RocCityRoller Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 So the draft is in the books. I wish all the new drafted Bills well, whether I, or we liked the picks or not. Why is UDFA Important? Well you can find some amazing players there. In the week leading up to the draft I tried to put together an all UDFA team from 2010 to 2015. I figured the guys in that range were close enough to be known by most fans, but be near the end of their careers. Some UDFA from 2010-2015 that made a difference: OL: LT - Alejandro Villenueva C - David Andrews OG - Andrew Norwell OG - Austin Howard OT - La'el Collins OG - Quinton Spain OG - Ronald Leary OT - Mike Remmers C/G - Trey Hopkins RB: RB - LeGarrette Blount RB - Chris Ivory RB - CJ Anderson RB - Isaiah Crowell RB - Brandon Bolden TE: TE - Jack Doyle TE - Cameron Brate TE - Trey Burton TE - Jeff Cumberland WR: WR - Adam Thielen WR - Victor Cruz WR - Doug Baldwin WR - Cole Beasley WR - Allen Hurns WR - Tyrell Williams WR - Taylor Gabriel WR - Adam Humphreys WR - Willie Snead WR - Albert Wilson DL: DT - Big Snacks Harrison DT - Denico Autry DE - Mario Addison DT - Abry Jones LB: LB - Vontaze Burfict LB - Shaquil Barrett LB - Nick Bellore LB - Paul Warrilow LB - Junior Gallette DB: CB - Chris Harris Jr (potential HOF) CB - Sam Shields CB - AJ Bouye CB - Malcolm Butler CB - Quentin Dunbar CB - Nickell Robey-Coleman S - Darian Stewart S - Tashaun Gipson S - Michael Thomas S - Barry Church S - Adrian Phillips S - Brynden Trawic ST: K - Justin Tucker K - Jason Myers K - Dan Bailey K - Chris Boswell P - Johnny Hekker LS - too many Pro Bowl LS to note QB: QB - Case Keenum QB - Taylor Heinicke QB - Kellen Moore What UDFA do you want to join Buffalo? 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benderbender Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Case Keenum!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somnus00 Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Thank you for putting so much work into this. An impressive list, to be sure. Illustrates how scouting is such an inexact science. You just can't quantify the psychological aspect of a prospect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocCityRoller Posted April 30, 2022 Author Share Posted April 30, 2022 13 minutes ago, somnus00 said: Thank you for putting so much work into this. An impressive list, to be sure. Illustrates how scouting is such an inexact science. You just can't quantify the psychological aspect of a prospect. It was a labor of love. I plan on doing more. I think we don't realize how many UDFA are really good players in the league. I have found QB/ C/ DE/ TE/ LT/ RG are the hardest positions to fill in UDFA CB/ LG/ RT/ WR have great potential 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Quint Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 There's already a thread for this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKBillFan Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 4 minutes ago, Captain_Quint said: There's already a thread for this: This was posted an hour ago, you started that thread 15 minutes ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rochesterfan Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 29 minutes ago, somnus00 said: Thank you for putting so much work into this. An impressive list, to be sure. Illustrates how scouting is such an inexact science. You just can't quantify the psychological aspect of a prospect. 12 minutes ago, RocCityRoller said: It was a labor of love. I plan on doing more. I think we don't realize how many UDFA are really good players in the league. I have found QB/ C/ DE/ TE/ LT/ RG are the hardest positions to fill in UDFA CB/ LG/ RT/ WR have great potential Although very true - UDFAs also make up a huge number of roster players. Most teams sign between 10-15 UDFA a year - so there are between 300-400 UDFAs every year - compared to 32-50 in each round. There are some excellent UDFAs that have made it through, but % wise it is minuscule and has minor impact on teams each year. Important- especially for training camp bodies - but very minor. They do become underdog stories that we love though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocCityRoller Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said: Although very true - UDFAs also make up a huge number of roster players. Most teams sign between 10-15 UDFA a year - so there are between 300-400 UDFAs every year - compared to 32-50 in each round. There are some excellent UDFAs that have made it through, but % wise it is minuscule and has minor impact on teams each year. Important- especially for training camp bodies - but very minor. They do become underdog stories that we love though. So it was one of those bored late night thoughts. Could I build a competitive team with only UDFA for a 5-6 year span? How much value do UDFA actually provide? 2010-2015 seemed like a good place to start since those guys played in the modern era, and had the best stats. I am old enough to remember the days of the NFL draft going 14 or 15 rounds. I found out a team made up of 2010-2015 draft UDFA could be competitive and fight for a playoff position for the 2015-2018 seasons. There were multiple Pro-Bowlers, AP and PFW AP selectons, NFL Rookie selections and PFF selections. A bunch of guys who started for Super Bowl winning teams. QB was a mess as expected. C/ LT/ DE was also tough, but we got lucky in those positions in these years. WR/ CB/ LG/ RT ended up having very good talent. Better than expected. It showed me UDFA is still important and real Pro Bowlers/ All Pros/ SB starters can be found in UDFA in the modern era Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rochesterfan Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 4 minutes ago, RocCityRoller said: So it was one of those bored late night thoughts. Could I build a competitive team with only UDFA for a 5-6 year span? How much value do UDFA actually provide? 2010-2015 seemed like a good place to start since those guys played in the modern era, and had the best stats. I am old enough to remember the days of the NFL draft going 14 or 15 rounds. I found out a team made up of 2010-2015 draft UDFA could be competitive and fight for a playoff position for the 2015-2018 seasons. There were multiple Pro-Bowlers, AP and PFW AP selectons, NFL Rookie selections and PFF selections. A bunch of guys who started for Super Bowl winning teams. QB was a mess as expected. C/ LT/ DE was also tough, but we got lucky in those positions in these years. WR/ CB/ LG/ RT ended up having very good talent. Better than expected. It showed me UDFA is still important and real Pro Bowlers/ All Pros/ SB starters can be found in UDFA in the modern era Oh I don’t discount that you can find talent at most positions - especially now with a 7 round draft - there are Hundreds of guys that used to be drafted, but aren’t now. The trick is you can field a competitive team of UDFAs over 5 years to compete, but that requires finding 30-40 players out of 2000 UDFA. So a little over 1% become good enough to field a competitive team. Across the league there are very good players from the UDFA ranks and I love the exercise - it just needs to be remembered that the actual % of impact players (even starter level) is tiny. Sorry - do not mean to sound like I am crapping on the exercise because I like the thought - it just drives me crazy when people go insane over missing out on signing a guy that isn’t making any roster, but is a camp body only. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBob2232 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 And Jason Peters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 10 minutes ago, JimBob2232 said: And Jason Peters. Who is an UNRESTRICTED free agent who played and played well for $2M last season. Just sayin' Beane. Could use someone who could actually play some LT if Dawkins goes down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocCityRoller Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 33 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said: Oh I don’t discount that you can find talent at most positions - especially now with a 7 round draft - there are Hundreds of guys that used to be drafted, but aren’t now. The trick is you can field a competitive team of UDFAs over 5 years to compete, but that requires finding 30-40 players out of 2000 UDFA. So a little over 1% become good enough to field a competitive team. Across the league there are very good players from the UDFA ranks and I love the exercise - it just needs to be remembered that the actual % of impact players (even starter level) is tiny. Sorry - do not mean to sound like I am crapping on the exercise because I like the thought - it just drives me crazy when people go insane over missing out on signing a guy that isn’t making any roster, but is a camp body only. 100% agree. I just wanted to point out some of the top talent that drops out of the 7 round draft. 1/2 of the DBs in Denver's 'no fly zone' defense were UDFA. I did not know that! They won a Super Bowl. I had to make tough choices at RB/ RT/ LG/ WR and CB. That seems so odd given those are supposed to be higher draft picks (OT/ CB/ WR at least) It also shows with good management the league could expand 1 team, maybe 2. QB is the real issue. My 2010-2015 UDFA team is pretty solid. This is without any benefit of a draft or FA. I should buy a Madden game circa 2018-2020 and build my UDFA team and try to win with it for ***** and giggles. 26 minutes ago, JimBob2232 said: And Jason Peters. Before this exercise but he and Pat Williams would be cornerstones of an earlier team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 2 hours ago, RocCityRoller said: So the draft is in the books. I wish all the new drafted Bills well, whether I, or we liked the picks or not. Why is UDFA Important? Well you can find some amazing players there. In the week leading up to the draft I tried to put together an all UDFA team from 2010 to 2015. I figured the guys in that range were close enough to be known by most fans, but be near the end of their careers. Some UDFA from 2010-2015 that made a difference: OL: LT - Alejandro Villenueva C - David Andrews OG - Andrew Norwell OG - Austin Howard OT - La'el Collins OG - Quinton Spain OG - Ronald Leary OT - Mike Remmers C/G - Trey Hopkins RB: RB - LeGarrette Blount RB - Chris Ivory RB - CJ Anderson RB - Isaiah Crowell RB - Brandon Bolden TE: TE - Jack Doyle TE - Cameron Brate TE - Trey Burton TE - Jeff Cumberland WR: WR - Adam Thielen WR - Victor Cruz WR - Doug Baldwin WR - Cole Beasley WR - Allen Hurns WR - Tyrell Williams WR - Taylor Gabriel WR - Adam Humphreys WR - Willie Snead WR - Albert Wilson DL: DT - Big Snacks Harrison DT - Denico Autry DE - Mario Addison DT - Abry Jones LB: LB - Vontaze Burfict LB - Shaquil Barrett LB - Nick Bellore LB - Paul Warrilow LB - Junior Gallette DB: CB - Chris Harris Jr (potential HOF) CB - Sam Shields CB - AJ Bouye CB - Malcolm Butler CB - Quentin Dunbar CB - Nickell Robey-Coleman S - Darian Stewart S - Tashaun Gipson S - Michael Thomas S - Barry Church S - Adrian Phillips S - Brynden Trawic ST: K - Justin Tucker K - Jason Myers K - Dan Bailey K - Chris Boswell P - Johnny Hekker LS - too many Pro Bowl LS to note QB: QB - Case Keenum QB - Taylor Heinicke QB - Kellen Moore What UDFA do you want to join Buffalo? Can't believe you left Levi Wallace off the list. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocCityRoller Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 5 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said: Can't believe you left Levi Wallace off the list. Levi Wallace was a UDFA in 2018. This team is UDFA 2010-2015. I liked that range because most of those guys careers are 'in the books' so to speak, but most members would know them. I'll probably go back to do 1990-1995, 1995-2000, 2000-2005, 2005-2010 etc. If I do a 2015-2020 UDFA team he will probably be a lock as CB2 on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocCityRoller Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 1 hour ago, UKBillFan said: This was posted an hour ago, you started that thread 15 minutes ago? The thread you noted is current 2022 undrafted players. Since we are in draft mode, there will be the expected melt downs on this board. My thread shows guys who were undrafted and went on to be excellent NFL players from the 2010 to 2015 drafts. This thread is a hypothetical exercise looking at a snapshot of UDFA's from 2010-2015 that could be assembled together to make a competitive team. aka could someone put together a team of undrafted players over a 5-6 yr span and make a legitimate team? The answer is yes. A team of 2010-2015 UDFA would probably be a .500 team or better from 2015-2018. QB is the main issue. Most other positions are well filled. (QB/ C/ LT/ DE) were the hardest to fill. Just a fun hypothetical exercise for a 33rd team, like one in London, if they were limited to UDFAs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 37 minutes ago, RocCityRoller said: Levi Wallace was a UDFA in 2018. This team is UDFA 2010-2015. I liked that range because most of those guys careers are 'in the books' so to speak, but most members would know them. I'll probably go back to do 1990-1995, 1995-2000, 2000-2005, 2005-2010 etc. If I do a 2015-2020 UDFA team he will probably be a lock as CB2 on it. I even re read your post, to see if there was some criteria that made Wallace ineligible, missed the year range part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.