Talent from New Orleans area dots NFL preseason rosters

It has been well documented how much NFL talent the Greater Metro New Orleans produces each year. Pro Football Hall of Famers like Aeneas Williams, Steve Van Buren, Marshall Faulk and Ed Reed come to mind, just to name a few. Peyton Manning will soon be added to the list in Canton.

We will take our annual training camp trek around the league just to show how many players who sharpened their skills on Friday evenings locally are now on NFL rosters.

There are 96 players who plied their trade on the Louisiana prep level now in the NFL during the preseason. Out of that number, 40 are from the New Orleans area.

If you are looking for teams to root for based on the Louisiana talent on their roster, look no further than the Carolina Panthers who have six Louisiana products. Five of them are from the Crescent City and surrounding parts.

The Redskins have six from the state but just one from NOLA. The Jaguars have six as well, with four from New Orleans area.

Five Dallas Cowboys are from Louisiana with one from New Orleans. Also with five including two from the Big Easy are the Browns. The J-E-T-S…Jets, Jets, Jets have five from Pelican state and a pair from this area. The Buccaneers, Ravens and Bengals all claim four from Louisiana.

The high schools most represented in 2019? St. Augustine has six players currently on NFL rosters while Rummel currently boasts five. Continuing in the same LHSAA district, John Curtis has four in the league while Brother Martin and Jesuit all have three along with McDonogh 35. Isidore Newman and Edna Karr have two alums on rosters currently.

Here are the 40 players from the Greater Metro New Orleans area representing their home with pride in NFL camps:

DT Gerald Willis, Ravens, Edna Karr
LB Kenny Young, Ravens, John Curtis
WR Duke Williams, Bills, East St. John
WR Stanley Morgan, Bengals, St. Aug
TE Cethan Carter, Bengals, Rummel
WR Jarvis Landry, Browns, Lutcher
WR Odell Beckham Jr., Browns, Newman
WR Steven Dunbar, Broncos, Rummel
WR Tyron Johnson, Texans, Warren Easton
RB Leonard Fournette, Jaguars, St. Aug
RB Alfred Blue, Jaguars, Hahnville
TE Charles Jones, Jaguars, St. Aug
QB Tanner Lee, Jaguars, Jesuit
DB Tyrann Mathieu, Chiefs, St. Aug
RB Darrel Williams, Chiefs, John Ehret
DB Rod Teamer, Chargers, Brother Martin
CB Arthur Maulet, Jets, Bonnabel
CB Parry Nickerson, Jets, West Jefferson
TE Foster Moreau, Raiders, Jesuit
DB Kendrick Lewis, Titans, O.P. Walker (now Landry-Walker)
OT Jeremy Vujnovich, Cardinals, Belle Chasse
LB Deion Jones, Falcons, Jesuit
LB Duke Riley, Falcons, John Curtis
CB Lorenzo Doss, Panthers, St. Aug
OG Dillon Gordon, Panthers, John Curtis
CB Donte Jackson, Panthers, Riverdale
WR Damion Jeanpierre, Panthers, Rummel
OG Trai Turner, Panthers, St. Aug
OT Cornelius Lucas, Bears, Edna Karr
TE Rico Gathers, Browns, Riverside Academy
DB Treston DeCoud, Cowboys, Lakeshore
TE Irv Smith, Jr., Vikings, Brother Martin
QB Eli Manning, Giants, Newman
CB Henre’ Toliver, Giants, Rummel
OG Will Clapp, Saints, Brother Martin
WR Cyril Grayson, Saints, Rummel
OT Chris Clark, Saints, McDonogh 35
OT D.J. Fluker, Seahawks, McDonogh 35 (until Hurricane Katrina)
LB B.J. Blunt, Redskins, McDonogh 35
WR Malachi Dupre, Chargers, John Curtis

There are two additional players who were recently released but may find their way back to an NFL roster very soon (CB Terrence Alexander of John Curtis and RB Rob Kelley of O.P. Walker).

In case you’re wondering which high hchools have been the most prominent producing NFL talent all time, here is the (partial) answer.

St. Augustine far and away owns the title in the state of Louisiana and stands as one of the top schools nationwide placing alumni in the League. There are 47 Purple Knights who have played in the NFL. Continuing with New Orleans area schools, the Archbishop Shaw Eagles claim 21 former players. John Curtis is third on the list with 18 followed by Jesuit with 13, John Ehret with 12, Landry-Walker with 11 and West Jefferson with 10. Rummel and Holy Cross have nine each while McDonogh 35 and Edna Karr have eight former players who went on to the NFL. Brother Martin has sent six while Newman have four (hint: two of them are quarterbacks).