OTF Premium Longhorns in the NFL: Setting the table for Week 1

[Jeff Howe]

Three Texas Longhorn alums will be on the field when the New England Patriots visit the Seattle Seahawks to kick off the 2026 NFL season on Wednesday (7:20 p.m., NBC).

Michael Dickson and Byron Murphy II ended the 2025 season by helping the Seahawks top the Patriots and Brenden Schooler in Super Bowl LX. The return bout at Seattle’s Lumen Field will be highlighted by the Seahawks raising the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship banner.

Dickson and Murphy are the latest Longhorns to be a part of a Seahawks Super Bowl team. Seattle has had at least one Texas product on its roster for each of the franchise’s four trips to the Super Bowl, with Dickson and Murphy joining D.D. Lewis (Super Bowl XL), Marcus Tubbs (XL) and Earl Thomas (XLVIII and XLIX).

While Dickson and Murphy were drafted in 2018 and 2024, respectively, Schooler is one of nine former undrafted Longhorns on a 53-man roster entering Week. Ethan Burke is the latest member of the group after making the Baltimore Ravens’ 53-man roster, joining Schooler, Isaiah Bond (Cleveland Browns), PJ Locke III (Dallas Cowboys), Lil’Jordan Humphrey (Denver Broncos), Malcolm Roach (Broncos), Cameron Dicker (Los Angeles Chargers), Poona Ford (Los Angeles Rams) and Andrew Beck (New York Jets).

— Trey Moore (Miami Dolphins), Jaylan Ford (New Orleans Saints) and DeShon Elliott (Pittsburgh Steelers) will begin their respective seasons on injured reserve with designations to return at some point during the season.

Unfortunately, Alfred Collins won’t be joining them, with his impending trip to injured reserve for the San Francisco 49ers marking the official end of his second NFL season.

Collins suffered a torn patellar tendon during the team's practice in Australia on Tuesday ahead of the 49ers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday (7:35 p.m., Netflix). The No. 43 overall pick in the 2025 draft, Collins played in 16 regular-season games for the 49ers as a rookie and saw action in both of the team’s playoff games.

While Collins is the only former Texas player on the 49ers roster for lifetime Longhorn Kyle Shanahan, the Rams’ roster features five products from the Forty Acres: Ford and Jordan Whittington on the active roster, Matthew Caldwell on injured reserve and Jack Bouwmeester and Bill Norton on the practice squad.

— The number of Longhorns in the NFL entering Week 1 is 53. That includes 43 on 53-man rosters, six on practice squads and four on injured reserve (Caldwell was placed on season-ending injured reserve when the Rams cut their roster down to 53 players).

The number of Texas products on the practice squad is the same as it was after cutdown. The players, however, have changed.

The Kansas City Chiefs released Cole Brevard after waiving him on cutdown day and bringing him back to the practice squad. Brevard worked out for the Buffalo Bills last Friday, but the team didn't sign him.

Thankfully, D’Shawn Jamison helped the numbers hold steady. On the same day Brevard worked out for the Bills, the Arizona Cardinals added Jamison to their practice squad, giving the Cardinals three former Longhorns in the organization (Hayden Conner and Devin Duvernay are on the 53-man roster).

***

Longhorns in the NFL in Week 1: 53

Longhorns on the 53: 43

Practice Squad: 6

Injured Reserve: 4

***

Arizona Cardinals (3): Hayden Conner, Devin Duvernay, D’Shawn Jamison*

Atlanta Falcons (2): Bijan Robinson, Cameron Williams

Baltimore Ravens (1): Ethan Burke

Carolina Panthers (2): Jonathan Brooks, Ja’Tavion Sanders

Chicago Bears (3): Roschon Johnson, Christian Jones*, Malik Muhammad

Cincinnati Bengals (1): Jack Endries

Cleveland Browns (1): Isaiah Bond

Dallas Cowboys (2): PJ Locke III, Demarvion Overshown

Denver Broncos (5): Jahdae Barron, Sam Ehlinger, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Brandon Jones, Malcolm Roach

Green Bay Packers (2): Matthew Golden, Barryn Sorrell

Jacksonville Jaguars (1): Quinn Ewers

Kansas City Chiefs (1): Xavier Worthy

Los Angeles Chargers (1): Cameron Dicker

Los Angeles Rams (5): Jack Bouwmeester*, Matthew Caldwell#, Poona Ford, Bill Norton*, Jordan Whittington

Miami Dolphins (3): DJ Campbell, Trey Moore#, Michael Taaffe

New England Patriots (1): Brenden Schooler

New Orleans Saints (3): Kelvin Banks Jr., Vernon Broughton, Jaylan Ford#

New York Jets (4): Andrew Beck, Adonai Mitchell, Joseph Ossai, T’Vondre Sweat

Philadelphia Eagles (4): Jaydon Blue*, Jake Majors*, Andrew Mukuba, Moro Ojomo

Pittsburgh Steelers (1): DeShon Elliott#

San Francisco 49ers (1): Alfred Collins

Seattle Seahawks (2): Michael Dickson, Byron Murphy II

Tennessee Titans (2): Gunnar Helm, Anthony Hill Jr.

Washington Commanders (2): Samuel Cosmi, Charles Omenihu

* — Practice Squad

# — Injured Reserve

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[CJ Vogel]

This list has me fired up. Sundays have increasingly become more fun over the last couple years, this year is no different. 

[FGH080254]

Thanks for the update 

 

[Han Soul Hole]

The Collins injury is brutal.  My 9ers just can't keep people healthy.

[Paul Jespersen]

Obviously Bijan is Bijan, and Murphy's (and Dickson) great on my Seahawks, but who do you see as other top or breakout performers going into this year?
Seem like Worthy has underwhelmed a little.
Seems like we are deeper on practice squads than starting 22, which I think is shifting, but curious who you see some of those other high quality guys being. 
I'm much more of a Saturday than a Sunday football guy, so not as up on who might be up there, or coming on to be up there...

🤘