Every year, the end of the seventh round is also the beginning of the wildest part of the whole event. Teams, players, and agents rush to slap together deals often based on mutual fit, rather than only the whims of GMs. Going unpicked and choosing from a handful of teams can often serve a player better than being assigned a seventh-round deal — expendable anyway — with one team.
This list of 47 all-time great undrafted players shows why the UDFA scramble is one of the NFL Draft’s biggest moments
Every year, teams and fans hope to find a star like these in the undrafted pile.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
It’s one of the biggest and most popular parts of the draft for a reason. Most teams bring more UDFAs to offseason camps than they do drafted players. Some will make teams, and some will become legit stars. For players, it’s one last shot. For teams, it’s a chance to grab all the other guys on the board. For fans, it’s a wild LIGHTNING ROUND to wrap up the whole thing.
Since the NFL Draft began, 17 undrafted players have become Pro Football Hall of Famers.
- 1946 C Frank Gatski, signed by the Browns
- 1946 T/K Lou Groza, Browns
- 1946 FB Marion Motley, Browns
- 1946 DT Bill Willis, Browns
That’s a HELL of an undrafted class for Cleveland. There’s a technicality, because the Browns’ league didn’t use a draft, but still. At the time, the Browns were in the All-American Football Conference, which would fold and send three teams — Cleveland, the 49ers, and the Colts — to the NFL. Pretty obviously, the Browns dominated the AAFC. So for anyone wondering what pro football would look like if it had National Signing Day instead of a draft, here’s your answer: it’d be so weird, the Browns would be good at it.
- 1948 FB Joe Perry, 49ers (same AAFC situation)
- 1948 S Emlen Tunnell, Giants
- 1951 CB Jack Butler Steelers
- 1952 CB Dick “Night Train” Lane, Rams
- 1960 S Willie Wood, Packers
- 1962 C Mick Tingelhoff, Vikings
- 1963 CB Willie Brown, Oilers
- 1966 CB Emmitt Thomas, Chiefs
- 1967 G Larry Little, Chargers
- 1970 C Jim Langer, Browns
College DBs and interior linemen were impossible for pro scouts to evaluate until the ‘70s, apparently.
- 1984 QB Warren Moon, Oilers
- 1990 DT John Randle, Vikings
- 1994 QB Kurt Warner, Rams
Who was the best UDFA ever? Super Bowl MVP Warner tends to be the most popular pick, but I’d probably argue it’s Moon.
And plenty of other stars went undrafted, with a future Hall of Famer or two already on this list.
Signing undrafted players in the NFL is likewise like recruiting, so sure, America’s Team near the height of its America’s Team-iness was the best at it.
- 1974 DB Donnie Shell, Steelers, five Pro Bowls
- 1977 WR Herm Edwards, Eagles (The head coach, yeah ... Dan Reeves, Mike Tice, and Jim Zorn were other future head coaches who had solid NFL careers after going unpicked. We’ll count all of them as one entry here.)
- 1980 QB Dave Krieg, Seahawks, three Pro Bowls
- 1981 C Jay Hilgenberg, Bears, five-time All-Pro
- 1981 OT Joe Jacoby, Washington, four Pro Bowls
- 1981 LB Sam Mills, Saints, five Pro Bowls
- 1986 OL Nate Newton, Cowboys, six Pro Bowls
- 1987 LB Jessie Tuggle, Falcons, three-time All-Pro
- 1988 P Jeff Feagles, Patriots, two Pro Bowls
There’s our punter, so right around here, you could really have an awesome team of nothing but undrafted players.
- 1994 WR Rod Smith, Broncos, three Pro Bowls
- 1996 K Adam Vinatieri, Patriots, three-time All-Pro
- 1997 RB Priest Holmes, Chiefs, three-time All-Pro
- 1998 LB London Fletcher, Rams, four Pro Bowls
- 1999 C Jeff Saturday, Colts, six Pro Bowls
- 2000 OL Brian Waters, Chiefs, six Pro Bowls
- 2002 LB James Harrison, Steelers, five Pro Bowls
- 2002 LB Bart Scott, Ravens, Pro Bowl and viral yelling memes
The end of the draft, when everyone just does whatever they want? CAN’T WAIT.
- 2003 TE Antonio Gates, Chargers, eight Pro Bowls
- 2004 QB Tony Romo, Cowboys, four Pro Bowls
- 2004 WR Wes Welker, Patriots, five Pro Bowls
- 2004 OT Jason Peters, Eagles, nine Pro Bowls
- 2005 DE Cameron Wake, Giants, five Pro Bowls
- 2009 RB Arian Foster, Texans, four Pro Bowls and one pretty good rap album
- 2009 DL Michael Bennett, Seahawks, three Pro Bowls
- 2011 CB Chris Harris, Broncos, three Pro Bowls
That’s by no means exhaustive, but it’s a good glimpse at the impact these players can still have, despite falling out of the draft.
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