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 currently has 26 former players on current NFL rosters, nearly half of which are projected starters for the upcoming season.

Last week, 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 only included six other quarterbacks than the Pack duo.

We’re breaking down the upcoming season for all 26 Pack Pros on NFL rosters, starting with the projected starters on offense. Here’s the list of former NC State players on offense in PFF’s projected starter list:

Philip Rivers

Indianapolis Colts

Quarterback

It will be odd for NC State and NFL fans alike to see Rivers in an NFL game without a bolt on his helmet. Last season, Rivers completed a 16-year run with the Los Angeles Chargers, formerly of San Diego, franchise before signing a one-year, $25 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.

Rivers, an eight-time Pro Bowler, threw for 4,615 yards last season. He added 23 touchdowns through the air but gave away 20 interceptions as the Chargers missed the playoffs with a 5-11 record.

Now Rivers will take over this season as the starting quarterback for the Colts and will succeed another former Wolfpack quarterback in Jacoby Brissett, who stepped into the starting role after former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retired from the NFL in August 2019. Brissett played well, but the Colts missed the playoffs and only managed a third-place finish in the AFC South with a 7-9 record.

Russell Wilson

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback

Wilson led somewhat of a one-man show last season for a competitive Seahawks team that led the league with seven one-possession victories last season. Pending injuries, he should have some additional help on the offensive side in 2020. Star wideout Tyler Lockett returns alongside second-year receiver DK Metcalf, who put up impressive numbers as a rookie last year.

The Seahawks acquired a new red zone target for Wilson this season with former Panthers tight end Greg Olsen. Olsen has struggled with foot injuries the past two seasons but adds the presence of a Pro Bowler veteran to the Pete Carroll-coached squad.

Last season, Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs and an 11-5 record. In his eighth season in the NFL, Wilson threw for 4,110 yards including 31 touchdowns with only five interceptions (a career-low). The dual-threat quarterback added 342 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns last season. The Seahawks made it to the NFC Divisional round before losing to the Green Bay Packers 28-23 at Lambeau Field.

Garrett Bradbury

Minnesota Vikings

Center

Bradbury started in all 16 regular-season games for a Vikings team that went to the playoffs as a wild card last season at 10-6. While offensive linemen rarely get the credit they deserve, Bradbury and the Vikings O-Line’s excellence shined through Minnesota running back Dalvin Cook’s 1,135-yard, 13 touchdown stat line last season.

Minnesota was loaded with speed in the offensive skill positions last year, including Cook, slot receiver Adam Thielen and lightning-quick wideout Stefon Diggs. The Vikings lost Diggs this offseason when they traded him to the Bills for draft picks.

Bradbury will be tasked with the duty to protect quarterback Kirk Cousins as he enters year three in Minnesota. The Vikings exceeded expectations in the playoffs last season when they defeated the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round before losing to the San Francisco 49ers, the eventual NFC Champions, in the Divisional round.

J.R. Sweezy

Arizona Cardinals

Right Guard

Sweezy enters year two of a two-year, $9 million contract he signed in the summer of 2019. It was the same offseason the Cardinals selected former Heisman-winning quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

With the mission to protect the Cardinals’ franchise quarterback, Sweezy will look to help Arizona improve from a better-than-expected 5-10-1 record last season. The former Wolfpack lineman started in all 16 games last season.

Joe Thuney

New England Patriots

Left Guard

Mr. Reliable for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Thuney will enter year five in Foxborough, but it won’t be business as usual in Gillette Stadium.

For the first time in Thuney’s pro career, the left guard will be protecting a starting quarterback not named Tom Brady. It’s still uncertain who that will be, but the Patriots are expected to have a rebuilding year without the future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Thuney still has plenty to play for, regardless of whether or not the Patriots end up in the playoff hunt. The Patriots placed a franchise tag on Thuney this season as opposed to agreeing on a contract extension. According to Sports Illustrated, the team tagged Thuney with the intention to sign a long-term extension, but that has yet to happen.

Unless the former NC State offensive lineman can receive a contract extension before the season opener, he’ll be playing for his next contract this year.

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