Andrew Whitworth played his college ball at LSU, and was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals in the Second Round of the 2006 Draft.  Although he became a starter as a rookie, Whitworth didn’t break out until his 30s, earning his first Pro Bowl at 31 in 2012.  Earning a First Team All-Pro in 2015, and a second Pro Bowl, Whitworth secured a third in 2016, his last with the Bengals.

Whitworth signed with the Rams in 2017, and in his first year in L.A., he was again a First Team All-Pro, and captured his fourth and final trip to the Pro Bowl.  Staying with the Rams until his retirement, Whitworth ended his career perfectly, winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year the day before he anchored the line that helped bring the Rams the Super Bowl.

Whitworth left the game with 239 Games Played, and his 142 in Approximate Value was then 88^th all-time.

With his play in the last half of his career, Whitworth carved out a case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A two-time Morris winner at California, Alex Mack was a First Round Pick in 2009 (21^st Overall) by the Cleveland Browns, and he stepped in immediately under Quarterback and under the learning tree of future Hall of Fame Lineman, Joe Thomas, would make the Pro Bowl in his sophomore season.  A Pro Bowler again in 2013 and 2015, Mack joined the Atlanta Falcons, where he earned three more Pro Bowl Selections, before finishing his career in 2021 as a San Francisco 49er, where he earned Pro Bowl number seven.

Undrafted in 2010 after his college career at Army, Alejandro Villanueva went back into military service but in 2014 pursued a career in Pro Football, and despite all odds, was able to gain an invite to the Philadelphia Eagles as a Defensive End in training camp.  He did not make the team, but was courted by Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who converted him to a Tackle.  It worked, and after a year on the practice roster, and gaining significant weight, he became a starting Left Tackle for Pittsburgh the following year.

Villanueva continued to get better, and was a back-to-back Pro Bowl Selection in 2017 and 2018.  A solid performer for the Steelers in the last half of the 2010s, Villanueva might be best known for standing in the entrance tunnel during the national anthem when his teammates stayed behind to protest racial injustice.  It may not have him endeared him to some teammates, but it did raise his profile in the NFL.

After a final year with the Baltimore Ravens in 2021, Villanueva ended his career after seven seasons.

There was a time when it looked like Todd Gurley was going to be the next great Running Back, and why wouldn’t we think that?

Gurley was the first Running Back taken in the 2015 Draft (10^th Overall) and the Georgia Bulldog made the Rams look like geniuses as he proceeded to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,106 Rushing Yards, 10 Rushing Touchdowns and a trip to the Pro Bowl.  Gurley had a sophomore jink (885 Yards, 6 Touchdowns), but exploded in 2017 where he led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns (13), Touchdowns (19) and Yards from Scrimmage (2,093).  He was the runner-up for the MVP while winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year, and it could be argued that he was even better in 2018.  This was Gurley’s second straight First Team All-Pro year, and he again led the league in Touchdowns (21), with a fourth-place finish in YFS (1,831).  What transpired late that year was a beginning of a slew of knee injuries that would hamper the rest of his career.

Gurley plummeted to barely over 1,064 YFS, without missing a game and it was clear he wasn’t the same player.  The Rams let him go, and he had one year with the Atlanta Falcons where he had his least productive year (842 Yards, 9 TD).  No team picked up Gurley in 2021, and he retired shortly after.

Gurley might not have had the career that we thought he would have but 8,336 Yards from Scrimmage with 79 Touchdowns is a damned good career.