Best NFL player who played for Mississippi State Bulldogs — Joe Fortunato
- NFL Champion (1963)
- 5x Pro Bowler
- 3x All-Pro
- NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
Joe Fortunato spent all 12 years of his playing career with the Chicago Bears and would end up transitioning into a coach for the same organization when his playing days came to an end. Fortunato helped the Bears win a title in 1963 while also being named All-Pro three times.
He hauled in 16 interceptions during that time and recovered 22 fumbles. He was everywhere on the football field for the Bears. His career ended before he’d have liked for it to, as he was forced to retire due to a knee injury, but that paved the way for him to get into coaching.
Fortunato coached two years for the Bears and called it a career after 1968. He doesn’t have the accolades that a lot of the players on this list have, but there’s no denying how good of a player he was during his time in the NFL.
Runner-up: Fletcher Cox – After being the No. 12 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Cox has spent his entire career in Philadelphia and won a Super Bowl with them in the 2017 season. He had 48 sacks at the end of the 2019 season.
Best NFL player who played for Missouri Tigers — Kellen Winslow
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (Inducted in 1995)
- 5x Pro Bowler
- 3x All-Pro
- NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
- San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame
Kellen Winslow was playing the tight end at a high level before that became a trend in the NFL. He was the leader in receptions two different times during his nine-year career, all spent in San Diego with the Chargers.
Those two seasons where Winslow finished with the most receptions were in 1980 and 1981. He had 89 receptions for 1,290 yards and nine touchdowns during that 1980 season and hauled in 88 receptions for 1,075 yards with 10 touchdowns the next year. Simply put, when the Chargers needed a play, everyone knew who the football was going to.
Winslow finished his nine-year career with 541 receptions 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns. He’s one of the best tight ends to ever play the game and that prolific career started at Missouri.
Runner-up: Roger Wehrli – All 14 seasons of Wehrli’s career was spent just hours from Mizzou with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Hall of Fame cornerback totaled 40 interceptions in those 14 seasons.