Since 2014, Auburn has had 16 former football players lucky enough to hear their name called on draft night with multiple other former Tigers making NFL rosters after going undrafted.
As of July 19, 2017, 22 defensive players, 16 offensive players and two specialists-- reported for training camp for their respective teams. While all 40 former Tigers are trying to pave their own career in the Nation Football League, a select few have risen above expectations and excelled already, early in their respective careers.
Carl Lawson
Picked in the fourth round (116th overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals, Lawson, the undisputed star of Auburn's much improved 2016 defense, likely fell down draft boards of many teams due to nagging injury concerns that plagued him during his time on the plains.
Regardless, Lawson was a five star prospect out of high school and when healthy, proved to be a first round talent.
Arguably the best pass rusher in the 2017 NFL draft, Lawson will switch to strongside linebacker after playing primarily defensive end during his collegiate career.
A switch in positions can be a tough transitions for many players but Lawson's raw talent and ability to get to the quarterback has already impressed coaches in Cincinnati.
"he's impressed me enough" Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. "he's going to get unleashed, that's what I told him."
Lawson notched his first career sack in preseason play this past Sunday against the Washington Redskins and will likely serve as a backup linebacker and pass rush specialist for a team that needs the added firepower after finishing 19th in the league in sacks last season.
Cody Parkey
After going undrafted (as kickers tend to do) in 2014, Parkey enjoyed a tremendous rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Parkey broke the NFL's all time scoring record for rookies and was a pro bowler in 2014. However, after a season ending injury in the beginning of the 2015 season, Parkey was dropped by the Eagles
in September of 2016, the Cleveland Browns signed Parkey where he hit 20 of his 25 field goal attempts in 14 games as their starting kicker this past season.
This past week as NFL teams trimmed their rosters down to 53, Parkey was waived by the Browns after he lost the starting job to rookie Zane Gonzalez. Parkey was picked up by the Miami Dolphins a day later.
During his time at Auburn, Parkey was arguably the best kicker in the SEC with his dangerous combination of both power and accuracy.
Now entering his fourth season in the NFL Parkey will enter the season as the starting kicker for the Dolphins as they waived their former kicker, Andrew Franks. Parkey, a Florida native will try and get back to his 2014 form for his hometown team.
Shon Coleman
The second Cleveland Brown on this list, Coleman, a third round draft pick in 2016, spent two years as the starting left tackle for the Tigers.
Due to a Leukemia diagnosis in 2010, Coleman is older than most second year NFL players. After a two year battle with the disease, Coleman knows there is nothing hold him back. "Now i don't take life for granted. It can get taken away from you as quick as that." Coleman said.
Tremendous determination isn't the only thing helping Coleman succeed early in the NFL. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 310 pounds, Coleman certainly possesses the size to punish opposing defensive lines.
With only one year under his belt Coleman is entering his second season in Cleveland as the favorite to win the starting right tackle job.
Coleman will look to use his imposing frame to help a disastrous Cleveland that ranked dead last in the NFL in sacks allowed per game with 4.1.
Sammie Coates
The former Auburn wide receiver was a third round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 and is entering his third season with the team.
Since he arrived in Pittsburgh, Coates had been the victim of a crowded stable of Steeler wide receivers. Struggling to earn playing time behind star talents like Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, Coates finally got his time to shine last season.
After Bryant was suspended for the entire 2016 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, Coates stepped in to the starting job opposite superstar Antonio Brown.
Coates took advantage as he emerged as an ideal deep threat for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Coates reeled in 421 yards in the first five games of the season including a monster 139 yard and two touchdown performance in week 5.
Unfortunately, a nagging hand injury forced Coates to miss most of the rest of 2016 but Coates, now relatively healthy again, is hoping to have the sort of impact that he had here on The Plains.
With Martavis Bryant now reinstated by the NFL, Pittsburgh traded Coates to the Cleveland Browns on September 2. for a 2018 sixth round pick and a 2019 seventh round pick.
Although the Steelers will likely be significantly better than the Browns this season, Coates has gone from a crowded wide-receiver group to a team struggling at the same position.
Coates, an excellent deep threat will give newly announced Browns starting quarterback, rookie, DeShone Kizer a dangerous weapon when he is throwing the ball downfield.
Coates joins former Auburn teammate Ricardo Louis in Cleveland where Coates will have a chance to play immediately and have a much bigger impact than he likely would have had in Pittsburgh.
Montravius Adams
The former five star prospect from Vienna, Ga. was the first Auburn player selected in this year's draft when the Green Bay Packers selected him with the 29th pick of the third round.
Adams spent the past four years anchoring Auburn defenses with his size and power to stop the run and rush the quarterback. Adams had a very respectable 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks for the Tigers in 2016 which earned him a first team all SEC spot.
Adams' excellent senior season led to the Packers taking a chance on the Auburn defensive tackle. Unfortunately Adams suffered a stress fracture in his foot that sidelined him for almost all of training camp, with Adams only returning to practice this week.
Green Bay has a solid defensive line already with considerable depth so playing time might be hard to come by for the rookie. However, many of Adams' Packers teammates think a player with Adams' talent is too good to keep off the field.
"His pass-rush moves are ridiculous," veteran defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois said. "I thought it would take him a while to adjust to the NFL and have to change from college moves to NFL moves but I think he already adjusted."
Adams says that now he is finally relatively healthy that the Packers don't put him on the injured reserve list which would put him out for the entire season or until week nine if the Packers choose Adams as one of the two players they are allowed to remove from the list.
"I don't really get to make that decision," Adams said. "But I mean, I think i'll be ready before eight weeks."
"No player is 100 percent, but any player can be mentally 100 percent so I'm just trying to make sure i'm there." Adams said.
If he can get healthy in time, it is apparent that with talents as rare as Adams' he can most definitely be an impact rookie for the contending Packers.
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