7 most unconventional players in the NFL

NFL franchises don't generally look kindly on those that are different.

The nature of team sports seeks to limit individuality in service of higher goals. Though it's understandable for militaristic rigidity to exist in a sport as assignment driven and regimented as football, individual talents find a way to slip through the cracks.

Here are seven of the most unconventional personalities in football:

Robert Nkemdiche

A pre-draft profile of the talented pass-rusher repeatedly referred to his "creative spirit," and featured endless non-sequiturs about buying a pet panther and other strange things.

Nothing about Nkemdiche's story is conventional. From his family background - his mother moved back to her native Nigeria, while his father occupied himself with medical research - to the time he fell four stories out of a hotel window and wasn't seriously injured.

Nkemdiche's character concerns center around his insistence on being an independent thinker - one team scout said he "thinks he's a philosopher." And yet, his independence seems at odds with his willingness to be led into negative situations by others.

But it's Nkemdiche's off the wall personality that likely cost him a higher draft position as many teams were uneasy about his "evasive" scouting combine interviews.

Still, he wants to own a panther and once played Morgan Freeman to sleep using a saxophone, so it could be a lot worse.

John Urschel

Mathematician. Chess player. Offensive lineman. Urschel - a literal genius - is undoubtedly the smartest player to ever put on a football helmet.

While pursuing his football career as a guard for the Baltimore Ravens, Urschel's completing a PhD in mathematics at MIT and actually has higher ambitions for his academic future than he does for his NFL one.

"I plan to be a great mathematician," Urschel said, having decided to enroll at MIT because he didn't think he was applying himself to mathematics enough.

As if his plate isn't full enough, Urschel still finds time to write a regular advanced analytics column for The Players' Tribune.

Also, here's Urschel playing against one of the best chess players in the world:

Arian Foster

Foster has made waves since entering the league in 2009 due to the zen nature of his personality and studied approach to topics like religion and philosophy.

Foster has dabbled with a vegan diet, publicly announced a political affiliation to the Green Party and, perhaps most notably, eschewed his Muslim upbringing to promote atheism. In a league that regularly holds prayer huddles prior to, after, and even during games, outing yourself as an atheist is a tougher proposition in the NFL than in most other walks of life.

Foster's artistic endeavors include poetry and, with a background in improv and theater, he appeared in the NFL-centric movie movie "Draft Day" - a nod to his status as an undrafted superstar. During a contract holdout with the Texans, Foster gave bizarre interviews in protest of the media spotlight he was expected to be under.

Ezekiel Ansah

This Ghana native is still learning the game of football despite recording 30 sacks over his first three professional seasons.

After attending BYU on an academic scholarship and failing to make the basketball team for two straight years, Ansah walked on to the football team and turned himself into the fifth-overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft in just three short years.

Possessing elite athleticism (he ran the 100-meter dash in 10.91 seconds while dabbling in track at BYU) but having no guarantees of a football future, Ansah was forced to work on campus as a custodian to remain in college. His college days were essentially a rip-off of the movie "Rudy" - except he had talent.

In six years, Ansah has gone from not understanding the basic rules of football to being an NFL Pro Bowler. It's unlikely any athlete has had a longer road to success.

Michael/Martellus Bennett

The Quotable Bennett Brothers have been described by fellow NFL players as "crazy," "a little different," and "so similar it's ridiculous."

At times they've taken their brotherly rivalry public, as when Michael told ProFootballTalk he hated Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford because he's from Dallas.

"(H)e's from Dallas and Dallas, they killed the President," Bennett said. "It's where JFK, one of the greatest Presidents, died at, so I just have a little hatred towards him."

Martellus responded by calling his brother "an asshole."

Michael also has wise, though meandering, thoughts to share on politics and race.

"I'm a Star Wars guy," Michael told Sports Illustrated in December. "It's so funny: This is a make-believe world, but people are upset about the fact that (actor John Boyega, who plays a stormtrooper in the new movie) is black. People are racist, and they don't even know why they're racist; they're racist in a fake world!"

When Martellus created an animated short called "Zoovie: A Warm and Fuzzy Tail Tale," Michael was there to help with the script and offer advice.

Brandon Marshall

Arguably no one has done more to combat the stigma of mental health disorders in sports than Marshall.

Marshall's pro career got off to a rocky start: He was arrested for both domestic violence and DUI, and was involved in an incident in which his wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall, stabbed him during a domestic dispute, leading to Marshall being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Since that time, Marshall has worked tirelessly to educate the public about borderline personality disorder - with "Project Borderline" - and mental health issues in general. He's also remained an extremely productive receiver on three different teams and has had no legal issues. His story stands as a shining example of an athlete turning his life around after getting the help he needs.

Even more unconventionally, Marshall's the rare instance of a current NFL player who's holding down a successful media role. Marshall appears as a regular host of Showtime's "Inside The NFL," commenting on league storylines during the season, while catching passes for the New York Jets.