The last time a Spanish player scored a touchdown in the NFL, the gap since the previous one stretched 32,140 days — nearly 88 years. Alejandro Villanueva caught a two-yard trick-play pass for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 25, 2018, and in doing so joined a list of Spanish NFL scorers that Kelly Rodríguez had opened on Nov. 27, 1930. As the league returns to Spain this Sunday for a second regular-season game at the Santiago Bernabéu — the Atlanta Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals at 15:30 local time, broadcast on DAZN and Cuatro — no player holding Spanish nationality is on an NFL roster, though Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson wears the Spanish flag on his helmet every week, as.com reported.
The Rodríguez brothers opened the door in 1929
The first Spaniards to play in the NFL arrived almost by accident, the sons of a mining family from Avilés who emigrated to the United States. Ángel Jesús Rodríguez Ávila, known in America as Jess Rodríguez, played five games with the Buffalo Bisons in 1929, one of 12 teams in a league that was still largely amateur and drew little national attention. A year later his brother Aquilino — Kelly Rodríguez in the U.S. — appeared in 15 games split between the Minneapolis Red Jackets and the Frankford Yellow Jackets. On Nov. 27, 1930, Kelly caught a three-yard pass from Art Pharmer to score the only touchdown of a Frankford win over the Green Bay Packers, making him the first Spanish player credited with an NFL touchdown. Records from that era are thin, but Jess played tailback and Kelly worked as a wingback, a hybrid role combining running, receiving and blocking. Both brothers later settled in West Virginia and rarely spoke of their playing days, according to neighbors, as.com reported.
A 62-year wait for the next Spanish name
After the Rodríguez brothers, the pipeline dried up. Ignacio Saturnino “Lou” Molinet, born in Cuba to Spanish parents, played in 1927, but the next player with a Spanish connection did not arrive until 1992, when Ray Rowe was born in Rota, Cádiz, where his American parents were stationed at the naval base. Rowe played two seasons as a tight end for the Washington Redskins. Bernard Berrian, born at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base near Madrid to military parents, became the next link: he played four seasons with the Chicago Bears, including Super Bowl XLI, and three with the Minnesota Vikings, where in 2008 he caught a 99-yard reception that tied the NFL record for the longest possible catch. Berrian also starred on special teams.
Villanueva: the Army Ranger who became a Pro Bowl tackle
Alejandro Villanueva remains the most prominent Spaniard in NFL history. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, while his Navy officer father was stationed abroad, he grew up between the United States and Andalusia — Motril, El Puerto de Santa María, Zaragoza and the Canary Islands — playing rugby before discovering football in Belgium. He played at West Point and served as an Army Ranger captain, deploying to Afghanistan three times and earning a Bronze Star with a valor device for a rescue operation under enemy fire. The Steelers signed him in 2014, and from 2015 he was their starting left tackle, earning two Pro Bowl selections and coming one game short of Super Bowl 50 in 2016. His Nov. 25, 2018 touchdown came exactly 32,140 days after Kelly Rodríguez’s score. Villanueva left Pittsburgh for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021, played his final NFL season there and retired in 2022; he now lives in Miami and works in agriculture.
Arcega-Whiteside: the high draft pick who never landed
While Villanueva was starring in Pittsburgh, José Joaquín Arcega-Whiteside arrived with enormous expectations. Born in Zaragoza, son of basketball player Joaquín Arcega and nephew of Fernando Arcega, he played at Stanford and was selected 57th overall in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles — the first Spaniard ever drafted. The Eagles never fully trusted him across three seasons, and he was released by the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 without playing a game, later training only with the Atlanta Falcons and trying out with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2024. On Dec. 1, 2019, he caught a 15-yard pass from Carson Wentz for a touchdown, becoming the third Spanish player to score in the league.
Ferguson carries the flag in Dallas
With Villanueva and Arcega-Whiteside retired, the Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson is the NFL’s most visible Spanish connection. Born in South Dakota, Ferguson’s great-grandfather Antonio was Spanish and emigrated to the United States, with family still living in Ranón, Asturias, near the airport.
The pipeline: kickers, the NFL Academy and flag football
Three Spanish kickers play in NCAA Division I — Nicolás Cavanillas Alti at Coastal Carolina, Jorge Díaz Nicolás at Marshall and Alejandro de la Poza at Tarleton — hoping to attract NFL attention. Carlos Carrasco ran a Pro Day at Alabama-Birmingham last year without being drafted, and Diego Paz recently trialed with the New England Patriots. Jesús Mariano Angoy, a former Barcelona Dragons kicker, turned down a Denver Broncos offer in 1999. The NFL Academy, which brings 65 international high-school players into the U.S. college system, includes Tom Gabarró, a 2007-born defensive back from Catalonia. Flag football, set to debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, is also growing in Spain and could open another route to the league.
Spanish players mark NFL history
How many Spaniards have scored an NFL touchdown? Three: Kelly Rodríguez in 1930, Alejandro Villanueva in 2018 and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in 2019.
No player with Spanish nationality is currently on a roster, but Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson displays the Spanish flag on his helmet in honor of his Asturian roots.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, picked 57th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2019 Draft.
Sunday’s kickoff at the Bernabéu, where the Falcons and Bengals will play for the second consecutive year, comes in front of a Spanish audience that is growing — a crowd that, for now, watches without a compatriot on the field.
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