Published Aug 14, 2020
SUNDAY'S BEST
circle avatar
Greg Madia  •  DukesofJMU
Publisher
Twitter
@Madia_DNRSports

13 James Madison Products Vying For NFL Roster Spots

Advertisement

They’re everywhere around the National Football League.

“We have a lot of good talent coming out and we’re going to keep pushing talent out,” Carolina Panthers wide receiver Ishmael Hyman, a James Madison product, told the Daily News-Record during the offseason about the former Dukes at the highest level of football.

Before he departed for Carolina on a futures contract in January, Hyman was one of four ex-JMU standouts to suit up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of last season.

“It was JMU south for real,” Hyman said with a laugh. “And we used to talk junk to people, because other than us there were like three or four guys from LSU on the team, but we were saying how JMU is strong in the [NFL].”

And with training camps underway, Hyman’s sentiment is still true. A program record 13 former Dukes are in camps across the NFL and vying for roster spots this month.

Those 13 also give JMU more of its products in the NFL than any other school in the FCS, and more than 56 FBS schools including Power Five programs Arizona, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Minnesota, Syracuse and Washington State.

So even though JMU won’t play football on Saturdays this fall, there are plenty of past Dukes to follow on Sundays. Here’s a closer examination of them:

Daniel Brown (TE, New York Jets)

The sixth-year veteran, Daniel Brown, fit in well enough with the New York Jets last year that they signed him to a one-year deal to return for this coming season.

In 2019, Brown led New York in special teams snaps, he said, and played more on offense than he ever had in his pro career prior to joining the Jets.

“I think I showed them enough offensively in the last four games and throughout the year on special teams,” Brown said, “that I’d be an asset to be brought back for this year.”

He’ll likely be needed to fill a similar role again, seeing the majority of his action on special teams and stepping in at tight end when the club needs him to.

Brown made seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown last fall.

Ron'Dell Carter (DE, Dallas Cowboys)

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t waste anytime following the NFL Draft this past April to ink Ron’Dell Carter an undrafted free agent contract.

Carter had other suitors, too, but Dallas outbid them for Carter’s services. According to a Dallas Morning News report, the Cowboys are paying Carter $145,000 ($125,000 portion of salary and $20,000 signing bonus) in guaranteed money, which is more than a seventh-round pick gets.

And that commitment from Dallas will likely allow Carter to showcase his capabilities throughout training camp. Carter said he’s playing the traditional 4-3 defensive end spot for Dallas.

To prove himself as a rookie, Carter must show he can hang with or be better than other young defensive ends on Dallas’ roster like 2020 fifth-round pick Bradley Anae, 2019 seventh-round choice Jalen Jelks and 2019 fifth-round pick Joe Jackson.

John Daka (DE, Baltimore Ravens)

After leading the FCS in sacks as a senior, John Daka will try to earn a spot with the Baltimore Ravens using the same pass-rushing skills.

He can do it as a defensive end or outside linebacker since Baltimore uses a 3-4 system under defensive coordinator Don Martindale.

Daka is one of three edge rushers or defensive ends the Ravens signed after the NFL Draft, so at the very least he’ll have to outperform fellow undrafted players Marcus Willoughby from Elon and Chauncey Rivers from Mississippi State to stick around.

In his JMU career, Daka tallied 27.5 sacks.

Rashard Davis (WR/PR/KR, Tennessee Titans)

His special teams prowess and speed has earned Rashard Davis one opportunity following another in NFL and it seems like the Tennessee Titans are happy to have him as part of their franchise.

Davis is back with Tennessee on the heels of the Titans’ playoff run to the AFC Championship Game last season. He recorded the first catch of his career last year and was the team’s punt returner in playoff contests.

“I came here and was making plays against the starting defense by giving them a good look,” Davis told the DN-R ahead of that AFC Championship Game. “And the team had a few injuries in the receiver core and the receivers coach felt comfortable pulling me up and giving me a chance.”

Davis carried momentum into this training camp, as well. Last week, per the organization’s website, Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel named Davis one of the Titans’ three Offseason Performers of the Year during a conference call with reporters.

Ben DiNucci (QB, Dallas Cowboys)

Dallas has its starting quarterback in Dak Prescott, so Ben DiNucci, last year’s Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year and a seventh-round draft pick of the Cowboys in April, will have to show he’s one of the three best signal-callers on the team’s roster to make it.

Behind Prescott, Dallas’ list of quarterbacks includes DiNucci, former Cincinnati Bengals starter Andy Dalton and ex-Northwestern standout Clayton Thorson.

One factor that could boost DiNucci is continuing his evolution of cutting down turnovers. From 2018 to 2019 at JMU, DiNucci took his touchdown-to-interception ratio from 16-to-12 two years ago to 29-to-6 as a senior.

DiNucci's western Pennsylvania roots and ties to Dallas coach Mike McCarthy could help the rookie quarterback, too.

Raven Greene (S, Green Bay Packers)

At this time last year, Raven Greene was poised for a strong second season with the Green Bay Packers. But he suffered an ankle injury in Week 2 and was on the injured reserve until January when he began practicing again.

So maybe the breakout campaign for Greene comes this year, or at least that’s what the Packers are hoping for.

About Greene on a Zoom call with reporters last week, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said: “Raven is a really versatile player whether it’s at dime linebacker or in the safety position. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and his ability to help communication on the back end. … We’re really looking forward to seeing what he can put together this season.”

Ishmael Hyman (WR, Carolina Panthers)

Hyman left Tampa Bay for Carolina before he knew he'd be reacquainting with first-year Panthers coach Matt Rhule and wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson.

Rhule held the same job at Baylor and Temple previously, and Jackson was in the same role at Northern Illinois. When Hyman was a star at St. John Vianney High School (N.J), Rhule tried to recruit Hyman to Temple and Jackson tried to recruit Hyman to Northern Illinois.

Now, Hyman will have to impress them again to earn a job in Carolina.

Dean Marlowe (S, Buffalo Bills)

His injury-ridden seasons are behind him, and Dean Marlowe has a solidified role with the Buffalo Bills.

He can contribute on defense at safety and play special teams, too. His primary focus now, in his sixth season in the NFL, is helping Buffalo build on what it did last year when the Bills went 10-6 and reached AFC Wild Card round.

“Our standard is playoff caliber as Coach [Sean] McDermott explains to us,” Marlowe said this past June. “It’s how we manage our meetings and it starts in the morning, how we manage our walkthroughs and our practice. Everything is game-like. It’s taking that step from where we know we’re a good team to how does everyone come together to be great?”

Jimmy Moreland (CB, Washington Football Team)

His rookie season was a strong one, especially for a former seventh-round pick.

Jimmy Moreland played in 14 games, earned 470 snaps of playing time and racked up 41 tackles to go along with four pass breakups in his debut campaign before missing the final two contests of 2019 with a foot injury.

But he rehabbed the foot all offseason and is competing for increased playing time now. Moreland could see action at both the slot cornerback position and the outside cornerback spot this fall for Washington.

Brandon Polk (WR, Los Angeles Rams)

Brandon Polk made the most of his one season in Harrisonburg, tallying 1,179 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, which aided him in his pursuit of the NFL. He landed an undrafted free agent contract with the Los Angeles Rams.

In Los Angeles, he has plenty of competition to earn a roster spot as the Rams signed other four other undrafted receivers this past April, Earnest Edwards from Maine, Easop Winston from Washington State, J.J. Koski from Cal Poly and Trishton Jackson from Syracuse.

Dylan Stapleton (TE, Houston Texans)

The Houston Texans have five tight ends on their roster, and Dylan Stapleton is the lone rookie.

After Houston signed him, he said one of the reasons he thought he could succeed with the Texans is because of their plans for him.

“They have a 34-year old tight end [Darren Fells] right now,” Stapleton said then, “who is their Y [receiver]. But they want me to come there and for him to mentor me and kind of grow me as a player and eventually help me take that role over.

“The tight end coach [Will Lawing] said he wants me to be a great blocker, but he emphasized that I have great route running ability and great hands, so they’ll utilize me to my strengths. He mentioned also me having a huge key role on special teams, so I take that with a lot of pride and I’m excited.”

At JMU, Stapleton was asked to do it all and thrived as a blocker, receiver and H-back.

Aaron Stinnie (OL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Three years ago this month, Aaron Stinnie was readying for his senior season with the Dukes.

Now he’s a teammate of Tom Brady and part of the new-look Bucs.

Stinnie played in five games last year, and he’s in prime position to earn playing time as a backup offensive lineman for Tampa Bay this season. The 6-foot-3, 312-pounder is likely to see more action at guard than tackle, and Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians told reporters Stinnie could even provide depth at center.

Josh Wells (OL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

One of the offensive linemen Stinnie is competing for a roster spot with is seventh-year veteran Josh Wells, who played in 13 games and started twice for Tampa last season.

Wells, a tackle, has appeared in 52 games and started 11 of them throughout his career.