Make up some of best the league has to offer
It doesn’t take long on Sunday afternoons to find a former Mississippi State football player on the screen flashing for a big play.
Over the last decade the Bulldogs have been among the best in the country at producing defensive talent in the National Football League and there are several players on the offensive side of the ball doing big things as well. Specifically, defense defense is the focus as the ultimate Bulldog defense can be built out of current NFL players.
There are enough former players in the league that one could put a player at each position and a few more can come off of the bench and play some major minutes. This group consists of 12 players that played football in the state of Mississippi and eight of them are high school products in the state. Also of note, eight of these players were three star recruits with five four star.
S – Johnathan Abram
Mississippi State didn’t offer Jonathan Abram out of high school and he bolted for Georgia before transferring following a freshman season. He ultimately landed back with the Bulldogs and became one of the top safeties in the country after two seasons. The first-round draft pick to the Las Vegas Raiders two years ago, Abram was injured in the first game of last season and missed the year. He came back this year and started in 11 games with 77 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. He’s set for big things the rest of the way.
S Will Redmond
He spent three years fighting through injuries and the practice squad, but Will Redmond is getting his chance in the league with the Green Bay Packers. The former Bulldog cornerback didn’t play a down in the league until 2018 and he’s been playing pretty regularly the last two seasons. He has 26 tackles in 12 games this year following a 36-tackle year a season ago.
DE – Denico Autry
After having a standout career with the Bulldogs for two seasons, Denico Autry went undrafted and was picked up by the Oakland Raiders. He’s since played seven seasons in the league with the Oakland Raiders and now the Indianapolis Colts. With 30.5 career sacks, Autry has made his impact and he’s in the middle of one of his best seasons at age 30 with 7.5 sacks and 29 tackles.
DT Fletcher Cox
He’s one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL today and just picked up his sixthstraight Pro Bowl invite. The four-time All-pro defender has 407 career tackles and 54.5 sacks across his nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and before the end of his career, he’ll be considered one of the greats to play for that franchise.
DT Chris Jones
From a virtual unknown at a Mississippi State summer camp to a five-star recruit and second-round NFL Draft pick, Chris Jones has had one incredible rise to prominence over the last eight years. Like Cox, he has a Super Bowl championship ring and he’s going to be playing in his second-straight Pro Bowl this year. In five years, Jones has 171 tackles and 39.5 tackles for loss and he’s six tackles away from a career-high this year.
DE Montez Sweat
Montez Sweat took a similar rise to stardom as Jones but his came much later in the process. He was recruited to Michigan State as a tight end and played defensive line in 2014 before being dismissed. After a year at Copiah Lincoln Community College, Sweat took the country by storm with 30 tackles for loss and 22.5 sacks in his two years earning All-american honors. He became a first round pick and has been starting the last two years with Washington garnering seven sacks so far in each of the first two seasons. He also had a pick six this year and has six pass deflections.
CB Cameron Dantzler
MSU struck gold with Cameron Dantzler in high school when he was picked over by his home state LSU Tigers. A couple of years later he was playing a major role for the defense and became a lockdown corner in the league. He was selected this year in the third round and has steadily climbed up towards the top among league rookie defensive backs. Pro Football Focus selected him as the top coverage corner in the league this month as he
Fletcher Cox has become one of best defensive tackles in the National Football League today as a member of the