The vast majority of the best players from this year’s draft cycle were taken in the actual NFL Draft. But don’t sleep on the undrafted free agents.
The NFL is littered with great players who went undrafted. Consider this: An undrafted rookie made the New England Patriots‘ initial 53-man roster every season from 2004 through 2022. That’s an extreme example, but the fact remains that UDFAs shouldn’t be ignored.
By now, most of the post-draft UDFA signings have already happened. But which teams made the most of the NFL UDFA signing period, and which came up short?
NFL UDFA Winners
Note: We’re focusing on undrafted players who signed actual contracts, not players who just were invited to rookie minicamps. You can click here to view our NFL UDFA tracker, which includes all signings and minicamp invites.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
SIGNINGS
- Zack Annexstad, QB, Illinois State
- DJ Williams, RB, Arizona
- Xavier Delgado, G, Missouri
- Avery Jones, C, Auburn
- Jack Freeman, C, Houston
- Daniel Grzesiak, EDGE, Cincinnati
- Judge Culpepper, DT, Toledo
- Antonio Grier, LB, Arkansas
- Kalen DeLoach, LB, FSU
- Chris McDonald, CB, Toledo
- Tyrek Funderburk, CB, Appalachian State
- Marcus Banks, DB, Mississippi State
- Rashad Wisdom, S, UTSA
The Bucs won on two fronts: quantity and quality. They signed a bunch of players and invited a slew of others to minicamp. DeLoach, Funderburk, and Banks are the most notable signings, as they ranked 227, 284, and 338, respectively, on Ian Cummings’ big board.
These teams made the best (and worst) signings after the 2024 #NFLDraft. 👀
✍️: @DakRandall pic.twitter.com/NazcrxZar1
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) May 2, 2024
No matter how you slice it, this is a great UDFA haul for Tampa.
Denver Broncos
SIGNINGS
- Blake Watson, RB, Memphis
- Lincoln Victor, WR, Washington State
- Dylan Leonard, TE, Georgia Tech
- Thomas Yassmin, TE, Utah
- Frank Crum, OT, Wyoming
- Jaylon Allen, DL, Memphis
- Brandon Matterson, DT, UTSA
- Jordan Miller, DT, SMU
- Alec Mock, LB, Air Force
- Levelle Bailey, LB, Fresno State
- Quinton Newsome, CB, Nebraska
- Cam Allen, DB, Purdue
- Omar Brown, S, Nebraska
- Nik Constantinou, P, Texas A&M
We could say the same things about the Broncos that we said about the Bucs — and we will. Denver took a ton of UDFA swings, and don’t be surprised if a few work out.
Watson is particularly intriguing, as he ranked 136th on our big board. But Newsome and Allen, though unranked on the board, are also notable. If they show well in training camp, they could earn spots on a rebuilding Broncos defense.
Baltimore Ravens
SIGNINGS
- Tayvion Robinson, WR, Kentucky
- Dayton Wade, WR, Ole Miss
- DeAngelo Hardy, WR, NC Central
- Isaiah Washington, WR, Rutgers
- Ty James, WR, Mercer
- Corey Bullock, OL, Maryland
- Darrian Dalcourt, OL, Alabama
- Joe Evans, EDGE, Iowa
- Ja’Mion Franklin, DL, Duke
- Tramel Walthour, DL, Georgia
- Yvandy Rigby, LB, Temple
- Beau Brade, S, Maryland
- Randen Plattner, LS, Kansas State
Now this is an interesting group. The standout is Brade, who ranked 61st on our big board. Teams likely tanked him for his disappointing 40-yard dash time (4.65 seconds), but he might be versatile and talented enough to overcome his lack of high-end speed.
As for Wade and Robinson, you can never take enough chances on receivers, right?
NFL UDFA Losers
Dallas Cowboys
SIGNINGS
- Nathaniel Peat, RB, Missouri
- Cam Johnson, WR, Northwestern
- Corey Crooms Jr., WR, Minnesota
- Alec Holler, TE, UCF
- Brevyn Spann-Ford, TE, Minnesota
- Byron Vaughns, EDGE, Baylor
- Denzel Daxon, DT, Illinois
- Brock Mogensen, LB, South Dakota
- Jason Johnson, LB, UCF
- Josh DeBerry, DB, Texas A&M
- Emany Johnson, S, Nevada
- Julius Wood, S, ECU
The Cowboys signed an intriguing player in Johnson, who ranked 220th on our big board. In Peat, they finally landed a running back after inexplicably neglecting the position during the draft. Otherwise, this is an underwhelming group for a team that’s put together an underwhelming offseason.
Arizona Cardinals
SIGNINGS
- Xavier Weaver, WR, Colorado
- Myles Murphy, DT, North Carolina
- Joe Shimko, LS, NC State
The Cardinals land in this section due to signing just three players. Why not take a few extra swings?
That said, Weaver (282nd on our big board) is worth keeping an eye on this summer, even though Marvin Harrison Jr. understandably will generate all of the headlines at receiver.
Atlanta Falcons
SIGNINGS
- John Paddock, QB, Illinois
- Isaiah Wooden, WR, Southern Utah
- JaQuae Jackson, WR, Rutgers
- Austin Stogner, TE, Oklahoma
- Nolan Potter, OT, Northern Illinois
- Ryan Coll, OL, Richmond
- Jayden Price, CB, North Dakota State
- Trey Vaval, CB, Minnesota State
- Anthony Sao, CB, Nazarene
- Ryan Sanborn, P, Texas
There’s nearly nothing exciting about this group. Coll could turn heads for a team that needs more depth on the offensive line, but that’s about it. None of the Falcons’ UDFA signings were on our big board.