NFL Playoffs Feature Several MoCo Alums

Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs in 2017. (Photo: Keith Allison of Hanover, Md.)

The NFL playoffs begin this weekend. Three of the four wild card games played on Saturday and Sunday will feature players and coaches from Montgomery County.

Here’s the list:

• Stefon Diggs (Minnesota Vikings wide receiver): Played at Good Counsel High School and was Washington Post All-Met Defensive Player of the Year as a cornerback in 2011.
• Kendall Fuller (Kansas City Chiefs defensive back): Played at Good Counsel and was Washington Post Offensive Player of the Year as a wide receiver in 2012.
• Dorian O’Daniel (Kansas City Chiefs linebacker): Played at Good Counsel and was Washington Post All-Met 1st team in 2012.
• Brian Fleury (San Francisco 49ers defensive quality control assistant): Played quarterback at Seneca Valley High School in 1997, winning the Maryland 4A State Championship and named to Washington Post All-Met 1st Team.
• Johnson Bademosi (New Orleans Saints cornerback): Currently on the reserve/injured list. He played at Gonzaga High School in D.C. but also attended Argyle Middle School and Bel Pre Elementary in Silver Spring.
• Arthur Smith (Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator): Played football at Georgetown Prep High School in North Bethesda where he was the 2000 Washington Post All-Met 1st Team offensive lineman, blocking for Marcus Mason, who became Maryland’s all-time leading rusher at the time (now 4th all-time) and future Washington Redskin.

Three other Montgomery County alums are in the NFL with teams that did not qualify for the playoffs: Redskins’ quarterback Dwayne Haskins (Bullis), Arizona Cardinals nose tackle Zach Kerr (Quince Orchard), and New York Jets cornerback Blake Countess (Good Counsel).

Wayne Nichols contributed to this story.

About Joe Yasharoff

Joe Yasharoff is MCM's Director of Content and Operations. He is also an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Maryland. Previously, Joe was the Managing Editor at NBC Sports Washington and Executive Sports Producer at FOX5 (WTTG-TV). He hosts the MoCo's Most Famous podcast for MCM.

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