The All-UDFA offense since 2006 💪 pic.twitter.com/Q1NypqhfYT
— PFF (@PFF) April 5, 2023
So much focus is given to the players picked in the annual NFL draft (we just recapped all 101 of the New Orleans Saints’ picks since 2006) but there’s a lot to be said for the undrafted rookies who make the most of their very limited opportunities. Some of the best players in NFL history started out as undrafted free agents, and that extends to the Saints.
Two of their own were listed on the All-UDFA offense and defense teams by Pro Football Focus. Fan-favorite former Saints running back Pierre Thomas was ranked as the best player at his position out of former undrafted rookies, with a career player grade of 92.1. Thomas started an exclusive club of players with 5,000 career yards as both runners and receivers in his time with the Saints, always seeming to get the most out of his rushing attempts while refining the screen play into an art form. Not bad for someone who wasn’t drafted after a solid run at Illinois.
Greer, with a career grade of 90.2, was listed as a flex defender. That’s kind of a stretch, seeing as he played 4,882 of his 5,425 career snaps from 2006 to 2013 out wide at cornerback rather than in the slot or at safety, but we’ll take it. He was an underrated player in New Orleans and deserves his flowers. He always tackled well, played clean coverage, and competed hard on passes thrown his way. It’s a shame that his career was cut short by an ugly knee injury in 2013, but he made a lot of great memories with the Saints as a key player on their 2009 Super Bowl-winning team. He’s done well for himself after the Buffalo Bills took a chance on him coming out of Tennessee.
The All-UDFA defense since 2006 💪 pic.twitter.com/9cS3iOVAa9
— PFF (@PFF) April 8, 2023
