Diamonds In The Rough

 

by

jjflr

March, 2008

 

Jeff Garcia, Antonio Gates, Willie Parker, Shelton Quarles, Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Adewale Ogunleye, Adam Vinatieri, Jeff Saturday, and Brian Waters.

What do all of these players have in common?

Yes, they’re all pro-bowl players, but they’re all related in another way.  These men are also a sampling of some of the current NFL stars that were never drafted. 

With the ever-growing importance placed on the annual draft, it’s hard to believe so many players were not worthy of just one out of the hundreds of draft choices made each year.  However, scouting college football players is an imperfect science.  The NFL has expanded this science over the years in the attempt to perfect it.  The process has expanded so greatly that this 2-month period between the Super Bowl and the draft is now almost a separate ‘season’ unto itself.

 

Undrafted FA is currently considering

retirement but sits towards the top of

Many NFL receiving record lists

NFL scouts, player personnel, and coaches are the brightest minds in the game, so why do they seem to ‘miss’ on so many talents, either not drafting them at all, or wasting a draft pick on a player that never takes the field?

There are many answers to this question but the human variables involved in each player of desire, brains, in-game decision-making, growth potential and toughness are difficult to measure and play a big part in the consistent ‘misses’ year in and year out.

How does an undrafted free agent get a shot with a team?  Immediately after the draft ends, NFL organizations get on the phone with the agents of the undrafted free agents and offer them contracts.  There are usually no signing bonuses.  They are paid the rookie league minimum.  But they get a chance to participate in mini-camps and training camp in the hopes of making the team, and, for them, it’s the chance of a lifetime. 

Priest Holmes, RB

Never drafted and now retired, he set many

NFL rushing records during his

Years as a starter with the Chiefs

Teams typically sign 20-30 of these undrafted free agents in the timeframe between the draft and mini-camps.  Usually, only a couple of them make the team, and they often end up on the practice squad.  However, occasionally, a team finds the ‘diamond in the rough’ that adapts to the pro game better than most or develops faster than most, basically in some fashion that takes him to stardom in the biggest sport in the U.S. 

Those stories are the ones that make me love this game.  Who will be the ‘diamonds in the rough’ after this draft?