Broncos' Wes Welker Breaks Record for Career Receptions by an Undrafted Player

Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker brought his career total to 854 receptions with his seven catches in Sunday's 41-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, breaking Rod Smith's previous record of 849 receptions by an undrafted player, per ESPN's Adam Caplan.

Making his second appearance of the season, Welker gained 58 yards from his seven catches in Sunday's rout, after tallying six receptions for 60 yards in his Week 3 season debut against the Seattle Seahawks.

Welker now ranks 23rd on the all-time receptions list, sitting two spots ahead of the 25th-place Smith, who played his entire 12-year career (1995 to 2006) with the Broncos.

Smith and Welker seemingly went undrafted for different reasons, though both were overlooked in spite of prolific college careers.

Smith was dominant at Division II Missouri Southern State University, but the level of competition created concerns about his ability to translate the production to the next level. He was also rather unpolished as a receiver by his own account, having entered college as a quarterback, per USA Today.

After going undrafted in 1994, Smith caught on with the Broncos in 1995, but he didn't emerge as a regular contributor until 1997, when he caught 70 passes for 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns. That '97 campaign marked the first of six straight 1,000-yard seasons, as Smith's ascendancy coincided with the franchise's first Super Bowl triumph.

Welker, on the other hand, didn't face concerns about the quality of his college competition, as he topped 1,000 receiving yards in both his junior and senior seasons while playing in the Big 12 at Texas Tech University.

However, as an undersized player in a prolific system, the 5'9" Welker was largely viewed as nothing more than a product of his team's offense. What many overlooked was Welker's phenomenal agility and short-burst quickness, as his eight punt return touchdowns in college couldn't be attributed to Texas Tech's system.

After going undrafted in 2004, Welker caught on with the San Diego Chargers, only to be released after one game. He was picked up by the Miami Dolphins and used strictly as a returner for the rest of the season.

Welker slowly worked his way up, catching 29 passes for the Dolphins in 2005, followed by 67 receptions in 2006. Still not fully appreciated, Welker was traded to the division-rival New England Patriots for second and seventh-round draft picks before the 2007 season.

The rest is history, as Welker went on to catch 672 balls in his six years with the Patriots, led by seasons of 123, 122 and 118 receptions in 2009, 2011 and 2012, respectively. He holds three of the top-10 spots on the all-time single-season receptions list, including Nos. 3 and 4.

While a good bet to get the 46 receptions he needs to reach 900 for his career, Welker does seem to be slowing down, and has suffered three concussion in the last calendar year. He's no sure thing to reach 1,000 career catches, a mark that only nine players have hit thus far.

 All stats courtesy of pro-football-reference.com unless noted otherwise.