Stanford in the NFL: 2026 Season Preview

STANFORD, Calif. — The 2026 NFL season begins this week with several former Stanford Cardinal set to make their season debuts. 26 Stanford alumni are on NFL rosters in 2026, with three having been in the league for at least ten years and another three making their NFL debuts this week.

COMEBACK, CMC!

The NFL's AP Comeback Player of the Year is Christian McCaffrey, set to begin his tenth season in the league and his fourth full season with the San Francisco 49ers. After missing most of 2024 with injury, McCaffrey was a workhorse in 2025, leading the NFL in touches with 413, turning those into 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns. He caught 102 passes to lead all running backs, becoming the first running back in league history with at least 100 receptions in three seasons. McCaffrey is one of four former Cardinal to earn at least four Pro Bowl nods in his career.

MIKE WILLY GETS PAID

Perhaps the greatest surprise of the season was Michael Wilson, who burst onto the scene for the Arizona Cardinals. Wilson started 13 games in the desert and recorded 1,006 receiving yards with seven touchdowns. 775 of those receiving yards came over the final eight weeks of the season, which trailed only Puka Nacua of the Rams. The last Stanford receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season was Doug Baldwin in 2016. He also recorded a 185-yard performance against San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2025, that finished as the second-most receiving yards in a game by a receiver.

TEU

Tight End University continues to be on display with four on active rosters heading into the season. Colby Parkinson had a breakout year in 2025, racking up eight touchdowns, tied for third among tight ends in the league. All eight of his scores came in the final nine regular season games for the Los Angeles Rams. Dalton Schultz set the Houston franchise record for receptions by a tight end with 82, ranking third among tight ends, and finishing the year with 777 receiving yards. Austin Hooper reached the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots last year and signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason, returning to the team that drafted him in 2016.

EPITOME OF A STANFORD MAN

Stanford student-athletes go on to achieve great things at the professional level, both on the field and off. During the 2025 NFL season, Bobby Okereke (New York Giants), Curtis Robinson (San Francisco 49ers), and Solomon Thomas (Dallas Cowboys) were nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. Stanford was one of five universities to have multiple nominees for the award (Clemson, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Utah State), but the only school with three nominees.

Widely regarded as the league’s most prestigious honor, it was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on their community. 

Bobby Okereke took on a leadership position as the General Manager of Team Nigeria's men's and women's national flag football teams and created Nigerian American Football Outreach, Inc., to develop opportunities for youth in Nigeria through the sport. Curtis Robinson focuses on education in his community efforts, inspired by his mother’s dedicated career as a college professor. He participates regularly with the 49ers' EDU stadium classroom and Social Justice Player Committees, as well as coaching over 400 youth in flag football events. Solomon Thomas continued to champion mental health awareness with impactful public appearances and community efforts, using each opportunity to empower others with tools to recognize signs of struggle and foster supportive environments.

A complete list of former Cardinal in the NFL can be found below: