Cowboys' Undrafted Free Agents: Second Draft's Big Payday

0:00It's April 1st. This is NFL News Today, driven by AI following the league in real time. The Dallas Cowboys have a tight scouting process that starts in October, ramps up through bowl games, the combine, and pro days, and ends with a full. Staff hammering out the draft board in April, they generate multiple reports per prospect, then treat undrafted free agents like extra picks by signing straight from that board. Staff stick to their pre-draft grades, no wavering, which has turned nobodies into stars, like Tony Romo, Miles Austin, and more recently, Cavantei, Turpin. Last year alone, eight former undrafted guys started games, from Terence Steele, with 17 starts to others like Hunter Lewebka, and several, snagged multi-million extensions. Fans and front office love these stories, and the Cowboys pitched their track record hard to lure top undrafted talent right after the 7th round. Steven Jones calls it the second draft, and they signed 15 to 20 of these players yearly,

1:01many making the roster or practice squad. But the game's changing fast, with league-wide guarantees exploding from 8.8 million in base salary back in 2020 to 47, 0.4 million last year. Cowboys led with 1.6 million in 2023, but slipped to 15 to 18 since, as teens like Cleveland dropped 3. 100,000 plus per player. To keep landing those gems, and fill their 23 open roster spots post-draft, Dallas might need to flash bigger cash of front in the chaos of, bidding wars, or risk watching their board get poached.