The NFL season is officially underway and with 29 former Tigers on the active rosters of NFL rosters as of week one, Auburn certainly has its fair share of representation in the National Football League.
Now obviously, not all 29 of those former Tigers are stars, but there are a select few of those who have started the 2017 NFL season in a way deserving some spotlight. With half of the first quarter of the 2017-18 season already in the books, some Auburn alumni already look like they're on their way to solid seasons.
Cody Parkey
Parkey cemented his status as one of the best kickers in Auburn history during his time on the plains. An injury in his second NFL season has Parkey on his third team in four years, however, the Florida native looks like he may have found a permanent home with the hometown Miami Dolphins.
The week one matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unfortunately had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Irma. Therefore, Parkey and the Dolphins have only one game under their belt so far.
However, Parkey took advantage and against the Los Angeles Chargers, resembled his 2014 pro bowl form. Both the Chargers and Dolphins struggled offensively with the two teams only combining for three touchdowns.
A good kicker can be a godsend for a team when their offense struggles and thats exactly what Parkey was for the Dolphins on Sunday. Parkey was able to emerge victorious in the kicking duel against Chargers kicker, Younghoe Koo.
Parkey was 4/4 in his field goal attempts hitting from 30, 28, 35 and 54 yards respectively and nailed the extra point attempt after the Dolphins only touchdown of the evening. Parkey's last field goal came at the 1:05 mark in the fourth quarter and its 54 yards matches a career high for the former Auburn placekicker.
No other kicker had more field goals in week two which is a big reason why the Dolphins were able to escape Los Angeles with a 19-17 win and move to 1-0 despite a less than stellar offensive performance.
Carl Lawson
The former Auburn defensive end has successfully made the change to linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals in his rookie season. Despite not being in the starting lineup for the Bengals week one or week two match-up, Lawson was the often the first defensive player subbed into the game and in limited time, Lawson showed why he was one of the best pass rushers in last years draft class.
Lawson has only played 50 snaps in his first two games but despite only getting action in roughly 30% of the Bengals defensive snaps, Lawson was able to show his value.
Lawson's impressive week one led him to be named the number one ranked pass rusher among all players by Pro Football Focus based on a formula that calculates sacks, hits and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer
Through two weeks the Bengals have only scored nine total points, the most mark in the entire NFL. So even though the team's offensive is having its obvious problems, the Cincinnati defense has looked solid and Lawson's elite pass rush ability is a big reason for that.
Dee Ford
The former Auburn defensive end turned NFL outside linebacker is now in his fourth year in the league all of which have been with the Kansas City Chiefs. Ford has become one of the NFL's elite pass rushers after a breakout year in 2016 placed Ford's 10.0 sacks as 15th most in the NFL and the most on the Chiefs roster.
Kansas City's elite defense faced an uphill battle in week one when they faced the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. However, a surprisingly efficient offense and the ability to get constant pressure on Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady led the Chiefs to a surprising 42-27 victory.
Although Ford did not fill up the stat sheet in week one, Ford was able to burst pass the porous Patriots offensive line to get constant pressure on Tom Brady, forcing him to make inaccurate throws or throw interceptions.
Ford did have a solid four tackles and a key forced fumble that allowed the Chiefs to steal a key possession from the Patriots late in the game. However, most of Ford's week one impact came from plays that did not show up in his stat line.
In week two, Ford and the Chiefs faced the Philadelphia Eagles where Ford notched his first sack of the season. Ford sacked Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz for a nine yard loss in the second quarter that forced the Eagles to then punt on fourth down.
Ford also added two solo tackles and a pass deflection to his week two stat line but other than that, the former Auburn star was relatively quiet despite playing 97% of the Chiefs defensive snaps.
Ford is the top pass rusher on the Chiefs roster, and one of the best in the NFL for that matter, a skill he no doubt showed during his time on The Plains. Luckily, Ford will get a week three matchup against The Los Angeles Chargers who's offensive line constantly struggles to protect quarterback Philip Rivers-- look for Ford to have a field day.
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