The 2016 NFL Draft is in the books and another heated period of the NFL talent acquisition process is spinning up. Undrafted rookie free agency is a wild ride that follows the seventh round of the NFL Draft every year, as dozens of players not fortunate enough to be picked field contract offers from the league's 32 teams, with both sides hunting for a perfect match.
There's obviously some stigma to going undrafted for college players, but becoming an undrafted free agent does put some of the power back in those players' hands: instead of being at the mercy of the draft process, players can now choose their own entry point into the NFL, to some degree. Coveted UDFAs often even weigh offers from multiple teams against each other, and teams that didn't have picks to spend on players late in the draft can now entice them with bonuses paid out of a modest undrafted free agent budget every NFL team has available during the process.
There are usually at least a few good players available as UDFAs. For example, in 2015, the Cowboys landed undrafted LSU offensive lineman La'el Collins, whose stock plummeted during the draft, with teams staying away from him after the shooting death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend led him to leave Chicago to speak with police in Baton Rouge. By October, Collins was starting on one of the NFL's best offensive lines.
Undrafted free agency can also be a boon for players who got passed up at their customary position. Florida wide receiver Quinton Dunbar went undrafted in 2015, but signed with Washington, with the team intending to work him out at both wide receiver and cornerback. And after a rash of injuries, by the time Washington met the Packers in the playoffs, Dunbar was in the rotation in the team's secondary.
Of course, those small success stories pale in comparison to the legendary ones of undrafted free agents turned Hall of Famers. Arian Foster, Priest Holmes, Rod Smith, Kurt Warner and Wes Welker are among the more recent players passed up in the draft who ended up having long and storied NFL careers, though Dick "Night Train" Lane, Warren Moon and John Randle, all Hall of Famers, remain the gold standard for UDFAs.
2016's crop of undrafted free agents could mint a few stars, too. We'll be keeping track of every UDFA signing a contract on this page (though keep in mind these things frequently change on the fly as players agree to deals)
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens (team release)
Jarell Broxton, OG, Baylor
Trevon Coley, DT, Florida Atlantic
Anthony Fabiano, OG, Harvard
Cavellis Luckett, LB, Middle Tennessee State
Will Lutz, K, Georgia State
Stephane Nembot, OT, Colorado
Victor Ochi, DL, Stony Brook
Marco Ojemudia, OLB, Michigan
Patrick Onwuasor, SS, Portland State
Michael Pierce, DT, Samford
Matt Skura, C, Duke
Cincinnati Bengals (team release)
Andrew Bonnet, FB/TE, North Dakota State
Ryan Brown, DL, Mississippi State
Tre Carson, RB, Texas A&M
Alex Cooper, OL, Houston
David Dean, DT, Virginia
Aaron Epps, OT, Louisville
Alex Erickson, WR, Wisconsin
Antwane Grant, WR, Western Kentucky
Darien Harris, LB, Michigan State
Darius Hillary, CB, Wisconsin
Joe Licata, QB, Buffalo
Dy'Shawn Mobley, RB, Eastern Kentucky
Alex Redmond, OG, UCLA
Alonzo Russell, WR, Toledo
John Weidenaar, OL, Montana State
Cleveland Browns (team release)
Dominique Alexander, LB, Oklahoma
Kenya Dennis, CB, Missouri
Mikell Everette, DB, Sam Houston State
J.P. Holtz, TE, Pittsburgh
Tracy Howard, CB, Miami
Nile Lawrence-Stample, DT, Florida State
Mike Matthews, C, Texas A&M
Dennis Parks, WR, Rice
David Richards, WR, Arizona
Kyle Rose, DT, West Virginia
Patrick Skov, FB, Georgia Tech
A.J. Stamps, S, Kentucky
Pittsburgh Steelers (team release)
Brandon Brown-Dukes, RB, Mercyhurst
Johnny Maxey, DL, Mars Hill
Tyriq McCord, DE/OLB, Miami
Will Monday, P, Duke
Giorgio Newberry, DL, Florida State
David Reeves, TE, Duke
Jay Rome, TE, Georgia
Quinton Schooley, OL, NC State
Canaan Severin, WR, Virginia
Devaunte Sigler, DL, Jacksonville State
Marcus Tucker, WR, Northern Michigan
AFC East
Buffalo Bills (team release)
Bryson Albright, DE/OLB, Miami (Ohio)
Davonte' Allen, WR, Marshall
Gary Chambers, WR, Arizona State
Reid Ferguson, LS, LSU
Glenn Gronkowski, FB, Kansas State
Robert Kugler, C, Purdue
Jamison Lalk, OL, Iowa State
Claudell Louis, DE, Fresno State
Marquis Lucas, G, West Virginia
Keith Lumpkin, OL, Rutgers
Marshall Morgan, K, Georgia
Eric Striker, LB, Oklahoma
Julian Whigham, CB, Syracuse
Justin Zimmer, DT, Ferris State
Miami Dolphins (team release)
Akil Blount, LB, Florida A&M
James Burgess, LB, Louisville
Ruben Carter, OL, Florida State
Ryan Di Salvo, LS, San Jose State
Tyler Gray, LB, Boise State
Gabe Hughes, TE, Florida Tech
Farrington Huguenin, DL, Kentucky
Marshall Koehn, K, Iowa
Lafayette Pitts, CB, Pittsburgh
Rashawn Scott, WR, Miami
Brandon Shippen, DB, Temple
New England Patriots (team release)
V'Angelo Bentley, CB, Illinois
DJ Foster, WR, Arizona State
Woodrow Hamilton, DT, Ole Miss
CJ Johnson, DL, Ole Miss
Jonathan Jones, CB, Auburn
Cre'von LeBlanc, CB, Florida Atlantic
Steven Scheu, TE, Vanderbilt
Bryce Williams, TE, East Carolina
New York Jets (team release)
Robby Anderson, WR, Temple
Tarow Barney, DT, Penn State
Quenton Bundrage, WR, Iowa State
Kyle Friend, OL, Temple
Tom Hackett, P, Utah
Bryson Keeton, CB, Montana State
Jalin Marshall, WR, Ohio State
Ross Martin, K, Duke
Helva Matungulu, DL, Western Carolina
Doug Middleton, DB, Appalachian State
Julien Obioha, DE, Texas A&M
Claude Pelon, DT, USC
Lawrence Thomas, DE, Michigan State
Jason Vander Laan, QB, Ferris State
AFC South
Houston Texans (team release)
Stephen Anderson, WR/TE, California
Ka'imi Fairbairn, K, UCLA
Joel Heath, DE, Michigan State
Tevin Jones, WR, Memphis
Ufomba Kamalu, DE, Miami
Ryan Langford, LB, New Mexico
Richard Leonard, CB, FIU
Richard Mullaney, WR, Alabama
Shakeel Rashad, LB, North Carolina
Brennan Scarlett, LB, Stanford
Duke Thomas, DB, Texas
Arturo Uzdavinis, OT, Tulane
Soma Vainuku, FB, USC
Cleveland Wallace, CB, San Jose State
Wendall Williams, WR, University of the Cumberlands
Indianapolis Colts (team release)
Danny Anthrop, WR, Purdue
Sterling Bailey, DL, Georgia
Isiah Cage, OT, Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Daniel Davie, CB, Nebraska
Josh Ferguson, RB, Illinois
Darion Griswold, TE, Arkansas State
Davante Harris, OT, Appalachian State
Marcus Leak, WR, Maryland
Curt Maggitt, OLB, Tennessee
Stefan McClure, S, California
Mekale McKay, WR, Cincinnati
Mike Miller, TE, Taylor
Chris Milton, CB, Georgia Tech
Adam Redmond, OT, Harvard
Chester Rogers, WR, Grambling State
Delvon Simmons, DL, USC
Tevaun Smith, WR, Iowa
Ron Thompson, DL, Syracuse
Darius White, CB, California
Andrew Williamson, S, Vanderbilt
Jacksonville Jaguars (team release)
Tennessee Titans (team release)
Mehdi Abdesmad, DE, Boston College
Sam Bergen, FB, Rutgers
Lamarcus Brutus, DB, Florida State
Samuel Carlson, OL, Colorado State
Alex Ellis, TE, Tennessee
Terrell Lathan, DL, TCU
Tyler Marz, OT, Wisconsin
Bennett Okotcha, CB, UTSA
Nick Richter, OT, Richmond
Ben Roberts, WR, Montana
Aldrick Rosas, K, Southern Oregon
Mike Smith, DE, Southern Miss
Antwaun Woods, DL, USC
AFC West
Denver Broncos (team release)
Bralon Addison, WR, Oregon
Vontarrius Dora, DE, Louisiana Tech
Mose Frazier, WR, Memphis
Antonio Glover, DB, Georgia Southern
Lars Hanson, OT, Sacramento State
Calvin Heurtelou, DL, Miami
Shaneil Jenkins, DE, Shepherd
Henry Krieger-Coble, TE, Iowa
David Moala, DT, Utah State
Justin Murray, OL, Cincinnati
Durron Neal, WR, Oklahoma
Aaron Neary, OL, Eastern Washington
Dwayne Norman, WR, Duke
Anthony Norris, TE, Southern Utah
Kyle Peko, NT, Oregon State
Kalif Raymond, WR, Holy Cross
Frank Shannon, LB, Oklahoma
Sadat Sulleyman, DL, Portland State
Nathan Theus, LS, Georgia
John Tidwell, DB, Sioux Falls
Eddie Yarbrough, DE, Wyoming
Kansas City Chiefs (team release)
Shannon Edwards, CB, Fresno State
Vernon Harris, DB, Dartmouth
Desmond Jackson, DT, Texas
Tre Jones, DB, Mount Union
Mitch Mathews, WR, BYU
Garrick Mayweather, OL, Fordham
Shak Randolph, CB, SMU
Terrance Smith, LB, Florida State
Zach Sterup, OL, Nebraska
Oakland Raiders (team release)
KJ Brent, WR, Wake Forest
Ross Burbank, C, Virginia
James Cowser, DL, Southern Utah
Kenneth Durden, DB, Youngstown State
Chris Edwards, DB, Idaho
Antonio Hamilton, DB, South Carolina State
Joe Hansley, WR, Colorado State
Johnny Holton, WR, Cincinnati
Drew Iddings, DE, South Dakota
Brandon Jackson, DL, Texas Tech
Denver Kirkland, OG, Arkansas
Darius Latham, DT, Indiana
Max McCaffrey, WR, Duke
Tony McRae, CB, North Carolina A&T
Jaydon Mickens, WR, Washington
Ryan O'Malley, TE, Penn
Oni Omoile, LB, Iowa State
Jalen Richard, RB, Southern Miss
Greg Townsend Jr., DE, USC
Terran Vaughn, G/C, Stephen F. Austin
Torian White, OL, Hampton
Kyrie Wilson, LB, Fresno State
San Diego Chargers (team release)
Mike Bercovici, QB, Arizona State
Terrell Chestnut, CB, West Virginia
Kenneth Farrow, RB, Houston
Tyler Johnstone, OT, Oregon
Jamaal Jones, WR, Montana
Chris Landrum, OLB, Jacksonville State
Mike McQueen, G, Ohio
Adrian McDonald, S, Houston
Tyler Marcordes, OLB, Georgia Tech
Spencer Pulley, C, Vanderbilt
Shaq Petteway, LB, West Virginia
Zeth Ramsay, OT, Colorado Mesa
Deandre Reaves, WR, Marshall
Larry Scott, CB, Oregon State
Chris Swain, RB, Navy
Vi Teofilo, OG, Arizona State
Dom Williams, WR, Washington State
Trevor Williams, CB, Penn State
Carlos Wray, DE, Duke
NFC North
Chicago Bears (team release)
Kenton Adeyemi, DL, UConn
Adrian Bellard, OL, Texas State
Ben Braunecker, TE, Harvard
Taveze Calhoun, DB, Mississippi State
Don Cherry, LB, Villanova
Kieren Duncan, WR, Colorado State-Pueblo
Jarrett Grace, LB, Notre Dame
Derek Keaton, WR, Georgia
John Kling, OL, Buffalo
Ben LeCompte, P, North Dakota State
Darrin Peterson, WR, Liberty
Kevin Peterson, CB, Oklahoma State
Roy Robertson-Harris, DE, UTEP
Joseph Sommers, TE, Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Donovan Williams, OL, Louisiana Lafayette
Detroit Lions (team release)
Adairius Barnes, CB, Louisiana Tech
Jace Billingsley, WR, Eastern Oregon
Quinshad Davis, WR, North Carolina
James DeLoach, DL, Georgia
Chase Farris, OL, Ohio State
Adam Fuehne, TE, Southern Illinois
Deonte Gibson, DE, Northwestern
Jay Lee, WR, Baylor
Louis Palmer, DE, Central Michigan
Charles Washington, CB, Fresno State
Ian Wells, CB, Ohio
Cole Wick, TE, Incarnate Word
Andrew Zeller, OG, Maryland
Green Bay Packers (team release)
Geronimo Allison, WR, Illinois
Demetris Anderson, DT, Central Florida
Kentrell Brice, DB, Louisiana Tech
Beniquez Brown, LB, Mississippi State
Brandon Burks, RB, Troy
Joe Callahan, QB, Wesley College
Makinton Dorleant, CB, Northern Iowa
Marwin Evans, S, Utah State
Jacob Flores, C, Dartmouth
Reggie Gilbert, DL, Arizona
Josh Hawkins, CB, East Carolina
Don Jackson, RB, Nevada
Josh James, OT, Carroll (MT) College
Randall Jette, CB, UMass
Tyler Kuder, DL, Idaho State
Peter Mortell, P, Minnesota
Manoa Pikula, LB, BYU
Brian Price, DT, UTSA
Devonte Robinson, WR Utah State
Alstevis Squirewell, FB, Newberry College
Cory Tucker, OG, Slippery Rock
Herb Waters, WR, Miami
Marquise Williams, QB, UNC
Minnesota Vikings (team release)
Keith Baxter, DB, Marshall
Kyle Carter, TE, Penn State
Theiren Cockran, DL, Minnesota
Jake Ganus, LB, Georgia
C.J. Ham, RB, Augustana
Marken Michel, WR, Massachusetts
Denzell Perine, DE, Florida Atlantic
Jhurrell Pressley, RB, New Mexico
Eric Rawls, DB, Kentucky State
Tre Roberson, CB, Illinois State
Joel Stave, QB, Wisconsin
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys (team release)
Caleb Azubike, DE, Vanderbilt
Jake Brendel, C, UCLA
Chris Brown, WR, Notre Dame
Rodney Coe, DT, Akron
Arjen Colquhoun, DB, Michigan State
Ed Eagen, WR, Northwestern State
David Hedelin, OT, Purdue
Andy Jones, WR, Jacksonville
Deon King, LB, Norfolk State
Ryan Mack, OT, Memphis
Boston Stiverson, OL, Kansas State
Austin Traylor, TE, Wisconsin
Zach Wood, DE, SMU
New York Giants (team release)
Andrew Adams, S, Connecticut
Marshaun Coprich, RB, Illinois State
Donte Deayon, CB, Boise State
Michael Hunter, CB, Oklahoma State
Melvin Lewis, DT, Kentucky
Roger Lewis, WR, Bowling Green
Ryan Malleck, TE, Virginia Tech
KJ Maye, WR, Minnesota
Greg Milhouse, DT, Campbell
Romeo Okwara, DE, Notre Dame
Darius Powe, WR, California
Mike Rose, DE, NC State
Matt Smalley, CB, Lafayette College
Philadelphia Eagles (team release)
John DePalma, LS, West Virginia
Quentin Gause, LB, Rutgers
Dillon Gordon, TE, LSU
Darrell Greene, OG, San Diego State
Bruce Johnson, C, Maine
Marcus Johnson, WR, Texas
Cayleb Jones, WR, Arizona
Byron Marshall, RB/WR, Oregon
Cedric O'Neal, RB, Valdosta State
Hunter Sharp, WR, Utah State
Aziz Shittu, DL, Stanford
C.J. Smith, CB, North Dakota State
Myke Tavarres, LB, Incarnate Word
Paul Turner, WR, Louisiana Tech
Destiny Vaeao, DL, Washington State
Connor Wujciak, DT, Boston College
Washington (team release)
Kevin Bowen, OT, East Central
Lloyd Carrington, CB, Arizona State
Mariel Cooper, CB, The Citadel
Michael Cooper, TE, Indiana
Shiro Davis, DE, Texas
Reginald Diggs, WR, Richmond
Ejiro Ederaine, LB, Fresno State
Maurice Harris, WR, Cal
Nila Kasitati, G, Oklahoma
Rob Kelley, RB, Tulane
Joe Kerridge, FB, Michigan
Anthony Lanier, DE, Alabama A&M
Geno Matias-Smith, DB, Alabama
Valdez Showers, WR, Florida
Mike Wakefield, LB, Florida International
Kelsey Young, RB, Boise State
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons (team release)
Carolina Panthers (team release)
Jared Barber, LB, West Virginia
Jeremy Cash, S, Duke
Braxton Deaver, TE, Duke
Keyarris Garrett, WR, Tulsa
Devon Johnson, FB, Marshall
Jake McGee, TE, Florida
Jared Norris, LB, Utah
Jordan Rigsbee, OL, Cal
Miles Shuler, WR, Northwestern
Jalen Simmons, RB, South Carolina State
New Orleans Saints (team release)
Jack Allen, OL, Michigan State
Joseph Cheek, OL, Texas A&M
Ken Crawley, DB, Colorado
Jared Dangerfield, WR, Western Kentucky
Trae Elston, DB, Ole Miss
De'Vante Harris, CB, Texas A&M
Marcus Henry, C, Boise State
Sione Houma, FB, Michigan
Jake Lampman, WR, Ferris State
Dillon Lee, LB, Alabama
Tommylee Lewis, WR, Northern Illinois
Mitchell Loewen, DL, Arkansas
Ryker Matthews, OT, BYU
DJ Pettway, DL, Alabama
Jimmy Pruitt, CB, San Jose State
Jeff Schoettmer, S, North Carolina
Dominique Tovell, LB, UL-Lafayette
Landon Turner, G, North Carolina
Jordan Williams-Lambert, WR, Ball State
Avery Young, OL, Auburn
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (team release)
Micah Awe, LB, Texas Tech
Peyton Barber, RB, Auburn
Travis Britz, DT, Kansas State
Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State
Alan Cross, TE, Memphis
Javien Elliott, CB, Florida State
Taylor Fallin, T, Memphis
Russell Hansbrough, RB, Missouri
Isaiah Johnson, DB, South Carolina
Kelby Johnson, OT, Louisville
Anthony Kelly, WR, Kutztown
Mike Kozlakowski, DE, Maine
Davonte Lambert, DL, Auburn
Cassanova McKinzy, LB, Auburn
Luke Rhodes, LB, William & Mary
Dominique Robertson, OL, West Georgia
Elijah Shumate, DB, Notre Dame
Channing Ward, DL, Ole Miss
Leonard Wester, T, Missouri
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals (team release)
Jeff Bethard, WR, Appalachian State
Elie Bouka, DB, University of Calgary
Kameron Canaday, LS, Portland State
Amir Carlisle, WR, Notre Dame
Jake Coker, QB, Alabama
Clay DeBord, T, Eastern Washington
Daniel Dillon, LS, Campbell
Matthias Farley, S, Notre Dame
Trevon Hartfield, DB, Southwestern Oklahoma State
Chris Hubert, WR, Fayettevile State
Jeff Bethard, WR, Appalachian State
Chris King, WR, Duquesne
Lamar Lewis, LB, LSU
Elijhaa Penny, RB, Idaho
Givens Price, T, Nebraska
Garrett Swanson, P, Fresno State
Hakeem Valles, TE, Monmouth
Ronald Zamort, CB, Western Michigan
Los Angeles Rams (team release)
Taylor Bertolet, K, Texas A&M
Brandon Chubb, LB, Wake Forest
Morgan Fox, DE, Colorado State
Maurice Gaines, S, Arkansas
Aaron Green, RB, TCU
Nicholas Gribsby, LB, Pittsburgh
Darreon Herring, LB, Vanderbilt
Michael Jordan, DB, Missouri Western
Cory Littleton, LB, Washington
Jordan Lomax, S, Iowa
Paul McRoberts, WR, Southeast Missouri State
Pace Murphy, OL, Northwestern State
Marquez North, WR, Tennessee
Kache Palacio, LB/FB, Washington State
Brian Randolph, DB, Tennessee
Ian Seau, DE, Nevada
Nelson Spruce, WR, Colorado
Jordan Swindle, OT, Kentucky
Jabriel Washington, DB, Alabama
Duke Williams, WR, Auburn
San Francisco 49ers (team release)
Alex Balducci, DL, Oregon
Jered Bell, S, Colorado
Devon Cajuste, WR, Stanford
Demetrius Cherry, DT, Arizona
Jay Fanaika, DE, Utah
Lenny Jones, DE/OLB, Nevada
Darren Lake, DT, Alabama
John Lunsford, K, Liberty
Wynton McManis, LB, Memphis
Blake Muir, OG, Baylor
Bryce Treggs, WR, California
Seattle Seahawks (team release)
Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU
Brandin Bryant, DT, Florida Atlantic
DeAndre Elliot, C, Colorado State
George Fant, TE, Western Kentucky
Steve Longa, LB, Rutgers
Tre Madden, RB, USC
Lene Maiava, OL, Arizona
Jamal Marshall, CB, North Texas
Tanner McEvoy, S, Wisconsin
Montese Overton, DE/OLB, East Carolina
David Perkins, DE/OLB, Illinois State
Tyvis Powell, S, Ohio State
Pete Robertson, LB, Texas Tech
Taniela Tupou, FB, Washington
* * *
Mr. Irrelevant's selection concludes the draft
Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more