Last year, 57 rookie undrafted free agents) landed on initial rosters. This year, that number is down just a bit, but 48 undrafted rookies still impressed their team (or other teams) in training camp enough to keep their jobs heading into the season.

The Chiefs kept a whopping five UDFAs through final roster cuts, while the Bears have four. Only six teams didn’t elect to keep any. Many of these players are specialists (lots of long snappers this year), but many more are key depth players and special teamers across the rest of the roster. One or two are even competing for starting spots as we approach Week 1.

Below, I’ve written up a team-by-team breakdown of these players, where they played their college ball, and what their role projection is as rookies. Let’s dive right into it:

Arizona Cardinals

S Wydett Williams Jr.

A transfer from Louisiana-Monroe who finished his college ball at Ole Miss, Williams had six interceptions in his collegiate career. Though he’s likely to be inactive on gamedays or limited to special teams snaps, the Cardinals were impressed enough with him to keep a fifth safety on the active roster, forgoing some veteran cornerbacks in favor of him.

Atlanta Falcons

QB Jack Strand

CB Malcolm DeWalt IV

A star at Division II’s Minnesota State-Moorhead, Strand flashed in the preseason and the Falcons elected to keep four quarterbacks on the active roster rather than risk losing him. They think they may have found a long-term backup there. DeWalt, who played at Akron in college, beat out several more experienced options to stick as a depth corner and special teamer.

Baltimore Ravens

QB Joe Fagnano

ED Ethan Burke

A veteran college quarterback out of UConn, Fagnano had his fans in the scouting community. It was a bit of a surprise to see him go undrafted, but he wasted no time making an impact in training camp. He’ll operate as the Ravens’ third quarterback this year, with a chance to earn a more long-term backup role.

Meanwhile, Burke was a productive player at Texas, though he lacked NFL-caliber athleticism — or so we thought. He’ll vie for playing time in a crowded defensive line group.

Buffalo Bills

None

Carolina Panthers

QB Haynes King

OT Albert Reese

DT Aaron Hall

King was the hero of the wildly entertaining Hall of Fame game this summer, but his preseason performance goes beyond that. He was a baller at Georgia Tech but wasn’t asked to do many traditional quarterback-y things. His traits and poise have flashed so far.

Reese, out of Mississippi State, will operate as key offensive tackle depth for a Panthers team that desperately needs it. Hall played at Duke and will likely be a game-day inactive to start out, but Carolina’s depth up front isn’t all that imposing and he could work his way into the lineup down the road.

Chicago Bears

TE Hayden Large

DT Jayden Loving

S Skyler Thomas

LS Beau Gardner

The Bears chose to keep four tight ends on their active roster, as Large impressed enough to earn a spot. Another Iowa product at tight end, he could see real playing time in the event of an injury. Loving, out of Wake Forest, could see an active role after the Gervon Dexter II trade, while the Oregon State product Thomas is filling in for the myriad injuries Chicago suffered in the secondary.

Gardner will be the starting long snapper for the Bears. He played college football at Georgia.

Cincinnati Bengals

None

Cleveland Browns

CB Michael Coats Jr.

A rookie out of West Virginia, Coats joins a pretty thin Browns cornerback room. Outside of Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell, there aren’t many proven commodities in that unit. Coats could see some early playing time, especially because he’s suited for the slot.

Dallas Cowboys

WR Camden Brown

A preseason star out of Georgia Southern, Brown put on a weekly show. He had an impressive training camp and could see a substantial game-day role. Between CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys have their starters, and Ryan Flournoy performed well in the WR3 role last year. But Brown could work his way into that WR4 spot over the course of the season.

Denver Broncos

None

Detroit Lions

ED Eric O’Neill

A transfer from James Madison who played at Rutgers in 2025, O’Neill stacked a strong camp with some solid preseason performances. He’ll be in the mix with the likes of D.J. Wonnum and Ahmed Hassanein for a depth role on this front.

Green Bay Packers

WR J. Michael Sturdivant

Sturdivant spent time at Cal and UCLA before finishing out his collegiate career at Florida. With the Packers losing some wide receiver depth this offseason, he’ll help replenish the stock. Whether or not he’s active on game days will depend on his ability to stand out on special teams.

Houston Texans

OT Sam Hagen

ED Sabastian Harsh

CB Collin Wright

The Texans kept a ton of offensive line depth on their 53-man roster, with Hagen being part of that. He played his college ball at South Dakota State and could become a critical backup. Harsh, out of N.C. State, is one of just four edge rushers on the active roster — though given Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, and Jadeveon Clowney are the ones ahead of him, he’ll have a tough path to consistent snaps.

Wright played college football at Stanford and is Houston’s fifth cornerback, mostly relegated to special teams.

Indianapolis Colts

LB Tahj Chambers

CB Kapena Gushiken

The Colts kept six linebackers on their initial roster, with Chambers impressing them with his special teams versatility. Gushiken was Indy’s lone waiver claim — the Colts are thin at corner behind their starters, and he has a chance to earn some minutes in dime packages. Interestingly, both players hail from Ole Miss.

Jacksonville Jaguars

ED Bryan Thomas Jr.

An edge rusher from South Carolina, Thomas joins WR Brian Thomas Jr. to be the fun anecdote from play-by-play analysts all season long. He impressed in the preseason with three sacks and adds to a deep Jaguars edge rusher room.

Kansas City Chiefs

OT Kahlil Benson

OT Diego Pounds

ED Jack Pyburn

DT Bryson Eason

S Xavier Nwankpa

Home of the undrafted free agent, the Chiefs are patching a lot of holes with this group. Benson, fresh off a national title at Indiana, is currently in a battle for the starting right tackle spot and could also see some time at guard. Kansas City traded for Ole Miss’ Pounds before roster cuts, electing to keep him over some other depth tackle options.

Pyburn and Eason were both waiver claims, with Pyburn rumored to be returning to LSU for this college football season if he cleared waivers after being cut by the Bucs. Eason, out of Tennessee, also adds depth up front.

Nwankpa is a supreme athlete out of Iowa but could never put it all together in college. He had a great camp and should see a lot of action early on special teams.

Las Vegas Raiders

None

Los Angeles Chargers

C Jacob Spomer

CB Rodney Shelley

The season-ending injury to Tyler Biadasz opened the door for Spomer to make the team. Hailing from Fresno State, he’s projected to operate as the backup center. Shelley, a Georgia Tech product, makes the second year in a row the Chargers have kept a UDFA at corner on the initial roster.

Los Angeles Rams

ED Wesley Bailey

A five-year college player between Louisville and Rutgers, Bailey joined rare preseason company. He had 10 pressures in Week 2, making him just the fifth player in the last five seasons to do so in a single preseason game. The others? Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson, Aidan Hutchinson and Jonathan Cooper. The Rams know they have something in Bailey, so even though it’s a crowded group of pass rushers, Los Angeles didn’t want to lose him on waivers.

Miami Dolphins

FB DJ Herman

Dolphins OC Bobby Slowik’s offense utilizes a fullback, so Miami went out and got Herman. A San Diego State product, Herman figures to see consistent work as a blocker in this rushing attack.

Minnesota Vikings

S Jacob Thomas

P Brett Thorson

Thomas, out of James Madison, was a big camp winner and is even in the mix to start, though he’ll likely play a reserve role early. Safety is an important position in Minnesota’s defense and Thomas stood out to DC Brian Flores.

Vikings WR Dillon Bell made the initial 53 before being let go on Monday amidst other roster shuffling. Thorson, also from Georgia, beat out veteran Johnny Hekker for the Vikings’ punting job in camp.

New England Patriots

TE Tanner Arkin

LB Khalil Jacobs

CB Channing Canada

A versatile offensive weapon at Illinois, Arkin can do a lot of things in New England’s offense. For now, at least, he’ll mostly play special teams. Jacobs is buried on the depth chart at linebacker — he, too, will primarily play special teams.

Canada gives the Patriots some inside/outside versatility at cornerback, which helped his case to stick on the roster over some of the competition. Coaches love guys who can play multiple positions.

New Orleans Saints

OT Mason Murphy

The Saints claimed Murphy off waivers from the Bears. The Auburn product is one of just four offensive tackles on the roster, so he’ll be active. The Saints just hope they won’t need him. Not this year, at least.

New York Giants

K Dominic Zvada

LS Ben Mann

The Giants decided to save some money on specialists after making Jordan Stout the highest-paid punter in the history of the league. Zvada was a prolific kicker at Michigan, while Mann played college football for Boston College.

New York Jets

None

Philadelphia Eagles

LS Rocco Underwood

The Eagles have a new long snapper. Underwood played at Florida.

Pittsburgh Steelers

DT Kevin Jobity Jr.

A powerful 3-tech out of Syracuse, Jobity joins a pretty loaded Pittsburgh defensive line. In the Steelers’ 3-4 scheme, he slots in as the big end.

San Francisco 49ers

DT James Thompson Jr.

An Illinois product and transfer from Wisconsin, Thompson has a real chance to earn meaningful snaps as a rookie. Outside of Osa Odighizuwa, little is settled in this 49ers defensive tackle rotation. There are a lot of bodies in the mix, but Thompson could establish himself early as deserving of more snaps.

Seattle Seahawks

CB Avery Smith

Another impressive Toledo product, Smith was killing it in Chargers camp. The Seahawks have been trying to fix their cornerback depth all summer and traded for Smith to help address that concern. Seattle adds some depth at a position of need, while Los Angeles proves it knows where to find all the best undrafted cornerbacks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB Jalon Daniels

LB Caden Fordham

CB Ayden Garnes

Injuries killed Daniels’ college career at Kansas, but his talent or production — when on the field, anyway — were never in doubt. One of the stories of Bucs’ camp, he decisively won the backup quarterback job. Fordham, from N.C. State, and Garnes, from Arizona, are important depth pieces at thin positions for Tampa Bay.

Tennessee Titans

None

Washington Commanders

G Tanoa Togiai

K Drew Stevens

Togiai played his college ball at Utah and is already on the two-deep. The Commanders kept four guards, but they’re just an injury away from Togiai being called into service. Stevens, an Iowa product, beat out veteran Jake Moody for the kicking job in camp.