Eagles in the NFL
Boston College Football has sent 245 players to the NFL, including 217 through the NFL Draft, where 21 players were selected in the first round. Sundays are filled with Eagles on the field in nearly every league match-up as 17 former Boston College players, including four-time Pro Bowl lineman Chris Lindstrom and Ravens standout WR Zay Flowers.
245 NFL ALUMNI • 217 NFL DRAFT PICKS • 21 FIRST ROUND PICKS
NFL EAGLES THROUGH THE YEARS
The Eagles have sent 245 players to the NFL and featured 17 alumni on league rosters in 2025. Leading the way is the last first round pick out of Boston College, Pro-Bowl selection Zay Flowers, who logged over 1,000 receiving yards in back-to-back campaigns with the Baltimore Ravens. Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom was named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth consecutive year in 2025. He has started for an offensive line that's blocked for running back Bijan Robinson to a league-leading 2,026 yards from scrimmage ahead of week 17, the only player in the NFL to amass 2,000 total yards thus far. In addition, Lindstrom has only missed 10 of a possible 980 offensive snaps this season. Quarterback Matt Ryan, who captained the Eagles in 2006 and 2007, was the third overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2008 and ranks eighth all-time in league history with 59,735 career passing yards. In his 15-year career, Ryan garnered MVP honors in 2016, while earning First Team All-Pro and led Atlanta to Super Bowl LI, and Rookie of the Year recognition in 2008 before announcing his retirement in 2024. The success of BC players in the NFL goes back to the league's beginning in 1920 with at least one player active in each season of NFL history. Art Donovan was the Eagles' first star player in the NFL, starting at defensive tackle for over a decade from 1950-61 and accumulating four All-Pro selections. Luke Kuechly entered the league in 2012 as the No. 9 pick of the Carolina Panthers. Prior to retiring after the 2019 season, Kuechly earned five All-Pro and seven Pro-Bowl selections; both the most all-time among BC players. He totaled 1,092 career tackles, twice leading the league, and picked up back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013. Kuechly has been named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in back-to-back years.
O-LINE U
As the league moved into the Super Bowl era Boston College emerged as "O-Line U", consistently pumping NFL-ready offensive lineman into the league, including Bob Hyland, an 11-year veteran and Super Bowl I champion as the ninth overall pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1967. Ten of BC's 21 first round draft picks have been offensive linemen, including Pete Kendall, a 13-year starter at the NFL level, Damien Woody, an 11-year starter, Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, and 10-year starting left tackle for the Indianapolis Colts Anthony Castonzo. The Eagles added another notch to their claim as "O-Line U" in 2019 when the Falcons made offensive guard Chris Lindstrom the 14th overall pick. Zion Johnson followed in 2022 as the 17th overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Eagles' legacy of offensive line production continued with Christian Mahogany, the two-time All-New England selection who was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 6th round of the 2024 NFL Draft. In 2025, two more Boston College offensive linemen were selected, when Ozzy Trapilo was picked in the second round (56th overall) by the Chicago Bears, and Drew Kendall, son of Pete, was picked in the fifth round (168th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles.
SUPER BOWL SUCCESS
Boston College has been represented in 38 of 59 Super Bowls. Thirty five former Eagles have won the Super Bowl and a total of 65 players have represented Boston College on the NFL's biggest stage. Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks, Super Bowl XL) and Matt Ryan (Falcons, Super Bowl LI) have each started at quarterback in the Super Bowl. A program-record six Eagles took part in Super Bowl XLVI following the 2011 season. The New York Giants (Will Blackmon, Mark Herzlich, Mathias Kiwanuka and Chris Snee) defeated the New England Patriots (Ron Brace and Dan Koppen).
Former Eagles have played key roles on Super Bowl teams. Luke Kuechly captained the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 with a NFC title. A year later, Matt Ryan was named NFL MVP and put the Falcons into Super Bowl LI. In Super Bowl LIII, John Johnson started at safety for the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.
2025 SEASON RECAP
After being named a 2024 second-team All-Pro, Zach Allen is a Pro Bowler for the first time in his seven-year career. He has recorded 6.5 sacks and 43 quarterback hits in 2025, joining J.J. Watt as the only player since 2006 with back-to-back seasons with at least 40 quarterback hits. Allen is the first Denver Broncos interior defensive lineman since 2002 to earn a Pro Bowl bid.Earning Pro Bowl honors for the second time in his three-year career, Zay Flowers remains the only Baltimore Ravens player to make the Pro Bowl as a wide receiver in the team's 30-year history. The former Eagles’ wideout has topped 1,000 yards for the second straight season and has a career-high 78 receptions in 2025. His 1,043 receiving yards are the third-most in the AFC. In addition, Flowers is the first player in Ravens history to record two 1,000-yard receiving seasons within the first three years of his career.
Chris Lindstrom garnered Pro Bowl recognition for the fourth consecutive year as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. He has paved the way for running back Bijan Robinson to a league-leading 2,026 yards from scrimmage ahead of week 17, the only player in the NFL to amass 2,000 total yards thus far. In addition, Lindstrom has only missed 10 of a possible 980 offensive snaps this season for the Falcons. His 970 snaps trails only his two teammates – fellow linemen Elijah Wilkinson and Ryan Neuzil – who have played every snap on offense. Lindstrom has allowed just one sack, which is tied for the fewest among all full-time guards in the NFL this season.
Proven Eagles alums kept making their presence felt league-wide in 2025. In the AFC East, Harold Landry totaled 49 tackles to go with 8.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Matt Milano ranks third on the Bills with 67 tackles. In the NFC, fifth-year linebacker Isaiah McDuffie’s 87 tackles rank inside the top five of all Packers defenders this season.
Three former Eagles made their NFL debuts in 2025. Second-round draft pick Donovan Ezeiruaku played in 16 games with eight starts at defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys. Ozzy Trapilo appeared in 14 games with six starts at left tackle for the two-seed Chicago Bears. Fifth-round draft selection Drew Kendall saw action in six games as a reserve offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition, two Boston College alums saw action on NFL practice squads, with Cam Horsley signing with the Tennessee Titans, and Kam Arnold signing with the Washington Commanders before ending up with the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of the regular season.
2024 SEASON RECAP
Wide receiver Zay Flowers followed up a sensational rookie season with 1,059 yards and four touchdowns on 74 receptions in 2024. He earned selection to his first career Pro-Bowl along with Atlanta Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom, who reached his third consecutive Pro-Bowl. Lindstrom ranked as the second highest paid guard in the NFL in 2024 with a five-year, $102.5 million contract.
Defensive end Zach Allen, a 2019 third-round pick, had a breakout season in his sixth year in the league and second with the Denver Broncos. He collected a career-high 8.5 sacks, 15.0 tackles for los and 61 tackles as he earned All-Pro Second Team honors.
Veteran BC alums continued to make an impact throughout the league, including the longest tenured NFL Eagle Justin Simmons, who moved to the Falcons in 2024. The two-time Pro-Bowl selection produced two interceptions and seven pass break-ups, while starting 16 games. Linebacker Matt Milano rallied from injury to play in the final four games of the regular season and was a dominant presence in the Buffalo Bills' playoff run with 17 tackles, two sacks and five quarterback hits in three postseason games. Fellow linebacker Harold Landry recorded his fourth season of nine or more sacks with a total 71 tackles for the Tennessee Titans.
Three former BC offensive linemen made their NFL debuts in 2024. Recent sixth-round draft pick Christian Mahogany was inserted into the Detroit Lions starting line at the end of the season. Undrafted free agent Kyle Hergel debuted with the New Orleans Saints and played in eight games, while Alec Lindstrom, who initially entered the league in 2022, took the field for one game with the New York Jets.
BC AND THE NFL DRAFT
A Boston College Eagle has been selected in each of the last 11 NFL drafts and 18 of the last 19 beginning with first round pick and two-time Super Bowl champion Mathias Kiwanuka in 2006. In that 19-year span, eight Boston College players have been taken in the first round, most recently Zay Flowers in 2023. Four Eagles were selected in 2014 and 2019 during that same stretch. In 2024, the Eagles added two more selections, with Elijah Jones going in the third round to the Arizona Cardinals and Christian Mahogany going to the Detroit Lions in the sixth round.
Most recently, Donovan Ezeiruaku and Ozzy Trapilo were selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, with Ezeiruaku going at 44 to the Dallas Cowboys, and Trapilo going at 56 to the Chicago Bears. It's the first time two Boston College players have heard their name called in the first two rounds since 2009, when BJ Raji was taken ninth overall by the Green Bay Packers and Ron Brace was drafted 40th overall by the New England Patriots. Drew Kendall was also selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, going in the fifth round (168th overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Back Pete Cignetti was the Eagles' first NFL draft pick in 1940 and three years later back Mike Holovak went fifth overall to the Cleveland Rams as Boston College's first first-round draft pick. The Eagles set a program-record with eight draft picks, in a 12-round draft, in 1977 led by first-round guard Steve Schindler. In 2002 and 2008, BC boasted two first-round picks. Running back William Green, who rushed for 887 yards and helped the Browns to the playoffs as a rookie, was selected 16th overall by Cleveland and Marc Colombo was taken 29th by the Bears on his way to 95 starts in a 10-year career. Matt Ryan became the program's highest drafted player at third overall by the Falcons in 2008 and was followed by tackle Gosder Cherilus at 17 to the Lions.
Chris Lindstrom, chosen by the Falcons, led a four-player draft class in 2019 as he became the 20th first-round pick in program history and ninth offensive lineman to be selected in the first round. Teammates Zach Allen (Cardinals, third round), Will Harris (Lions, third) and Tommy Sweeney (Bills, seventh) followed. Following the Eagles' 2018 season, BC's four draft picks were part of a program-record seven players to participate in the 2019 NFL Draft Combine.
Boston College's all-time leading rusher AJ Dillon declared for the NFL Draft following his junior season in 2019. After rushing for 4,382 yards in his career and 38 touchdowns, another BC record, he was drafted by the Packers in the second round with the 62nd overall pick in 2020.
2025: FORMER EAGLES IN THE PROS
| Player | Team | Position | Drafted | At BC |
| Zach Allen (Pictured) | Denver Broncos | Defensive End | 2019 (3rd Round) | 2015-18 |
| AJ Dillon | Philadelphia Eagles | Running Back | 2020 (2nd Round) | 2017-19 |
| Donovan Ezeiruaku | Dallas Cowboys | Defensive End | 2025 (2nd Round) | 2021-24 |
| Zay Flowers* | Baltimore Ravens | Wide Receiver | 2023 (1st Round) | 2019-22 |
| Will Harris | Washington Commanders | Safety | 2019 (3rd Round) | 2015-18 |
| Zion Johnson | Los Angeles Chargers | Offensive Guard | 2022 (1st Round) | 2019-21 |
| Elijah Jones | Arizona Cardinals | Cornerback | 2024 (3rd Round) | 2018-23 |
| Drew Kendall | Philadelphia Eagles | Offensive Guard | 2025 (5th Round) | 2021-24 |
| Harold Landry* | New England Patriots | Linebacker | 2018 (2nd Round) | 2014-17 |
| Chris Lindstrom* | Atlanta Falcons | Offensive Guard | 2019 (1st Round) | 2015-18 |
| Hunter Long | Jacksonville Jaguars | Tight End | 2021 (3rd Round) | 2017-20 |
| Christian Mahogany | Detroit Lions | Offensive Lineman | 2024 (6th Round) | 2019-23 |
| Isaiah McDuffie | Green Bay Packers | Linebacker | 2021 (6th Round) | 2004-07 |
| Matt Milano* | Buffalo Bills | Linebacker | 2017 (5th Round) | 2013-16 |
| Ozzy Trapilo | Chicago Bears | Offensive Tackle | 2025 (2nd Round) | 2020-24 |
| Isaac Yiadom | New Orleans Saints | Cornerback | 2018 (3rd Round) | 2014-17 |
* - Pro Bowl Experience
