Top 10 Un-drafted Players in NFL History
by Jim Weber
HOFMAG.com Exclusive
Each year, some un-drafted free agent becomes a star in the NFL. In 2004, tight end Antonio Gates caught 13 touchdowns passes and had NFL teams scrambling to sign former college basketball players. In 2005, Willie Parker – a backup at North Carolina – became Pittsburgh's featured back and scored on the longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history. And last year, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo set the league on fire before bobbling away a playoff game against Seattle. But with 12 un-drafted players currently in the Hall of Fame, where do these "needles in a haystack" rank against the greatest finds of all time? With the NFL Draft set for Saturday, take a look back at the Top 10 Un-drafted Players in NFL History:
10. Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa)
If this list were compiled six years ago, Warner would have been near the top. But Warner's fall from grace was almost as unpredictable as his rise to stardom. Signed by the Packers as an un-drafted free agent in 1994, he was cut before the season started and began his legendary journey to the NFL by playing in the Arena League and NFL Europe. In his first year as a starter in 1999, Warner was named league MVP and Super Bowl MVP. After another Pro Bowl season in 2000, Warner led the Rams back to the Super Bowl in 2001 and won his second MVP along the way – after passing for a ridiculous 4,830 yards, second only to Dan Marino's 1984 season. Since then it's been mostly downhill, however Kurt Warner remains one of the great Cinderella stories in NFL history.
9. Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman)
Signed as a rookie free agent in 1967 by the Chargers, Little had two very uneventful seasons in San Diego before he was traded to the Dolphins, which Chargers coach Sid Gillman infamously called a "nothing-for-nothing" deal. In 1970, new Dolphins coach Don Shula ordered Little to drop 20 pounds and from then on, the big man was off and running. As the team's right guard, Little paved the way for the 1972 undefeated Dolphins, who rushed for a league-record 2,960 yards. A 10-time captain and five-time Pro Bowl selection, Little was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
8. Warren Moon (Washington)
Despite leading Washington to a win in the 1978 Rose Bowl, Moon went un-drafted because he was unwilling to switch to another position in the NFL. As a result, Moon went north to the CFL, where he won five consecutive Grey Cups. Only then were the Houston Oilers willing to give him a shot, signing the quarterback in 1984. A beneficiary of the run-and-shoot offense in Houston, Moon went on to pass for a formidable 49,325 yards, fourth best in NFL history. He was also named to nine Pro Bowls during the course of his 17-year career. As a result, last year Moon became the first African-American quarterback inducted into the Hall of Fame.
7. Willie Wood (USC)
Wood starred at quarterback while at USC but, unlike Moon, he was willing to switch positions to make it in the NFL. In fact, Wood started a letter-writing campaign to beg NFL teams for a chance. The only person who responded was Vince Lombardi. Extremely undersized for a safety at just 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, Wood started packing on the pounds and became a starter by his second season. With Ray Nitschke pummeling people as the team's middle linebacker, Wood was the star of the secondary as the Packers racked up five NFL championships. An eight-time Pro Bowler with 48 career interceptions, Wood was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1989.
6. Adam Vinatieri (South Dakota State)
Many people would find it blasphemous to put a kicker on any Top 10 list, but Vinatieri breaks all the rules. After spending a season with the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League (now NFL Europe), Vinatieri signed with the Patriots in the summer of 1996. Always an extremely reliable kicker, Vinatieri became a legend in the Boston-area in the 2002 playoffs when his 45-yard field goal in the snow forced overtime against the Raiders. Weeks later, he booted a 48-yarder to win Super Bowl XXXVI as time expired. Two years later, he was at it again, hitting the game-winning field goal in the Super Bowl to beat Carolina. Most recently, Vinatieri connected on 14 of 15 field goals in the 2007 playoffs en route to his fourth Super Bowl ring. Not only is Vinatieri considered the most clutch kicker in NFL history, he is now mentioned among the likes of Joe Montana and Michael Jordan as the coolest athlete under pressure ever.
5. Emlen Tunnell (Iowa)
Tunnell's story reads like a movie. At one point spending time in the Coast Guard, Tunnell paid his way to New York in 1948 and asked the Giants for a tryout. He finished his career with 79 career interceptions, second in NFL history only to Paul Krause. Known as New York's "offense on defense," the show had just started once Tunnell picked the ball off; he finished his career with nearly 1,300 interception return yards. With another 2,217 yards gained returning punts, Tunnell was always a threat to score. A member of two championships teams, Tunnell was selected to nine Pro Bowls and became the first African-American enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
4. Antonio Gates (Kent State)
After just four seasons in the NFL, Gates is on pace to destroy the record books. Take into consideration that Shannon Sharpe is the all-time leading tight end in touchdowns. During his 14-year career, Sharpe scored 62 times. Gates already has a whopping 34 touchdowns. A basketball player at Kent State who led the Golden Flashes to the 2002 Elite Eight, Gates' rise to stardom has been well chronicled, signing with the Chargers in 2003 even though he hadn't played football since his senior year in high school. Already named to three Pro Bowls, the sky is the limit for Gates and the San Diego offense also featuring the greatest running back in the game, LaDainian Tomlinson.
3. Marion Motley (Nevada)
Motley entered the league as a 26-year-old rookie in 1946 after playing football for Paul Brown at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station during World War II. A bruising 232-pound fullback for Cleveland, Motley was a man amongst boys. In the late 1960s, Paul Zimmerman – better known as Sports Illustrated's "Dr. Z" – even wrote Motley was the best player he had ever seen. His first two seasons, he even started at linebacker for the Browns. Averaging 5.7 yards per carry, Motley finished his career with 4,720 rushing yards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968.
2. Willie Brown (Grambling)
After being used exclusively as a tight end and defensive end under Eddie Robinson, Brown was initially signed – then cut – by the Houston Oilers. After establishing himself with the Denver Broncos, this Hall of Famer was traded to the Raiders in 1967, where he became a member of the most feared secondary in NFL history. Along with George Atkinson, Skip "Dr. Death" Thomas and Jack "The Assassin" Tatum, they took it as a personal insult when teams passed over the middle. Brown was a lockdown corner that went to four Pro Bowls and collected 54 career interceptions. He is best remembered for his 75-yard interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XI, as the Raiders crushed Minnesota, 32-14.
1. Dick "Night Train" Lane (Scottsbluff Junior College)
No discussion about the roughest player in NFL history is complete without mentioning "Night Train" Lane. After four years in the Army, Lane was just looking for a job when he walked into the offices of the Los Angeles Rams and asked for a tryout. Just months later, he set an NFL record with 14 interceptions in just 12 games – a mark that still stands today. Lane left a huge black and blue mark on the game as his signature move, the "Night Train Necktie," forced the league to outlaw tackling players around the head. He also went to seven Pro Bowls and intercepted 68 passes in his Hall of Fame career, with his best years coming as a member of the Detroit Lions. How many people can say that? And who had a better nickname?
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