Terps in the NFL: Week One

Twelve former Terps hit the field on Sunday as the first NFL Sunday kicks off.

A day after college football fans took in the first full day of Power Five football, the first NFL Sunday is set to kickoff with twelve former Terps in action. We take a look at each.

Buffalo Bills WR Stefon Diggs & DL Quinton Jefferson

Week One Matchup: Jets @ Bills – 1 PM

An AFC East matchup in Week One will give new Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs his first test as he and quarterback Josh Allen put the chemistry to work. The sixth-year wideout will earn his first start as a Bill alongside John Brown and Cole Beasley. New defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson serves as the backup to rookie defensive tackle Ed Oliver as the Bills front seven looks to contain Jets running back Le’Veon Bell.

Carolina Panthers LB Jermaine Carter & DJ Moore

Week One Matchup: Raiders @ Panthers – 1 PM

The new-look Carolina Panthers will hit the field against the Las Vegas Raiders as first-year head coach Matt Rhule takes over the reigns in Carolina. Moore will look to pick up where he left off last year as he enters year three with a new quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater. Carter, a former fifth-round draft selection in the 2018 draft, will start alongside Tahir Whitehead and Shaq Thompson in the Panthers’ 4-3 scheme as they look to stop second-year running back Isaiah Jacobs and quarterback Derek Carr.

Chicago Bears LB Josh Woods

Week One Matchup: Bears @ Lions – 1 PM

The former undrafted product enters the 2020 season as the backup inside linebacker behind Roquan Smith as the Bears once again lean on the strength of their defense to get them through the season. The second year linebacker finished with five tackles, including three solo, in five games a season ago as Woods looks for a bigger role.

Detroit Lions RB Ty Johnson

Week One Matchup: Bears @ Lions – 1 PM

The second-year running back enters a crowded backfield in Detroit as he fights for reps alongside Kerryon Johnson and D’Andre Swift, while veteran running back Adrian Peterson was signed this week to add to the mix. Swift enters week one listed as questionable to give Johnson a chance to flourish in the passing attack out of the backfield, but the run game could prove even more critical on Sunday as wide receiver Kenny Golladay enters the matchup listed as doubtful.

Green Bay Packers S Darnell Savage

Week One Matchup: Packers @ Vikings – 1 PM

The former first-round pick kicks off year two with the Packers in a tough division matchup where star wide receiver Adam Thielen and rookie Justin Jefferson will test the Green Bay secondary. Savage returns as the second-year starter looks to put an injury-ridden second half of his rookie season behind him. “I’m not going to use it as an excuse or anything like that,” Savage said last month. “It’s something you’ve got to deal with. In the game of football, injuries are going to happen. Sometimes, you’ve just got to battle them through them because injuries, there are some that are severe and some that are moderate that you are able to push through. You’ve just got to find the best way to manage it and deal with it. I think I did a pretty good job with it being my first injury that I actually had to play with. Obviously, would’ve been a lot better if it never happened but it did happen, so it is what it is. I learned from it.”

Minnesota Vikings DE Yannick Ngakoue

Week One Matchup: Packers @ Vikings – 1 PM

After spatting with Jaguars front office for nearly a year, Yannick Ngakoue will look to start his new chapter with the Vikings on a high note when he takes on the Green Bay Packers. Ngakoue serves as a key figure in the front seven as assistant Andre Patterson helps ease the learning curve. “That’s what I’m doing. That’s who I am,” Patterson added. “When I say that, I’m not taking away who he is. Don’t get that wrong, OK? The things that are special to his game, we’re going to keep special to his game. But the things that I see that can add a different element to his game, to make him so much more difficult to block, we’re going to work on those things. And that’s one of the things that I’ve been very impressed with, is that he’s eager to try to work those things and work real hard at it and not get frustrated if it doesn’t win right away.”

New England Patriots CB JC Jackson & DL Byron Cowart

Week One Matchup: Dolphins @ Patriots – 1 PM

The new-look New England Patriots will iron out their offensive kinks in their Week One matchup against the Miami Dolphins, but the stout secondary hopes to contain rookie Tua Tagovailoa and the offense. Jackson, an undrafted cornerback out of Maryland, has earned rave reviews throughout the offseason as he serves as the third cornerback behind Jason McCourty and Stephon Gilmore, who earned a near $7M pay raise this week. Cowart turned heads in training camp as Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio raved over the former Terp.

“He was a 5-technique in their kind of three-man front. They were really a 3-4 defense so he played a little bit more 5-technique,” Caserio said. “He’s probably a little bit more of a run player. I mean, this guy is really thick when you see him. He’s well-built, he’s really strong and plays powerful at the point of attack. He did some decent things at Auburn and he did some decent things at Maryland as well.”

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Anthony McFarland & S Sean Davis

Week One Matchup: Steelers @ Giants – 7:15 PM (Monday)

The Steelers were once home to five former Terps, but cut day saw a bevy of moves that ultimately reunited Sean Davis in Pittsburgh. He is joined by rookie running back Anthony McFarland who will hope to carve out a role alongside James Conner and Benny Snell. The Steelers will take on the New York Giants in the first game of the Monday night doubleheader.