5 Undrafted Free Agents Who Continue to Make a Big Impact as Rookies

An NFL player’s draft status doesn’t determine his career. It’s merely the starting point.

The league is littered with talented participants who weren’t drafted. As with any rookie class, there will always be those who rise above the biases against those who didn’t warrant a valuable selection. 

Not everyone can successfully navigate the road less-traveled, though. When they do, a special person emerges on the other side. 

Ideally, every young football player would love to hear his name called on draft weekend, but only 253 had the pleasure of doing so this past spring. 

Others are overlooked for numerous reasons. Either they’re not big or fast enough, hail from a small school, suffered injuries or whatever trait didn’t fit the league’s prototypical standards. Despite these perceived limitations, dozens of undrafted free agents still made active rosters. 

Of course, players such as Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, San Diego Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz garner the most attention. After all, each was selected among the top five players in April and experienced early professional success. 

There are others who weren’t as fortunate yet earned their playing time and overcame the odds to become instant-impact performers. Five stand above the rest for exemplary performances through the first 14 weeks of play. 

Running Back Robert Kelley, Washington Redskins

The man affectionately known as “Fat Rob” would receive far more attention if Elliott wasn’t leading the league in rushing and playing in the same division. However, Robert Kelley is third among rookies with 587 rushing yards. The first-year runner is also tied for sixth overall with an average of 4.6 yards per carry. 

Since taking over as the team’s starter in Week 8, the Tulane product averaged 80 yards per game—which is nearly a 15-yard-per-game improvement over the team’s previous starter, Matt Jones.

Kelley’s teammates saw how talented he was upon his arrival in the nation’s capital. 

“As far as running the football, very talented runner, and we knew that,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said, per CSN Mid-Atlantic’s JP Finlay.

At 228 pounds, the rookie is a powerful and decisive runner. He’s going to get downhill and try to run through every single tackle, as seen Sunday in Washington’s 27-22 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, per the NFL’s Twitter feed: 

Robert Kelley LAUGHS at your arm tackles!BEAST! #WASvsPHI https://t.co/lQacxpw83z

— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2016

Yet, the running back almost didn’t make it through college let alone becoming a starting NFL running back. 

“A few times I thought about not doing it no more,” Kelley said, per ESPN.com’s John Keim. 

The talented player didn’t take his schoolwork seriously, he missed the 2014 season after being charged with simple battery and robbery (those charges were later dropped) and saw the head coach who recruited him fired. 

Kelley’s persevered through adversity and bettered himself by losing 20 pounds after rushing for only 232 yards as a senior. The Redskins scouting staff saw something in the runner. 

“I think when you’re a rookie and undrafted … what you need is belief,” Cousins said, per the Washington Post’s Rick Snider. “You need people around you who believe in you and have confidence in you, because he does have the talent and he can run the football well.”

With two talented rookie backs in the NFC East, division opponents will need to counter the dynamic Elliott and pile-driving Kelley. 

Safety Andrew Adams, New York Giants

New York Giants safety Andrew Adams already experienced the pain most undrafted free agents endure when he was released by his current team. That Giants re-signed him to the practice squad, and he’s since became a starter and one of the league’s best safeties. 

Calling Adams one of the …

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