Here is what an All Group of 5 NFL roster might look like. Since the talent pool is much smaller for each of the Group of 5 conferences (AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, & Sun Belt), I decided to group them into one roster. After looking at the talent pool, I decided to go with a base 4-3, wide 9 defense and a base 3 wide spread, zone offense.
The Criteria
- The roster must be under the current salary cap of $167M
- We use the league average on rookie deals, which is 5 from 2014, 6 from 2015, and 9 from 2016.
- We will include one rookie from each round of the draft (were applicable)
- We will have a well rounded roster that includes role players and special teams
The Offense
Quarterbacks
| QBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Derek Carr | Case Keenum | Kellen Moore |
| OAK | MIN | DAL |
| $15.732M | $1.906M | $615K |
| Fresno St | Houston | Boise St |
Starting at QB for the Group of 5 team is Raiders 2014 2nd-round pick out of Fresno St, Derek Carr. Carr’s young potential, and cheaper contract, earned him the starting spot over former RedHawk, Ben Roethlisberger. Behind him will be former Houston Cougar great Case Keenum. Finishing out the QB position, and playing the role of scout team QB, will be former Bronco, Kellen Moore.
3 roster spots filled, 50 left
$18.253M Spent | $148.747M Left
Running Backs
| RBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kareem Hunt | Jay Ajayi | Kenneth Dixon |
| KC | PHI | BAL |
| $659K | $670K | $636K |
| Toledo | Boist St | LA Tech |
| Donnel Pumphrey | ||
| PHI | ||
| $499K | ||
| San Diego St |
The running back group is filled with young talent, with all 4 of them being drafted in the last 2 years. We start with this year’s surprise top running back out of an impressive rookie class, 3rd-round pick out of Toledo, Kareem Harris. Playing the role of 1B to Hunt’s 1A is pro bowler Jay Ajayi. Backing them up will be our first LA Tech Bulldog, Kenneth Dixon, and our 4th-round pick, Donnell Pumphrey out of San Diego St, where he broke Ron Dayne’s all-time FBS career rushing record. We had an assortment of backs to choose from for this roster, with the most notable exclusion being current Buccaneer, Doug Martin. Others included a group of veterans in Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, and Alfred Morris, and a pair of 2014 draft picks, now teammates, Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon. In the end, this group of young backs allowed us the most cap room for the most amount of talent.
4 roster spots filled, 46 left
$2.464M Spent | $146.283M Left
Wide Receivers
| WRs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Brown | Brandon Marshall | Davante Adams |
| PIT | NYG | GB |
| $13.618M | $4.469M | $1.252M |
| Central Michigan | UCF | Fresno St |
| Ryan Grant | Rashard Higgins | Chris Moore |
| WAS | CLE | BAL |
| $743K | $508K | $689K |
| Tulane | Colorado St | Cincinnati |
We start the wide receiver group with our best offensive weapon, and only Chippewa of the group, Antonio Brown. Starting opposite him will be 12 year vet out of UCF, Brandon Marshall. They’ll provide great veteran leadership to the group of young receivers behind them. We start that young group with the primary slot receiver of this roster, current Green Bay Packer, Davante Adams. Also seeing time in the slot and in 4 WR sets is our first Rocket of the roster, current Redskin Ryan Grant. Behind them we have a pair of 2016 draft picks that will provide solid help on special teams, former Ram Rashard Higgins and former Bearcat Chris Moore. There were multiple solid choices for the top 2 slots at WR; T.Y. Hilton, Julian Edelman, and Emmanuel Sanders each missed the cut to save cap space and in the end, I believe Marshall’s size and play style matches well with the combination of Brown and Adams.
6 roster spots filled, 40 left
$21.279M Spent | $125.004M Left
Tight Ends
| TEs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Travis Kelce | Luke Wilson | Vance McDonald |
| KC | SEA | PIT |
| $5.418M | $1.8M | $2.616M |
| Cincinnati | Rice | Rice |
| Tyler Higbee | ||
| LAR | ||
| $685K | ||
| Western Kentucky |
We stocked up on experience and depth at the tight end position. We start with currently one of the best TEs in the league, former Bearcat Travis Kelce. Backing him up are a pair of Rice Owls, Luke Wilson and Vance McDonald. Rounding out the tight ends is the current starting TE for the LA Rams, our first Hilltoper of the roster, Tyler Higbee. Our biggest exclusion of this group is current Bills TE, Charles Clay, but his $9M cap hit was too much.
4 roster spots filled, 36 left
$10.519M Spent | $114.485M Left
Offensive Line
| OL | ||
|---|---|---|
| T Donald Penn | T Jordan Mills | G TJ Lang |
| OAK | BUF | DET |
| $7.15M | $1.65M | $5.87M |
| Utah St | LA Tech | Eastern Michigan |
| G Josh Sitton | C Jason Kelce | T Ty Nsekhe |
| CHI | PHI | WAS |
| $6.823 | $6.2M | $690K |
| UCF | Cincinnati | Texas St |
| G Forrest Lamp | C Chase Roullier | |
| LAC | WAS | |
| $1.212M | $502K | |
| Western Kentucky | Wyoming |
The offensive line is a great group of veterans, with a couple of rookies sprinkled in. We start at left tackled with our first Utah St Aggie, Donald Penn. Starting opposite him will be current Buffalo Bills RT, Jordon Mills. Backing them up is one of the best backup tackles in the league, our only Texas St Bobcat, Ty Nsekhe. Starting at guard, we have a pair of former Packers teammates; Eastern Michigan’s TJ Lang and UCF’s Josh Sitton. Backing the 2 of them up with be our 2nd-round pick of the roster, former Hilltopper Forrest Lamp. Starting a center is Travis’ brother, also from Cincinnati, Jason Kelce. Backing him up will be our 6th-round pick of the roster, and our only Wyoming Cowboy, Chase Roullier. The biggest exclusions form the Oline are a pair of Chippewas, veteran Joe Staley and former 1st overal pick Eric Fisher.
8 roster spots filled, 28 left
$30.097M Spent | $84.388M Left
Offensive Spending Breakdown
The offense accounted for for 49.8% of the overall team budget. The offensive line, given they only had 2 rookie deals, took up the biggest percentage of the offensive budget at 36.4%. We saved a lot of money at the running back position, with all of them being on rookie deals. Running back accounted for only 3% of the total offensive budget.
The Defense
Defensive Line
| DL | ||
|---|---|---|
| Khalil Mack | Jasaon Pierre-Paul | Tyeler Davison |
| OAK | NYG | NO |
| $5.943M | $7.5M | $669K |
| Buffalo | USF | Fresno St |
| Matt Ioannidis | Christian Covington | Clinton McDonald |
| WAS | HOU | TB |
| $540K | $638K | $2M |
| Temple | Rice | Memphis |
| Treyvon Hester | Billy Winn | |
| OAK | DEN | |
| $482K | $528K | |
| Toldeo | Boise St |
Our starting defensive ends are a couple of Bulls. First we have former Buffalo Bull, and 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, Khalil Mack. Opposite him is the one hand wonder, former South Florida Bull, Jason Pierre-Paul. On of the inside, we have a couple of young guys. At the 3-tech, we have former Bulldog, Tyeler Davison. At the 1-tech, we have the NFL’s greek-freak, and our first Temple Owl of the roster, Matt Ioannidis. Backing up this stellar defensive line is a group of big men. Veteran’s Clinton McDonald and Billy Winn and former 2015 draft pick out of Rice, Christian Covington. Last we have our 7th-round pick of the roster out of Toledo, Treyvon Hester. Our biggest exclusions from the defensive line are former Temple Owl, Muhammad Wilkerson, and former Memphis Tiger big man, Dontari Poe. Both had cap hits that we too large for this roster, especially Wilkerson at $18M.
8 roster spots filled, 20 left
$18.3M Spent | $66.088M Left
Linebackers
| LBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Wagner | Tahir Whitehead | Jatavis Brown |
| SEA | DET | LAC |
| $7.6M | $4.988M | $586K |
| Utah St | Temple | Akron |
| James Harrison | Haason Reddick | Ben Jacobs |
| PIT | ARI | CAR |
| $1.95M | $2.451M | $825K |
| Kent St | Temple | Fresno St |
| Nick Vigil | ||
| CIN | ||
| $739K | ||
| Utah St |
We start the linebackers with the play-caller of the defense, former Aggie, Bobby Wagner. Making the transition to his more natural OLB position is former Owl, Tahir Whtitehead. On the other side, we have the Charger’s 5th-round selection form 2016, and our only Zip of the roster, Jatavis Brown. Behind them we have our only Golden Flash of the roster, veteran James Harrison. Harrison will provide support on the weak side, as well as lining up at one of the wide 9 positions in certain pass rushing packages. Next up we have our 1st-round pick, Temple Owl Haason Reddick. Backing up the inside, we have the Bengals 2016 3rd-round pick out of Utah St, Nick Vigil. We round out the linebackers with former Bulldog, Ben Jacobs, who will make the most of his contributuons on special teams. The biggest cuts from this position group are former Golden Eagle, Jamie Collins, whose $12.1M cap hit was too big for this roster, and Neveda’s Brandon Marshall, who missed the cut over 2x 1st-team All Pro Bobby Wagner.
7 roster spots filled, 13 left
$19.139M Spent | $46.949M Left
Cornerbacks
| CBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Josh Norman | AJ Bouye | William Jackson III |
| WAS | JAX | CIN |
| $20M | $5.469M | $2.206M |
| Coastal Carolina | UCF | Houston |
| Phillip Gaines | Quinten Rollins | Tavon Young |
| KC | GB | BAL |
| $856K | $1.021M | $514K |
| Rice | Miami (OH) | Temple |
We start the corners off with our biggest money earner, and only Coastal Carolina alum, Josh Norman. Starting opposite him will be former UCF Knight, AJ Bouye. Filling the role of nickelback will be the Bengals’ 2016 1st-round pick out of Houston, William Jackson III. Backing up the outsides will be former Rice Owl, Phillip Gaines, and our only RedHawk of the roster, Quinten Rollins. Taking the final CB spot, and making most of his contributions on special teams, is our last Temple Owl, Tavon Young. Our biggest cut from this group on the roster is former Boise St Bronco, Orlando Scandrick.
6 roster spots filled, 7 left
$30.066M Spent | $16.883M Left
Safeties
| Ss | ||
|---|---|---|
| Glover Quin | Johnathan Cyprien | Derron Smith |
| DET | TEN | CIN |
| $6.394M | $4.75M | $645K |
| New Mexico | FIU | Fresno St |
| Curtis Riley | ||
| TEN | ||
| $540K | ||
| Fresno St |
We finish out the defense with a solid group of safeties. We start with our Pro Bowl FS, and our only Lobo of the roster, Glover Quin. We move to SS, and our only FIU alum, Johnathan Cyprien. Backing them up will be a pair of former teammates from Fresno St, Derron Smith and Curtis Riley.
4 roster spots filled, 3 left
$12.329M Spent | $4.554M Left
Defensive Spending Breakdown
The defense accounted for 48.1% of the overall team budget, leaving it a very balanced roster. CBs took up the biggest chunk of the defensive budget, with Norman’s $20M price tage, at 37.7%. The defense benefited from having rookie deals at some key (and sometimes expensive) spots.
Specialists and Head Coach
| ST and HC | ||
|---|---|---|
| K Jake Elliott | P Ryan Allen | LS Mike Windt |
| PHI | NE | LAC |
| $438K | $1.9M | $1.055M |
| Memphis | LA Tech | Cincinnati |
| Head Coach | John Fox | San Diego St |
We start the specialists off with our last rookie of the bunch, 5th-round pick out of Memphis, Jake Elliott. Elliott has been on fire this season for the Eagles, especially from deep, after they picked him up off the Bengals practice squad. At punter, we have the current Patriots lefty from LA Tech, Ryan Allen. And we round out the specialists with current Chargers long snapper from Cincinnati, Mike Windt
Taking charge of this team as head coach is John Fox. Fox signed a deal with the Buccaneers as an UDFA out of San Diego St in 1978, though he never saw the field.
3 roster spots filled, 0 left
$3.393M Spent | $1.161M Left
The Starting 22
Since the AAC topped the roster, I named this team the Providence Patriots.
| Offense | |
|---|---|
| QB | Derek Carr |
| RB | Kareem Hunt |
| Z | Antonio Brown |
| X | Brandon Marshall |
| Slot | Davante Adams |
| TE | Travis Kelce |
| LT | Donald Penn |
| LG | Josh Sitton |
| C | Jason Kelce |
| RG | TJ Lang |
| RT | Jordan Mills |
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| DE | Kalil Mack |
| DT | Tyeler Davison |
| DT | Matt Ioannidis |
| DE | Jason Pierre-Paul |
| Sam | Tahir Whitehead |
| Mike | Bobby Wagner |
| Will | Jatavis Brown |
| CB | Josh Norman |
| CB | AJ Bouye |
| SS | Johnathan Cyprien |
| FS | Glover Quin |
Team Breakdown
| School | # of Players |
|---|---|
| Akron | 1 |
| Boise St | 3 |
| Buffalo | 1 |
| Central Michigan | 1 |
| Coastal Carolina | 1 |
| Cincinnati | 4 |
| Colorado St | 1 |
| Eastern Michigan | 1 |
| FIU | 1 |
| Fresno St | 6 |
| Houston | 2 |
| Kent St | 1 |
| LA Tech | 3 |
| Memphis | 2 |
| Miami (OH) | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 |
| Rice | 4 |
| San Diego St | 1 |
| Temple | 4 |
| Toledo | 2 |
| Tulane | 1 |
| Texas St | 1 |
| UCF | 3 |
| USF | 1 |
| Utah St | 3 |
| Western Kentucky | 2 |
| Wyoming | 1 |
27 schools are represented out of the possible 62 schools spread throughout the 5 conferences. The top school was Fresno St, with 6 players represented. We then have 3 schools tied with 4 alums each; Cincinnati, Rice, and Temple.
| Conference | # of Players |
|---|---|
| AAC | 17 |
| Conference USA | 10 |
| MAC | 8 |
| Mountain West | 16 |
| Sun Belt | 2 |
The conference breaks down into 3 tiers. At the top tier, we have the AAC with 17 and the Mountain West with 16 players represented. The next tier we have Conference USA with 10 and the Mid-American with 8. Last, we have the SunBelt with only 2 players on the roster.
As for the NFL teams included in this roster, the Redskins come out with the most players on the roster with 5, with the Raiders just behind with 4. 4 teams ended unrepresented on this roster; 49ers, Falcons, Jets, and Colts.
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