Pitt football has had great success with former players performing at exceptional levels in the NFL. It’s no surprise, that with the playoffs starting next weekend, that the program is well-represented across the league, with many players having opportunities to make a real impact.
The Los Angeles Rams made it back to the postseason with great play late in the season, turning a 3-6 start into a 10-7 finish, winning seven of their final eight games.
Aaron Donald attended Pitt from 2010-13 and starred in his final season, earning unanimous All-American honors and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He also secured the Bronco Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player, the Lombardi Award for the player who embodies the spirit of Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi, and the Outland Trophy for best interior lineman.
Donald has starred for the Rams, as he has made 10 consecutive Pro Bowls, earned seven consecutive First-Team All-Pro honors from 2015-21, won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards and is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
His 10th consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, he became the first NFL defensive tackle since 1970 to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons. Donald racked up 53 tackles (28 solo), 16 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three passes defended in 16 games, this season, with Pro Football Focus (PFF) rating him as one of the best defensive players in the league.
The Rams earned the No. 6 seed, one of the three wild card spots, and will take on the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Round, next Sunday night at 8:15 p.m. on NBC. Donald and the Rams will look to win this game en route to their second Super Bowl in three seasons, doing so back in 2022.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in their first season post-Tom Brady, made it back to the NFL Playoffs for the fourth straight season, winning the NFC South for the third straight season.
Tampa Bay selected two Pitt football stars in the 2023 NFL Draft, defensive tackle Calijah Kancey in the First Round and linebacker SirVocea Dennis in the Fifth Round.Â
Kancey recorded 91 tackles (52 solo), 34.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble in three seasons (2020-22) with the Panthers. He racked up 31 tackles (17 solo), 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 2022 in just 11 games, earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-American honors, becoming just the 13th player in program history to do the latter.
He has featured at defensive tackle for the Buccaneers and excelled as a rookie, making 25 tackles, 18 solo, 10 tackles for loss, one pass defended, 4.0 sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 13 games in 2013.
Kancey also earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for November. He led all rookies in the NFL with seven tackles for loss, two more than any other rookie and four more than any other rookie on Tampa Bay. His seven tackles for loss also tied for the league lead, his 14 pressures ranked second best amongst all rookies and his four quarterback hits tied for second most for rookies.
Dennis racked up 232 tackles (117 solo), 36 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, two interceptions (one for a touchdown), three pass breakups and forced three fumbles over his Pitt football career (2019-22) — while serving as a team captain for a good portion of it. He also earned All-ACC First-Team honors in 2022 and All-ACC Second-Team honors in 2021.
He has served as the second right side inside linebacker for Tampa Bay, but primarily has played on special teams, making 12 tackles, 10 solo, and one pass defended in 12 games.
The Buccaneers earned the No. 4 seed and will host reigning NFC Champions in the Philadelphia Eagles next Monday, Jan. 15 at 8:30 p.m. The Eagles have lost five of the last six and the Buccaneers will look to take advantage of their previous struggles.
One former Pitt player on the Eagles that might have to make a big impact is defensive back Avonte Maddox.
Maddox played four seasons for the Panthers from 2014-17, totaling 183 tackles, 136 solo, 13.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, eight interceptions, 42 passes defended, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also earned Third Team All-ACC honors as a senior in 2017, as he had a team-high 11 passes defended and three forced fumbles, second best in the ACC.
He has played in 64 games and started 37 in six seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Maddox has struggled with injuries, some of them quite serious and playing more than 10 games in just his first four seasons in the league, including just 13 in the past two seasons.
After suffering a pecotral injury in September, he has featured in the past two games for the Eagles and will likely play against the Buccaneers next Monday.
The Buffalo Bills won their final five games of the regular season, finishing 11-6 and winning the AFC East against the Miami Dolphins in the final game of the season Sunday night.
Defensive back Dane Jackson, a Cornell alum who played football for Quaker Valley, spent five seasons with Pitt from 2015-19, redshirting his first season.
He started all 38 games his final three years with the Panthers from 2017-19 and earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2019. He had 148 tackles, 113 solo, nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, 43 passes defended, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his time with the Panthers.
The Bills took Jackson in the Seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He has played in 52 games, with 28 starts in his four seasons with the Bills, making 151 tackles, 128 solo, three interceptions, 28 passes defended, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two tackles for loss.
After not making much of an impact for the last month of the season, Jackson made two solo tackles and a pass breakup that forced the Dolphins to punt late in the game, ensuring the Bills victory.
Damar Hamlin, while not likely to feature in the playoffs for the Bills, joins Jackson as two Pitt football defensive back alums on the team.
Hamlin joined Pitt as a Pittsburgh Central Catholic alum in 2016. In five seasons at Pitt, he recorded 275 tackles (185 solo), 10 tackles for loss, six interceptions, 21 pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2020 as a redshirt senior, as he made 66 tackles, 38 solo, 3.5 tackles for loss, seven passes defended and two interceptions.
He stepped up in 2022 for the Bills, with safety Micah Hyde out for most of the season. He recorded 91 tackles (63 solo), six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble in 15 games last — starting every game in the Bills’ secondary from Week 3 onward.
In a Week 17 Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering a cardiac arrest. He has made a comeback from an almost near death experience on the field just seven months ago to now coming back and being a part of the team.Â
Hamlin has played in five games this season, but hasn’t seen the field much, making just two tackles.
Buffalo earns the No. 2 seed and will host the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m., looking to kickstart their journey for their first ever Super Bowl.
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett usually would serve as the starter in this game, but he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 13, which he underwent surgery for. and has missed the past five games,
Pickett is the most accomplished quarterback in Panthers history. as his 12,303 career passing yards and 81 career passing touchdowns from 2017-21 are the most in program history. His 2021 season is the best season in Panthers history, as he threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns, both program single-season records, en route to an ACC Championship title, the first in school history.
In 2023, he has a 7-5 record, completing 62.0% of his passes for 2,070 yards, six touchdowns to four interceptions. Over his past two seasons, he has a 14-10 record, completed 62.6% of his passes, threw for 4,474 yards and 13 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
The Houston Texans made the playoffs this season with a 10-7 record, winning the AFC South for the first time since 2019.
The Texans have three Pitt football alums in defensive back Brandon Hill, offensive lineman Jimmy Morrissey and wide receiver Jared Wayne.
Hill racked up 172 tackles (91 solo), three tackles for loss, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two recoveries and two defensive touchdowns in four seasons (2019-22) with the Panthers. He broke out as a star safety in 2021, earning All-ACC second-team honors for his efforts, racking up 71 tackles (38 solo), a tackle for loss, two interceptions, five pass breakups, a forced fumble and a recovery.
The Texans drafted Hill in the Seventh Round of the 2023 draft. Hill has only played two games so far this season.
Morrissey joined Pitt football as a walk-on and eventually earned a scholarship and then became starting center. He played in 47 games over four seasons (2017-20), serving as Pickett’s center, earning All-ACC honors three straight seasons: Third Team in 2018, First Team in 2019 and Second Team in 2020.
The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Morrissey in the Seventh Round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Houston would pick him up in 2021 and he has spent the past three seasons there, making 14 appearances and four starts, with just one appearance this season.
Wayne played four seasons for the Panthers from 2019-22, making 146 catches for 2,308 yards in 41 career games. He led the Panthers with 60 receptions, 1,063 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns in 2022. Wayne had his best game against Miami in the regular season finale, as he made 11 catches for 205 yards and grabbed three touchdowns, all career-highs.
He has not made an appearance for the Texans this season, serving as a member of the practice squad.
The Texans, with the No. 4 seed, will host the No. 5 Cleveland Browns this Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
