Top Week Two Performances from Former Stanford Football Stars in the NFL

Another week in the 2025 NFL season has come and gone. Week 2 was action packed across the board, with many marquee matchups taking center stage and providing peak entertainment on a warm September weekend.

For the Stanford Cardinal, several former standouts from the football program are spread throughout NFL rosters, with some of them showing out in a big way to help their respective franchises.

Not every former Cardinal got a win this week, but regardless of the results, many of them delivered such inspiring performances that it begs the question of just how much better they can get throughout the course of this season. So without further ado, here are the top five performances from Stanford football alums in the NFL from Week 2.

Joshua Karty, K, Los Angeles Rams

Since entering the league last season, Karty has evolved into one of the NFL's most reliable kickers, cementing his status as the long term solution in Los Angeles.

So far this season, Karty has continued to dazzle, converting on both of his field goal attempts and even though he has one miss on an extra point, he is still 5-for-6. In the Rams 33-19 week two win over the Tennessee Titans, Karty converted both of his field goals and while he missed one extra point, he went 3-for-4 and recorded nine points in the game.

Paulson Adebo, DB, New York Giants

Coming off of a season ending injury, it was unknown just how good Adebo would be this season in his first season with his new team. But week two squashed any concerns, with Adebo recording 13 total tackles (11 solo) and a pass defended in the 40-37 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Signing a three-year deal with the Giants this offseason, he is viewed as a big part of the rebuild and so far, he has lived up to the hype. Through two games, Adebo has made 20 total tackles and has defended two passes.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Despite missing some key players and being forced to play a lot of backups, the 49ers managed to pull out a 26-21 win in Week 2 over the New Orleans Saints to improve to 2-0, with McCaffrey once again at the center of the 49ers' success.

Carrying the ball 13 times for 55 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and catching six passes for 52 yards and a touchdown, McCaffrey was all over the place for the 49ers and proved that despite being injured for most of last year and nearing 30, he still is very explosive.

Losing a lot of talent from the 2023 Super Bowl team, McCaffrey's availability and production will be vital for the 49ers this season.

Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders

Ertz may be on the older side and may be in the twilight years of his career, but that has not stopped him from getting off to a hot start in 2025.

Helping the Commanders win 21-6 in their opening game by catching a touchdown, Ertz followed that up with another big game in Week 2 despite the Commanders losing 27-18 to the Packers.

Catching six passes for 64 yards, Ertz found the end zone again and led all Commanders in receiving for the game. Since Ertz arrived in Washington, he has been key in helping Jayden Daniels develop. Now, he will look to be a core piece to a potential Washington Super Bowl run.

Elic Ayomanor, WR, Tennessee Titans

Since being selected by the Titans in the fourth round of this year's draft, Ayomanor's rise up the depth chart was the storyline of training camp. Expected to serve as a depth piece to start the season, Ayomanor's strong training camp led to him being named a starting receiver heading into Week 1, where he has shown a lot of promise.

Experiencing a quiet Week 1 where he caught two passes on seven targets for only 13 yards in the 20-12 loss to the Broncos, Ayomanor broke through in Week 2 with four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown, catching a pass late in the first half to help the Titans tie the game up at 10-10 going into halftime.

Despite the Titans being 0-2, it is still early and if Ayomanor keeps playing like he has, success will come to Tennessee.