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The Second Draft
by Sam Monson
3/5/2008
 No sooner has Mr Irrelevant had his name called out at Radio City Music Hall (sooner in fact if you caught the TV cameras showing Danny Woodhead on the phone before the final pick was made), then a second draft begins. This one isn’t half as organised and structured as the one before it. Teams are no longer waiting patiently for their slot, or working the phones to trade up or down, positioning themselves perfectly to take their guy all hell breaks loose, all hands on deck, man the phones! This really is no holds barred, first come, first served.
Approximately 3,000 players were draft eligible in 2008, yet with only 252 picks in the NFL Draft, which leaves a smorgasbord of potential NFL talent sitting by their phone waiting for an invite to training camp, just looking for that chance to show what they can do. All of the guys who were projected in the mid rounds, yet never heard their name called, suddenly find themselves the subject of frantic bidding wars, with the previously dormant cell-phone suddenly ringing incessantly.
You’d better believe NFL teams are well aware of that too. Within 24 hours, over 200 more players had agreed to terms with NFL teams, and will be appearing to a rookie minicamp near you (If you happen to actually be near one, obviously). That’s nearly an entire extra draft within 24 hours of the end of the last one. Make no mistake; this is a potential goldmine for teams who can best take advantage of it.
But hey, they went undrafted; they’re clearly bums, right? Well, not always. There are diamonds in the rough. Pat Williams, one of the best DTs in the league, was undrafted in 1998, as was Jeff Saturday, the Colts’ Pro-Bowl centre. Tony Romo? Antonio Gates? Willie Parker? Jason Peters? Get the idea? There are serious NFL players to be had after the draft is over, guys who nobody saw coming until they were allowed to give it a shot in camp.
Some teams go nuts the Miami Dolphins have already signed 17 undrafted free agents. The Vikings have signed 16. The Cleveland Browns, who traded away half of their draft for established players more than made up with it on the undrafted free agent market, agreeing to terms with 30 players!
By contrast, other teams cherry pick the guys they want. They’re either taking careful aim at a few people they really like or they’re just too slow on the speed dial… The Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos only signed 7 players each. Sure, most of these guys will wind up strictly as training camp fodder, bodies to serve a purpose and run the drills. But some of the several hundred guys that have been signed after the draft are going to stick on active rosters. A few of them are likely to wind up making major contributions to their team, and one or two may end up being stars.
Here we take a look at the top 20 players that remained after the 2008 NFL Draft, and give you a rundown of where they landed!
 1. Erin Henderson LB Maryland
– Signed by the Minnesota Vikings, teaming up with his big brother EJ Henderson
2. Wesley Woodyard LB/S Kentucky
– Signed with the Denver Broncos
3. Anthony Alridge RB/WR Houston
– Also signed with the Denver Broncos
4. Paul Smith QB Tulsa
– Signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Ali Highsmith LB LSU
– Signed with the Arizona Cardinals
6. Maurice Purify WR Nebraska
– Unsigned after the first week
7. Darrell Robertson DE Georgia Tech
– Signed by the Dallas Cowboys
8. Andrew Crummey G Maryland
– Signed by the San Diego Chargers
9. Sam Keller QB Nebraska
– Attending Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp as an unsigned free agent
10. Marcus Griffin S Texas
– Signed by the Minnesota Vikings
11. Tommy Blake DE TCU
– Attending Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp as an unsigned free agent
12. DJ Hall WR Alabama
– Signed by the New York Giants
13. Adarius Bowman WR Oklahoma State
– Unsigned after the first week, with rumours that he had been signed by the Eagles unconfirmed
14. Ben Moffitt ILB South Florida
– Signed by the Houston Texans
15. Davone Bess WR Hawaii
– Signed by the Miami Dolphins
16. Bruce Hocker WR Duquesne
– Unsigned after the first week
17. Danny Woodhead RB Chadron State
– Signed by the New York Jets ( right )
18. J Lehman ILB Illinois
– Signed by the Minnesota Vikings
19. Bernard Morris QB Marshall
– Unsigned after the first week
20. Jamie Silva S Boston College
– Signed by the Indianapolis Colts
Not to mention the fact that your humble Diner reporter has yet to receive an offer!
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