Kentucky Wildcats Sign as Undrafted NFL Free Agents

This year Alabama safety Jaylen Key earned the title Mr. Irrelevant as the 257th player selected in the NFL Draft. Not all of those 257 players will see success on Sundays. There will be a few who were looked over this weekend that will contribute to your favorite team.

The Kentucky football program had four players selected over the weekend. Dru Phillips and Trevin Wallace went off the board in round three. Ray Davis fell to the fourth round and Devin Leary was picked in the sixth. Those aren’t the only rookie Wildcats who will be on an NFL Training Camp roster this summer.

Within hours of the conclusion of the NFL Draft, three former Kentucky Wildcats signed as undrafted free agents (UDFA).

OT Jeremy Flax, Minnesota Vikings
WR Tayvion Robinson, Baltimore Ravens
TE Brenden Bates, Chicago Bears

Bates likely had the most lucrative deal of the three. Following an impressive pro day, he received interest from multiple teams before agreeing to join the Bears organization, who just received a significant shot in the arm with two Top 10 picks in this year’s draft. IOL Kenneth Horsey did not sign a UDFA deal but received rookie mini-camp invitations from the New York Jets and Washington Commanders.

Jacob Tamme once shared with me a poignant piece of advice that he shares with every college athlete who seeks it out. “Every player has a chance, it just might not be where you thought.” Signing as a UDFA may actually give players a better opportunity to thrive, rather than landing with one team in the later rounds of the NFL Draft.

It worked out well for Josh Ali two years ago. The former Kentucky pass-catcher suffered an injury in a car wreck that sidelined him through the pre-Draft process. He signed as a UDFA wth the Atlanta Falcons, then worked his way up from the practice squad to an active roster.

There are a few other notable UDFAs from Kentucky who went on to have success in the NFL. Following the 1987 draft Cornell Burbage appeared in 23 games and caught a pair of touchdowns for the Dallas Cowboys. In the 70s RB Doug Kotar rushed for more than 3,000 yards and tallied more than 1,000 receiving yards over eight seasons for the New York Giants. He ended his career ranked with the third-most receiving yards by a running back in franchise history.

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