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Longhorns chasing a Ring: The Horns in Conference Championship Weekend

by: RT Young01/22/26

With four teams left in the NFL playoffs, there’s no doubt a Longhorn will win a Super Bowl ring. Before we get there though, ten active Longhorns will be competing in the conference championships. That’s the most of any program with alumni in the pros.

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Let’s look at the remaining teams and which Texas players are contributing to their Lombardi dreams.

In the AFC: New England at Denver (2 CST Sunday)

Longhorns on the Broncos

WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey
The Southlake product and former Texas fan favorite spent three games with the New York Giants to start the year before being waived. He’s excelled since getting picked up by the AFC-leading Broncos and reuniting with Sean Payton, who he was previously coached by on the Saints. Humphrey added a key touchdown in last week’s overtime win over Josh Allen and Buffalo. He’s had a journeyman-type NFL career after leaving Texas a year early, but it’s been a successful career and it still feels like he’s on the edge of his best play yet.

QB Sam Ehlinger
The plot thickens for Big Sam after QB Bo Nix’s broken ankle. Might we get a patented Ehlinger-to–Lil’Jordan slant route or jump ball in the AFC Championship or Super Bowl? We’re one injury to Jarrett Stidham away from that. If it happens, you can bet you’ll be reminded—approximately 1.4 million times—that Ehlinger and former Super Bowl-winning backup Nick Foles both went to Austin Westlake. Is it written in the stars?

S PJ Locke
Locke has spent his entire career with the Broncos after going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. And he’s made the most of his time in the Mile High City, though no moment has been bigger than his interception of Josh Allen last week. Locke would be playing alongside another Longhorn safety in Brandon Jones, but the former TexAgs documentary star is on the IR after suffering a torn pectoral in Week 15.

DT Malcolm Roach
The Louisiana native has had his best season as a pro in 2025. He contributed four sacks in the regular season and added another in the playoffs last week. Roach is in his second season in Denver after spending his first four years in New Orleans.

CB Jahdae Barron
After being drafted 20th overall in last year’s first round, the 2024 Thorpe Award winner from Pflugerville hasn’t played as much as Broncos fans might have expected. Still, it’s been a solid rookie campaign. Barron snagged one interception but dropped several other opportunities. Even so, his ballhawking instincts are innate, and Longhorn fans know Barron thrives on the biggest stages.

Longhorns on the Patriots

ST Brenden Schooler
Good luck to Brenden on special teams, but most football fans can’t abide the Patriots stealing a seventh Lombardi trophy in a year like this.

In the NFC: Los Angeles at Seattle (5:30 CST Sunday)

Longhorns on the Seahawks

P Michael Dickson
The Aussie has had a quiet year punting the football—by his standards. That’s mostly because Seattle has been so dominant and Dickson hasn’t been asked to punt very often. He’s 24th in the NFL with just 52 attempts. Still, his booming leg remains, and he finished seventh in the league in average with 49 yards per punt.

DT Byron Murphy II
Murphy has anchored Seattle’s incredible defensive line and historic defense. The Longhorn great was snubbed by the Pro Bowl, but his season was spectacular. The DeSoto native added seven sacks from the defensive tackle position and ruined the best-laid plans of many opposing rushing attacks.

DBU legend Quandre Diggs is on the Seahawks’ practice squad after joining Seattle late in the season from Tennessee.

Longhorns on the Rams

DT Poona Ford
The most underrated Longhorn of the 21st century? Maybe. The pride of Hilton Head is still wrecking shop eight years into his pro career. He added two sacks in the regular season, ranked as a top defender in stuff rate, and contributed another sack in the wild card round.

Fellow Longhorn DT Bill Norton is on the Rams’ practice squad.

WR Jordan Whittington
It’s been a quiet year for the Cuero Gobbler, but he clearly still has Sean McVay’s trust as a key perimeter blocker. Plus, targets are hard to come by when Matthew Stafford is throwing to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Still, Whittington added two catches for 35 yards in Los Angeles’ overtime win at Soldier Field over the Bears.

[THE PERFECT GIFT FOR YOUR LITTLE LONGHORNS! Get them ready for Kickoff in the Fall with The Longhorn Alphabet: Texas Football A to Z]

Now that you know a Longhorn will win a Super Bowl ring, which team are you pulling for?

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