The FCS has had hundreds of standout players move on to have special NFL careers, and a good number have made it to the NFL Hall of Fame. We decided to break down the “FCS-to-NFL” ranks by conference … leading up to a final national ranking of the top FCS products to finish a career in the NFL. We only ranked individuals who played for current FCS conference schools (no Appalachian States or Marshalls, for instance … and just because the player may have actually played D-2 football when they were in college, that doesn’t disqualify).
This ranking will be using the Pro Football Reference criteria for AV – “Approximate Value”, which uses an algorithm that measures a player’s statistics, honors, awards, you name it — on an annual basis dating back to 1960 when all of this statistical material was more easily attainable/tracked. It takes into account that an offensive lineman can’t put up stats like a quarterback, obviously, but an O-lineman with Pro Bowl credentials and being a cornerstone on a Super Bowl team will be rewarded too. Then … the annual points are added up to create a “career AV” which is a total reflecting the “Approximate Value” of a player’s career.
Obviously, Hall of Fame players do well in this rating, but you may be surprised at times at the rating given to a player who had a long career … with some true highlights … who did not make the Hall of Fame. It happens. See the list below.
TOP NFL CAREERS: Each Conference Linked
TOP NFL CAREERS – CAA
(according to Pro-Football-Reference.com)
ABBREVIATIONS: PB — Career Pro Bowls; AV — site’s “Approximate Value” point system used by Pro Football Reference to quantify a player, based on statistics, honors, etc awarded by year back to 1960 – and taking position into consideration; YRS — Total years in the league
| RK | FCS TEAM | POS | FCS PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER STATS |
| 1 | DELAWARE | QB | Rich Gannon | 4 | 129 | 17 | 1987-2004 | 28,743 pass yds, 180 TDs |
| 2 | VILLANOVA | DL | Howie Long (*) | 8 | 119 | 13 | 1981-1993 | 84 career sacks |
| 3 | DELAWARE | QB | Joe Flacco | 0 | 118 | 12 | 2008-2019 | 40,067 pass yds, 218 TDs |
| 4 | WILLIAM & MARY | DB | Darren Sharper | 5 | 116 | 14 | 1997-2010 | 63 INTs, 11 TDs, 949 tackles |
| 5 | JAMES MADISON | WR | Gary Clark | 4 | 107 | 11 | 1985-1995 | 10,856 rec. yds, 65 TDs |
| 6 | JAMES MADISON | DE-LB | Charles Haley (*) | 5 | 100 | 13 | 1986-1999 | 100.5 sacks, 503 tackles |
| 7 | VILLANOVA | RB | Brian Westbrook | 2 | 80 | 9 | 2002-2010 | 6,335 rush yds, 41 TDs |
| 8 | TOWSON | OL | Jermon Bushrod | 2 | 73 | 12 | 2007-2018 | 128 career starts |
| 9 | DELAWARE | DB | Mike Adams | 2 | 72 | 16 | 2004-2019 | 935 tackles, 30 INTs |
| 10 | RICHMOND | LB | Paris Lenon | 0 | 60 | 12 | 2002-2013 | 592 tackles, 12 sacks |
| 11 | VILLANOVA | LB | Al Atkinson | 1 | 56 | 10 | 1965-1974 | 21 INTs, 120 games |
| 12 | WILLIAM & MARY | LB | Jim Ryan | 0 | 55 | 10 | 1979-1988 | 150 career games |
| 13 | VILLANOVA | OL-LB | Sam Gruneisen | 0 | 54 | 12 | 1962-1973 | 95 career starts |
| 14 | TOWSON | DB | Chad Scott | 0 | 53 | 9 | 1997-2006 | 21 INTs, 466 tackles |
| 15 | TOWSON | RB | Dave Meggett | 2 | 52 | 10 | 1989-1998 | 13,996 all-purpose yards |
| 16 | TOWSON | P | Sean Landeta | 2 | 50 | 21 | 1985-2005 | 43.3 punt average |
| 17 | MAINE | OL | Mike Flynn | 0 | 47 | 10 | 1988-2007 | 115 career starts |
| 18 | WILLIAM & MARY | DB | Mark Kelso | 0 | 46 | 8 | 1986-1993 | 30 career INTs |
| 19 | WILLIAM & MARY | K | Steve Christie | 0 | 45 | 15 | 1990-2004 | 336 career field goals |
| 20t | RICHMOND | LB | Shawn Barber | 0 | 43 | 10 | 1998-2007 | 450 tackles, 10 sacks |
| 20t | NEW HAMPSHIRE | DB | Corey Graham | 1 | 43 | 12 | 2007-2018 | 18 INTS, 184 games |
| 22 | RICHMOND | K | Bruce Gossett | 2 | 42 | 11 | 1964-1974 | 219 career field goals |
| 23 | TOWSON | DB | Madieu Williams | 0 | 40 | 9 | 2004-2012 | 589 tackles, 13 INTs |
| 24 | RHODE ISLAND | DL | Steve Furness | 0 | 38 | 10 | 1972-1981 | 106 career games |
| 25t | MAINE | LB | Stephen Cooper | 0 | 37 | 9 | 2003-2011 | 503 career tackles |
| 25t | MAINE | OL | Justin Strzelczyk | 0 | 37 | 9 | 1990-1998 | 133 career games |
(*) – Denotes an NFL Hall of Famer
CAA – TOP CURRENT NFL PLAYERS
ABBREVIATIONS: PB — Career Pro Bowls; AV — site’s “Approximate Value” point system used by Pro Football Reference to quantify a player, based on statistics, honors, etc and taking position into consideration; YRS — Total years in the league
| RK | FCS TEAM | POS | FCS PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER STATS |
| 1 | DELAWARE | QB | Joe Flacco | 0 | 118 | 12 | 2008-2019 | 40,067 pass yds, 218 TDs |
| 2 | DELAWARE | DB | Mike Adams | 2 | 72 | 16 | 2004-2019 | 935 tackles, 30 INTs |
| 3 | DELAWARE | LB | Paul Worrilow | 0 | 25 | 6 | 2013-2019 | 415 career tackles |
| 4t | JAMES MADISON | OL | Earl Watford | 0 | 14 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 70 career games |
| 4t | WILLIAM & MARY | DB | B.W. Webb | 0 | 14 | 6 | 2013-2019 | 164 career tackles |
| 6t | RICHMOND | DL | Kerry Wynn | 0 | 12 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 90 tackles, 4.5 sacks |
| 6t | DELAWARE | DL | Zach Kerr | 0 | 12 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 76 tackles, 7.5 sacks |
| 8 | DELAWARE | DL | Bilal Nichols | 0 | 11 | 2 | 2018-2019 | 35 tackles |
| 9 | DELAWARE | TE | Nick Boyle | 0 | 9 | 5 | 2015-2019 | 931 rec. yds |
| 10t | JAMES MADISON | OL | Josh Wells | 0 | 8 | 5 | 2014-2019 | 52 career games |
| 10t | VILLANOVA | DL | Tanoh Kpassagnon | 0 | 8 | 3 | 2017-2019 | 47 tackles, 6 sacks |
