5 Best Undrafted Free Agents in NFL History
With the 2022 NFL Draft fast approaching, there is plenty of talk about who is going to go first-overall and which players will be selected by which team in the first-round of the draft.
Despite all this talk about the top prospects, there are more players who went undrafted than those who went first-overall in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some of the best players to ever grace the football field weren't deemed good enough to be selected in the draft by any team, but they did go on to find huge success in the league thereafter.
Perhaps, they played with extra large chips on their shoulders, as a way to prove to the GMs who didn't pick them that they were, in fact, good enough, and they would regret not drafting them.
Here are five of the best undrafted players to ever play in the NFL.
5 Best NFL Undrafted Free Agents Ever
#5 - Antonio Gates, Tight End
Antonio Gates will go down as one of the best tight ends to ever play in the NFL, as the veteran spent his entire 16-year career with the Chargers, both in San Diego and L.A.
Gates never played college football during his time at Kent State; instead, he opted to play basketball, but when he was told he was too much of a "tweener" to play in the NBA, he soon arranged a workout with NFL scouts, with as many as 19 teams reportedly interested in signing him.
The Chargers snapped him up as a UDFA, and Gates would make the pickup worth their while, racking up a long list of honors, including 3x FirstTeam All-Pros and 8x Pro Bowl selections. Gates was also selected for the league's All-Decade Team for the 2000s.
He retired in 2020, ending his career with the most touchdown catches by a tight end of all-time, with 116.
BREAKING: TE Antonio Gates has announced his retirement after 16 seasons, per his Twitter...
Career Stats:
• 236 Games
• 955 Receptions (17th all-time)
• 11,841 Receiving Yards (29th all-time)
• 116 TDs (7th all-time)
• 8x Pro Bowler
• 3x All-Pro
#Chargers https://t.co/Srxu37KLyJ
#4 - Dick "Night Train" Lane, Cornerback
Following a tough upbringing in which he was abandoned by his mother and father when he was three months old, Lane enlisted in the Army in 1948, and would serve for four years. During that time, he served in Monterey Bay, California, and after his service, as he passed the L.A. Rams' facility on the bus, Lane asked for a tryout.
The Rams converted him from his original position as a receiver into a cornerback, and Night Train excelled. He set a league record that still stands today during his rookie season in 1952, intercepting 14 passes in just 12 games.
Lane played for the Rams, Cardinals and Lions during his 14-year career, ending his time in the league with 7x First-Team All Pro selections and 7x Pro Bowl nods too. He would go on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well as being selected for the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.