Best NFL player from every Power 5 NCAA school
These are the best NFL players from every Power 5 NCAA school.
There are 65 schools in the Power-5 of the NCAA and these are typically the schools where the best NFL players end up coming out of. Though some are more notorious for having big names in the NFL than others, all 65 schools have done their part when it comes to gifting the league with talented athletes.
In this list, we’ll go through every single Power-5 school and discuss who their greatest player in the NFL has been. These aren’t just for past NFL players, as several current stars made the list, but obviously, they’ll mostly be players nearing the end of their careers. Each player will have their accomplishments listed and a short synopsis about their NFL career.
There’s also a runner-up listed for each school as well and they’ll have just a sentence or two written about them. Now, let’s take a look at every Power 5 program’s best NFL player.
Quarterback. Crimson Tide . Bart Starr. 15. player. 829.
Best NFL player who played for Alabama Crimson Tide — Bart Starr
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (Inducted in 1977)
- 5x NFL Champ
- 2x Super Bowl Champ (I, II)
- 4x Pro Bowler
- NFL MVP in 1966
- NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
There were a ton of different names to consider for who Alabama’s best NFL player has been, but ultimately Bart Starr was the pick here. Starr played at Alabama from 1952-1955 and while his stats weren’t all that great, offenses were more ground and pound back in the 50s than they are now.
The Green Bay Packers selected Starr in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL Draft and he played in nine games as a rookie. Starr didn’t become the full-time starter for the Packers until the 1961 season where he threw for 2,438 yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He led the Packers to the NFL Championship Game, where they destroyed the Giants by a score of 37-0.
Starr won the first two Super Bowls under the Packers and was named Super Bowl MVP in both of those games. He finished his prolific Packers career in 1971 after throwing for 24,718 yards and 152 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Runner-up: Derrick Thomas – The Chiefs took Thomas with the No. 4 pick in the 1989 NFL Draft and wouldn’t regret it. Thomas finished his career with 126.5 sacks and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.