Cal Players In The NFL

The University of California Golden Bears haven't seen a lot of football success in recent decades. They haven't been to the Rose Bowl since 1959. They have more bad seasons than good since then. Include eight total wins in my three years on that campus. Cal made some noise under Bruce Snyder in the early 1990s and again in the 2000s under Jeff Tedford. Maybe Sonny Dykes will make some noise of his own. Despite all that football mediocrity Cal still manages to send a surprising number of players on to the NFL. They routinely rank among the top-10 colleges for alumni in the league despite rarely ranking near that on the football field. Cal currently has 41 former players on NFL rosters. Here they are.

Lorenzo Alexander, LB, Buffalo Bills
Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers
Tyson Alualu, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
C.J. Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos
Stephen Anderson, TE, Houston Texans
Bryan Anger, P, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Keith Browner, DE, Chicago Bears
Deandre Coleman, DT, Miami Dolphins
Chris Conte, S, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Trevor Davis, WR, Green Bay Packers
Justin Forsett, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Khairi Fortt, LB, Seattle Seahawks
Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Chris Harper, WR, New England Patriots
Maurice Harris, WR, Washington Redskins
DeSean Jackson, WR, Washington Redskins
Marvin Jones, WR, Detroit Lions
Cameron Jordan, DE, New Orleans Saints
Mychal Kendricks, LB, Philadelphia Eagles
Kyle Kragen, DE, Denver Broncos
L.P. LaDouceur, LS, Dallas Cowboys
Daniel Lasco, RB, New Orleans Saints
Kenny Lawler, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Alex Mack, Atlanta Falcons
Chris McCain, LB, Miami Dolphins
Stefan McClure, DB, Indianapolis Colts
Brandon Mebane, DT, San Diego Chargers
Darius Powe, WR, New York Giants
Jordan Rigsbee, OL, Carolina Panthers
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
Richard Rodgers, TE, Green Bay Packers
Jeremy Ross, WR, New York Jets
Mitchell Schwartz, T, Kansas City Chiefs
Brian Schwenke, C, Tennessee Titans
Craig Stevens, TE, Tennessee Titans
Nick Sundberg, LS, Washington Redskins
Giorgio Tavecchio, K, Oakland Raiders
Bryce Treggs, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Shane Vereen, RB, New York Giants
Darius White, CB, Indianapolis Colts
Steven Williams, CB, San Diego Chargers

Cal's presence in the NFL is of course highlighted by one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Aaron Rodgers. Maybe Jared Goff joins him among the quarterback hierarchy. Who knows? The Rams thought enough of him to trade a bunch of picks to move up to the #1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft for the opportunity to select him.

Aaron Rodgers isn't the only productive Cal player in the NFL. About half of the above players are impact players for their teams. Several of those are among the best at their positions.

10 of the 41 Cal players in the NFL are receivers. A strong, perhaps surprising, number. DeSean Jackson has probably been surpassed by Keenan Allen and possibly even Marvin Jones as the top former Golden Bears currently catching passes in the league. Allen was on his way to elite status when injuries ended his 2015 season. If he can stay healthy he could be one of the best. Jones might not have the natural athletic talent of Jackson or Allen but he does so many things right. He's simply a solid, polished, productive receiver. He also has the unenviable task of stepping into the spot long held by Calvin Johnson with the Lions. Cal's receiving presence in the league was boosted greatly by rookies. 5!

Trevor Davis
Kenny Lawler
Bryce Treggs
Darius Powe
Maurice Harris

The Packers selected Davis in the fifth round. He caught passes from Goff in college. Now he'll catch passes from Rodgers. Nice Cal continuity. Davis was the most explosive of Cal's flock of receivers. That explosiveness got him drafted. The Seahawks drafted Lawler in the seventh round. Some analysts projected him as high as a third or fourth round pick. He probably dropped in the draft due to what Cal didn't ask him to do. He didn't move the chains much or run many deep routes. He was Goff's most frequent target when Cal got close to the end zone. Lawler's ability to catch passes (mostly touchdowns) in the confined area of the red zone is what got him drafted. Treggs, Powe, and Harris were signed by their respective teams as undrafted free agents. Despite not being drafted, Treggs might actually be the most complete of the rookie receivers from Cal. Like Marvin Jones before him, he does so many things right. Treggs is also a Cal receiving legacy. His father, Brian Treggs, was one of the Cal players that made some noise under Bruce Snyder in the early 1990s.

If Cal doesn't get the nod as Receiver U, maybe they can get it for Long Snapper U. L.P. LaDouceur is entering his 12th season as the Cowboys long snapper. Nick Sundberg is entering his seventh season as the Redskins long snapper. They join David Binn as longtime NFL long snappers that started their craft in Berkeley. Binn snapped for the Chargers for 100 years (actually 18). Accurately throwing a football behind you while upside down is an under-appreciated talent.

One player that really deserves some attention is Lorenzo Alexander. He's one of my all-time favorite Cal football players. He was a defensive tackle in college but has moved around a lot in the NFL. Perhaps time has exaggerated his accomplishments but I feel like he made more big plays than any Cal defender I can remember. Maybe Deltha O'Neal tops him. Maybe not. Alexander went undrafted in 2005 perhaps because he was undersized for an NFL defensive tackle. He may have been undersized for a college defensive tackle. He's just a very good football player. That got him signed by the Panthers. He made their practice squad as a rookie. And the Ravens practice squad in his second season. It was when the Redskins plucked him from that practice squad that his NFL career really got started. He played seven seasons in Washington and he played everywhere. He played some defensive tackle. He even played some offense as an extra blocker. He played some linebacker. He played a lot of special teams. He turned into one of the best special teams players in the league. He was rewarded for that play with a Pro Bowl spot in 2012. He was also twice chosen as the Redskins nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. He's been great on and off of the football field.

Congratulations and Good Luck to all of the Golden Bears in the NFL.