STANFORD, Calif. — Week 18 of the 2025 NFL regular season is over, and 14 former Cardinal are heading to the playoffs. It was another great year around the league for former Stanford greats, with multiple having breakout seasons for their respective teams.
Below is a breakdown of each former Cardinal’s regular-season stats and awards in 2025, listed alphabetically:
Paulson Adebo (NYG): Played and started 12 games at cornerback, missing five with injury…73 total tackles, eight passes defended, one interception in his first season with the Giants.
Elic Ayomanor (TEN): Played in 16 games and started 14 as a rookie, the most games started by a former Stanford wide receiver in his rookie season since James Lofton (16) in 1978…caught 41 passes for 515 yards and four touchdowns, tied for the team lead…along with Chimere Dike, became the third rookie wide receiver duo to each have at least 40 receptions, 400 yards, and four touchdowns in a season.
Jake Bailey (MIA): Punted 63 times for an average of 47.7 yards per punt, his best average since 2020 when he was named First Team All-Pro…finished 12th in the league in punt average and net punt average.
Ethan Bonner (MIA): Played 14 games after playing just seven in his first two years with the Dolphins…recorded 15 total tackles, including his first tackle-for-loss…recovered a fumble in the Dolphins’ overtime win in Spain against the Commanders, the first of his career…intercepted his first pass in the fourth quarter of a win over the Jets on Dec. 7.
Thomas Booker (LV): Played all 17 games and drew 13 starts after starting just two games during his first three years in the league…put up career-bests across the board with 44 total tackles, seven quarterback hits, and five passes defended…recovered his first career fumble against Washington in Week 3.
Drew Dalman (CHI): Started all 17 games at center in his first season with the Bears…named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, the first Stanford offensive lineman named to the Pro Bowl since 2020…finished with the fifth-best overall grade among qualified centers in the league, per PFF (77.5)…helped quarterback Caleb Williams set the Bears’ franchise record for passing yards in a season (3,942)…paved the way for Chicago to finish third in the league in rushing yards per game (144.5).
Zach Ertz (WAS): Started the first 13 games of the season before suffering a season-ending injury…caught 50 passes for 504 yards with four touchdowns…had a 10-catch, 106-yard performance in primetime against Denver on Nov. 30, his most receiving yards in a game since 2018.
Simi Fehoko (ARI): Played in eight games, tying a career-high, mostly on special teams…missed the remainder of the season due to injury.
Tucker Fisk (LAC): Played 10 games and started seven at tight end, setting career highs in both categories…caught two passes for 19 yards, serving primarily as a pass-blocking tight end…missed the remainder of the season due to injury.
Elijah Higgins (ARI): Played all 17 games and drew 10 starts, a new career-best in starts…caught 30 passes for 301 yards, both the most in his three-year career with the Cardinals…had a breakout game in Week 16, catching seven passes for 91 yards.
Austin Hooper (NE): Played all but one game and started six times for the Patriots…caught 21 passes for 263 yards with two touchdowns, his ninth season with multiple touchdowns.
Joshua Karty (FA): Spent the first eight games of the season with the Los Angeles Rams before being released…went 23-for-26 on extra points and 10-for-15 on field goals.
Kyu Blu Kelly (LV): Played 13 games at cornerback and started eight times for the Raiders, career-highs in both…had the best season of his young career, with 40 total tackles, six passes defended, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery…had multiple interceptions of Bo Nix in primetime on Nov. 6, becoming the second former Cardinal with multiple interceptions in a game since 2018 (Paulson Adebo – 2023).
Walker Little (JAX): Played 15 games and started 14 times on the Jaguars’ offensive line, the most starts in a season in his career…spent a bulk of the season at left tackle before finishing the year at right guard after returning from a brief injury…his 967 snaps are the most he’s recorded in a season.
Christian McCaffrey (SF): Started all 17 games for the first time in his career…named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career, the fourth former Cardinal to earn at least four Pro Bowl nods…carried the ball 311 times for 1,202 rushing yards with 10 rushing touchdowns…added 102 receptions for 924 yards and seven receiving touchdowns…led the NFL in touches with 413, a career-high…his 2,126 scrimmage yards ranked second in the league and his 17 total touchdowns ranked third…just the second player in NFL history to have three seasons with 2,000+ scrimmage yards and 15+ touchdowns…became the first running back in NFL history to record at least 100 receptions in three seasons…owns the most games in NFL history with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game.
Tanner McKee (PHI): Appeared in four games and started in Week 18 for the second consecutive year…finished with 24 completions on 43 attempts for 274 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Davis Mills (HOU): Played in six games and made three starts at quarterback, his first starts since 2022…completed 57.2 percent of his passes for 915 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for another touchdown…all three starts came in consecutive weeks, with the Texans winning every game, the first three wins of the team’s nine-game winning streak to close out the regular season…first former Stanford quarterback with a three-game winning streak since Andrew Luck in 2018.
Bobby Okereke (NYG): Started all 17 games for the third time in his career…tied for tenth in the NFL in tackles with 143, including 78 solo tackles…third season in his career with at least 140 tackles…added one sack and one fumble recovery…intercepted passes in consecutive weeks to close out the regular season, tying a career-high in interceptions…has the sixth most tackles in the NFL since 2021 (668).
Colby Parkinson (LAR): Played 15 games and made 10 starts, the most starts at tight end in his NFL career…set career highs across the board with 43 receptions for 408 receiving yards and eight touchdowns…tied for third in the NFL among tight ends in receiving touchdowns…had two multi-touchdown games, the first of his career…all eight touchdowns came in the final nine weeks of the season, leading the NFL during that span.
Andrus Peat (PIT): Appeared in six games and started three times for the Steelers on the offensive line…three games were spent at left tackle and three at left guard.
Harrison Phillips (NYJ): Started 17 games for the fourth consecutive season…recorded 60 tackles, the second-most in a season in his career…set a new career high with five tackles-for-loss…forced one fumble and added a half-sack.
Justin Reid (NO): Started 15 games at safety in his first season with the Saints…recorded 72 tackles, his fourth-straight season going over the 70-tackle threshold…defended six passes…returned his lone interception 49 yards for a touchdown against Atlanta on Nov. 23, his first defensive touchdown since his rookie season in 2018.
Curtis Robinson (SF): Played 14 games, nearly doubling his career total during his first four seasons (15)…made his first three starts at linebacker in his final three games of the season before missing the remainder of the regular season…recorded 42 total tackles, one tackle-for-loss, and broke up one pass…had a 12-tackle game against Arizona on Nov. 16, which helped vault him into the starting lineup.
Foster Sarell (LAC): Appeared in six games and made one start at right guard for the Chargers, his fourth career NFL start.
Dalton Schultz (HOU): Played in all 17 games and started six for the Texans…set the Houston franchise record for receptions by a tight end with 82, a new career-best…tied for third in the NFL among tight ends in receptions…finished the season with 777 receiving yards, the second-most in his career, and added three touchdowns.
Solomon Thomas (DAL): Appeared in 16 games and made two starts for the Cowboys…recorded 27 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and two quarterback hits…first time since 2020 he was held without a sack.
Brycen Tremayne (CAR): Set a career high in games played (16) and added his first NFL start in Week 3 against Atlanta…caught 14 passes for 160 yards after receiving just one catch in his rookie year.
Kendall Williamson (LAC): Played in all 17 games for the first time in his career…recorded 14 tackles, setting a new career-best.
Michael Wilson (ARI): Played 17 games and started 13 for Arizona…enjoyed a breakout season with 78 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns…recorded 775 receiving yards over the final eight weeks of the season, ranking second in the NFL behind Puka Nacua…one of 18 wide receivers to eclipse 1,000 yards in 2025…the last Stanford wide receiver with over 1,000 yards in a season was Doug Baldwin in 2016…his 185-yard performance against San Francisco on Nov. 16 was the second-most in a single game in the NFL this season, and at the time, was the most yards in a game.
The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday with two wild-card round games, part of six games on wild-card weekend. All 14 Cardinal will see their teams compete in wild-card weekend, with every game featuring at least one former Stanford football student-athlete.
Saturday
Los Angeles Rams (Colby Parkinson) at Carolina Panthers (Brycen Tremayne) – 1:30 p.m. PT on FOX
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (Drew Dalman) – 5 p.m. PT on Prime Video
Sunday
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars (Walker Little) – 10 a.m. PT on CBS
San Francisco 49ers (Christian McCaffrey, Curtis Robinson) at Philadelphia Eagles (Tanner McKee) – 1:30 p.m. PT on FOX
Los Angeles Chargers (Tucker Fisk, Foster Sarell, Kendall Williamson) at New England Patriots (Austin Hooper) – 5 p.m. PT on NBC
Monday
Houston Texans (Davis Mills, Dalton Schultz) at Pittsburgh Steelers (Andrus Peat) – 5:15 p.m. PT on ESPN/ABC