Undrafted free agents 2013: Best available players

The Detroit Lions opted to keep a few players close to home, picking up two guys who went to college in Michigan on their list of undrafted free agents after the end of the 2013 NFL draft.

As of now, the Lions have signed 12 players to contracts and invited a 13th to a training camp. There’s a few positions where the squad brought in multiple positions in hopes of finding players who can bring additional depth - they added two wide receivers, Central Michigan’s Cody Wilson and Delaware State’s Travis Tarpley, two offensive tackles, LaAdrian Waddle of Texas Tech and Austin Holtz of Ball State, and two linebackers, Oklahoma State’s Alex Elkin and Albany’s Jon Morgan. Those were also positions where the team brought in talent during the draft, adding wide receiver Corey Fuller from Virginia Tech in the fifth round and linebacker Brandon Hepburn from Florida A&M in the sevent.

The Minnesota Vikings added 16 undrafted free agents, including several skill position players in the hours after the NFL Draft, but perhaps the most interesting players are linebackers Nathan Williams, Camden Wentz and Darius Eubanks as the Vikings look to fill a position of need.

The Vikings nabbed a lot of players from smaller schools -- tight end Colin Anderson and running back Jerodis Williams from Furman, offensive lineman Joe Bonadies from Penn, wide receiver Nicholas Edwards from Eastern Washington, defensive end Marquis Jackson from Portland State, running back Rayon Simmons from Winona State and Eubanks from Georgia Southern -- hoping for guys who might have slipped through the cracks.

Green Bay did not choose a quarterback or safety during the 2013 draft, but quickly made amends by signing signal-caller Matt Brown from Illinois State and his defensive back teammate Ben Ericksen. The Packers also signed former Ohio State tight end Jake Stoneburner as an undrafted free agent, adding depth to their tight end rotation.

Here is a look at the list of undrafted free agents currently signed by the team, courtesy of Acme Packing Company:

The Cincinnati Bengals added 11 undrafted free agents in the first few hours after the NFL Draft, including several that can contribute at skill positions and one who could push Mike Nugent to be the team’s starting kicker.

After a draft where the Bengals took two running backs (Rex Burkhead and Giovani Bernard), a wide receiver (Cobi Hamilton) and a tight end (Tyler Eifert), Cincinnati added more players at spots where they could contribute to an offense run by Andy Dalton. Michigan’s Roy Roundtree and Eastern Kentucky’s Tyrone Goard are wide receivers, Auburn’s Onterrio McCalebb is a running back, and although Troy Stoudermire is listed as a corner, he played wide out in college at Minnesota. McCalebb stands out - his unbelievable 4.34 40 was the second-fastest amongst all players at the combine - but he has to work on aspects of his game besides blazing straight line speed if he wants to hang in the NFL.

Otten missed out though, likely due in part to the fact that he played at San Jose State, a smaller program. But he was a big part of the San Jose State offense, with 47 receptions for 742 yards and four touchdowns with the Spartans last year. The year before, he had 739 yards and five touchdowns as a junior.

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Geathers played in twenty games over two seasons at Georgia, collecting 21 tackls and 1.5 tackles for loss. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman team in 2010, and figured to be a big part of the defense had he returned next season. His decision to enter the draft early didn’t do him any favors though, as he went undrafted.

Still, Geathers has found a team and fortunately, it’s likely a team that needs his services. The Chargers have been looking for help along the interior of the defensive line for a few seasons now, and Geathers is considered more NFL-ready than most undrafted free agents, primarily due to the lacking value in nose tackles in the draft.