How It Works 12 – A Beginners Guide To The NFL

Do you love the NFL? Well in this article, we will give you everything you need to know about America’s most popular sport.

From its beginnings, through to the forthcoming season. Here’s everything you need to know about the NFL!

What Is The History Of The NFL?

The timeline of the NFL is as follows:

• 1920 – The forerunner to the NFL, the American Professional Football Association is formed with 14 teams from four states.  Only two founding members remain in the league although the franchises now have new names. The Decatur Stanleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals).
• 1922 – The APFA changes its name to the National Football League (NFL).
• 1927 – The NFL brings in a rule prohibiting teams from signing black players.
• 1933 – The first Championship Game (fore-runner to the Super Bowl) was held.
• 1946 – The signing of black players is permitted once again in the NFL
• 1946 – NFL League President becomes the NFL Commissioner. NFL expands to include more teams.
• 1950 – The NFL absorbs teams from the All-American Football Conference. Only two teams from the AAFC survive to this day, the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns.
• 1958 – The Championship Game is promoted as “the most exciting game ever played”
• 1960 – The American Football League was founded as a rival to the NFL.
• 1967 – The first Super Bowl was played between the winner of the AFL (Kansas City Chiefs) and the winners of the NFL (Green Bay Packers)
• 1970 – The NFL and American Football League merge under the new NFL banner, rapidly expanding the size of the league. The new NFL consisted of two conferences the AFC and NFC, each of which comprised of 3 divisions with 13 teams in each Conference.
• 1976 – Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers join the NFC and AFC respectively.
• 1982 – Oakland Raiders move to Los Angeles and become Los Angeles Raiders.
• 1984 – In one of the most controversial relocations, the Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis in the dead of night, becoming the Indianapolis Colts.
• 1988 – St. Louis Cardinals move to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Cardinals.
• 1994 – Phoenix Cardinals renamed to Arizona Cardinals.
• 1995 – League expanded as the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars join the NFC and AFC respectively. The Los Angeles Raiders move back to Oakland, and the Los Angeles Rams move to St. Louis.
• 1996 – The Cleveland Browns franchise is deactivated and replaced with the Baltimore Ravens.
• 1997 – Houston Oilers decide move to Memphis while a new stadium is being built in Nashville and become the Tennessee Oilers.
• 1999 – the Cleveland Browns are reinstated as a franchise and the Tennessee Oilers become the Tennessee Titans.
• 2002 – The NFL realigns its divisions to create four divisions each with four teams. This includes the creation of the AFC and NFC South Divisions, teams moving from one division to a different division, plus the creation of the Houston Texans as an NFL Franchise.
• 2016 – St Louis Rams return back to Los Angeles and become the Los Angeles Rams.
• 2017 – San Diego Chargers return to Los Angeles and become the Los Angeles Chargers
• 2020 – Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas to become the Las Vegas Raiders.
• 2021 – Washington Redskins change their name to Washington Football Team.
• 2022 – Washington Football Team become the Washington Commanders.

How Is The NFL Pre-season, Regular season, Playoffs & Post Season Organised?

• Pre-Season

Teams begin training for the new season around May/June with some organised team activities, which players may or may not attend.

Further team activities and at least one Training Camp will take place around July.

After the draft, most teams will have a squad of around 80-90 players, which will be whittled down to a final roster of 53 before the season behind. Players in the squad but not quite good enough for the 53-man roster, may be given a spot on the 16-man practice squad.

Around the end of the July and start of August, teams will have mandatory training camps and players will start to train every day in readiness for the start of pre-season games.

Each team is organised three or four pre-season fixtures in August. Ostensibly to serve as warm-ups for the regular season, which usually starts in early September.

• Regular Season

There are 18 weeks of the regular season, during which each team will play 17 regular season games, plus they will have one bye week when they do not play a game.

Each team’s schedule comprises of the following games.

• 6 x Home and Away games against the three other teams in their division.
• 4 x against the teams from a single division in the AFC (2 home games, 2 away games)*
• 4 x against the teams from a single division in the NFC (2 home games, 2 away games)*
• 2 x games against the two teams in the remaining 2 divisions of their conference that finished in the same position in their division as the named team. (1 home, 1 away)
• 1 x game against a non-conference opponent the team is not scheduled to play, with their opponent decided by matching division ranking from the previous season.

*for each team the divisions selected for these eight fixtures rotate to cover all divisions in both the AFC and NFC over a three year period.

The aim for the teams over the regular season is to qualify for the playoffs, ideally in as high a seeding position within their conference as possible.

• Playoffs

There are 14 playoff places available; 7 in the AFC and 7 in the NFC. Playoffs remain conference based until the Super Bowl.

The eight teams that top their respective divisions in both the AFC and NFC all qualify for the playoffs.

They are joined by the three teams from each conference that had the next best winning record (Wildcard teams).

The teams are seeded based on the following:

Seedings 1-4 – Divisional Winners, (in order of best record to worst)

Seedings 5-7 – Wildcard teams (in order of best record to worst)

The playoffs then continue in the following format for both AFC and NFC Conferences. The lowest ranked seed is awarded home advantage for each fixture in the playoffs – bar the Super Bowl.

Wildcard Weekend – 1^st Seed is given a bye. 

• Seed 7 @ Seed 2
• Seed 6 @ Seed 3
• Seed 5 @ Seed 4

Divisional Weekend

• Lowest Seed remaining @ Seed 1
• 3^rd Lowest Seed remaining @ 2^nd Lowest Seed remaining

Conference Championship Weekend

• Lowest Ranked Divisional Weekend Winner @ Highest Ranked Divisional Weekend Winner

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is played at a pre-determined venue which is home to one of the 32 NFL franchises.

• AFC Champion v NFC Champion

Who Competes In The NFL?

There are 32 franchises in the NFL at present, 16 in each of the AFC and NFC Conferences. The 16 teams in each Conference are split into four divisions, North, East, South and West.

AFC

• East – Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
• North – Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
• West – Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers
• South – Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans

NFC

• East – Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders
• North – Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
• West – Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
• South – Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

There is no promotion/relegation to or from the NFL. However, the NFL can and has added and removed franchises from the league in past years. At present, it would likely be expansion teams added to the league if any changes were to be made in the future.

How Do NFL Teams Make Changes To Their Teams/Squads/Staff?

There are several ways a team can make changes to their roster during and following the season.

• Free Agents – Players that have seen their contracts expire with a franchise and who have not yet signed another contract are free agents. They can be signed by any NFL team. Most free agent signings tend to happen in the post-season. Chiefly this is due to contracts expiring. Occasionally, due to injuries, suspensions or similar, teams will make free agent signings during the season too.
• Retirements – Players will retire from the NFL each season, creating spaces on rosters that need to be filled.
• Players Moving To And From Practice Squad to Roster – Each team has a roster of 53 players for each game of the season. To supplement that, they are also allowed to have a smaller roster of Practice Squad players. They serve as back-ups for the 53 first choice players and also to help with training etc. Players can be activated from the practice squad, or dropped into it, over the course of the season. However, other NFL teams can sign a player on a practice squad to their 53-man roster, if they are not offered a roster spot with the team they are currently with.
• Suspended/Injury/PUP List – Players can be added to these lists by their NFL teams if they meet the criteria. This then frees up a space on the 53-man roster for a replacement to be brought in.
• Trades – NFL Teams can try to sign a player under contract with another franchise. The teams can offer a mixture of one or more players and/or future draft picks in order to try and sign a player in a trade.
• NFL Draft – Each year teams are given one pick per round where they can pick from the best college talent in the 7-round NFL Draft. Teams often trade away picks and can pick up compensatory picks to increase their ‘draft capital’. Picks are awarded in reverse order of the previous years performances, with the team with the worst record picking first, and the Super Bowl winners picking 32^nd in each round. After the draft is completed, teams can then pick from any remaining college players eligible to be drafted to fill up their roster for pre-season.

Coaching staff can be sacked at any point in the season or post season. However, most changes tend to be made on the first Monday after the end of the regular season. For this reason, this date is known as Black Monday.

What Are The Most Popular NFL Betting Markets?

A quick look at the betting options for the NFL at Bet365 Sport shows that there are plenty of popular markets for the sport. They include:

• Line Bets – such as Spread, Total and Money Line Bets. These selections are often put together into an accumulator (sometimes called a Parlay bet for American sports).
• Props Bets – including Winning Margin, Result & Total and Alternative Total 2-way bets
• NFL Futures – including bets on who will win each division, conference and reach or win the Super Bowl, who will be NFL MVP, Rookie of the Year, Offensive & Defensive Player of the Year etc. There are wide choice of NFL Futures bets available every season.

Who Are The NFL’s Most Successful Teams?

The top achievement in the NFL is winning the Super Bowl and the following teams have landed success in this game the most times.

• 6 Wins – New England Patriots & Pittsburgh Steelers
• 5 Wins – Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers
• 4 Wins – Green Bay Packers, New York Giants
• 3 Wins – Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs
• 2 Wins – Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens
• 1 Win – Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets

28 of the 32 Franchises in the NFL have appeared in the Super Bowl. That includes all the teams listed above, plus the following teams that have appeared in at least one Super Bowl but never won it.

• 0 Wins – Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans

Only four teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl previously: Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Who Are Formerly The NFL’s Most Famous Players & Head Coaches

Outlined below is a list of players that were formerly amongst the greats in the NFL. Consequently, many of these players have been enshrined in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The players are listed by their position on the field, or as a head coach.

Head Coaches

• Vince Lombardi (Green Bay Packers)
• Bill Walsh (San Francisco 49ers)
• Don Shula (Miami Dolphins)
• Paul Brown (Cleveland Browns & Cincinnati Bengals)
• Joe Gibbs (Washington Commanders)
• George Halas (Chicago Bears)
• Tom Landry (Dallas Cowboys)
• Chuck Noll (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Bill Parcells (NY Giants, Dallas Cowboys)
• Curly Lambeau (Green Bay Packers)
• John Madden (Oakland Raiders)
• Tony Dungy (Tampa Bay, Indianapolis Colts)
• Dick Vermeil (St. Louis Rams)
• Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Quarterbacks

• Tom Brady (New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos)
• Joe Montana (San Francisco 49ers)
• John Elway (Denver Broncos)
• Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins)
• Steve Young (San Francisco 49ers)
• Johnny Unitas (Baltimore Colts)
• Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers)
• Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys)
• Bart Starr (Green Bay Packers)
• Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Kurt Warner (Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
• Warren Moon (Houston Oilers)
• Dan Fouts (Los Angeles Chargers)
• Sammy Baugh (Washington Redskins)
• Troy Aikman (Dallas Cowboys)
• Joe Namath (New York Jets)
• Ken Stabler (Las Vegas Raiders)
• Phil Simms (New York Giants)
• Norm Van Brocklin (Los Angeles Rams)
• Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)
• Y.A.Tittle (San Francisco 49ers)
• Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Running Backs/Full Backs

• Earl Campbell (Houston Oilers)
• Jim Brown (Cleveland Browns)
• Walter Payton (Chicago Bears)
• Eric Dickerson (Los Angeles Rams)
• LaDainan Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers)
• Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings)
• Jerome Bettis (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)
• Marshall Faulk (St Louis Rams)
• Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys)
• Franco Harris (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Terrell Davis (Denver Broncos)
• Thurman Thomas (Buffalo Bills)
• Marcus Allen (Los Angeles Raiders)
• John Riggins (Washington Redskins)
• Larry Csonka (Miami Dolphins)
• Gale Sayers (Chicago Bears)
• OJ Simpson (Buffalo Bills)
• Tony Dorsett (Dallas Cowboys)

Wide Receivers

• Randy Moss (Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots)
• Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles)
• Jerry Rice (San Francisco 49ers)
• Steve Largent (Seattle Seahawks)
• Cris Carter (Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings)
• Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals)
• Marvin Harrison (Indianapolis Colts)
• Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis Colts)
• Lance Alworth (San Diego Chargers)
• Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions)
• Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Isaac Bruce (St Louis Rams)

Tight Ends

• Mike Ditka (Chicago Bears)
• Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons)
• Antonio Gates (Los Angeles Chargers)
• Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Shannon Sharpe (Denver Broncos)
• Kellen Winslow (San Diego Chargers)
• Ozzie Newsome (Cleveland Browns)
• John Mackey (Baltimore Colts)
• Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys)
• Dallas Clark (Indianapolis Colts)

Offensive Linemen

Key – C – Center, T – Tackle, G – Guard

• Orlando Pace – T (St Louis Rams)
• Dan Dierdorf – T (St Louis Cardinals)
• Mike Munchak – G (Houston Oilers)
• Alan Faneca – T – (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Gene Upshaw – G (Los Angeles Raiders)
• Will Shields – G (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Mike Webster – C (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Willy Roaf – T (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Jonathan Ogden – T (Baltimore Ravens)
• Larry Allen – G (Dallas Cowboys)
• Bruce Matthews – T, G & C (Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans)
• Anthony Munoz – T (Cincinnati Bengals)

Defensive Linemen/Edge Rushers

Key – DT – Defensive Tackle, DE – Defensive End, EDGE – Edge Rusher

• John Randle – DT (Minnesota Vikings)
• Julius Peppers – DE (Carolina Panthers)
• JJ Watt – DE (Houston Texans)
• Michael Strahan – EDGE (New York Giants)
• Bruce Smith – EDGE (Buffalo Bills)
• Deacon Jones – DE (Los Angeles Rams)
• Reggie White- DE (Philadelphia Eagles)

Linebackers

• Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants)
• James Harrison (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens)
• Patrick Willis (San Francisco 49ers)
• Terrell Suggs (Baltimore Ravens)
• Harry Carson (NY Giants)
• Joe Schmidt (Detroit Lions)
• Ray Nitschke (Green Bay Packers)
• Brian Urlacher (Chicago Bears)
• Derrick Brooks (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Chuck Bednarik (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Junior Seau (San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots)
• Jack Ham (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Mike Singletary (Chicago Bears)
• Jack Lambert (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Dick Butkus (Chicago Bears)

Cornerbacks

• Ty Law (New England Patriots)
• Aeneas Williams (Arizona Cardinals, St Louis Rams)
• Darrell Green (Washington Redskins)
• Charles Woodson (Oakland Raiders)
• Dick Lane (Los Angeles Rams)
• Champ Bailey (Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos)
• Mel Blount (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Darrelle Revis (New York Jets)
• Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys)
• Rod Woodson (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Safeties

• Ronnie Lott (San Francisco 49ers)
• Ken Houston (Houston Oilers, Washington Redskins)
• Paul Krauss (Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings)
• Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Ed Reed (Baltimore Ravens)

Kickers

• Morten Anderson (NO Saints, Atlanta Falcons)
• Jason Elam (Denver Broncos)
• Mark Moseley (Washington Redskins)
• George Blanda (Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders)
• Lou Groza (Cleveland Browns)
• Gary Anderson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions)
• Adam Vinatieri (New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts)

Punters

• Sean Landeta (NY Giants, Philadelphia Eagles)
• Sammy Baugh (Washington Redskins)
• Ray Guy (Oakland/LA Raiders)
• Yale Lary (Detroit Lions)
• Shane Lechler (Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans)

Kick Return Specialists

• DeAngelo Hall (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Devin Hester (Chicago Bears)
• Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys)

Currently Who Are The NFL’s Most Famous Players & Head Coaches

Outlined below is a list of current NFL players and coaches that are generally believed to be the best in the league in their respective positions. We have listed the players by their position or role and secondly shown which franchise they play or coach for.

Head Coaches

• Bill Belichick (New England Patriots)
• Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens)
• Sean Payton (Denver Broncos)
• Matt LeFleur (Green Bay Packers)
• Doug Pederson (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers)
• Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys)
• Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks)
• Mike Vrabel (Tennesee Titans)
• Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals)
• Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Ron Rivera (Washington Commanders)
• Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams)

Quarterbacks

Patrick Mahomes wins the ESPY for Best Athlete in Men's Sports.

Last season he became the only player in NFL history to win NFL MVP, SB MVP and lead the league in both passing yards and touchdowns in the same season. pic.twitter.com/69wmF0jfHu

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 13, 2023

• Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
• Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
• Joe Burrow (Cincinatti Bengals)
• Russell Wilson (Denver Broncos)
• Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
• Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
• Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Justin Fields (Chicago Bears)
• Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
• CJ Stroud (Houston Texans)

Running Backs/Full Backs

• Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers)
• Johnathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts)
• Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans)
• Nick Chubb (Cleveland Browns)
• Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders)
• Saquon Barkley (New York Giants)

Wide Receivers

• Tyreek Hill (Miami Dolphins)
• Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings)
• Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals)
• Jaylen Waddle (Miami Dolphins)
• Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders)
• Stefon Diggs (Buffalo Bills)
• Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams)
• AJ Brown (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Odell Beckham Jr (Baltimore Ravens)
• Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders)

Tight Ends

• Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs)
• George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers)
• Courtney Pitts (Atlanta Falcons)
• TJ Hockenson (Minnesota Vikings)
• Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens)

Offensive Linemen

Key – C – Center, T – Tackle, G – Guard

• Jason Kelce – C (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Zack Martin – G (Dallas Cowboys
• Trent Williams – T (San Francisco 49ers)
• Frank Ragnow – C (Detroit Lions)
• Chris Lindstom – G (Atlanta Falcons)
• Joel Bitonio – G (Cincinnati Bengals)
• Lane Johnson – T (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Quentin Nelson – G (Indianapolis Colts)
• Creed Humphrey – C (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Laremy Tunsil – T (Houston Texans)
• Tristan Wirfs – T (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Michael Onwenu – G (New England Patriots)
• Tyler Linderbaum – C (Baltimore Ravens)

Defensive Linemen

Key – DT – Defensive Tackle, DE – Defensive End

• Aaron Donald – DT (Los Angeles Rams)
• Myles Garrett – DE (Cleveland Browns)
• Montez Sweat – DE (Washington Commanders)
• Chris Jones – DT (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Javon Hargreave – DT (San Francisco 49ers)
• Jeffrey Simmons – DT (Tennessee Titans)
• Josh Sweat – DE (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Quinnen Williams – DT (NY Jets)
• Maxx Crosby – DE (Las Vegas Raiders)
• Dexter Lawrence – DT (NY Giants)
• Josh Allen – DE (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Cam Heyward – DT (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Jaelan Phillips – DE (Miami Dolphins)

Linebackers/Edge Rushers

• Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers)
• Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers)
• TJ Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Demario Davis (New Orleans Saints)
• Harold Landry (Tennessee Titans)
• Lavonte David (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Joey Bosa (Los Angeles Chargers)
• Matt Milano (Buffalo Bills)
• Roquan Smith (Baltimore Ravens)
• Haason Reddick (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Shaquille Leonard (Indianapolis Colts)
• Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys)
• Von Miller (Buffalo Bills)
• Aidan Hutchison (Detroit Lions)

Cornerbacks

• Sauce Gardner (New York Jets)
• Patrick Surtain II (Denver Broncos)
• Jalen Ramsey (Miami Dolphins)
• Darius Slay (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Jaire Alexander (Green Bay Packers)
• Trevon Diggs (Dallas Cowboys)
• Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (Detroit Lions)

Safeties

• Kevin Byard (Tennessee Titans)
• Micah Hyde (Buffalo Bills)
• Budda Baker (Arizona Cardinals)
• Derwin James (Los Angeles Chargers)
• Minkah Fitzpatrick (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Jordan Poyer (Buffalo Bills)

Kickers

• Justin Tucker (Baltimore Ravens)
• Evan McPherson (Cincinnati Bengals)
• Younghoe Koo (Atlanta Falcons)
• Chris Boswell (Philadelphia Eagles)

Punters

• Michael Dickson (Seattle Seahawks)
• Logan Cooke (Jacksonville Jaguars)