SALT LAKE CITY — Jordan Love led his team to the playoffs in his first season as the first-string quarterback. Zach Wilson stepped up to the plate when Aaron Rodgers had a season-ending injury, but his stardom didn't last long. Puka Nacua set rookie receiving records for the league. Seven players who played at Utah schools were named to the Pro Bowl rosters.
And there were many other success stories with NFL players who are either from Utah or went to college here. Here are some of the highlights:
QUARTERBACKS
Jordan Love
The Green Bay Packers drafted Utah State's Jordan Love in the first round as the 26th pick — a surprise to some since they already had future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers as their starter. But after Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets in the 2023 off-season, Love finally had his chance to shine in regular-season competitive play.
Love started in all 17 games this season. He racked up 32 passing touchdowns and ran for four more. He had 4,159 passing yards, 247 rushing yards, and a 64% pass completion rate.
And now, he and The Pack are in contention for the Super Bowl — although they barely snuck into the playoffs as the 7th seed in the NFC. They'll play against the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday.
Zach Wilson
In his third season, BYU alumnus Zach Wilson was set to be Aaron Rodgers' backup after the 4-time MVP was traded to the New York Jets. But that plan changed almost immediately as Rodgers tore his Achilles, and Wilson had another chance to prove why he was the #2 pick in the 2021 draft.
He had some ups and downs in the next 11 games in which he started — one of the highlights being an upset win over the Eagles. He also put up an impressive performance against the Chiefs, despite his fumble in overtime that ended up costing the game. He was benched for a few games, then returned as the starter to put up an impressive 30-6 win against the Houston Texans, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
In all, he threw for 2,271 yards and eight touchdowns.
Jaren Hall
Another quarterback from BYU had a chance to shine on football's biggest stage after a veteran quarterback's injury. Rookie Jaren Hall stepped up after Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles in week 8. He had a concussion in the next game, his first NFL start. After that, he was the backup for Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens up until their final game against the Packers. He completed 5 of 10 passes for 67 yards, threw an interception and a lost fumble, then was benched at halftime.
Tyler Huntley
The former Utes star has been with the Baltimore Ravens since 2020, but he has not had significant playing time due to being a backup for star QB Lamar Jackson. He started in the Ravens' final game, however, in which he threw for one touchdown and 146 yards.
The Ravens are in the playoffs, but Huntley is not expected to play unless Jackson is injured.
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Puka Nacua
NFL rookie Puka Nacua is an alum of Orem High School and BYU, and he had arguably the most impressive season of all the players on this list. Nacua broke the league's single-game record for catches by a rookie in his second game, hauling in 15 passes for 147 yards. He also set the single-season rookie record with 105 receptions for 1,486 yards. This came as a surprise as he was drafted in the 5th round, behind plenty of other wide receivers. He also scored six touchdowns.
Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams will face the Detroit Lions on Sunday in the first round of playoffs.
He even got a shout-out from one of the greatest athletes of all time. Lakers star LeBron James praised his performance in a video shared on social media, in which he nicknamed the rookie "Puka Doncic" after NBA star Luka Doncic.
He was named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster.
Dalton Kincaid
Another rookie who had an impressive season was University of Utah alum Dalton Kincaid with the Buffalo Bills. He was drafted 25th. The tight end played in 15 games and started in 10. He had two touchdowns in the season and 589 total yards.
The Bills won the AFC East division and will face defending champion Kansas Chiefs in the playoffs on Saturday.
Taysom Hill
While Taysom Hill shined as BYU's quarterback from 2012 to 2016, he's now a bit of a "jack of all trades" for the New Orleans Saints. He still plays QB sometimes — he threw 11 passes for 83 yards and one touchdown this season. But Hill's best stats this season came from rushing and receiving. He ran for 401 yards and four touchdowns, and he had 291 receiving yards with two touchdown catches.
Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed shined as a wide receiver and kick returner at Weber State from 2017 to 2021. In his second season with the New Orleans Saints, he caught four touchdown passes and 640 receiving yards.
He's also a returner, and he racked up 637 total yards between punts and kickoffs. He returned one punt for a touchdown this season. He had the third-most punt return yards in the league, and the ninth-most on kickoff returns.
He was also named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster.
Dalton Schultz
Dalton Schultz was a former Bingham High School football star. He played for three years at Stanford before entering the pros. He is in his sixth year of the NFL, and his first season with the Houston Texans. This season, he scored five receiving touchdowns and a total of 635 yards.
Houston faces the Cleveland Browns on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs.
Britain Covey
Who led the league on punt return yards this season, you ask? None other than Utah's own Britain Covey. He's from Provo and attended Timpview High School before going to the University of Utah, where he had an impressive career. In his second year with the Philadelphia Eagles, he returned 29 punts for 417 yards, and just one kickoff for 30 yards.
Covey had a limited role as receiver, only notching stats in the last two games of the season. He caught four passes for 42 yards.
The Eagles will face the Buccaneers in the playoffs on Monday.
Deven Thompkins
The former USU star receiver is in his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is also a kick returner. He had a total of 561 yards between kickoff and punt returns. He caught 17 passes for 83 yards, and also rushed for 56 yards this season.
The Bucs will face the Eagles on Monday.
Simi Fehoko
Simi Fehoko went to Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, and then played college football at Stanford. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2021, but now plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.
While he only caught one pass this season, that catch was for a touchdown.
RUNNING BACKS
Zack Moss
Former Utes star running back Zack Moss is in his fourth NFL season. He is in his second year with the Indianapolis Colts after spending the 2020, 2021, and part of the 2022 seasons in Buffalo.
This year, Moss ran for five touchdowns and a total of 794 yards. He also caught two touchdown passes and 192 receiving yards.
Jaylen Warren
Running back Jaylen Warren went to East High School in Salt Lake City, then played for two years each at Snow College and Utah State. He then transferred to Oklahoma State for his final college season in 2021, and the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him in 2022.
This year, Warren rushed for 751 yards and four touchdowns. He also caught 56 passes for 353 yards.
Tyler Allgeier
BYU product Tyler Allgeier is in his second season as a running back for the Atlanta Falcons. He rushed for 646 yards, four touchdowns, and caught 30 passes for 108 yards.
Jamaal Williams
BYU's former star running back is in his 7th NFL season, and his first with New Orleans. He had 306 rushing yards and 62 receiving yards.
Williams had one rushing touchdown — a controversial play in the Saints' final game. The Saints took "victory formation" — when the quarterback is poised to immediately kneel to run out the clock at the end of the game — at the 1-yard line. But instead of kneeling, Jameis Winston handed the ball to running back Jamaal Williams to score. Falcons coach Arthur Smith blew up after the game, angrily confronting the Saints' coach Dennis Allen. Allen later said the team had asked if they could get Williams a touchdown on the play, but he told them to kneel it. He did not appear pleased with the minor insubordination.
O-LINE/DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
There are dozens of other NFL players with Utah ties who play important roles, although not as much in the spotlight. A handful had standout seasons, though, and were named to the league's Pro Bowl squads. In addition to Nacua and Shaheed, there were five other "Utah guys" on the AFC and NFC Pro Bowl rosters:
- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner (BYU) — 132 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, 4, forced fumbles, 4 interceptions
- Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner (Utah State) — 183 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 recovered fumble
- Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson (Utah) — 36 total tackles, 1 forced fumble, 4 interceptions
- Pittsburgh Steelers safety/"special teamer" Miles Killebrew (Southern Utah) — 26 total tackles
- Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell (Desert Hills HS)
