Super Ties: Rio's NFL connections deeper than you think

“The Big Game” is upon us, folks.

The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks punched their tickets to Super Bowl LX last weekend in the conference championships, setting up the finale to the 2025-26 NFL season with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.

What do two teams from Seattle, Washington, and Foxborough, Massachusetts, preparing to play in Santa Clara, California, have anything to do with Rio Rancho and New Mexico?

Not much, but more than you would think.

Here is every Rio Rancho tie-in to the Patriots, Seahawks and NFL as you prepare for Super Sunday:

Keshawn Banks, Rio Rancho Class of 2017

The most recent of local NFL entries is linebacker Keshawn Banks. Banks was a vital part of the Rams’ 2016 state title, heading off to San Diego State University before a few short stints in the pros.

Banks was an undrafted signee after the 2023 NFL Draft, signing with the Green Bay Packers. He made his NFL debut in the playoffs with the Cheeseheads, playing 11 total snaps in Green Bay’s divisional round loss to San Francisco in January 2024. A little over two years later, Banks’ debut venue, Levi Stadium, is preparing to host Super Bowl LX.

Entering the 2024 season, Banks would join none other than the New England Patriots. Signing in October 2024, the same month as quarterback Drake Maye’s debut, who will be at the helm for the Patriots next Sunday. Banks would tally 61 snaps for the Patriots before being released in early December.

Banks is currently set to play for the Orlando Storm in the next season of the springtime United Football League.

Chris Williams, Rio Rancho Class of 2005

While Williams was never a part of the Patriots, Seahawks, or a playoff run, he is immersed in NFL history.

The speedy receiver, playing with the Rams and the New Mexico State University Aggies, had stints with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints.

But his big NFL moment came with the Chicago Bears.

On Nov. 9, 2014, the last season in which the Patriots and Seahawks met in the Super Bowl, Williams recorded 288 return yards as the kick returner for the Bears in a road game in Green Bay.

Williams returned 10 kicks, including taking one for a touchdown 101 yards. The Rio alum sits at fourth on the all-time list of single-game kick return yards, ahead of all-time names such as Devin Hester and Steve Smith Sr.

Chicago’s season would not be filled with many more highlights, as the opposing Packers would go on to lose to Seattle in the conference championship to set up the first-ever championship meeting with New England.

Williams also has championship experience of his own, a part of the Grey Cup-winning Ottawa Redblacks in the Canadian Football League in 2016.

Grant Hermanns, Rio Rancho Class of 2016

Grant Hermanns has quite a story. From helping the Rams to the 2014 state title, to battling medical issues his senior year, to earning an all-Big Ten honorable mention at Purdue University, the former Rio linemen had quite the ride before even reaching the NFL.

The next stop on his journey happened to be set for East Rutherford, New Jersey, joining the New York Jets as an undrafted signee.

His coach? Current Seahawks offensive line coach John Becton.

Becton coached the Jets' offensive line from 2021-22, overlapping with Hermanns’ stay with the green and white.

Hermanns would play a few snaps for New York that season before hopping around to the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then returning to the Jets in 2023. 

He announced his retirement from the sport in February 2024, as his former mentor now prepares for a trip to Santa Clara almost exactly a year later.

Tre Watson, Cleveland Class of 2021

If there is a list of potential candidates of Storm/Ram alumni to be the first to capture a Lombardi Trophy, Tre Watson may be at the top.

It sounds like a long shot, but the former Storm wideout and Texas A&M tight end may get a chance on the new-look Kansas City Chiefs.

Watson signed with the Chiefs after going undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was assigned to the practice squad and stayed with the team throughout their season.

While the Kansas City dynasty seems to be on hold, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffering a season-ending knee injury after three straight trips to the Super Bowl, Watson could be on board for the second installment in the Chiefs’ story.

Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce has been on the fence about retirement, currently 36 years old and about to be a married man. If the future Hall of Famer decides to hang up the cleats, it could open the door for the 23-year-old City of Vision native.

Watson will look to make his NFL debut in the 2026 season. After that, who knows? He could be on your television set on a future Super Bowl Sunday.

Alan Branch, Cibola Class of 2004

While this player was never a Ram or a Storm, he sure knows a thing or two about the Seahawks, the Patriots and Super Bowls.

Alan Branch, a former Gatorade Player of the Year for the Cougars, was born in Rio Rancho in 1984. His father, David, was a longtime member of the Rio Rancho Police Department.

While Cleveland High School was just a plot of land and the Rio Rancho High School was still in its infancy, Branch was putting on a clinic down on Ellison Drive. His impressive high school resume landed him a scholarship to the University of Michigan.

After his time with the Wolverines, Branch would be a second-round selection by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2007 NFL Draft. The defensive tackle would reach the big game with Arizona in 2008, but would fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 43.

In 2011, Branch would head from the desert to the Pacific Northwest, joining the Seattle Seahawks. After two seasons there, he would join the Buffalo Bills for a season before heading to New England in 2014.

Before he knew it, Branch was back in the big dance, and against his former team. Rio Rancho’s very own was featured in the first installment of Patriots-Seahawks, winning his first Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl XLIII. 

Taking out his former team was sweet, but the best was yet to come for his championship heroics. 

Branch was a factor in New England’s 28-3 comeback in Super Bowl 51, recording three tackles and a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.

He finished his NFL career with two Super Bowl titles to his name, entering the Cibola Hall of Fame in 2017.

From longshots to champions, the City of Vision has more big game history than you think. Who will be next to add to it?