Which Former UVA Football Players Are Headed to the NFL Playoffs?

Posted by Admin January 6, 2025 Football

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The 2024 NFL regular season is officially in the books and the bracket is set for the AFC and NFC playoffs. Three former Virginia football players will participate in the NFC postseason, as Dontayvion Wicks and the Green Bay Packers, Olamide Zaccheaus and the Washington Commanders, and Brent Urban and the Baltimore Ravens have all qualified for the playoffs and have their hopes of reaching Super Bowl IX still alive.

The #NFLPlayoffs are set! pic.twitter.com/M1ui4No2Qf

— NFL (@NFL) January 6, 2025

In his second season of professional football, Dontayvion Wicks appeared in all 17 games and started five games at wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers. With the abundance of quality receivers at quarterback Jordan Love’s disposal, Wicks’ role fluctuated throughout the season in response to other wideouts suffering injuries. Wicks continued to show that he’s one of the best young route-runners in the NFL, but had some lingering issues with drops. He was targeted 76 times in the passing game, up from 58 targets his rookie season, but had the same number of receptions (39) for fewer yards (415) than last season (581). Wicks increased his touchdown total from four to five and had a fantastic two-touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Rams in week 5.

The Packers made the playoffs and won a game last year with the youngest roster in the NFL, which seemingly set them up for a very promising 2024 season. And while they are back in the playoffs, it’s somewhat disappointing that they find themselves in the same spot as last year as the No. 7 seed playing on the road in the Wildcard round. Part of that is due to the fact that Green Bay plays in the toughest division in football; the Packers went 11-6 and five of their six losses came in the NFC North, which sent three teams to the playoffs. But the outcome is that Green Bay now must repeat its dramatic upset win from last year’s playoffs, when Wicks caught a touchdown to help the Packers upend the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys 48-32.

This time, Green Bay faces another No. 2 seed from the NFC East, visiting the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday (January 12) at 4:30pm ET on FOX.

Shifting over to another former UVA wide receiver playing in the NFC playoffs, Olamide Zaccheaus and the Washington Commanders earned the No. 6 seed in the NFC after finishing the year 12-5. Zaccheaus, who is in his sixth season in the NFL and is playing for a third different team in as many years, had a somewhat limited role in the Washington passing game until he came on strong late in the season and developed a great connection with rookie phenom quarterback Jayden Daniels. Three of Zaccheaus’ four 50+ receiving yard games this season came in the last three weeks of the season, including two outstanding “revenge game” performances against his former teams Philadelphia and Atlanta, scoring all three of his touchdowns this season against those two teams. Zaccheaus started each of the last three games of the season and had 15 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns over that span, helping the Commanders win their last five games and secure a playoff berth.

It’s been a career-year for Zaccheaus, starting six of 17 games and posting 45 receptions on 64 targets (both career-highs) for 506 yards and three touchdowns. Now, Zaccheaus and the Commanders will look to keep their winning streak going into the playoffs as they are set to visit the No. 3 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday (January 12) at 8pm ET on NBC.

Brent Urban has spent most of his 11-year NFL career playing defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens. He played the first four seasons of his career in Baltimore and then found his way back to the Ravens after playing for three other franchises. Urban has been with the Ravens since 2022 and this season, he has played in 13 games, missing a few due to injury, and he recorded 20 tackles, nine solo stops, and two passes defended in the regular season, helping the Ravens capture the AFC North division title and the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Urban will play his sixth-career NFL Playoff game when the Ravens host division rival and No. 6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday (January 11) at 8pm ET on Amazon Prime Video.

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