One of the best football players, regardless of the position that Central Michigan ever produced, has to be Joe Staley.

From the University of Utah, where he was a two-time Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, Eric Weddle joined the San Diego Chargers as a Second-Round Pick in 2007.  He played off the bench as a rookie.  Weddle won the starting job at Free Safety as a sophomore and became one of the top Safetys of the 2010s.

Weddle usually played at FS, but could slide into Strong Safety and provide elite man-to-man coverage when needed.  Lauded for his high football IQ, Weddle emerged as a defacto on-field coach for his respective squads.  Weddle went to his first Pro Bowl in 2011, the same year he co-led the league in Interceptions (7) and was also a First Team All-Pro.  He added two more Pro Bowls (2013 & 2014) and a second First Team All-Pro as a Charger, but his run in the sun ended when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.

The Ravens had Weddle for three seasons, during which he was an annual Pro Bowl selection.  Recording 10 Picks as a Raven, Weddle was released as a cost-cutting measure, and he joined the Los Angeles Rams for 2019.  He had a good year, but elected to retire, seemingly ending his career, but an offer came from the Rams that he could not refuse. 

In 2021, Los Angeles made the playoffs but saw the Safety position decimated by injury. Weddle was coaxed out of retirement, and with his ability to learn the defensive schemes quickly, he was a starter in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win over Cincinnati. Weddle retired a second time, but this time as a champion.  He accumulated 39 Sacks and 1,179 Tackles over his career,

Drafted in 2004 with the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers, Eli Manning did not want to play for the Bolts, and he was quickly dealt to the New York Giants, where he would play his entire career.  A four-time Pro Bowl Selection, he would take the Giants to two Super Bowl Championships, both against the heavily favored New England Patriots, the first of which was when the Pats were undefeated going into the big game.  Notably, he was the Super Bowl MVP in both of their title wins.

Aqib Talib was the 20^thOverall Pick in 2008, but the former Kansas Jayhawk struggled early to live up to expectations.  Winning the starting job at Left Cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his sophomore year, Talib did well, but it was not until 2012, when he was traded to the New England Patriots where his star began to rise.