The SEC has been an absolute factory of NFL talent throughout its history as we all know, and we have yet another season where former SEC stars will get their chance to shine. For these guys, it will be in unique territory with the NFL making its debut in Brazil.
So which players are there to watch? Both squads have a ton of SEC alumni so this will be a treat for someone who has been watching the conference for a long time. 37 total players hail from this conference, and a number of them are notable stars that most NFL fans are aware of.
Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia has been notorious for selecting defensive players from Georgia, and there are six total players from the Bulldogs on this Eagles team. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Nakobe Dean, and Kelee Ringo were all major contributors to those National Championship defenses. Jalen Hurts and Lane Johnson both came out of Oklahoma, but Hurts came up through the SEC with Alabama for the majority of his college career, and the Sooners were not in this conference just yet.
But speaking of the Tide, Hurts being the starting quarterback is huge, but his main target DeVonta Smith has been a key part of this offense. Landon Dickerson has been a huge part of this offensive line, and there are also three other Alabama players on this squad. Ole Miss also has a key piece of this offense with AJ Brown, and Mississippi State's Darius Slay is a star in this secondary.
Florida has two players, most notably C.J. Gardner Johnson, and Texas A&M also has two players. While Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn, Texas, Missouri, and LSU all have a player each. So if you count Oklahoma and Texas, there are 21 total SEC players currently on the Eagles roster.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers on the other side of things also have some familiar faces from the SEC on both sides of the ball. Alabama's two players in Josh Jacobs and now Xavier McKinney after his recent signing are some key veterans from the Nick Saban era. Georgia has four total players, with Quay Walker, Erik Stokes, and Javon Bullard being guys to watch.
Florida has three players on the Packers, and Mississippi State has two including Preston Smith and Elgton Jenkins. Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Auburn all have one player each. So, in total, there are 16 total players from the SEC on the Packers, but they do not have as many stars from this conference as Philadelphia.
The one guarantee is that somewhere on any given Sunday there are guys to spot out that played their college football in the SEC, or in this case any given Friday. But make sure to watch out for these players when watching the debut of the NFL in Brazil.