5 Undrafted Rookies Pushing for Roster Spots at NFL Training Camp

Undrafted free agents may not generate the same type of hype who their rookie counterparts selected in the NFL draft receive, but these unheralded prospects can wind up making a tangible impact early in their careers.

Although the odds are against them—less than 10 percent of UDFA players survived cutdown-day between 2018-2024, well under the 52.6 percent roster make rate of a seventh rounder and vastly below the 90-plus percent roster rate of Day 1 and 2 picks—a handful of undrafted rookies will still defy expectations and play a role on Sundays.

With that in mind, here is a look at five undrafted rookies who have been showing out at training camp and put themselves in position to play meaningful football during the 2026 NFL season.

OT Kahlil Benson, Kansas City Chiefs

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The Kansas City Chiefs' decision to bring in undrafted offensive tackle Khalil Benson barely registered when they signed him after rookie minicamp, but now looks to be one of the franchise's best moves of the entire offseason.

Despite starting for a national championship-winning Indiana program last year, Benson wasn't invited to the scouting combine nor selected with any of the 257 picks in the 2026 draft. While he clearly has the size at 6'6", 319 pounds and athleticism to be an NFL-caliber right tackle, scouts were deterred by the lack of polish and consistency in his craft.

Benson is quickly making front offices around the league regret passing him over multiple times. He's not only jumped out as a lock to make the final roster, but a potential Week 1 starter at right tackle due to his consistent presence with the first team during practice.

Teammates and coaches have taken notice of Benson's rapid rise.

"I think Kahlil is doing a great job. I think he's a very physical player. I think he should just add on to that," left tackle Josh Simmons said via KQTV's Brett Kennedy. "I think you can't really teach effort. I mean, that's what he's giving out there, so that's really all I'm telling him right now is keep doing that effort.

Prized free-agent pickup Kenneth Walker III noted that Benson continued playing well after reaching the pads-on portion of training camp:

Head coach Andy Reid indicated that both Benson and incumbent starting right tackle Jaylon Moore will be needed in 2026.

"I think you let them compete and see where it goes," Reid said. "Both of them can play. We've just got a young guy that we haven't seen too much, but he has some talent. Let's see where that goes. And Moore keeps battling. He's had a couple of good days, too. We'll need all of them."

Reid's words have all but confirmed that Benson is a lock to make the final roster. Given his training camp performances, it wouldn't be a stretch to see him starting at right tackle when the Chiefs open their season next month.

LB Khalil Jacobs, New England Patriots

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The New England Patriots may have found a diamond in the rough with Khalil Jacobs. The linebacker fell out of the draft largely due to a poor showing at Missouri's Pro Day but is now proving his doubters wrong with a tremendous training camp.

It shouldn't come as a huge shock that Jacobs is excelling after a promising final season at Missouri. He finished the 2025 campaign with 47 tackles (five for a loss), three sacks and a pair of pass defenses in 13 games. The linebacker is adamant that his poor 40-yard dash time—a 4.77-second effort—doesn't impact his ability to play the game.

"We play football. We're not track runners," Jacobs said (per Boston.com's Conor Ryan). "I have tremendous game speed, so I don't allow 40 times and things like that to determine the kind of player I am."

Head coach Mike Vrabel echoed that sentiment, praising the linebacker's ability to get to his spots quickly:

"To his credit, he plays a lot faster than whatever his 40 was," Vrabel said. I don't even know what it was, but he has a play speed about him, and sometimes he knows where he's going, and sometimes he doesn't, but he still kind of goes pretty quick wherever he decides to go."

Vrabel has rewarded Jacob's instincts and ability to attack the football by moving him ahead of veteran K.J. Britt on the depth chart. The rookie has made a fast rise from the bottom of the pack to the second-team defense, a feat made more impressive given the depth of New England's linebacking corps.

As long as he can avoid a slump over the final weeks of camp, Jacobs should lock down a backup role alongside Chad Muma behind starters Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss.

WR Will Pauling, San Francisco 49ers

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With Ricky Pearsall out for the season and Mike Evans, Jacob Cowing, De'Zhaun Stribling all missing practice at various points, the door is wide open for undrafted rookie Will Pauling to state his case to make the San Francisco 49ers' final roster.

While Pauling won't nudge Evans, Stribling or recent addition Deebo Samuel out of a job, there are still at least three WR roster spots up for grabs. Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Watkins are heavy favorites to fill two of those roles, leaving Pauling to battle against a banged-up Cowing—who already missed all of 2025 with a hamstring issue— for what could be the sixth and final WR spot.

Pauling is undersized for the position—measuring up at just 5'9", 183 pounds during Notre Dame's Pro Day—but packs plenty of strength and athleticism onto his diminutive frame. His 4.37-second 40-yard dash time and 10' 8" broad jump both would placed inside the top-10 at the combine had he earned an invite.

His collegiate production was a touch spotty as well, with his best season coming as a sophomore in 2023 when he recorded 837 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 74 catches for Wisconsin. He only caught 26 balls for 381 yards during his lone Fighting Irish season in 2025, but did lead the program with six receiving touchdowns.

Pauling doesn't profile as a high-volume wideout in the NFL, but he's been doing the dirty work in training camp and turning heads for his efforts on both offense and special teams. If he continues to impress the coaches, he'll have a chance to contribute immediately as a return man and special teamer while working his way up the pecking order on offense.

49ers receivers coach Leonard Hankerson was raving about Pauling's contributions throughout the summer, per NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco:

"He's tough, man. I love Will. That kid comes in, he works. He stayed here the whole offseason. He's the hammer in the running game. Right now, he's been the most physical receiver, I'll tell you that much."

Hankerson noted that Pauling still must refine his technique but complemented the wideout's speed and playmaking abilities in addition to his hard-nosed blocking. Should he continue along this trajectory, the Niners will have little choice but to part ways with Cowing and add Pauling as their sixth wideout and top returner.

CB Collin Wright, Houston Texans

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The Houston Texans boast one of the league's top defenses with many returning starters from last year, but even they might have to make room for an undrafted free agent who has had a stellar start to training camp. Collin Wright's ascension has been too rapid to ignore, with the rookie corner making the strongest of cases to survive cutdown day.

Wright is standing out alongside the litany of Pro Bowlers the Texans have in their secondary. Key players like Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter and Jalen Pitre aren't in danger of losing their jobs, but the competition for depth behind these entrenched starters will be intense following Wright's rise.

Wright brings plenty of experience to the table, having played significant snaps during the last three seasons at Stanford. During that time the corner recorded 139 tackles (8.5 for a loss), 14 pass defenses and five interceptions.

The coaching staff and teammates alike have been raving about Wright's contributions since he arrived in the building.

Defensive coordinator Matt Burke spoke about the corner's day-to-day consistency while Stingley pointed out how his new teammate continues to make big plays:

Wright, a Houston native, has done enough to warrant a spot on his hometown team's final roster. Pencil him in as the CB4 if he doesn't fall off a cliff over the final few weeks of camp.

LB Taurean York, Denver Broncos

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The Denver Broncos may be loaded with talent on defense, but it's still possible that undrafted free agent Taurean York finds his way onto the final 53-man roster this year.

York is a talented prospect who went undrafted largely due to concerns about his size. The linebacker only stands a modest 5'10", 226 pounds, but helps make up for his smaller stature with leadership, intensity, energy and urgency. His compact frame gives him good balance and a strong base while his high football IQ and diagnosing abilities lead him to make plays on the ball.

While there will be issues taking on the bigger blockers he'll regularly face at the NFL level, York has shown enough during his tenure at Texas A&M and in training camp to warrant serious consideration for a backup linebacker and special teams job.

York's been one of the most intriguing UDFA's in Denver's camp, "making plays all over the field" according to SI.com's Chad Jensen. He's not going to challenge starters Alex Singleton or Justin Strnad for their jobs, but the Aggies product is right in the mix with Karene Reid, Levelle Bailey, Jordan Turner and seventh-round rookie Red Murdock for a depth role.

One area that York has an edge is in is leadership, with both Jensen and the Denver Post's Luca Evans making it a point to state that the 21-year-old has jumped out as the third-team defense's vocal commander early in camp.

Murdock spoke at length to Evans about the iron-sharpens-iron mentality that the Broncos linebackers are bringing to practice each day.

"Anybody going through the motions, it's going to be so evident on tape, the way we play football here in Denver. You can't be slacking at all. Every rep is very intentional, from physical intensity to mental."

If York continues to show out within this deep linebacking corps, he'll sneak onto Denver's roster with a chance to be far more than a special teamer down the line.