With the sustained success of Wisconsin’s football program over the last decade-plus, plenty of former Badgers athletes are getting the chance to compete at the professional level. By our unofficial count, 32 former Badgers are on either an active roster, injured reserve or practice squad of an NFL team.

Here are some of their highlights from week 16 of the NFL season.

Andrew Van Ginkel, LB, Miami Dolphins

Quickly adding to his playmaking resume, Van Ginkel had six tackles, two sacks (minus-18 yards), two tackles for loss and a pass deflection in the first half. He added one more tackle for the Dolphins in their wild 26-25 win in Las Vegas. He played 56 snaps on defense and another 30 on special teams, the most on the team.

T.J. Watt, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Playing 64 snaps on defense, and another three on special teams, Watt finished with only three tackles but they were big ones, as he registered two sacks, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble in the win over the Colts.

Zack Baun, LB, New Orleans Saints

Baun played four snaps on defense and 23 on special teams in the Saints’ 52-33 win over Minnesota on Christmas.

Quintez Cephus, WR, Detroit Lions

Playing 20 snaps on offense and eight on special teams, Cephus had one catch for nine yards in Detroit’s 47-7 loss to Tampa Bay Saturday.

Corey Clement, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Clement played one snap on offense and 18 on special teams in a 37-17 loss at Dallas.

Ryan Connelly, LB, Minnesota Vikings

Played 18 special teams snaps, Connelly made two tackles in the Vikings’ loss in New Orleans.

T.J. Edwards, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

Starting at middle linebacker, Edwards made six tackles in the Eagles’ loss in Dallas.

Alex Erickson, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Surpassing 1,000 career receiving yards, Erickson finished with 88 yards on six receptions (long of 42), a seven-yard punt return and an incomplete pass for the former high school quarterback in Cincinnati’s 37-31 win in Houston. He played a season-high 62 snaps on offense, as well as four on special teams.

Troy Fumagalli, TE, Denver Broncos

Fumagalli did not catch his only target on his 15 offensive snaps (he also played six on special teams) in the 19-16 loss to the Chargers.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Denver Broncos

Starting at tailback, Gordon led the Broncos in carries (16) and yards (79) in playing 51 of 77 snaps.

Alec Ingold, FB, Las Vegas Raiders

Ingold played 19 snaps on offense and 22 on special teams in the Raiders’ 26-25 loss to Miami.

Dare Ogunbowale, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Making his first career start, Ogunbowale rushed a career-high 14 times for 71 yards, secured three of five targets for seven yards and has six kick return yards in the Jaguars’ 41-17 loss to the Chicago Bears. Ogunbowale also had a career-high 25-yard rush.

Joe Schobert, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars

A bright spot in a dismal season for Jacksonville, Schobert had eight tackles, a sack, an interception in the end zone, a forced fumble, a pass defended and a quarterback hit in the loss to the Bears.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Leading the Colts rushing attack, Taylor finished with 18 carries for 74 yards and touchdown runs of 6 and 1 on his 40 snaps in Indianapolis’ 28-24 loss in Pittsburgh. It’s the fourth straight game Taylor has found the end zone and 10 for the season, making him the first Colts rookie running back to have 1,100+ scrimmage yards and 10+ scrimmage TD since Hall of Famer Edgerrin James in 1999.

Derek Watt, FB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Watt played three snaps on offense and 21 on special teams, finishing with a tackle in the Steelers’ comeback win over the Colts.

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans

Playing 70 snaps on defense, Watt finished with three tackles and two quarterback hits in Houston’s home loss to Cincinnati.

James White, RB, New England Patriots

White had four runs for 14 yards and three catches for 23 yards in the Patriots’ 38-9 loss to Buffalo on Monday night.

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Helping the Seahawks clinch the NFC West, Wilson went 20-for-32 for 225 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a four-yard score in the Seahawks’ 20-9 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He also delivered this beautiful throw to receiver David Moore for a 45-yard gain, the longest of the game, to set up Wilson's game-winning touchdown early in the third quarter.

Tyler Biadasz, C, Dallas Cowboys (played one snap on offense and seven on special teams reps)

Michael Deiter, OL, Miami Dolphins (played six special teams reps)

David Edwards, OG, Los Angeles Rams (started at left guard and played all 75 offensive snaps and three on special teams)

Rob Havenstein, OT, Los Angeles Rams (started at right tackle and played 72 offensive snaps and three on special teams)

Ryan Ramczyk, OT, New Orleans Saints (started at right tackle and played 74 snaps and eight on special teams)

Rick Wagner, OT, Green Bay Packers (started at right tackle and played 41 offensive snaps and four on special teams)

Kevin Zeitler, OG, New York Giants (started at right guard and played all 64 snaps and three on special teams)

Inactive

Natrell Jamerson, S, Carolina Panthers

Injured Reserve

Beau Allen, DT, New England Patriots (lower body)

Vince Biegel, LB, Miami Dolphins (foot)

Ryan Groy, OL, Los Angeles Chargers (triceps)

Leon Jacobs, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars (ACL)

Practice Squad

Beau Benzschawel, OL, Houston Texans

Jack Cichy, LB, New England Patriots