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Wayne Cavadi | krikya18.com | January 3, 2018

Former DII football standouts in the NFL playoffs

  Adam Thielen's breakout 2017 has the Vikings headed to the playoffs and Thielen heading to the Pro Bowl.

Welcome to January football. That means the NFL playoffs are upon us. 

RELATED: DII players on NFL opening day rosters

DII football is well represented in the 2018 postseason, with 22 former DII standouts looking for Super Bowl glory. There are many former DII football players on practice squads and the injured reserve across the NFL, however, these are the players officially listed on their . 

By the numbers:

Roster breakdown:

0 -- Active DII players on the New Orleans Saints current roster. The Saints are the only NFL team rolling into the playoffs with no DII players represented on their active roster. They did however, activate fullback John Kuhn (Shippensburg) off of the injured reserve and could add him to the active roster before the playoffs start.

1 -- Linebacker in the postseason.

2 -- Big pieces the Los Angeles Rams had to place on the IR over the past few weeks. Pro Bowl kicker Greg Zuerlein (Missouri Western State) and Matt Longacre (Northwest Missouri State), who was third on the team with 5.5 sacks, will both miss the postseason. Reserve DB Marqui Christian (Midwestern State) also hit the IR after Week 12.

2 -- Defensive backs in the postseason. 

3 -- DII players voted to the Pro Bowl. The Vikings Adam Thielen (Minnesota State), Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) and Rams Greg Zuerlein were invited to attend.

3 -- Wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends each in the postseason.

-- The most active DII players on anyone roster. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers lead the way.

3 -- West Alabama players in the postseason, the most from any one school. Minnesota State, and West Texas A&M both send two players apiece.

5 -- DII defensive and offensive linemen represented in the postseason, the most of any position.

10 -- DII players in the NFC.

12 -- DII players in the AFC.

AFC 

Name Position Team
Buffalo Bills    
Deon Lacey LB West Alabama
Khari Lee TE Bowie State
Cedric Thornton DT Southern Arkansas
Jacksonville Jaguars    
Keelan Cole WR Kentucky Wesleyan
Chris Ivory RB Tiffin
Chris Reed OL Minnesota State
Kansas City Chiefs    
Tyreek Hill WR West Alabama
Ron Parker DB Newberry
New England Patriots    
Malcolm Butler CB West Alabama
Pittsburgh Steelers    
Matt Feiler OT Bloomsburg
Tennessee Titans    
Phillip Supernaw TE Ouachita Baptist
Delanie Walker TE Central Missouri

NFC 

Name Position Team
Atlanta Falcons    
Ryan Schraeder T Valdosta State
Carolina Panthers    
Alex Armah RB West Georgia
Zach Moore DE Concordia-St. Paul
Amini Silatolu OG Midwestern State
Los Angeles Rams    
Morgan Fox DE Colorado State-Pueblo
Ethan Westbrooks DL West Texas A&M
Minnesota Vikings    
Joe Berger C Michigan Tech
C.J. Ham FB Augustana (SD)
Adam Thielan  WR Minnesota State
Philadelphia Eagles    
Bryan Braman DE West Texas A&M

and . His work has appeared on Bleacher Report, MLB.com, AJC.com, SB Nation and FoxSports.com and in publications like The Advocate and Lindy's Sports. Follow him on Twitter at .

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