MADISON, Wis. — This is a big week for a number of former Badgers who have moved on to successful NFL careers. Jonathan Taylor, T.J. Watt and Russell Wilson kicked off the week by participating in the Pro Bowl on Sunday. Taylor and Watt are among the favorites for the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively, to be handed out at Thursday’s NFL Honors. And to cap off the week, offensive linemen David Edwards and Rob Havenstein will play in Super Bowl LVI as members of the Los Angeles Rams.
NFL success is nothing new for former Badgers. At least one former UW player has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the last 15 seasons. This year marked the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that at least three former Badgers were Pro Bowlers.
Super Badgers
This year will mark the 12th time in the last 13 seasons that at least one former Badger has been part of a Super Bowl team. Since 2010, 11 different Badgers have earned Super Bowl rings:
2010: Jonathan Casillas (New Orleans Saints)
2011: Mark Tauscher (Green Bay Packers)
2012: Travis Beckum (New York Giants)
2014: Chris Maragos, O’Brien Schofield, Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)
2015: Jonathan Casillas, James White (New England Patriots)
2016: Owen Daniels (Denver Broncos)
2017: James White (New England Patriots)
2018: Beau Allen, Corey Clement, Chris Maragos (Philadelphia Eagles)
2019: James White (New England Patriots)
2021: Jack Cichy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Edwards and Havenstein have combined to start 38 games for the Rams, including all three playoff games, with Edwards at left guard and Havenstein at right tackle. Edwards has started a total of 41 regular-season games over his three seasons with the Rams while Havenstein is in his seventh season with the team and has 99 career regular-season starts.
Best in the Business
Taylor and Watt have a chance to make history this week at NFL Honors. No college program has ever produced the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Watt earned first-team All-America honors in 2016, his only season as a starter for UW, while Taylor was a two-time Doak Walker Award winner and unanimous first-team All-American for the Badgers in 2018 and 2019.
Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) led the NFL in rushing yards (1,811), rushing touchdowns (18), yards from scrimmage (2,171), all-purpose yards (2,171) and total touchdowns (20) this season. The two-time AFC Offensive Player of the Month and the top vote-getter by the fans for the Pro Bowl, Taylor was the youngest player in NFL history to account for 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 TDs in a season. So far this offseason he has been named the 2021 Bert Bell Award winner by the Maxwell Football Club and the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year by The Sporting News.
Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers) tied the NFL single-season record with 22.5 sacks this year despite missing two full games and parts of another due to injury. It was the second season in a row he has led the NFL in sacks. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week three times and is just the third player in NFL history with at least 70 sacks in his first five seasons, joining Reggie White and his brother and fellow Badger J.J. Watt. T.J. Watt was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America and looks to join his brother J.J. — a three-time honoree — in winning AP Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Strength in Numbers
All told, 27 former Badgers played in an NFL game this season, with 20 starting at least one game. Edwards and Taylor were two of four former UW players to start every game for their team this season, joining C Tyler Biadasz (Dallas Cowboys) and G Kevin Zeitler (Baltimore Ravens). Zeitler has started a total of 151 regular-season games over his 10-year career.
Eight different Badgers scored touchdowns this season: WR Quintez Cephus (Detroit Lions), RB Corey Clement (Dallas Cowboys), RB Melvin Gordon (Denver Broncos), FB Alec Ingold (Las Vegas Raiders), RB Dare Ogunbowale (Jacksonville Jaguars), Taylor, RB James White (New England Patriots) and Wilson (Seattle Seahawks).
Dynamic Duo
Gordon wrapped up his seventh NFL season this year and continues to etch his name into the Wisconsin record books. His career totals of 8,388 yards from scrimmage, 6,144 rushing yards, 67 TDs and 53 rushing TDs are the most by a Badger in the NFL. He is one of just five running backs in NFL history with 8-plus rushing touchdowns TD in six consecutive seasons, joining Jim Brown, LaDainian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith and Adrian Peterson.
Gordon and Taylor combined for 2,729 rushing yards, 3,302 yards from scrimmage and 30 touchdowns in 2021. All of those totals represented the most by a duo from the same school. They are two of just six players to have rushed for at least 900 yards in each of the last two seasons, joining Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry.
Russ Still Cooking
Wilson continues to rack up accolades and make his mark among the NFL’s best. He has been Seattle’s starting quarterback for 113 career regular-season and playoff wins, surpassing Peyton Manning for the most wins by an NFL quarterback in the first 10 seasons of a career. He has passed for at least 3,000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons, joining Manning as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish that. And Wilson’s 292 career touchdown passes are the second-most in NFL history by a quarterback in their first 10 seasons, behind only Manning.
Linebacker U
On the defensive side, T.J. Watt isn’t the only former Badger giving UW a claim to the title of Linebacker U. Watt’s Steelers teammate Joe Schobert (112) recorded at least 100 tackles for the fifth straight season. He is one of only four players in the NFL with a current streak that long, joining Bobby Wagner, Demario Davis and Eric Kendricks. T.J. Edwards started 14 games at middle linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles and ranked 13th in the NFC with 130 tackles. With Schobert and Edwards, UW was one of just four schools in the country to produce a pair of players with at least 110 tackles this season (Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Wisconsin).
NFL success is nothing new for former Badgers. At least one former UW player has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the last 15 seasons. This year marked the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that at least three former Badgers were Pro Bowlers.
Super Badgers
This year will mark the 12th time in the last 13 seasons that at least one former Badger has been part of a Super Bowl team. Since 2010, 11 different Badgers have earned Super Bowl rings:
2010: Jonathan Casillas (New Orleans Saints)
2011: Mark Tauscher (Green Bay Packers)
2012: Travis Beckum (New York Giants)
2014: Chris Maragos, O’Brien Schofield, Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)
2015: Jonathan Casillas, James White (New England Patriots)
2016: Owen Daniels (Denver Broncos)
2017: James White (New England Patriots)
2018: Beau Allen, Corey Clement, Chris Maragos (Philadelphia Eagles)
2019: James White (New England Patriots)
2021: Jack Cichy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Edwards and Havenstein have combined to start 38 games for the Rams, including all three playoff games, with Edwards at left guard and Havenstein at right tackle. Edwards has started a total of 41 regular-season games over his three seasons with the Rams while Havenstein is in his seventh season with the team and has 99 career regular-season starts.
Best in the Business
Taylor and Watt have a chance to make history this week at NFL Honors. No college program has ever produced the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Watt earned first-team All-America honors in 2016, his only season as a starter for UW, while Taylor was a two-time Doak Walker Award winner and unanimous first-team All-American for the Badgers in 2018 and 2019.
Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) led the NFL in rushing yards (1,811), rushing touchdowns (18), yards from scrimmage (2,171), all-purpose yards (2,171) and total touchdowns (20) this season. The two-time AFC Offensive Player of the Month and the top vote-getter by the fans for the Pro Bowl, Taylor was the youngest player in NFL history to account for 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 TDs in a season. So far this offseason he has been named the 2021 Bert Bell Award winner by the Maxwell Football Club and the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year by The Sporting News.
Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers) tied the NFL single-season record with 22.5 sacks this year despite missing two full games and parts of another due to injury. It was the second season in a row he has led the NFL in sacks. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week three times and is just the third player in NFL history with at least 70 sacks in his first five seasons, joining Reggie White and his brother and fellow Badger J.J. Watt. T.J. Watt was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America and looks to join his brother J.J. — a three-time honoree — in winning AP Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Strength in Numbers
All told, 27 former Badgers played in an NFL game this season, with 20 starting at least one game. Edwards and Taylor were two of four former UW players to start every game for their team this season, joining C Tyler Biadasz (Dallas Cowboys) and G Kevin Zeitler (Baltimore Ravens). Zeitler has started a total of 151 regular-season games over his 10-year career.
Eight different Badgers scored touchdowns this season: WR Quintez Cephus (Detroit Lions), RB Corey Clement (Dallas Cowboys), RB Melvin Gordon (Denver Broncos), FB Alec Ingold (Las Vegas Raiders), RB Dare Ogunbowale (Jacksonville Jaguars), Taylor, RB James White (New England Patriots) and Wilson (Seattle Seahawks).
Dynamic Duo
Gordon wrapped up his seventh NFL season this year and continues to etch his name into the Wisconsin record books. His career totals of 8,388 yards from scrimmage, 6,144 rushing yards, 67 TDs and 53 rushing TDs are the most by a Badger in the NFL. He is one of just five running backs in NFL history with 8-plus rushing touchdowns TD in six consecutive seasons, joining Jim Brown, LaDainian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith and Adrian Peterson.
Gordon and Taylor combined for 2,729 rushing yards, 3,302 yards from scrimmage and 30 touchdowns in 2021. All of those totals represented the most by a duo from the same school. They are two of just six players to have rushed for at least 900 yards in each of the last two seasons, joining Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry.
Russ Still Cooking
Wilson continues to rack up accolades and make his mark among the NFL’s best. He has been Seattle’s starting quarterback for 113 career regular-season and playoff wins, surpassing Peyton Manning for the most wins by an NFL quarterback in the first 10 seasons of a career. He has passed for at least 3,000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons, joining Manning as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish that. And Wilson’s 292 career touchdown passes are the second-most in NFL history by a quarterback in their first 10 seasons, behind only Manning.
Linebacker U
On the defensive side, T.J. Watt isn’t the only former Badger giving UW a claim to the title of Linebacker U. Watt’s Steelers teammate Joe Schobert (112) recorded at least 100 tackles for the fifth straight season. He is one of only four players in the NFL with a current streak that long, joining Bobby Wagner, Demario Davis and Eric Kendricks. T.J. Edwards started 14 games at middle linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles and ranked 13th in the NFC with 130 tackles. With Schobert and Edwards, UW was one of just four schools in the country to produce a pair of players with at least 110 tackles this season (Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Wisconsin).
