronkowski has a staggering 65 touchdowns in only 80 games.
Next: 1. Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers won 10 games, threw for 3,821, 31 touchdowns to only eight interceptions and had a 92.7 quarterback rating last year in what was a down year for the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
In his defense, he didn’t have Jordy Nelson — one of the best receivers in the NFL — last year so a little regression was to be expected. Plus, when you factor in Rodgers play from 2014, it’s near impossible to maintain that level of excellence.
Rodgers won his second NFL MVP in 2014 after throwing for 4,381 yards, 38 touchdowns to only five interceptions on 520 attempts and an 112.2 quarterback rating. That’s one of the best seasons in NFL history by a quarterback.
It’s still mind-boggling how Rodgers slid all the way to the Packers who took him with the No. 24 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He is 80-39 in eight years with a 65.1 completion percentage and his 104.1 career rating is the best in NFL history.
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The five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro is one of the most efficient passers in NFL history and ranks 10th with 32,399 yards, seventh among active quarterbacks with 257 touchdowns and sixth with 257.1 yards passing per game.
The 2010 Super Bowl MVP is first-ballot Hall of Famer five years after he retires.