Since there are multiple TXHSFB stars on each playoff team, these selections are based on who's the most valuable for the professional team and not on TXHSFB prowess.

Baltimore Ravens – DT Nnamdi Madubuike (McKinney North)
2023 pick: Nnamdi Madubuike

The Texas A&M alum appeared on this list last year, but he’s representing Baltimore with a new name this season. Madubuike started going by his Nigerian name ‘Nnamdi’ after previously being called ‘Justin.’ He’s the defensive line leader (11.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks) on a Ravens defense that soared in the back half of the season under first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, allowing just 90 rushing yards and 170 passing yards per game.

Buffalo Bills – LB Terel Bernard (La Porte)
2023 pick: Terel Bernard

Bernard earned his first captain’s designation this season and responded with over 100 tackles in just 13 games. He’ll be full-go for the playoffs after battling pectoral and quad injuries. The former Baylor standout was a First Team All-Big 12 selection on Baylor’s 2021 conference championship team. Bernard also earned 2022 Sugar Bowl MVP in his final collegiate game with 20 tackles and two sacks.

Denver Broncos – WR Marvin Mims (Frisco Lone Star)

Mims is the only wide receiver to win Dave Campbell’s Mr. Texas Football Award after he set a state and national single-season record with 2,629 receiving yards in his senior season at Frisco Lone Star in 2019. His 5,485 career receiving yards were the most in state history as well. Mims has earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in his first two NFL seasons as a return specialist, and he’s also the Broncos’ second-leading receiver with 503 yards and six touchdowns.

Detroit Lions – CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (Duncanville)

The Lions are the one team in the NFL Playoffs without a TXHSFB alum starting on either offense or defense. Rakestraw was the leader of Duncanville’s secondary for back-to-back state championship berths in 2018 and 2019. The Panthers allowed just eight points per game in his senior year. A three-year starter at Missouri, Rakestraw has played primarily on special teams in Detroit. He’s currently working back from the injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Houston Texans – DE Danielle Hunter (Katy Morton Ranch)
2023 pick: Jalen Pitre (Stafford)

Hunter was born in Jamaica but moved to the Katy area when he was eight years old. Soon after, a youth football coach recruited him to the sport after he saw him running down a kid on roller skates in tag. Hunter’s been chasing quarterbacks ever since, from leading Morton Ranch to its first playoff appearance in program history to starting at LSU to a nine-year career with the Minnesota Vikings. Hunter notched 12 sacks in his first year with the Texans, his sixth time in nine years (he missed the entirety of the 2020 season due to injury).

Kansas City Chiefs – QB Patrick Maomes (Whitehouse)
2023 pick: Patrick Mahomes

Mahomes is coming off his “worst” season with a career-low 3,928 yards and 26 touchdowns. But all Mahomes cares about is his team’s 15–1 record, and fans would be fools to bet against the three-time Super Bowl Champion. His playoff career could count for another full season, with a 14–3 record, nearly 5,400 total yards and 44 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy with three college scholarship offers coming out of Whitehouse.

Los Angeles Chargers – RB JK Dobbins (La Grange)

Dobbins missed all but one play of his senior season at La Grange (which  foreshadowed his career) but still racked up 5,149 rushing yards and 74 touchdowns in three years playing Texas high school football. The Baltimore Ravens selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft after he became the first player in Ohio State football history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season, but an ACL tear and a torn Achilles tendon limited him to 23 games over four seasons. Dobbins has bounced back with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 for a career-high 195 carries for 905 yards.

Los Angeles Rams – QB Matthew Stafford (Highland Park)
2023 pick: Matthew Stafford

Highland Park made the Class 5A Division I State Championship this year behind Buck Randall, the first sophomore to start at quarterback since Stafford in 2003. Randall would love to one day replicate Stafford’s Hall of Fame career. Stafford, 36, is tenth in NFL history with 58,809 passing yards. If the Rams run the table, he’d be just the 14th quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls.

Minnesota Vikings – RB Aaron Jones (El Paso Burges)

Jones made this list as a Green Bay Packer last year, and he’s back on its arch-rival in 2024. Jones is proving that running backs can still age like fine wine, rushing for a career-high of 1,138 yards at 30 years old. He has rushed for over 90 yards in four of the last six games, and looks to exploit a Los Angeles Rams defense that ranks second-worst among playoff teams in rushing yards allowed per game.

Philadelphia Eagles – LT Lane Johnson (Groveton)
2023 pick: Lane Johnson

The only thing scarier than Lane Johnson normally is an angry Lane Johnson, which is exactly what NFL players gifted the league when they voted Johnson as a Second Team All-Pro selection behind the Detroit Lions’ Penei Sewell. Johnson taped a side-by-side stat comparison next to his locker, and looks to back it up against the Green Bay Packers. Johnson hasn’t allowed a sack in three of the last four seasons.

Pittsburgh Steelers – K Chris Boswell (Fossil Ridge)
2023 pick: Elandon Roberts (Port Arthur Memorial)

Boswell has enjoyed the best season of his career, converting a league-high 41-of-44 field goals and earning First Team All-Pro honors. Boswell was a four-time All-District 5-5A kicker at Fossil Ridge who ranks second on Rice’s all-time leading scorer list with 359 points.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – QB Baker Mayfield (Lake Travis)
2023 pick: WR Mike Evans (Galveston Ball)

Yes Mike Evans has been the better player over their respective careers. Evans just matched Jerry Rice’s NFL record with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. But with Evans battling injuries this year, Mayfield has stepped up to throw for a career-high 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. Remember, this is two years after he was cut by the Carolina Panthers and then claimed off waivers to start for the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football in two days’ time.

Washington Commanders – RG Sam Cosmi (Humble Atascocita)

What a year it’s been for the former Texas Longhorns star. Cosmi had a baby in the offseason, inked a four-year, $74 million contract in September, and just finished his second consecutive season allowing zero sacks. He’ll serve as a cornerstone of the Commanders’ offensive line for years to come protecting prized rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.