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MAC Players on NFL Rosters to Open 2020 Season

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MAC Players on NFL Rosters to Open 2020 Season

EMU lands three former stars on 53-man rosters in the NFL: Maxx Crosby, Pat O'Connor, and Andrew Wylie.

Alex Alvarado
Sep 7, 2020
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MAC Players on NFL Rosters to Open 2020 Season

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Welcome to the Ypsilanti Eleven! The NFL just finished its gameless preseason with teams making final decisions on who to cut from and keep on their respective 53-man rosters. I’ve got the entire list of former MAC players that made the official and practice rosters but don’t forget to hit the subscribe button before you get to scrolling.

Editor’s note: I misplaced Pat O’Connor from EMU’s list of grads on NFL rosters as he was erroneously placed with Bowling Green’s players. The edit has been made.

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The NFL is following through with having a 2020 season beginning this week, and the 32 professional teams made their final decisions on who to put on their 53-man rosters, who to place on their practice rosters, who to cut, and note the players who are on the reserve lists. The league’s game schedule begins this Thursday, so let’s get acquainted with which former Mid-American Conference players landed on NFL rosters to open the season.

Toledo leads the MAC with 12 players on NFL rosters, including eight players on active 53-man lists. Western Michigan and Northern Illinois have five alums each on active 53-man rosters, followed by Central Michigan with four, then Eastern Michigan and Miami-OH with three each.

Eastern’s three NFL rosters right now: DE Maxx Crosby with the Las Vegas Raiders, Pat O’Connor with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and OL Andrew Wylie with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Crosby was a fourth-round draft pick last year by the Raiders after he opted out from playing his senior year to fulfill his NFL dreams. As a rookie, Crosby recorded 43 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 10 sacks (team-best), four forced fumbles, and four passes defended.

O’Connor was a seventh-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2017, but he broke through with Tampa Bay and has made a home for himself down there. He played in 10 games so far with the team, and recorded six total tackles over his career.

Undrafted in 2017, Wylie tried out for three teams before he landed a roster position at Kansas City, and has been with the team ever since. While a late injury kept Wylie sidelined during the Super Bowl, he still got a ring for the Chiefs’ most-recent success. In three years with the team, Wylie’s played in 27 games with 21 starts.

Recent graduates CB Kevin McGill and OL Steven Nielsen instantly signed with NFL teams right after the draft, but have been among the slew of cuts made by teams over the last month. OL Ka’John Armstrong (‘18) recently signed a deal with the Atlanta Falcons after a try-out but was cut by the team yesterday. Other Eastern grads that didn’t make NFL rosters include: S Vince Calhoun, S Brody Hoying, WR Arthur Jackson III, QB Brogan Roback (‘18), WR Mathew Sexton, and RB Shaq Vann.

Below is the complete list of former MAC players that made it onto NFL rosters by Sunday’s deadline.

Akron

  • CB Kyron Brown (undrafted, incoming class of ‘19) — Jets, Reserve/PUP

  • DE Jamal Davis (undrafted, ‘19) — Titans, Practice

  • LB Ulysees Gilbert III (6th round, ‘19) — Steelers, 53-man

  • WR JoJo Natson (undrafted, ‘17) — Browns, 53-man

Ball State

  • OL Danny Pinter (5th round) — Colts, 53-man

  • WR Willie Snead IV (undrafted, ‘14) — Ravens, 53-man

Bowling Green

  • WR Scotty Miller (6th round, ‘19) — Buccaneers, 53-man

Buffalo

  • DE Demone Harris (undrafted, ‘18) — Chiefs, 53-man

  • CB Cam Lewis (undrafted) — Bills, Practice

  • LB Khalil Mack (1st round, ‘14) — Bears, 53-man

  • DE Steven Means (5th round, ‘13) — Falcons, Reserve/COVID-19

  • TE Mason Schreck (undrafted, ‘19) — Bengals, Practice

Central Michigan

  • TE Tyler Conklin (5th round, ‘17) — Vikings, 53-man

  • CB Xavier Crawford (6th round, ‘19) — Bears, Practice

  • OL Eric Fisher (first overall pick, ‘13) — Chiefs, 53-man

  • S Kavon Frazier (6th round, ‘16) — Dolphins, 53-man

  • CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (2nd round, ‘19) — Buccaneers, 53-man

  • DL Joe Ostman (undrafted ‘19) — Eagles, Practice

  • QB Cooper Rush (undrafted, ‘17) — Giants, Practice

  • RB Jonathan Ward (undrafted) — Cardinals, Practice

Eastern Michigan

  • DE Maxx Crosby (4th round, ‘19) — Raiders, 53-man

  • DL Pat O’Connor (7th round, ‘17) — Buccaneers, 53-man

  • OL Andrew Wylie (undrafted, ‘17) — Chiefs, 53-man

Kent State

  • WR Julian Edelman (7th round, ‘09) — Patriots, 53-man

  • S Nate Holley (undrafted, ‘17) — Dolphins, Practice

  • OL Brian Winters (3rd round, ‘13) — Bills, 53-man

Miami-OH

  • TE Nate Becker (undrafted, ‘19) — Bills, Practice

  • OL Brandon Brooks (3rd round, ‘12) — Eagles, Reserve/PUP

  • DT Doug Costin (undrafted) — Jaguars, 53-man

  • QB Ben Roethlisberger (1st round, ‘04) — Steelers, 53-man

  • K Sam Sloman (7th round) — Rams, 53-man

Northern Illinois

  • WR Chad Beebe (undrafted, ‘18) — Vikings, 53-man

  • WR Christian Blake (undrafted, ‘18) — Falcons, 53-man

  • WR Kenny Golladay (3rd round, ‘17) — Lions, 53-man

  • OL Max Scharping (2nd round, ‘19) — Texans, 53-man

  • S Jimmie Ward (1st round, ‘13) — 49ers, 53-man

Ohio

  • LB Tarell Basham (3rd round, ‘17) — Jets, 53-man

  • CB T.J. Carrie (7th round, ‘14) — Colts, 53-man

  • S Javon Hagan (undrafted) — Buccaneers, Practice

Toledo

  • DE Olasunkanmi Adeniyi (undrafted, ‘18) — Steelers, 53-man

  • LB Jayrone Elliott (undrafted, ‘14) — Steelers, Practice

  • TE Reggie Gilliam (undrafted)— Bills, 53-man

  • CB Ka’dar Hollman (6th round, ‘19) — Packers, 53-man

  • RB Kareem Hunt (3rd round, ‘17) — Browns, 53-man

  • WR Diontae Johnson (3rd round, ‘19) — Steelers, 53-man

  • WR Jon’Vea Johnson (undrafted, ‘19) — Cowboys, Practice

  • P Brett Kern (undrafted, ‘08) — Titans, 53-man

  • OL Greg Mancz (undrafted, ‘15) — Texans, Practice

  • S Rolan Milligan (undrafted, ‘16) — Colts, Reserve/Opt-Out

  • OL Elijah Nkansah (undrafted, ‘18) — Texans, Practice

  • OL Storm Norton (undrafted, ‘17) — Titans, 53-man

  • WR Cody Thompson (undrafted, ‘19) — Seahawks, Practice

  • QB Logan Woodside (7th round, ‘18) — Titans, 53-man

Western Michigan

  • CB Sam Beal (3rd round supplemental, ‘17) — Giants, Reserve/Opt-Out

  • RB LeVante Bellamy (undrafted) — Broncos, Practice

  • WR Corey Davis (1st round, ‘17) — Titans, 53-man

  • OL Luke Juriga (undrafted) — Eagles, Practice

  • OL Taylor Moton (2nd round, ‘17) — Panthers, 53-man

  • OL Chukwuma Okorafor (3rd round, ‘18) — Steelers, 53-man

  • CB Darius Phillips (5th round, ‘18) — Bengals, 53-man

  • TE Giovanni Ricci (undrafted) — Panthers, Practice

  • LB Robert Spillane (undrafted, ‘18) — Steelers, 53-man

Transfers Out, More

  • CMU: DE Mike Danna (5th round) — Chiefs, 53-man (Note: Played at Central Michigan from 2015-2018 before he spent one year at Michigan.)

  • BGSU: WR Gehrig Dieter (undrafted, ‘17) — Chiefs, Practice (Note: Played at Bowling Green in 2015 and 2016 before he spent one year at Alabama.)

  • Buffalo: TE Tyler Mabry (undrafted) — Seattle, Practice (Note: Played at Buffalo from 2015-2018 before he spent one year at Maryland.)

  • BGSU: QB James Morgan (4th round) — Jets, 53-man (Note: Played at Bowling Green in 2015-2017 before he spent two years at Florida International.)

  • Buffalo: WR K.J. Osborn (undrafted) — Vikings, 53-man (Note: Played at Buffalo from 2015-2018 before he spent one year at Miami-FL.)

  • UCF: K Matt Prater (undrafted, ‘06) — Lions, 53-man (Note: UCF used to be in the MAC, from 2002-04.)

  • UMass: WR Tajae Sharpe (5th round, ‘16) — Vikings, 53-man (Note: Played for UMass when it was in the MAC from 2012-2015.)


Thank you for reading! | Twitter: @YpsiEleven & @Y11recruiting | Class of 2021 MAC Recruiting Notebook | 2020 MACtion Transfer Portal Updates | Song of the day: “Big Fish” -Vince Staples

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MAC Players on NFL Rosters to Open 2020 Season

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