Missouri’s NFL footprint keeps getting bigger, and as the 2026 season approaches, 33 former Tigers are on pro rosters. A lot of them are filling depth roles, but a few are either already locked in as starters or pushing to become one.
Luther Burden has wasted no time making his mark in Chicago. Now in his second NFL season, the Bears receiver is already working as a starter after a breakout rookie year. He opened with 171 yards over his first seven games, then took off from there, finishing with 47 catches, 652 yards and two touchdowns.
At Missouri, Burden was a two-time first-team All-SEC selection and piled up 2,749 all-purpose yards, 26 total scores and 21 receiving touchdowns. That production helped make him an early second-round pick, and the Bears have seen the payoff quickly.
At quarterback, Brady Cook enters his second season with the New York Jets and has a path to competing for a starting job. Geno Smith is currently in place, but he is 35 years old, and Cook brings youth along with room to grow.
As a rookie, Cook completed 57.5% of his passes and threw two touchdowns against seven interceptions. His Missouri career looked a lot cleaner, with 49 touchdown passes and just 15 picks.
Armand Membou’s rise has been even faster. Drafted seventh overall by the Jets last year, he started every game and already looks like one of the Tigers’ best pros.
His 72.8 offensive rating on PFF last season ranked 30th among 84 eligible tackles. In college, Membou earned All-SEC honors and posted a 90.4 PFF grade, good for third nationally.
Nick Bolton remains the most established former Tiger in the league. The 2021 second-round pick has put together 612 tackles in five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, which ranks third among linebackers in franchise history.
He’s also signed to a 3-year $45 million contract. Bolton was recently inducted into the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, and his Missouri résumé includes two first-team All-SEC selections and 224 tackles in 35 games.
Harrison Mevis spent his final season at Missouri in 2023, but last year was the one where he finally settled in at the NFL level. He took over as the Los Angeles Rams’ starting kicker in the middle of the season and finished 18-for-19 on field goals across the regular season and playoffs, while hitting all 48 of his extra points.
Trey Robinson, a 2024 first-round pick, became a starting lineman for the Cardinals last season. He’ll need another step forward after receiving a 30.1 defense grade on PFF. The Missouri grad finished the year with 43 total tackles and 15 solo tackles.
In Other News...
Mizzou Has 4 Preseason All-SEC Snubs Fans Should Watch Closely
Missouri got some deserved preseason recognition when the SEC coaches put Ahmad Hardy and Cayden Green on the first team, but the list also underscored how much more talent the Tigers think they have than what showed up on paper. A few other names around the program have already started building the kind of rsum that can turn a snub into a season-long storyline, especially when a coach like Eli Drinkwitz is willing to talk up the groups potential and the past production is already there to back it up.
Donovan Olugbode, Nicholas Rodriguez, Jamal Roberts and Chris Graves Jr. all fit that mold in different ways, which is why their absence from the preseason team looks more like a checkpoint than a verdict. If Missouri keeps trending the way it hopes, those four could spend the fall turning early omission into end-of-year recognition, and for a team with bigger goals than preseason lists, that kind of chip-on-the-shoulder motivation is part of the appeal. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Fans Now Have One More Reason To Debate SEC Roster Rules
The Southeastern Conference has added a fresh wrinkle to roster-building across the league, and Missouri fans have another conference rule to keep an eye on. The league announced a policy that blocks athletes who sign professional contracts and then withdraw from drafts from returning to college competition, a move that could shape how SEC schools handle future roster decisions and transfer-market calculations.
For Missouri, the timing makes the discussion even more relevant because Mark Mitchell is chasing a spot on Kentuckys basketball roster and still may be operating under the new framework. On the football side, the conversation around the Tigers has also widened to what 2026 could look like, with analysts already digging into Missouris recruiting push and how the program is positioning itself for the next wave of roster construction. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzous 2026 Defense Could Come Down To These Sophomore Breakouts
Missouris defensive depth chart is headed for another round of turnover, and the sophomore class is positioned to feel the ripple effects. With several departures and roster changes opening up snaps, players like McClellan, CJ Bass III, Jason Dowell and Hopkins are suddenly in line for far more responsibility than they carried a year ago, giving the Tigers a group of young defenders to watch closely as 2026 approaches.
The appeal goes beyond simple opportunity. Each of those sophomores has already shown some combination of early production, physical growth and the kind of upward trajectory coaches tend to circle when projecting future roles. Missouris staff and players have helped frame the expectation that this next step could be significant, but the real intrigue is whether one of those breakouts becomes a defining piece of what the Tigers want their defense to look like in 2026. [Read more 🡒]