Every year an undrafted free agent emerges as a diamond in the rough.
Wide receiver Marlon Brown made the roster last year and ended up leading the Ravens with seven touchdown catches. Kicker Justin Tucker beat out All-Pro Billy Cundiff in 2012 and is now a Pro Bowler himself. Overall, the Ravens finished last season with 13 undrafted players on their 53-man roster.
Undrafted players have a chance to carve out a role over the next few months of offseason workouts and training camp, so which undrafted signing was your favorite?
OT James Hurst, North Carolina6-foot-5, 296 pounds
Hurst was a four-year starter at North Carolina who fell out of the draft after breaking his leg in his final college game.
OT Parker Graham, Oklahoma State6-7, 308
Graham has the size of a prototypical NFL tackle, and he garnered praise from Head Coach John Harbaugh during rookie minicamp.
OT Brett Van Sloten, Iowa6-5, 301
Van Sloten has the ability to play guard or tackle, similar to fellow Iowa alum Marshal Yanda. The Ravens like a lineman with versatility, which could serve him well as a developmental player. !
CB Sammy Seamster, Middle Tennessee State6-0, 200
Seamster has garnered early praise as a free agent signing after he was flooded with calls from NFL teams recruiting him once he went undrafted. He is a big-bodied defender in the secondary.
CB Deji Olatoye, North Carolina A&T6-1, 198
Olatoye also has impressive size in the secondary, and compares to Jimmy Smith in terms of his length. He was a productive player at small school North Carolina A&T after transferring from Colorado.
CB Avery Patterson, Oregon5-8, 191
Patterson is the smallest of the undrafted cornerbacks, but he has big game experience coming from Oregon. He also has good speed and ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.4-second range.
LB Zach Orr, North Texas6-0, 237
Orr was a tackling machine in college, racking up 123 during his senior season. He will have stiff competition to make the roster at a crowded inside linebacker position.
DT Derrick Hopkins, Virginia Tech6-0, 321
Hopkins is run stuffing defender who is the biggest member of the rookie class. Hopkins also reportedly received the highest signing bonus of any undrafted rookie on the team at $10,000.
