2016 AFC Championship rosters feature just a single former 5-star recruit
There are six blue-chippers in this game, compared to 19 in the NFC Championship.
The New England Patriots are notorious for making the most of every player, no matter his hype. But the Denver Broncos are a star-studded team quarterbacked by one of the most decorated college quarterbacks of all time.
So, it may be at least a little surprising that the teams have just one five-star recruit between their starting lineups in advance of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, and a whole lot of less-heralded former high schoolers.
The two teams combine to have just six "blue-chip" players (four- and five-star recruits), based on the 247Sports Composite (or Rivals for older players) slated to start on Sunday. Two of them, Ryan Harris and Michael Schofield, are on Denver's offensive line.
That's just under a third of the 19 blue-chippers the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers will start later in the day. Defensive tackle Malcolm Brown is the only five-star player in this game, compared to the eight who are expected to start in Charlotte.
Of course, those numbers are artificially low partly because of just how old the quarterbacks involved in the game are. Peyton Manning would unquestionably have been a five-star recruit, and Tom Brady would likely have been a four- or five-star player in his own right, but both played high school football in the early 1990s, about a decade before recruiting coverage became an industry rather than a curiosity.
There also won't be many total unknowns on the field, with just three no-star recruits, including Super Bowl 49 MVP Malcolm Butler. But an incredible 28 of 44 starters for the Broncos and Patriots, just under two-thirds of both starting lineups, were either two- or three-star recruits. That suggests that most of those players improved significantly in college, and that the Broncos and Patriots have helped develop them even further.
Broncos starters
| Pos. | Name | Stars | College | College Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Peyton Manning | N/A (too old) | Tennessee | Holds 42 NCAA, SEC and school records |
| RB | Ronnie Hillman | 3 | San Diego State | Led Mountain West in rushing as a freshman |
| FB | Virgil Green | 2 | Nevada | Colin Kaepernick's second-leading receiver as a senior |
| WR | Emmanuel Sanders | 2 | SMU | Named to various All-Freshman teams |
| WR | Demaryius Thomas | 3 | Georgia Tech | Leading receiving target for run-heavy Georgia Tech |
| TE | Owen Daniels | N/A (too old) | Wisconsin | Started college as backup QB |
| LT | Ryan Harris | 4 | Notre Dame | Four-year starter for two different head coaches |
| LG | Evan Mathis | N/A (too old) | Alabama | Alabama only finished the season ranked in the AP Poll once in his time in Tuscaloosa |
| C | Matt Paradis | 0 | Boise State | Began college career as walk-on defensive lineman |
| RG | Louis Vasquez | 3 | Texas Tech | Texas Tech calls him "one of the most dominant linemen in school history" |
| RT | Michael Schofield | 4 | Michigan | Played in both spread and pro-style offenses |
| DE | Derek Wolfe | 2 | Cincinnati | 2011 Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year. |
| NT | Sylvester Williams | 4 | North Carolina | Began his career in junior college |
| DE | Malik Jackson | 3 | Tennessee | Transferred to Vols from USC |
| LB | Von Miller | 3 | Texas A&M | Consensus All-American in 2010 |
| LB | DeMarcus Ware | N/A (too old) | Troy | From Auburn, but not offered by Tigers |
| LB | Brandon Marshall | 2 | Nevada | Played with Kaepernick and Green at Nevada |
| LB | Danny Trevathan | 2 | Kentucky | Named to various All-American teams |
| CB | Aqib Talib | 2 | Kansas | Helped lead Kansas (Kansas!) to the Orange Bowl |
| CB | Chris Harris Jr. | 2 | Kansas | Received school's Don Fambrough Award for "unselfishness" |
| S | T.J. Ward | 0 | Oregon | Finished career with 10 tackles vs. Ohio State in the Rose Bowl |
| S | Darian Stewart | 3 (rivals) | South Carolina | Hybrid linebacker/safety in college |
Patriots Whatever
| Pos. | Name | Stars | College | College Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Tom Brady | N/A (too old) | Michigan | Once benched for Drew Henson |
| RB | James White | 3 | Wisconsin | One of three Wisconsin RBs to rush for over 100 yards in a 70-31 drubbing of Nebraska |
| RB | Brandon Bolden | 3 | Ole Miss | Finished second in school history in rushing and total TDs |
| WR | Danny Amendola | 3 | Texas Tech | Fourth in Big 12 history with 1,283 career punt return yards |
| WR | Julian Edelman | 3 | Kent State | Played quarterback in college |
| TE | Rob Gronkowski | 4 | Arizona | Per Arizona, "the best tight end in Arizona annals" |
| LT | Sebastian Vollmer | N/A (from Germany) | Houston | Before Houston, made the European All-Star team |
| LG | Shaq Mason | 3 | Georgia Tech | Named to various All-American teams in 2014 |
| C | Bryan Stork | 3 | Florida State | Consensus All-American for FSU's 2013 national title team |
| RG | Josh Kline | 2 | Kent State | Second team All-MAC as a senior |
| RT | Marcus Cannon | 3 | TCU | Named to various All-American teams in 2010 |
| DE | Rob Ninkovich | 3 | Purdue | Purdue was once No. 5 during his senior season (Yes! Really! Purdue!) |
| DT | Alan Branch | 3 | Michigan | Had an INT and fumble recovery in famed No. 1 vs. No. 2 2006 Michigan-Ohio State game. |
| DT | Malcolm Brown | 5 | Texas | Lone five-star starter for New England |
| DE | Chandler Jones | 2 | Syracuse | Made All-Big East in 2011, despite playing in just seven games |
| LB | Jamie Collins | 3 | Southern Miss | Player three posiitons in three years in college |
| LB | Jerod Mayo | 3 | Tennessee | Started 81 percent of games he played in |
| LB | Dont'a Hightower | 4 | Alabama | Consensus All-American, national champion in 2011 |
| CB | Malcolm Butler | 0 | West Alabama | Did not even have a recruiting profile |
| CB | Logan Ryan | 3 | Rutgers | Named All-American and All-Big East by various outlets |
| S | Patrick Chung | 2 | Oregon | Played do-everything "rover" position for Ducks |
| S | Devin McCourty | 3 | Rutgers | Blocked three kicks in magical 2007 season |
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