These selections are based on which TXHSFB stars are most valuable to their respective NFL teams. Teams are listed in alphabetical order.

Buffalo Bills - LB Terrel Bernard (La Porte)

2024 Pick: Terrel Bernard
2023 Pick: Terrel Bernard

Bernard, a team captain, has played in 12 games this season while battling various injuries, including missing the last two contests with a calf injury. He is fourth on the Bills in tackles (65) despite playing in fewer games. 

Bernard was a First Team All-Big 12 selection on Baylor’s 2021 Big 12 Championship Team. At La Porte High School, he was a three-time First Team All-District honoree. 

Carolina Panthers - SS Tre'Von Moehrig (Smithson Valley)

The last time Carolina made the playoffs, in 2017, Moehrig was a four-star recruit for the Smithson Valley Rangers. A free agent signing from the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, Moehrig has 103 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, rotating from deep safety to hybrid outside linebacker. 

At TCU, Moehrig was the Thorpe Award winner in his junior season of 2020 as the nation’s best defensive back.

Chicago Bears - WR/KR Devin Duvernay (Sachse)

Duvernay may only have two catches for 26 yards on the season, but he’s carved a nice role for himself as an NFL kick return specialist. The 28-year-old has 1,069 kickoff return yards and 231 punt return yards on the season. Chicago is in the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Duvernay was a First Team All-Big 12 receiver at Texas, starting in 30 games over a four-year career. Back at Sachse High School, he had 3,983 total yards and 47 touchdowns over his last three seasons.

Denver Broncos - WR Courtland Sutton (Brenham)

2024 Pick: Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims

Sutton made the second Pro Bowl of his career after leading the Broncos with 1,017 receiving yards. He was QB Bo Nix’s favorite big-play target. According to Chad Jensen of Denver Broncos On SI, 59 of Sutton’s 74 receptions either went for a first down or a touchdown.

Being the guy his team looks to in a high-leverage situation is nothing new for Sutton. He finished his SMU career as the fourth-leading receiver in school history. Back at Brenham High School, he led the Cubs to the 2013 Class 4A DII State Championship Game.

Green Bay Packers - WR Matthew Golden (Klein Cain)

2023 Pick: RB Aaron Jones (El Paso Burges)

Golden was the first wide receiver selected in the first round by Green Bay since 2002. While he’s been quieter than Packers fans hoped for this season (fourth on the team with 361 receiving yards), Golden has a history of transcending into a different player come playoff time. In Texas’s College Football Playoff game against Arizona State, Golden had 149 receiving yards, including the 4th-and-13 touchdown that sent the game into double OT. 

Before Texas, Golden was a star wide receiver for the Houston Cougars. At Klein Cain High School, he had 3,242 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns over his last three varsity seasons.

Houston Texans - DE Danielle Hunter (Katy Morton Ranch)

2024 Pick: Danielle Hunter
2023 Pick: S Jalen Pitre (Stafford)

The Texans are the seventh team in NFL History to make the playoffs after starting the season 0-3, and a defensive unit led by Hunter is a massive reason for the turnaround. Houston is first in the NFL allowing 277.2 yards per game and second in the league in scoring defense (17.4 points per game). Hunter, at 31 years old, is third in the NFL with 15 sacks on the season.

Hunter, an LSU product, has racked up at least 12 sacks in seven of the last ten seasons - and he missed the entirety of the 2020 season with an injury! He showed flashes of this future brilliance at Katy Morton Ranch High School, where he led the Mavericks to their first playoff appearance in program history as a senior in 2011.

Jacksonville Jaguars - WR Parker Washington (Fort Bend Travis)

Jacksonville has spent its last two first-round Draft picks on wide receivers (Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter), but Parker Washington has emerged as QB Trevor Lawrence’s go-to-guy this season. Washington leads the Jaguars with 847 yards and also has five touchdown receptions. He has been the surprise player on one of the NFL’s most surprising teams - Jacksonville, at 13-4, secured its best season since 1999. 

Washington led Fort Bend Travis to a 10-1 season as a senior in 2019, which remains the best season in program history. He ranks tenth in Penn State history with 146 career receptions.

Los Angeles Chargers - K Cameron Dicker (Lake Travis)

2024 Pick: JK Dobbins (La Grange)

This was a difficult decision with Temple product Quentin Johnston in the mix, but I’m giving Dicker the Kicker the nod because he ranks third in the NFL with 38 field goals made this year (92.7% average). 

Dicker has been clutch for the Chargers this season, like when he drilled a 46-yard field goal to send the game against the Eagles into overtime, which Los Angeles eventually won. Texas fans could’ve told you Dicker would pan out in the NFL. His game-winning field goal over Oklahoma as a freshman in 2018 still stands in Longhorns lore. Dicker was a two-time all-state selection at nearby Lake Travis. 

Los Angeles Rams - QB Matthew Stafford (Highland Park)

2024 Pick: Matthew Stafford
2023 Pick: Matthew Stafford

Stafford has become a mainstay on this list, but his 2025 season has been one of the best yet in a future NFL Hall of Fame career. The 37-year-old is in a heated race for MVP with New England Patriots QB Drake Maye. 

Stafford was the last quarterback to start as a sophomore for Highland Park head coach Randy Allen until current QB Buck Randall came through the program. Stafford is a high school state champion, an All-American at Georgia, the first overall pick in the NFL Draft and a Super Bowl Champion.

New England Patriots - CB Christian Gonzalez (The Colony)

Patriots QB Drake Maye is an MVP frontrunner, but he is lucky to have a  star cornerback, Christian Gonzalez, on his team and not defending his passes. Gonzales has allowed a 33.8% completion rate when targeted in 2025. 

The last time New England made the playoffs in 2021, Gonzalez was a redshirt freshman corner at Colorado. He later transferred to Oregon, earning First Team All-Pac 12 honors. He led The Colony High School to a 17-5 record over his final two seasons as a two-way star.

Philadelphia Eagles - LT Lane Johnson (Groveton)

2024 Pick: Lane Johnson
2023 Pick: Lane Johnson

According to Chase Senior on X, the Eagles since 2013 are 110-57-1 when Lane Johnson plays and 18-27 when he doesn’t. Johnson suffered a Lisfranc injury in the Eagles’ November 16 win over Detroit, then lost the first three games he was sidelined. The good news - Johnson is set to return for the first round of the playoffs.

Johnson is one of the more improbable future NFL Hall of Famers of all time. A quarterback at Groveton High School, Johnson started his career at Kilgore College, then transferred to become a practice squad quarterback at Oklahoma. Seeking a way on the field, Johnson transitioned to tight end, then defensive line, then offensive line. Now, he’s a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl Champion.

Pittsburgh Steelers - K Chris Boswell (Keller Fossil Ridge)

2024 Pick: Chris Boswell (Keller Fossil Ridge)
2023 Pick: Elandon Roberts (Port Arthur Memorial)

Don’t let that blocked PAT in the late stages of Pittsburgh’s win-and-get-in game against Baltimore throw you off the scent - Boswell has been one of the NFL’s clutchest kickers since his rookie season in 2015. Boswell has deep Texas roots despite playing every professional season in Pittsburgh. He rewrote the Rice University record books and was a four-time All-District selection at Keller Fossil Ridge.

San Francisco 49ers - LB Dee Winters (Burton)

2023 Pick: LT Trent Williams (Longview)

If this was a list based on career achievement, future Hall of Famer Trent Williams is the no-doubt selection. But this season, linebacker Dee Winters is the team’s leading tackler (101) and also has a 74-yard pick six. 

Winters was a First Team All-Big 12 selection on TCU’s national championship finalist team in 2022. He earned College Football Playoff semifinal MVP in the win over Michigan, one of the biggest games in program history. He plays his best games under the brightest lights. Winters was a two-time District MVP at Burton High School. 

Seattle Seahawks - WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Rockwall)

Smith-Njigba and Matthew Stafford are competing on this list for best TXHSFB career AND best current season. Over 44 games at Rockwall High School, Smith-Njigba earned five-star status with 5,346 yards and 82 touchdowns in 44 career games. This year, he leads the NFL in receiving yards with 1,793, and also has 10 touchdowns. Seattle (14-3) is tied for the best record in the NFL with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, far surpassing its preseason 8.5-win total.