With less than four months remaining until the 2020 NFL season opener, Pro Football Focus updated its list of projected starters for all 32 teams and it includes a number of former Wolfpack players.
NC State has 26 former players on current NFL rosters, nearly half of which are projected starters for the upcoming season.
Two weeks ago, PFF released its All-Decade Top 101 for the best NFL players of the 2010s. Two former NC State quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Philip Rivers, made the prestigious list that included only six other quarterbacks outside the Pack duo.
We’re breaking down the upcoming 2020 NFL season for all 26 Pack Pros on current rosters. Last week, we previewed the projected starters on offense. Here’s the list of former NC State players on defense in PFF’s projected starter list:
Bradley Chubb
Denver Broncos
Outside Linebacker
After suffering a season-ending injury last season, Chubb will look to return to his rookie form in year three.
In his first season in the NFL, Chubb started all 16 games and recorded 60 combined tackles along with 12 sacks. In Week 4 of his sophomore campaign, the edge rusher took down Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew for his first sack of 2019 but left the game with what was later diagnosed as a partial ACL tear.
The Broncos will hope to return to the playoffs for the first time since beating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 and the franchise may have found the quarterback to do it.
Entering Week 12 with a 3-8 record last season, first-year head coach Vic Fangio had nothing to lose by starting rookie quarterback Drew Lock for the final five games. Lock proved Fangio’s decision right as the rookie led the Broncos to a 4-1 record in the final five games, the sole loss coming to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium.
Denver enters the 2020 season as a viable playoff contender that should only benefit from the return of Chubb.
Germaine Pratt
Cincinnati Bengals
Inside Linebacker
It’s hard to imagine a more humbling welcome to the NFL than playing a rookie season for a league-worst 2-14 Bengals squad. For Pratt, however, playing with one of the league’s worst defenses last year provided playing opportunities that may have come later down the road had he played with a more competitive squad.
The former Wolfpack linebacker increasingly found more time on the field as the year went on. Beginning the season as primarily a special teams player, Pratt started nine of the last 11 games on defense and was on the field for at least 67 percent of the team's defensive snaps in the final four games.
Help is on the way to Cincinnati. With the No. 1 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bengals selected Heisman quarterback Joe Burrow to become its franchise gunslinger. The Bengals later selected Clemson wideout Tee Higgins with the first pick of the second round, but the offense wasn’t the only element Cincinnati worked to improve this offseason.
“Cincinnati certainly recognized that the linebacking corps needed to be addressed this offseason, bringing in three rookies and Josh Bynes in free agency to help solve the issue,” said Ben Linsey of PFF. “Though he struggled a bit as a rookie in 2019 (51.2 overall grade), I think it’s safe to assume Germaine Pratt will maintain his starting status.”
Juston Burris
Carolina Panthers
Safety
The Carolina Panthers roster is almost unrecognizable entering 2020 after the offseason exodus of foundational franchise pieces Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly and Greg Olsen.
While first-year head coach Matt Rhule has quickly embellished a reputation for splurging on players from his former-employer Temple, the Panthers signed one home-state product this offseason that is sure to make Wolfpack fans happy.
Burris signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Panthers in March and is projected to join former college-rival Tre Boston, a free safety that went to UNC, in the starting secondary group.
Burris is coming off his best season in the NFL. He started in nine of the 14 games he played in last year for the Cleveland Browns and recorded a career-best 32 tackles and two interceptions. Prior to last season, Burris had only earned two starts in his first three years in the NFL.
He’ll have big shoes to fill in Charlotte this fall. Burris was signed two days after Carolina released former Pro Bowler Eric Reid. Now Burris, who has NFL experience at multiple positions on defense, is the likely candidate to take over the strong safety role previously held by Reid.
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