As Has Been the Case in Recent Years, UDFAs Will be Key for the Raiders in 2024

The Las Vegas Raiders have found some gems in undrafted free agents in recent years and could continue to do so this spring.

The Las Vegas Raiders have landed some great prospects through the NFL Draft in recent years, but a good portion of their roster is also made up of former undrafted free agents who worked their way up to start status.

Undrafted free agents will continue to be a point of emphasis under Raiders general manager Tom Telesco, who has been in a general manager position long enough to know plenty of talent can be found after the draft is all said and done.

"It's a very important part of the process," Telesco told reporters on Monday. "I rely heavily on the area scouts and college scouts to do that. And yeah, we're going to sign a good amount of college free agents this year; that's kind of the process that we've used in the past. And those guys are critical to your football team in the salary cap era. They can come in and win a role and hopefully be here for a number of years. And salary cap-wise, it just helps because they're on minimum salaries, but there's going to be a lot of opportunities this year.

"Essentially, I know AP [Coach Antonio Pierce] was a head coach last year for, essentially, half the year, but to me, this is a new year, it's a new head coach, it's a new coaching staff, it's a whole new regime. So, it will be a lot of opportunities for college free agents this year and [we will] kind of see how it shakes out."

Some of the more notable undrafted free agents the Raiders have added in the past are linebacker Luke Masterson, tight end Cole Fotheringham, linebacker Darien Butler, punter AJ Cole and center Andre James. Of course, there's also those who were not drafted by the Raiders but were originally undrafted free agents like wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and linebacker Robert Spillane.

All the aforementioned players are perfect examples of why the undrafted free-agent period is so crucial. You never know who is going to defy the odds and exceed expectations. The Raiders have plenty of players who have done so.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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