NFL players who come from Mississippi
It sometimes feels like a crying shame that Mississippi doesn’t have an NFL team of its own. Sure, fans can cling to the New Orleans Saints from neighboring Louisiana but it’s not the same, is it? If you’re a diehard Mississippi person that loves football though, who do you cheer for?
Here we pick out just some of the current players in the NFL lines who come from Mississippi that you might want to keep a watchful eye on as the new season begins.
Gardner Minshew II
Born: Flowood
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Pos: Quarterback
Kicking off our look at NFL players who come from Mississippi is Rankin County man Gardner Minshew II. Minshew built up quite the reputation throughout his college years, where he represented East Carolina and Washington State, with awards such as the Golden Arm and PAC-12 First Team honors hard evidence of that.
As for his time in the NFL, this upcoming campaign will be his fourth in the league. Minshew was first drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a round-six pick; he spent two years in Jacksonville putting up 3,271 passing yards and a record 21 touchdowns in his rookie year. His next season wasn’t nearly as impressive but Minshew will point to injuries for that and then in 2021 he joined the Eagles.
Currently, he is a backup to Jalen Hurts. Will he be able to apply more pressure on Hurts as the new season gets underway?
Cam Ackers
Born: Jackson
Team: LA Rams
Pos: Running Back
Can Ackers has only been in the NFL for two seasons but already he has a Super Bowl victory to his name! Ackers was drafted by the LA Rams in 2020 going as the number 52 overall pick.
His game time in year one was reasonable as he started five games and featured in 13 in total putting up 625 rushing yards and a further 123 receiving for 11 receptions. He displayed moments of genuine quality throughout the season too with his display against the Patriots, which saw him rush 171 yards, one that particularly stands out in the memory.
Last season was a stranger affair. On one hand, Ackers only played one regular season game owing to a rather nasty Achilles injury but, on the other, he returned in the playoffs to turn in some vital performances as the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl; he started in LVI. He’s likely to be bang at it from the start of the new season.
Ty Montgomery
Born: Jackson
Team: New England Patriots
Pos: Running Back
We’ve just spoken about one Jackson-born running back in the shape of Cam Ackers and here is another one – Ty Montgomery. Montgomery, aged 29, has been around the league a bit longer than the other Mississippi-born players we’ve mentioned having been drafted back in 2015. That draft saw him join the Green Bay Packers where he hit the ground running with a couple of touchdowns in his inaugural season despite only starting three games.
His next season, 2016, currently stands as the best of his career with 348 receiving yards and 457 rushing – they are both career highs. After Green Bay, a spell with the Baltimore Ravens didn’t work out and, pretty quickly, Montgomery joined the New York Jets.
He featured in every game of the 2019 season for them but after the solitary season headed back towards home where he penned a deal with the Saints; that’s where he currently plies his trade. 2020 was a struggle for him but last year was his best for some time, which raises intriguing questions as to how he might kick on in 2022.
A J Brown
Born: Starkville
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Pos: Wide Receiver
The penultimate name on our list of Mississippi players in the NFL is A J Brown. For lovers of Mississippi, there could be a scenario where the aforementioned Minshew is picking Brown out in the coming season; that would be a new sight though with Brown a new addition to the Eagles locker room.
Previously the Ole Miss star spent his career with the Tennessee Titans. Brown, who the Titans took at number 51 in the 2019 draft, racking up a total of 48 starts across three seasons; all of them have seen the wide receiver help his side to the postseason.
2021 was a reasonable campaign for Brown but the Eagles will hope to see more of the 2020 version; that year Brown starred and made the Pro Bowl. Will he be able to get back to – or even surpass – that level? We think he will!
There you have it, a few of the current NFL players who hail from the great state of Mississippi. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below.
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