Texas Longhorns in the NFL: Carolina RB D’Onta Foreman makes the most of his latest opportunity

The NFL kicked off last week. Of course, that’s not exactly news to y’all.

But it does mean we had an opportunity to see former Texas Longhorns shine in the pros.

Shine they have indeed. Let’s break it down below.

Colt McCoy, QB: Welcome back into the fold, McCoy. The Longhorn legend stood in for starter Kyler Murray over the weekend. He completed 26 passes for 238 yards and 1 touchdown. He also carried the ball 4 times for an additional 4 yards through the dirt.

D’Onta Foreman, RB: Magically, the veteran running back, now with the Carolina Panthers, is suddenly the man handling the franchise’s backfield after the Panthers opted to trade away star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. In his latest encore performance in the Panthers offense over the weekend, Foreman had 31 carries for 130 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. Suddenly, Foreman is a relative starter again.

Geoff Swaim, TE: Swaim got the start at tight end for the Tennessee Titans.

Connor Williams, OL: The Miami Dolphins lineman started at center.

Calvin Anderson, OL: Anderson got the start at left tackle for the Denver Broncos.

Ta’Quan Graham, DL: The Atlanta Falcons starting defensive lineman had 6 tackles (2 solo, 4 assist) and 1 tackle for loss.

Malcolm Roach, DL: The New Orleans Saints defensive lineman accounted for 7 tackles (5 solo, 2 assists), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 1 quarterback hurry.

Charles Omenihu, DL: The San Francisco 49ers starter had 1 tackle, 1 sack, 3 quarterback hurries, 1 pass deflection and 1 forced fumble. Omenihu was busy, in other words.

Hassan Ridgeway, DL: Fellow 49ers starter Ridgeway accounted for 3 solo tackles.

Jordan Hicks, LB: It was yet another notable day for the starting Minnesota Vikings linebacker. That’s become the expectation in 2022 so far for Hicks. Hicks accounted for 3 tackles (3 solo) and 1 pass deflection. Look for Hicks to keep the momentum through the season’s back half of the schedule.

PJ Locke, DB: The Denver Broncos defensive back notched 3 tackles (2 solo, 1 assist), 1 pass deflection and 1 forced fumble. Locke is gradually becoming a key piece of Denver’s defense, especially as its offense, led by Super Bowl champ Russell Wilson, struggles.

DeShon Elliott, DB: The Detroit Lions starting safety had a relatively mundane outing, at least by his standards set this season, over the weekend for the NFL’s bottom feeder. Elliott accounted for just 1 tackle.

Cameron Dicker, K: The rookie Longhorn folkloric legend went 3-for-3 on field goals for the day, with 47 yards as his long. He also went 1-for-1 in PATs. Dicker’s making a name for himself in the NFL.