Ranking the NFL’s Top Undrafted Free Agents for 2024

The 2024 NFL Draft is over and the always chaotic period of undrafted free agents is all but officially over (see where all the prospects ended up, here.) What this means is that it’s time to establish rankings of undrafted free agents. By now, everyone knows that a handful of UDFAs end up making a name for themselves.

Let’s rank this year’s UDFA class by talent, and of course also by situation, which for these players is absolutely critical.

7. TE Brevyn Spann-Ford (Cowboys)

Spann-Ford continues to be one of the most fascinating and enigmatic newcomers in the NFL. The five-year tight end from Minnesota can be found on some mock drafts way too soon after last year’s draft due to his size, athleticism on the field and growing stats heading into his final season with the Gophers.

In 2022, the 6-foot-6, 260-pound tight end with long arms and 10-inch hands caught 42 passes for nearly 500 yards in Minnesota’s run-heavy offense. Additionally, he forced five missed tackles, dropped just three passes and had a solid 41.7% win rate.

Then the wheels fell off in 2023. Nine falls. Only three missed tackles and 25 total catches. What happened? I can not tell you. He also didn’t run as fast as expected at the combine (4.77 out of 40). But he’s a three-down, wideout, experienced tight end who was once considered a likely early-round pick. He has room to make noise in the Cowboys tight end room.

6. WR Dayton Wade (Ravens)

You know who Wade looks a lot like: Zay Flowers. OK, so he’s not as elusive after capture. In fact, it was a strange weakness in his draft profile at Ole Miss. However, like Flowers, Wade proved he could win on the outside when needed, but had the suddenness and sustained burst down the stretch to really thrive in the slot.

There is also juice on the ground, and there are two levels of evidence to support this claim. He averaged 15.1 yards per catch in 2023 — without much flash after the catch — and he ran 4.45 with a 37.5-inch vertical at the Ole Miss Pro Day. Of course, I don’t expect him to be close to knocking Flowers down. But maybe make the team the main Flowers insurance policy? I could imagine that happening.

5. S/CB Omar Brown (Broncos)

Brown is a baseball player. His film was so clean to Nebraska, especially in terms of coverage, that I really have no idea why he went undrafted. He hasn’t allowed a touchdown in his coverage zone since his first collegiate season (at Northern Iowa) in 2019, but this season has coincided with five interceptions.

At his pro day, he was over 6-foot-0 and 200 pounds with a 4.56 time in the 40, a 35-inch vertical, a 10-foot wide and a 6.97 three-cone. Brown has the athleticism to be a starter for the safety spot in the NFL. Now, he’ll probably miss more tackles than his position coach would like, but let me tell you, as someone who has watched about 30 safeties in this draft class, I felt like they were ALL tackling at a high rate.

Presumably without Justin Simmons in 2024, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Brown carved out a spot in Denver’s defense in 2024. Oh, and he also has the athleticism needed to get into the slot. This will help his cause as he tries to make this list.

4. RB Frank Gore Jr. (Bills)

Frank Gore didn’t get to play with his son in the NFL for just four years, which is mind-blowing. And Gore was one of Buffalo’s primary backs along with Josh Allen in 2019. Insane.

Regardless, the longtime NFL veteran’s son lacks his father’s height and lower half. But he’s a very talented and elusive runner, but he doesn’t have NFL-caliber speed for the running back position. He ran 4.69 at the Southern Miss Pro Day at just under 5-foot-8, 198 pounds. I wouldn’t call Gore “small” because he’s two pounds away from being incredibly compact, which is generally a positive for pro running backs.

And at Southern Miss, he was a nightmare to lock in, no matter which way the race was going. On 757 career carries there, he forced 233 missed tackles, which equates to a forced missed tackle rate of 30.7%. Is it high? For context, the comparably sized Blake Corum, who went in the third round, had a career missed forced tackle rate of 22.6% on 676 attempts at Michigan.

The mileage on Gore’s legs is concerning, but he was a super steady, sudden back with positive vision and surprising contact balance for four seasons in college. The Bills clearly and rightly like Ray Davis’ size and Ty Johnson flashed down the stretch and in the playoffs last year, but Gore has enough natural talent for Buffalo’s decision-makers to seriously consider him in 2024.

3. DT Pheldarius Payne (Texans)

You can’t miss Payne the second you watch film for two reasons: he’s one of the smallest defensive tackles and he’s athletically loaded like an oversized linebacker. That first step is serious and led to six sacks and 23 total pressures on just 162 pass completions at Virginia Tech in 2023.

And at his pro day – a hair over 6-2 and 286 pounds – Payne ran a 4.86 for 40 and a ridiculous 1.65 for 10 yards. He is the epitome of the single-gap indenter. The Texans added a lot of high-profile plays this offseason. But defensive tackle is probably one of the weakest positions on the team, and general manager Nick Caserio didn’t pick one in the draft. Don’t be surprised when Payne makes a name for himself early in camp and in the preseason, which should lead to some reps with the first-team defense.

2. CB Chigozie Anusiem (commanders)

I have a theory about cornerbacks and why I feel like there are more UDFAs on active rosters at that position than any other in the NFL – there’s such a small margin in In terms of size and characteristics of all professional cornerbacks, it’s easy for those who are close. talent to their contemporaries who are recruited to slip through the cracks.

This is the case for Anusiem this year. Sure, he’s an older prospect. But who wasn’t in this class? At the Colorado State Pro Day, the veteran corner measured 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds with 32 1/4-inch arms. Ran 4.40 with a 37.5-inch vertical, 10-4 width and a 7.06 time in the three-cone drill. He absolutely checks all the physical boxes that teams want out of the cornerback position.

Now, maybe his ball production wasn’t spectacular — just 18 assists and one pick in his five-year college career — so he might not be the most natural in coverage. But those traits speak for themselves, and Washington isn’t loaded at the cornerback position heading into this new era in franchise history.

1. EDGE Gabriel Murphy (Vikings)

The Vikings know what they are doing in the undrafted free agent market. Without a doubt. Ivan Pace. Do you remember him ? Yeah. Not chosen. Then he became a do-it-all linebacker for Minnesota last season, not even going 6-0.

Murphy may be the pacesetter of the 2023 UDFA class for the Vikings, and the similarities between the two are striking. The lack of prototypical size and length was likely why Murphy went undrafted – Pace knows how that feels – but, like Pace, Murphy was incredibly productive in college and, indeed, where they differ, Murphy is tested as a top athlete for his respective field. position. He ran 4.68 in the 40 with a vertical of 39.5 inches and a width of 10-3. While the 4.68 time isn’t spectacular, the vertical and broad are both above the 80th percentile at the peak point.

Finally, in 2023 with the Bruins, the slippery, manual wizard recorded 61 pressures on just 355 passing snaps (17.1% pressure creation rate). He knows how to exceed his length limitations and, frankly, he’s not incredibly small at over 6-2 and 247 pounds. Yes, Minnesota traded for the highly decorated and athletic Dallas Turner at 17th overall. And they signed Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard in free agency. BUT, if any defensive coordinator knows how to deploy him, it’s Brian Flores.