The All-Time Best NFL Undrafted Free-Agent Team

Now that the draft has come and gone, the attention focuses to undrafted college free agents. Some have already signed: Kellen Moore joining the Lions, Vontaze Burfict joining the Bengals, etc...

Those, and any of the other free-agent pickups this week, may prove to be historic and among the greatest steals in NFL history. If so, they'd join this list. 

Every position has seen its share of great NFL stars come sans the NFL draft, but some more so than others. Which player or players are the very top? 

Check out this list to find out. 

Offensive Tackle: Lou Groza

College: Ohio State

Signed: 1946

Highlights: Hall of Fame, nine-time Pro Bowler

Although his well-known nickname, "The Toe," stemmed from his kicking prowess, Groza was a standout tackle of the early years of Browns dynasty. 

After serving in World War II, he wasn't drafted but signed with Cleveland, where his former coach at Ohio State, Paul Brown, was the new head coach. 

Brown and Otto Graham may have been bigger names on those late 1940s, early 1950s championship teams, but after those two natural standouts (i.e. quarterback and head coach), Groza was the next biggest star. Today that would be unusual; 60 years ago, it was almost unheard of.

He was and remains such a popular and cherished figure that the franchise's practice facility is located on Lou Groza Boulevard. You wouldn't expect that to be the case of an undrafted free agent. 

Offensive Tackle: Jason Peters

College: Arkansas 

Signed: 2004

Highlights: four-time All-Pro

It's almost baffling that Peters wasn't drafted coming out of Arkansas, where he played on a relatively high-profile SEC team that featured standout quarterback Matt Jones. He also had an excellent combine, running a sub-5.0 40-yard dash.

Nevertheless, he signed with the Bills, and after being cut then re-signed, he assumed a starter's role in 2005 and turned himself into a perennial Pro Bowler. 

He was traded to Philadelphia in 2009 and again proved his value, resuming his place as an All-Pro three of his four seasons with the Eagles. In 2012, we'll see just how valuable he is while he most likely misses the entire season with an Achilles injury. 

Guard: Nate Newton

College: Florida A&M

Signed: 1983

Highlights: six-time Pro Bowler, three-time Super Bowl champion

Despite his post-NFL headlines (drug arrests), Newton's play on the field should be his greatest legacy.

Undrafted out of college, he signed with the Redskins in 1983 but was cut in training camp and then spent two years in the USFL. When the USFL began to dissolve, he joined the Cowboys and in the Jimmy Johnson era became the anchor of one of the greatest offensive lines ever assembled.

Sure, they had Erik Williams, Mark Tuinei and later Larry Allen. But Newton was the most reliable figure of the bunch: Between 1988 and 1996, he missed just four starts.

Offensive lineman have a way of being overlooked on draft day: It's easier to make a great guard than to find one. Newton was one of many (Brian Waters, Kris Dielman, Stephen Neal, for example) to prove that. 

Guard: Larry Little

College: Bethune-Cookman 

Signed: 1967

Highlights: Hall of Fame, five-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl champion

Like Newton, Little was the undrafted and often-unheralded piece of one of the NFL's greatest offensive lines. That three-headed backfield of Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris along with the Bob Griese, Paul Warfield, that No-Name defense, even their head coach Don Shula, received more headlines, but Little powered that Dolphins dynasty. 

And like Newton he almost never missed a snap, playing in 125 of 126 possible games.

Few guards in NFL history were as powerful and quick on the edge as Little. 

Center: Jim Otto

College: Miami (FL)

Signed: 1960

Highlights: Hall of Fame, nine-time All-Pro

Undrafted guards and tackles have a nice history of becoming great players, but center has a richer one.

Frequent pro bowlers Jeff Saturday, Jim Langer, Mick Tingelhoff and Shaun O'Hara are just a few. 

But none had quite the resumé of Jim Otto, who never missed a game in his 15-year Hall of Fame career.

He was widely considered too small to play at the professional level, and that was one of the reasons he was passed over on draft day. But Otto turned himself into a complete offensive lineman, becoming equally adept at protecting Tom Flores, Daryle Lamonica, George Blanda and Ken Stabler in the Raiders' vertical passing attack as well as excelling in the running game, which was one of the best in the NFL during the early 1970s. 

Wide Receiver: Wes Welker

College: Texas Tech

Signed: 2004

Highlights: four-time All-Pro, three-time NFL receptions champion

Every team covets big, tall, thick wide receivers like Calvin Johnson or Vincent Jackson. But GMs and head coaches will certainly spend a high draft choice on a smaller wide out if he exhibits tremendous speed. So it's understandable that the 5'9" Welker would be (literally) overlooked: He didn't exactly wow anyone at the combine with a 4.65 in the 40.

But after toiling in San Diego and Miami, he joined forces with Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2007 and has helped put together one of the most prolific passing attacks in NFL history.

Three times he has led the NFL in receptions, and after just five seasons he's nearing second place on the franchise's all-time receiving yardage list.

Welker is proof that sometimes it's impossible to measure a player's value at a pro day or the NFL combine and that it can be a mistake to assume that just because a player comes from a quirky, pass-happy offense in college, like the one Welker played in at Texas Tech, that his game won't translate to the NFL. 

Wide Receiver: Wayne Chrebet

College: Hofstra

Signed: 1995

Highlights: 580 receptions, 7,365 yards receiving, 41 TDs

Another undersized receiver without blazing numbers in the 40, Chrebet became one of the NFL's most reliable third-down receiving options and something of a cult hero. He was the human embodiment of the word "scrappy."

Despite tremendous numbers in college no one, wanted to take a chance on him, no one except the Jets. His signing may well have been the only good thing to take place during the Rich Kotite era. 

But the best thing about Chrebet, even more so than his numbers or image as a hard worker (some type of blend between Rudy and Vince Papale) was this: At times, the Jets saw better production (and less headaches) from their undrafted, undersized wide receiver from unheralded Hofstra than their first-overall selection from USC, Keyshawn Johnson. 

Tight End: Antonio Gates

College: Kent State

Signed: 2003

Highlights: eight-time Pro Bowler

A no-brainer here.

Gates was a monster to try to defend, especially in the red zone, largely because of his skills as a college basketball player. His dominance had and still has GMs and head coaches scouring basketball courts all over the country looking for post-up power forwards who they think can transition to the NFL. 

Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson probably drew more attention from the media and fans, but Gates drew more attention from defensive coordinators, and as a result he opened up the entire Charger offense, which soon became one of the best in the NFL. 

Running Back: Priest Holmes

College: Texas

Signed: 1997

Highlights: 2001 NFL rushing champion, three-time All Pro

There have been several fine undrafted running backs in the history of the NFL: all the way from Marion Motley back in the mid-1940s up until today, when the Texans' Arian Foster is arguably the best in the game. 

But I'll take Holmes over them all, and here's why.

There was a four-year period, between 2001 and 2004, when Holmes averaged over 100 yards rushing per game. Few backs in NFL history have been able to achieve that type of consistency, and none who were passed on throughout the entire draft. 

And on a side note, the craziest element of Holmes' undrafted status is this: He didn't play at an unknown program or one that rarely produced NFL talent. He played at Texas, a program known for a rich history of good, if not great, running backs. 

Fullback: Vonta Leach

College: East Carolina

Signed: 2004

Highlights: two-time All-Pro

Excellent fullbacks are often found after Mr. Irrelevant has been crowned. Take the Giants' Henry Hynoski, the Steelers' Dan Kreider, or Mike Tolbert, who is expected to play fullback in Carolina. Leach is another prime example.

No one selected him in the 2004 draft, but after a stint in Green Bay, he took over as the fullback in Gary Kubiak's zone scheme and helped produce a 1,200-yard season out of Steve Slaton and a NFL rushing crown out of Arian Foster, another undrafted superstar-in-the-making.

Leach left Houston for Baltimore in 2011, but he kept up his great lead blocking, opening huge holes for Ray Rice (1,364 yards rushing) and the Ravens' fine rushing attack. 

Quarterback: Kurt Warner

College: Northern Iowa

Signed: 1994

Highlights: two-time NFL MVP, one-time Super Bowl champion, one-time Super Bowl MVP

Perhaps the patron saint of undrafted players, Warner is Hall of Fame bound after a remarkable career...well, really two remarkable (albeit short-lived) careers combined into one.

After failing to make it in Green Bay, taking a gig bagging groceries, then succeeding in stints in the Arena League and NFL Europe, Warner became a two-time MVP and Super Bowl MVP with the Rams. From there things bottomed out until a resurgence in Arizona where he nearly led the Cardinals to their first-ever Super Bowl crown. 

Destined for the Hall of Fame, Warner was overlooked at every stop of the way, including the 1994 draft, where nine quarterbacks, including Jim Miller, Steve Matthews, Doug Nussmeier and Perry Klein went ahead of him.

It's worth noting that Warren Moon is a very, very close second to Warner on this list. He too put up gaudy numbers and is already enshrined in Canton. But because Warner led his team to a world title (and nearly did so two other times) he edges out Moon, who never even made it to his conference's title game. Quarterback success is measured in championships. 

Defensive End: Adewale Ogunleye

College: Indiana

Signed: 2000

Highlights: one-time Pro Bowler

Who knows how high Ogunleye might have been selected had he not suffered a knee injury during his senior year at Indiana? He very well might have been a No. 1 pick. Had they been sure of his health, a handful of teams would have loved to draft the somewhat lanky 6'6" pass rusher, but knee injuries have a way of making prospects persona non grata.

Ultimately the Dolphins took a low-level risk signing him right after the 2000 draft (the same one that saw fellow defensive end and Big Ten alum Courtney Brown go first overall), and after a year on injured reserve he returned to the field. 

And he didn't disappoint, twice producing double-digit sacks and becoming an unsung hero on several top-notch defenses, most notably the 2006 NFC Champion Bears. 

Defensive End: Coy Bacon

College: Jackson State

Signed: 1968

Highlights: three-time Pro Bowler

Learning from the most famous defensive line in NFL history (the Rams' Fearsome Foursome) certainly helped Bacon overcome any perceived shortcomings after playing his ball at a small school. 

Bacon soaked up everything he could from Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen and Lamar Lundy and then finally got a chance to become a starter after Jones left for San Diego and Lundy retired.

But he enjoyed his best seasons in Cincinnati a few years later, where he went to consecutive Pro Bowls in 1976 and 1977 and terrorized opposing passers. Some unofficial counts have him recording as many as 26 sacks one season. 

Defensive Tackle: John Randle

College: Texas A&M-Kingsville

Signed: 1990

Highlights: Hall of Fame, six-time All-Pro

I'm not entirely sure what Randle's greatest achievement is.

Was it making the Hall of Fame as an undrafted player? Making the Hall of Fame as a product of a tiny school? Making the Hall of Fame as a relatively short (6'1") defensive lineman? Or making the Hall of Famer as an exceptional pass rusher despite the fact that he was an interior defensive lineman? 

All those obstacles add up to one of the most incredible and unforeseeable careers in NFL history. 

Defensive Tackle: Pat Williams

College: Texas A&M

Signed: 1997

Highlights: three-time Pro Bowler

An entirely different type of defensive tackle than the Minnesota Viking who preceded him on this list, Williams became one of the NFL's premier run-stuffers.

Despite not being a starter, he instantly made an impact on those Bills playoff teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s, then became one of the defense's stalwarts before leaving for Minnesota in 2004. 

There he raised his game to a new level, becoming a perennial Pro Bowler and a key reason why the Vikings routinely had the NFL's top-rated run defense. 

Linebacker: James Harrison

College: Kent State

Signed: 2004

Highlights: NFL Defensive Player of the Year, two-time Super Bowl champion

Given how dominant he has been as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme, it's mind boggling that Harrison was cut by the Ravens...and the Steelers, who he later rejoined and became a true superstar.

His lack of height (only 6'0") does lend some understanding as to why so many teams passed on him during the 2002 draft and again after the Steelers cut him in 2003 and the Ravens the next summer. But if you watch Harrison play, that limited size actually works to his advantage. He can get so low to the ground that offensive tackles have a terrible time trying to defend him because they get off balance.

That reason, coupled with his remarkable success (most notably his incomparable 2008 season when he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and scored one of the most memorable touchdowns in Super Bowl history) might make GMs rethink taking a pass rusher's height into account on draft day. 

Linebacker: Sam Mills

College: Montclair State

Signed: 1986

Highlights: five-time Pro Bowler

Speaking of undersized linebackers...

The 5'9" Mills wasn't a pass rusher like Harrison; he was an inside linebacker, one of the best of his era. 

The anchor and "quarterback" of the famed Dome Patrol unit in New Orleans, Mills racked up tackles at a ridiculous clip. 

More importantly than his pure stats, however, was the fact that he was so versatile. He played the run as well as anyone, was a capable pass rusher (especially later in his career with Carolina) and was excellent in zone coverage. 

Linebacker: London Fletcher

College: John Carroll

Signed: 1998

Highlights: two-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl XXXIV champion

It was a tough call trying to choose this last linebacker spot. Both London Fletcher and the Falcons' Jessie Tuggle are deserving of the spot. But since Fletcher won a Super Bowl, racked up more sacks, more interceptions and still hasn't missed a game in his 14-year career, he gets the nod. 

Just as short and seemingly "undersized" as the other two linebackers on this list (shouldn't that tell you something about judging a linebacker book by its cover?), the 5'9" Fletcher has been one of the most consistent defensive players of his era. 

No one made more tackles in the previous decade than Fletcher, and he will someday be enshrined in Canton, something no one expected when the Division III player was passed up in the 1998 draft.

Safety: Donnie Shell

College: South Carolina State

Signed: 1974

Highlights: five-time Pro Bowler, four-time Super Bowl champion

Shell was overlooked on draft day and despite winning four Super Bowls and being a frequent Pro Bowler, he remains overlooked today, largely because of the team he played on.

When you play in a defense that features four Hall of Famers (Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount) as well as dominant pass rushers in L.C. Greenwood and Ernie Holmes, that's bound to happen.

But "The Torpedo" certainly made his mark. His 51 career interceptions are third on the franchise's all-time list, and after Blount, Greene, Lambert, Ham and most of the other Steel Curtain's superstars retired, Shell remained with the club into the late 1980s, where he helped tutor another future Hall of Famer, Rod Woodson. 

Safety: Emlen Tunnell

College: Iowa

Signed: 1948

Highlights: Hall of Fame, eight-time All-Pro, two-time NFL Champion

In the 1940s and 1950s, NFL passing attacks weren't nearly as sophisticated or refined as they are today so interceptions were probably a bit easier to come by, but that shouldn't devalue the great career of this Giants safety.

Tunnell, who somehow slipped through the draft cracks despite playing at a Big Ten program and having very good size (6'1"), nabbed 79 interceptions in his career, the second most in NFL history.

He made an instant impact for New York, recording 17 picks and three defensive scores in his first two seasons. After that, Tunnell helped usher in the Giants' pseudo-dynasty of the late 1950s, early 1960s, by grabbing no fewer than six interceptions each of the next eight Pro Bowl seasons. 

Cornerback: Dick "Night Train" Lane

College: Scottsbluff Junior College

Signed: 1952

Highlights: Hall of Fame, six-time All-Pro

Although Emlen Tunnell was an instant threat to NFL quarterbacks, Dick "Night Train" Lane came to frustrate opposing passers at an even greater clip.

The junior college product joined the Rams in 1952 and snagged an NFL record 14 interceptions (two of which he returned for touchdowns) in his very first season—since the NFL schedule was only 12 games, that was better than one pick per game.

During the next four seasons he would add 26 more (that's 40 picks in 59 games if you're keeping score) but while his interceptions made headlines, it was his hard hitting that made him one of the most intimidating defensive backs of his era. 

In short, both quarterbacks and wide receivers were afraid to test Night Train Lane. 

Cornerback: Willie Brown

College: Grambling State

Signed: 1963

Highlights: five-time All-AFL, four-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl XI champion

One of the most underrated players in NFL history, Brown joined the AFL in 1963 but was cut by the Houston Oilers that summer. The Broncos picked up the big corner, but despite a Pro Bowl season in 1964, he could do little to turn around the fledgling Denver team, who traded him to Oakland in 1967. 

With the Raiders, Brown became the lynchpin of a defense that had all the pieces along the front seven but needed a cornerback to slow down great opposing passing attacks like Joe Namath's Jets, Len Dawson's Chiefs, and later Terry Bradshaw's Steelers. 

Brown provided that much-needed deep coverage security blanket, and as a result the Raiders routinely had one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. That fact was no more evident than in Super Bowl XI, when the Raiders clobbered the Vikings and Brown returned a Fran Tarkenton interception 75 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. 

Kicker: Adam Vinatieri

College: South Dakota State

Signed: 1996

Highlights: four-time Super Bowl champion, two-time All-Pro

Teams can spend first-round picks on kickers like Sebastian Janikowski or Russell Erxleben, but just as many fine kickers come out of the undrafted free-agency crop. And there is no better example of that than Vinatieri, who could very well become the second kicker enshrined in Canton.

It's hard enough for a college kicker to get drafted (Janikowski, Erxleben and the Gramáticas are the exception, not the norm) but even more so when they play at the Division II level. So it's not hard to understand why Vinatieri was passed up in the 1996 draft.

But credit Bill Parcells and his staff for finding Vinatieri, who instantly won the job and by the end of his rookie season was kicking in the Superdome in the Super Bowl. Five years later, he would return to the Big Easy and kick one of the most famous field goals in NFL history, the game-winner against St. Louis that sparked the Pats dynasty and earned Vinatieri the first of an remarkable four Super Bowl rings in a six-year span. 

Punter: Sean Landeta

College: Towson

Signed: 1983

Highlights: six-time All-Pro

Everything just stated about kickers (i.e. a great one can just as easily be found after the draft as compared to during the draft) is also true about punters. For every Ray Guy or Bryan Anger, the Jaguars third round pick last week, there is a player like Sean Landeta.

The stocky Division II product won a pair of Super Bowls with the Giants and played seemingly forever, from 1985 to 2006.

Even if being a punter isn't very taxing on the body, just the fact that he could remain sharp enough to edge out punters literally half his age makes his career one of the greatest ever and one of the most unlikely considering five (Jim Arnold, Reggie Roby, Mike Black, Bucky Scribner, Ralph Giacomarro) were selected ahead of him in the 1983 draft.