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Who are the top undrafted players in NFL history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Adam Vinatieri: arguably the greatest kicker in NFL history, Vinatieri is a 3x Pro Bowler and 3x All-Pro who holds all-time records for most field goals and points scored, and has also won four Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, kicking the game-winning field goal in two of them.
9. Willie Wood: originally the first African-American to play quarterback in the Pac-12, Wood switched to safety in the NFL and ended up earning eight Pro Bowl and five All-Pro selections (48 career interceptions) while winning seven titles with the Green Bay Packers (5x NFL, 2x Super Bowl).
8. Willie Brown: selected for the 1970s All-Decade Team, Brown was a 9x Pro Bowl and 5x All-Pro cornerback who had 54 career interceptions with the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.
7. John Randle: a 7x Pro Bowl and 6x All-Pro selection with the Minnesota Vikings, Randle accumulated 137.5 sacks en route to the Hall of Fame.
6. Antonio Gates: a college basketball star with no college football experience, Gates is the most prolific scoring tight end in NFL history with 116 career receiving touchdowns, including a then-record 13 touchdowns in 2004.
5. Warren Moon: a Canadian Football League (CFL) star before coming to the NFL, Moon quarterbacked the Houston Oilers’ prolific “Run and shoot” offense in the early 1990s, eventually throwing for nearly 50,000 yards and almost 300 touchdowns in his Hall of Fame career.
4. Kurt Warner: after starring in the Arena Football League (AFL), Warner engineered “The Greatest Show on Turf” offense with the St. Louis Rams and won two MVP awards and a Super Bowl title as part of his Hall of Fame Cinderella-story career.
3. Joe Perry: the first African-American player to be named MVP, Perry was part of the San Francisco 49ers’ “Million Dollar Backfield” in the mid-1950s and led the league in rushing in back-to-back years (1953 and 1954), retiring as the NFL’s all-time career rushing leader.
2. Night Train Lane: a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team, Lane burst onto the scene as a rookie with a single-season record 14 interceptions and ultimately amassed 68 career interceptions while earning seven Pro Bowl and three All-Pro nods during his Hall of Fame career.
1. Emlen Tunnell: a 9x Pro Bowl and 4x All-Pro selection who was also named to the 1950s All-Decade Team, Tunnell ranks second all-time in NFL history with 79 career interceptions and was the first African-American inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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