Former LSU Football Stars Tyrann Mathieu, Danielle Hunter, Jamal Adams Named to NFL Top-100 List
LSU has long established itself as a program that consistently punches its top players to the NFL. Once those players reach the NFL, they turn into some of the brightest stars the league has to offer.
On Monday, three former LSU players were named to the annual top-100 list and the Tigers followed that up with three more added to the list on Tuesday ahead of the 2020 season. Danielle Hunter, Tyrann Mathieu and Jamal Adams are the latest former Tigers to be named top-40 players, coming in at No. 40, No. 39 and No. 27 respectively.
Hunter, a former third round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, has established himself as one of the premier edge rushers in the NFL over the last few years. Since his arrival in 2015, Hunter has missed just two games and recorded 276 tackles, 67 tackles for a loss and 54.5 sacks.
He improved his top-100 player ranking by 17 spots from the 2019 season. At just 25 years old, Hunter became the fastest player to 50 sacks in NFL history this past season.
“He’s a create a Madden player, everybody goes and makes a player on Madden, they make Danielle Hunter,” teammate CJ Ham said on Hunter’s top-100 video. “Ripped up, this dude’s got veins for days. Physically he looks like a freak and he plays that way too.”
As for Mathieu, the former LSU defensive back has turned into one of the NFL’s top playmakers after being a third round pick by the Arizona Cardinals back in 2013.
His story is well known by now and his remarkable turnaround is one of the great feel good, triumphant tales around. In the 2019 offseason, Mathieu signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs and became a leader for the defense.
A do it all, playmaking safety, Mathieu helped guide the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years this past season. For his career, Mathieu has recorded 472 tackles, 36 tackles for a loss, forced four fumbles and picked off 17 passes.
“The one thing I love about Tyrann is that swag he plays with,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said on Mathieu’s top-100 video. “He’s always going to have that swagger to him, that confidence about him. That body language will always be up and it just transfers from college to the NFL. That’s always been him.”
Adams time in the NFL has been short but effective, despite being on a losing team the last three years. The hard-hitting safety was drafted No. 6 overall by the New York Jets and immediately became one of the league’s top safeties.
In three seasons, he’s been a tackling machine, racking up 273 total tackles, 28 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks and two interceptions. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Adams became disgruntled with the Jets and requested a trade.
Over the weekend, Adams was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for safety Bradley McDougald, two first-round picks and a third-round pick.
“The best player at my position right now is probably Jamal Adams,” Landon Collins said of Adams on his top-100 video. “He’s got a motor that does not stop.
“He’s really like another pass rusher if you want him because a lot of backs can’t pick up wing pressure,” receiver Allen Hurns added.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to our colleagues over at Arrowhead Report for use of this video at the top of the article.
