It’s a boon for many fans to see local players get drafted or signed by the local NFL team. It’s also often a dream come true for those players because they get to stay home for their NFL playing days, and often times play for the team they too grew up rooting for. What if that weren’t just a hope. What if that was how it was always?

We saw what the offense would look like. Here’s what the defense would look like.

Defensive tackles: Lawrence Guy, Billy Winn

Guy was born and raised in Las Vegas, attending Western High School before heading to Arizona State for college. Guy is an eight-year NFL defensive lineman. He bounced around a bit early in his career but has settled down with a couple teams since, spending three seasons in Baltimore and the past three seasons as a full-time starter for the New England Patriots.

Winn was also born and raised in Vegas, attending Las Vegas High School. He was drafted in the 6th round out of Boise State by the Cleveland Browns. After three seasons in Cleveland, he spent a season with the Colts and last season with the Broncos. In total, the 6-4, 300-pounder has appeared in 68 games with 23 starts.

Defensive ends: Jeremiah Valoaga, James Cowser

This Interesting situation here considering Valoaga is currently on the Raiders roster and Cowser has spent his entire NFL career with the Raiders, most recently on their 2019 offseason roster. Valoaga is a UNLV alum who grew up in Oxnard, California. He has been in the NFL three years now, most recently having appeared in four games last season for the 49ers. He was waived late last season and claimed by the Raiders.

Cowser grew up near Salt Lake City and attended Southern Utah, which is just a two-hour drive up I-15 from Las Vegas.

Linebackers: Kyle Van Noy, Brandon Marshall, Ben Jacobs

Van Noy is a former second-round pick by the Lions out of BYU. The Reno native has spent the past four seasons in New England collecting two Super Bowl rings as a full-time starter for the Patriots.

Marshall is a well-known Las Vegas native. He signed with the Raiders last offseason in the hopes of sticking with the team when they moved his hometown. Unfortunately, he wasn’t healed from a 2018 injury and didn’t make the roster. The 30-year-old was a full-time starter for the Broncos for five seasons, including winning a Super Bowl in Denver.

Jacobs was born and raised in Las Vegas, attending Silverado High School before heading to Fresno State for college. He joined the Browns as an undrafted rookie in 2011 and spent five seasons with the Panthers from 2014-18 appearing in 73 games as a special teams maven.

Cornerbacks: LeShaun Sims, Torry McTyer

Sims is a former fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah, which was just a quick trip up I-15 for the Las Vegas native. He has spent all four seasons of his NFL career with the Titans, appearing in 56 games with 11 starts. He has two career interceptions and 8 career pass breakups.

Torry is a UNLV alum out of the LA area. The 24-year-old has played in the NFL the past three seasons, first in Miami and last season in Cincinnati. His best season was in 2018 when he appeared in 15 games with four starts for the Dolphins, defending 3 passes and making 30 tackles.

Safeties: Miles Killebrew, Kai Nacua

Born and raised in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, which happens to be where the Raiders headquarters is being built. Killebrew attended Southern Utah for college and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft by the Detroit Lions. He has spent his entire four-year career in Detroit, appearing in all but one game over that span and starting four games. In the past couple of seasons, he’s played primarily on special teams.

Nacua is another Las Vegas native, having attended Liberty High School and going to BYU for college. He came into the NFL undrafted in 2017 with the Cleveland Browns and appeared in all 16 games with 3 starts. He spent 2018 between the practice squads of the Ravens and Panthers and last season, he was on the Colts injured reserve list.

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