Long shot quarterbacks who rewrote the script
The current NFL draft involves seven rounds. Undrafted players who later sign with teams are called ‘undrafted free agents’ or UDFAs. Only one undrafted free agent QB, Kurt Warner, has played in multiple Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The paucity of UDFA QBs in Canton does not mean that success as a pro QB hinges on being drafted in the first seven rounds of an NFL draft, nor does beginning an NFL career as a third-team QB preclude rookies from ever starting and being successful.
Consider these former elite QBs and how they began their careers. All would have been UDFAs per today’s 7-round NFL draft.
- Roger Staubach, tenth round, SB 6 winner & MVP, HOF
- Bart Starr, sixteenth round, SB 1 & 2 winner & twice MVP, HOF
- Warren Moon, UDFA, HOF
- Johnny Unitas, ninth round, SB 5 winner & MVP, HOF
- Tony Romo, UDFA & former Cowboys starting QB
- Kurt Warner, UDFA, SB 34 winner & MVP, HOF
Admittedly, the above success stories are rare concerning UDFA QBs or those drafted long after the seventh round. The key point is they all began their brilliant careers low on depth charts and all except Staubach were considered long shots to both make their teams or ever ‘make a difference.’
Clearly, the above QBs did much more than ‘make a difference.’ They led their teams to countless wins and proved themselves to be among the best ever of their profession. However, Tom Brady wrote the most stunning ‘rags to riches’ story of all backup QBs.
After being drafted with the 199th pick in 2000, Brady began his rookie regular season as the fourth QB on the Patriots depth chart. Today, playing in his 20th NFL season, Brady has taken his team to nine Super Bowls and won six of them.
Might Josh Dobbs, Mason Rudolph, or Devlin Hodges lead a team to Super Bowl wins and a legacy of success? If one does, we sure hope it’s with the Steelers and not through first being cut, like Kurt Warner and Johnny Unitas, and later leading a rival to glory.