Greatest NFL Undrafted Free Agent Ever Is Revealed
By Erik Lambert
Undrafted free agents are so important to the success of NFL franchises and history has proven that. The question is who is the greatest one of all-time.
There are so many good options. Hall of Fame options like Willie Brown, John Randle, Antonio Gates and Larry Little among others. All had the pretty much the same story. Overlooked for one reason or another: size, strength, speed, came from small school etc. etc. However, one story seems to stand out above them all. NFL.com expert Gil Brandt, a long-time scout and former front office executive believes that quarterback Kurt Warner is the best undrafted player ever.
"“In addition to being perhaps the greatest Cinderella story in NFL history, Warner is a two-time league MVP who has posted the three best single-game passing yardage totals in Super Bowl history.”"
To think that Warner wasn’t drafted in 1994, was out of football and stocking grocery shelves until he joined Arena Football in 1995, got a tryout with the Rams in 1998, played in NFL Europe, became a third-string back that same year and then emerged as an MVP in both the league and Super Bowl in 1999 remains one of the great fairy tales in professional sports, let alone football.
If that weren’t enough he also was the author of one of the great career comebacks ever, returning to stardom in 2008 to lead the lowly Arizona Cardinals to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance. When he retired he had 32,344 yards passing, 208 touchdowns, four Pro Bowls and two MVP trophies. Not to mention a ring.
Not bad for a quarterback from Northern Iowa that nobody wanted. Hopefully this is another reminder that no matter how hard teams try, great players always slip through the cracks.