USC football players in the NFL: 49ers' Talanoa Hufanga has breakout season
The USC football program was well represented in the NFL this season. Nineteen former Trojans finished the regular season on active rosters, with another 12 on injured reserve or practice squads.
Each week, AllTrojans has been giving a recap of how each former USC player performed. This week, we take a look at Week 18, as well as a recap of each player’s 2022 regular season. Players are listed in alphabetical order.
USC PLAYERS IN THE NFL
Nelson Agholor, New England Patriots
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Agholor played just four snaps and was held without a catch during the Patriots’ loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. On the season, the eighth-year pro caught 31 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns.
Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers
Photo by Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Darnold led the Panthers to a 10-7 win over the New Orleans Saints. It wasn’t the prettiest performance for Darnold, who completed just 5 of 15 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions. He added 32 yards as a runner. While Darnold’s stats from his second season in Carolina might not jump off the page, the team did win four of the six games he started, while going 3-8 in its other 11 contests.
Rasheem Green, Houston Texans
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Green made one tackle and had a quarterback hurry during the Texans’ dramatic, 32-31 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Green, who started seven games, totaled 42 tackles on the season, including 3.5 sacks.
Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers
Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports
Hufanga made four stops during the 49ers’ victory over the Arizona Cardinals. The former Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year had a breakthrough second NFL season. He started all 17 games and ranked third on the 49ers’ dominant defense with 97 tackles. He intercepted four passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and broke up nine. Hufanga should continue to be a key part of the 49ers’ defense during the team’s playoff run.
Keaontay Ingram, Arizona Cardinals
Ingram received his most playing time in a while during the Cardinals’ loss to the 49ers. He carried the ball three times for five yards and caught two passes for negative-two yards. Ingram finished his rookie season with 81 total scrimmage yards and one score.
Adoree’ Jackson, New York Giants
No surprise, Jackson once again did not take the field Sunday, missing his seventh game in a row due to a knee sprain. However, Jackson returned to practice last week and thus is expected to return to the field when the Giants face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. In 10 games this season, Jackson totaled 51 tackles and broke up seven passes.
Drake Jackson, San Francisco 49ers
Jackson was inactive for the 49ers’ matchup against the Cardinals. He has yo-yoed on and off the active roster in recent weeks, so only time will tell whether he will take the field when the team hosts the Seattle Seahawks to open the postseason. In 15 games on the season, Jackson made 14 tackles, including three sacks, and one interception.
Ronald Jones II, Kansas City Chiefs
Jones played by far his biggest role since signing with the Chiefs prior to this season. He carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards and scored a touchdown during the team’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday. Prior to this week, Jones had just seven rush attempts all season.
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
London finished his impressive rookie season with a flourish. He caught six passes for 120 yards in the Falcons’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, marking the first 100-plus yard performance of his career. London ended his first professional campaign with 72 catches for 866 yards and four touchdowns.
Uchenna Nwosu, Seattle Seahawks
Nwosu closed his season with another solid game, racking up six tackles, including two for loss, in the Seahawks’ overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams. He also had half a sack and four quarterback hurries. In his first season with the Seahawks, Nwosu started all 17 games and totaled 66 tackles and 9.5 sacks, tied for the second-most on the team.
Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts
Pittman found the end zone for the second game in a row, catching three passes for 30 yards and a score in the Colts’ loss to the Texans. Erratic quarterback play hurt the third-year pro’s numbers this season, but he still managed to catch a career-high 99 passes for 925 yards and four touchdowns.
Isaiah Pola-Mao, Las Vegas Raiders
Pola-Mao made two tackles, including a tackle for loss, during the Raiders’ loss to the Chiefs. The rookie got defensive action in seven of the team’s final eight games of the season. During those contests, he totaled 20 tackles and one sack.
Kevon Seymour, Baltimore Ravens
Seymour played only on special teams during the Ravens’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The fifth-year defensive back played defensive snaps in four games, making three tackles and recovering a fumble during those contests.
Juju Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs
Smith-Schuster caught two passes for 35 yards in the Chiefs’ win over the Raiders. He finished his first regular season in Kansas City with 78 catches for 933 yards — the second-most in his career — and three touchdowns.
Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys
Smith played all but three snaps of the Cowboys’ loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. The 12th-year veteran missed the first 13 weeks of the season as he recovered from a torn hamstring and has switched from left tackle to the right side since making his return, but he still remains a key piece of the Cowboys’ offensive line.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Photo by Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
St. Brown caught six passes for 49 yards during the Lions’ upset of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. Perhaps his biggest play didn’t net him any yards, as St. Brown caught a short pass in the fourth quarter and pitched the ball to running back D’Andre Swift for a big gain that helped lead to the team’s game-clinching first-down conversion. St. Brown finished his second NFL season seventh in the league with 106 receptions, turning those grabs into 1,161 yards and six scores.
Jay Tufele, Cincinnati Bengals
Tufele didn’t play during the Bengals’ win over the Ravens. The second-year pro played in seven games on the season and totaled 16 tackles.
Leonard Williams, New York Giants
Williams, like most of the Giants’ starters, sat out Sunday’s game against the Eagles in preparation for the team’s playoff matchup against the Vikings on Sunday. Williams continues to play well in his eighth NFL season, having made 45 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 12 games.
Robert Woods, Tennessee Titans
Woods caught four passes for 40 yards during the Titans’ season-ending loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. The veteran struggled at times during his first season with Tennessee, but Woods closed the season well. Twenty of his 57 catches came in the final five weeks. He finished the season with 527 yards and two scores.
