Here are the former DII football players on 2024 NFL rosters

The 2024 NFL season is ready to kick off, and there are DII football alum aplenty on rosters. 

Now that the initial 53-man rosters were announced, we can break down each team and see where many familiar faces have landed. Several DII football players, like Adam Thielen, Tyreek Hill, and Kyle Dugger have become household names, while former All-Pros, like Austin Ekeler and Matthew Judon, have found new homes this offseason.

(Austin Ekeler; Western Colorado Athletics)

This year, I tracked the movement of 83 former DII football players from the draft to cut day and 46 DII veterans made opening day rosters, up three from last season. The focus here is on players who finished up at a DII school. Names like Jaleel McLaughlin, who set freshmen rushing records at Notre Dame (OH), and Austin Reed, who won a national championship at West Florida, finished at DI schools and are thus excluded from this list. 

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All the information below is how 53-man rosters were listed on as of Sept. 1. This list is active 53-man players only and does not include players on injured reserve or the practice squad, as practice squad players are very fluid and can bounce around from different teams at the beginning of the season. 

Here is how the rosters look.

DII NFL rosters, broken down by the numbers

• There are 12 defensive backs on NFL rosters. That is the most of any position. Wide receivers are right behind with 11 DII alumni. 
• Tyson Bagent was not only the lone DII quarterback to make an opening day roster (in close to a decade, as a matter of fact) last season, he also went 2-2 as a starter. Bagent is once again the lone former DII quarterback to back a roster. 
• Like last year, Ferris State has the most DII veterans on NFL rosters with Caleb Murphy in Tennessee, Tavierre Thomas in Tampa Bay and Zach Sieler — who is coming off a 10-sack season — in Miami. CSU Pueblo, Fort Hays State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Missouri Western, Pitt State, Sioux Falls and Washburn all have two alums on rosters. 
• As they do most seasons, the Indianapolis Colts have the most former DII football players on their roster. Albany State (GA)'s Grover Stewart — who has started 74 games on the Colts' defensive line since 2019 — Malone's Ashton Dulin, Pittsburg State's Dallis Flowers, Tarleton State's E.J. Speed — who had a career-high 102 tackles in 2023 — and Valdosta State's former Pro Bowler Kenny Moore III all don the horseshoe helmets on Sunday. 
• The Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers have no DII football players on their active rosters. It is the second year in a row that neither the Eagles nor 49ers have active DII players. 

+ = no longer a DII program; * = school no longer has a football program

Practice squad goals

Below is a list of players currently on practice squads. Please keep in mind that this list can change frequently (it may have since Sept. 1) as practice squad players can switch teams or be called up to the 53-man roster frequently. Here are just a few names I have been tracking since the NFL draft on NFL practice squads as of Sept. 1 via NFL.com.

+ = no longer a DII program