Every NFL team is scouring the incoming prospect pool in the later rounds looking for the next Tom Brady or, more recently, Brock Purdy. Once the picking is over and all 259 selections have been turned in, another acquisition frenzy is already underway.
Undrafted Free Agents (UDFA) are as bountiful in quantity as they are enigmatic in quality. Most UDFA players are given a very modest signing bonus and an invitation to training camp. Nothing more is promised. A few camp standouts will be fortunate to latch on to the practice squad or, rarely, earn a spot on the final 53-man roster. The vast majority are sent into the breeze with little to no shred of football future on their horizon.
My attendance and participation at this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas gave me a close-up view into the wide gamut of prospects with visions of NFL employment. From first-round pick Zay Flowers to other UDFA who have yet to sign with a team, the football players I met with had eyes on the same dream.
Dynasty fantasy football managers have a lot to sift through in the draft aftermath. Those of us in leagues with deep rosters are already digging for the next Austin Ekeler or Kurt Warner. That player is unlikely to be among this year’s crop, but it’s still certainly possible to find some fantasy relevance among those who did not have their name called. Here are the prospects I feel have the combination of talent and situation to make some noise in camp and position themselves to see the field.
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Dynasty Rookie Sleepers: UDFAs
Xazavian Valladay – RB, Houston Texans
It was wildly puzzling that Xazavian Valladay was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. He was a standout at Wyoming before transferring to Arizona State to play under Herm Edwards. Despite languishing on a three-win program that saw Herm fired while leaving the football field, Valladay compiled nearly 1,500 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns in 2022. He was the leading rusher at the Shrine Bowl, showcasing his quickness, vision and contact balance.
Despite weighing in a smidge under the almighty 200-pound RB threshold, Valladay is far from a slight, wiry back. He has shown strong receiving skills and is a willing pass protector. Age and mileage seem to be the only factors in being overlooked in Kansas City.
The Houston Texans made Valladay a priority free agent signing post-draft, a smart choice since they did nothing to bolster the RB position behind Dameon Pierce during the draft. Former Buffalo Bills RB Devin Singletary is a smaller, slower version of Valladay with poor receiving metrics to boot. Other than those two, only journeymen Mike Boone and Dare Ogunbowale stand in his way of a roster spot.
Keaton Mitchell – RB, Baltimore Ravens
This guy is a special athlete. The knock on East Carolina’s Keaton Mitchell is simple: size. At 5-foot-8 and 179 pounds, Mitchell lacks the power or pass protection chops to duplicate his immense collegiate success at the next level. On the other hand, Mitchell can really fly. He ran a blistering 4.37 in the 40, with a ridiculous 1.48-second 10-yard split. Mitchell also showed good explosion in the jumping drills.
The Baltimore Ravens are incredibly thin at RB heading into 2023 and did not draft a RB. Their familiar trio of JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill are the only backs on the roster at the moment. All three have extensive injury history, along with a lack of angle-busting speed and acceleration. Baltimore might sign a veteran free agent to give themselves some breathing room, but Mitchell’s path to a roster spot in new OC Todd Monken’s offense is currently wide open.
Jalen Moreno-Cropper – WR, Dallas Cowboys
I couldn’t help but smile when I read that my Dallas Cowboys were signing Fresno State’s Jalen Moreno-Cropper to a free agent deal. I talked to Jalen for a good while at the Shrine Bowl and his talent far surpasses his smaller frame. He was insanely productive catching passes from Jake Haener at Fresno State, where he decided to attend to stay close to home. He was a highly sought four-star recruit and was unstoppable in the Mountain West Conference in his career.
I figured Moreno-Cropper would be a shoo-in Day 3 pick, sharing that sentiment with many other analysts. The Cowboys only spent one pick on WR during the draft when they selected Jalen Brooks from South Carolina in the seventh round. I much prefer Moreno-Cropper to earn a roster spot over Brooks, especially when there is a void in the slot position when CeeDee Lamb is split out wide.
Mohamed Ibrahim – RB, Detroit Lions
A much more severe case of age and mileage has afflicted Mohamed Ibrahim from Minnesota. The Golden Gopher was widely considered one of the top RB prospects before tearing his Achilles in his 2021 season opener. The 5-foot-8 wrecking ball returned in 2022 in a remarkable case of grit and passion. Ibrahim toted the rock 320 times last season and compiled 1,665 rushing yards and tied for most in FBS with 20 rushing touchdowns in 12 games. Still, his name was not called during the draft.
The Detroit Lions sent multiple shockwaves through the NFL with two wild RB decisions. First, they selected speedy back Jahmyr Gibbs at 12th overall, earning a deserved wave of jeers from the positional value crowd. Then, they sent the incredibly talented (but sorely underutilized) D’Andre Swift to the Eagles for a ham sandwich and quart of motor oil.
Gibbs joins former Chicago Bear David Montgomery as a likely 50-50 platoon, but there is a precipitous cliff that drops off behind them on the depth chart. Ibrahim is infinitely better than Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson and should have a great chance to usurp them for the RB3 spot on the team.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton – WR, New York Giants
The New York Giants have no shortage of bodies in their WR room. Unfortunately, all of them except for Darius Slayton are much better-suited in the slot and lack the size or route-running prowess to win on the outside consistently. They addressed WR in the third round of the Draft by taking speed merchant Jalin Hyatt from Tennessee. Hyatt is a straight-line burner with almost no history of getting open through any method besides scheme. He was also nearly exclusively deployed off the line of scrimmage in college.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton was a stunning free fall, from a fourth-round grade and projection from Lance Zierlein to UDFA landing in a sea of slot guys. BFW is a 6-foot-4, 221-pound freak athlete. He registered the highest relative athletic score (RAS) in the entire 2023 WR class at 9.97/10. He possesses a knack for jump balls and vertical routes that the Giants haven’t had since they acquired Kenny Golladay with those hopes. I think there’s a very real possibility that a couple circus catches in camp will have Brian Daboll salivating with memories of a young Gabe Davis from his time in Buffalo.
Sean Tucker – RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sean Tucker was incredible at Syracuse. Unfortunately, his draft stock has evaporated after medical exams revealed a heart issue that could affect his playing career. He was also unable to attend the combine or Syracuse pro day to showcase his elite speed and burst. Sadly, Tucker is probably this year’s version of Chiefs WR Justyn Ross.
In the case that Tucker is given a clean bill of health, the Buccaneers have found a steal. Leonard Fournette is gone, leaving Rachaad White and Chase Edmonds to share the backfield. Ke’Shawn Vaughn is also still here, along with Patrick Laird. The Bucs still did not draft a RB, leaving a wide runway for a veteran free agent to land in Tampa for depth. If they get encouraging news on Tucker, they might just leave it at that. He has a great deal more talent and upside than most of the Day 3 and UDFA RBs when he is right.
Other noteworthy UDFA
- Joseph Ngata – WR, Philadelphia Eagles
- Jake Bobo – WR, Seattle Seahawks
- Rakim Jarrett – WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Kearis Jackson – WR, Tennessee Titans
- Joel Wilson – TE, New Orleans Saints
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