Top 10 NFL players from Maryland

Maryland doesn’t boast a traditionally huge football program. The Terrapins won their only national championship back in 1953, but this hasn’t stopped the college from producing NFL players.

Over the years, Maryland has produced 17 first-round NFL Draft picks. In 2022, however, the number of active Maryland alumni is rather small.

In 2022, there are only 19 active former Maryland Terrapins in the NFL, varying in quality and production.

Not all of them are starters for their respective teams. Only a handful of them are standout household names.

Alas, this doesn’t negate the quality that is there at present. Below we will rank the top 10 active NFL players from Maryland.

Top 10 NFL players from Maryland in 2022

10. Josh Woods, LB, Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions linebacker Josh Woods is playing an important rotation role for the franchise in 2022.

He hasn’t started any of the eight games the Lions have played, but he has six tackles.

Woods was shipped out of Chicago to Detroit midway through the 2021 season, and he actually played his best football.

He made 28 tackles with the Lions, despite starting just one game.

9. Nick Cross, SS, Indianapolis Colts

Nick Cross is a player with significant potential. He was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, after excelling for Maryland at collegiate level.

As a rookie, he hasn’t yet forced his way into a regular starting role with the Colts, but he is impressing when he is on the field.

He has made 11 tackles, seven of them solo, and has one quarterback pressure to his name.

Compared to Derwin James before being drafted, Cross has a long way to go, but his start has been positive.

If the Colts are patient with the former Maryland Terrapin, they will be rewarded.

8. Ty Johnson, RB, New York Jets

Ty Johnson’s career has been interesting, to say the least. Since arriving in the NFL with the Detroit Lions, he has now found a home in New York with the Jets.

He probably will never be a RB1 in the NFL, but on special teams, he has found his niche.

Johnson is a productive kick returner and is utilized by the Jets in that role.

In 2022, he has already returned two kicks for a total of 20 yards.

7. Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE, Tennessee Titans

One of the stories of the 2022 NFL season has been the gradually improving performances of rookie tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo.

He was a prodigious receiving option at Maryland. He recorded the most receiving yards by a tight end for the Terps since Vernon Davis. Now, Okonkwo has started to shine with the Tennessee Titans.

Nobody expected the TE to be a starter in his rookie year, especially on such a strong team, but he has added physicality and reliability to the Tennessee offense.

He has caught for 100 yards and scored one touchdown, but is emerging as a starter.

This return is even more impressive when you recall that Okonkwo saw the first two years of his college career at Maryland cut short by a heart condition.

6. Quinton Jefferson, DE, Seattle Seahawks

Quinton Jefferson has been a slow-burning success story for the Seattle Seahawks.

After being drafted in the fifth round by the Hawks, he didn’t start a game for two years.

He eventually broke into Seattle’s team as a defensive end rather than defensive tackle, where he played with the Maryland Terrapins.

It was the making of him as he immediately registered three NFL sacks in 2018, and he followed that up in 2019 with 3.5 sacks.

He then spent a year with the Buffalo Bills, where he got three sacks, and one with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he hit a career-high 4.5 sacks.

Seattle moved to sign him back in 2022, and he has been an excellent role player.

He has only started one of nine games, but he is so explosively dominant off the edge, and he already has three sacks, seven QB hits and three tackles for a loss.

5. Darnell Savage, FS, Green Bay Packers

Darnell Savage was one of the rare first-round selections to come out of Maryland.

His first three seasons in Green Bay weren’t anything spectacular, although in 2020, he did make 12 successful pass defenses.

He is a regular starter with the Packers in 2022 and already has 31 tackles and one fumble recovery playing at strong safety. A move to slot corner may well be the best fit for him though.

He hasn’t yet hit his potential, and the Packers are due to pay him $7.9 million with an option in 2023. It’s likely he will need to find a new team in 2023 via a trade, and that may be the best move to resurrect his career and get back on track.

4. J.C. Jackson, CB, Los Angeles Chargers

J.C. Jackson is a success story. Despite a good college career with Maryland, he went undrafted in 2018.

Many thought that was his chance at a serious NFL career gone, but in stepped Bill Belichick.

A whisperer of troubled souls, Belichick turned J.C. Jackson into one of the NFL’s premiere cornerbacks.

In four years with New England, Jackson had 53 successful pass defenses and 25 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and earned his money as a free-agent when he signed with the Chargers in 2022.

Injuries have halted his progress, but he remains one of the best corners in the game.

3. DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

DJ Moore left Maryland as a first-round selection by the Carolina Panthers in 2018.

He has improved year-upon-year ever since. As a rookie, he scored two touchdowns for 788 yards as a receiver.

His best year came in 2020 when he caught for 1,193 yards. Moore can offer something in the running game, too, although his carries have declined of late.

In 2022, he has scored three touchdowns and caught for 449 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per reception. He is tied for the most receptions of 50+ yards with 10 in the NFL since 2018.

2. Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Indianapolis Colts

While no longer the domineering presence off the edge he was in his prime, Yannick Ngakoue is still an exceptional defensive player.

He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2017 after a wonderful year in Jacksonville. He hit 12 sacks and forced six fumbles. He continued this dominance all the way through to 2021 when he was with the Las Vegas Raiders.

He hit 10 sacks from the edge with the Raiders, but was still traded to the Colts in the offseason.

It was a blockbuster move, but one which hasn’t yet paid off. In taking time to adjust to the Indianapolis scheme, Ngakoue has only managed 4.5 sacks in nine starts.

In 10 QB hits, he has no forced fumbles, and Colts fans are still waiting for him to play to a Pro Bowl standard.

His second year will be better in a more settled Colts team, and he is still frighteningly dominant off the edge. If Ngakoue is comfortable and confident, he can’t be stopped.

1. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

It’s rare for the Maryland Terrapins to ever have a player that could be considered the best in his position in the NFL, yet in 2022, there are not many better wide receivers than Stefon Diggs.

Not always destined for such greatness, Diggs left Maryland as a fifth-round selection in 2015.

He made some spectacular plays in Minnesota, including the Minneapolis Miracle, but his best football has come since arriving in Buffalo.

Josh Allen’s offense has breathed new life into Stefon Diggs, and he is now one of the very best receivers around.

He made the Pro Bowl in his two full seasons with the Bills, including a career-year in 2020 where he led the league in both catches and receiving yards.

In 2022, he has scored the most touchdowns as a receiver with seven in eight starts, and he has caught for 857 yards. He is on pace for an even better year than in 2020, and another Pro Bowl appearance is inevitable.

Stefon Diggs, at this rate, is on course to become the University of Maryland’s most successful ever footballing export.