Many of the NFL’s best players were never even drafted, as once a player makes the 53-man roster, anything can happen. So here are the 10 best current undrafted NFL players in 2025:

Austin Ekeler:

Saquil Barrett:

Jakobi Meyers:

Reed Blankenship:

Ever since the Eagles signed safety Reed Blankenship following the 2022 draft, Blankenship has become an integral piece of Philly’s No. 1-ranked defense. Blankenship finished the 2024 season tied for the 10th-most interceptions with 4, and allowed only a 72.5 passer rating when being targeted. Blankenship has flown under the radar as one of the league’s most dominant safeties and may be due for a big payday if he continues to do so.

Raheem Mostert:

Raheem Mostert has played in the NFL for 10 seasons with a whopping nine different teams, after going undrafted in 2015. Mostert even played for four different teams in one year, none of which he recorded a single carry for. Mostert didn’t play a substantial role for any team until 2019, when he led the team with 772 rushing yards in a crowded 49ers’ backfield.

During the 2019 NFC Championship, with 42.7 million people watching, Mostert came out of nowhere, breaking an NFL playoff record with a staggering 220 yards and four touchdowns. Despite the insane performance, Mostert never became a true RB1 in San Francisco, thus leaving to play for the Dolphins in 2022. Mostert recorded a career-best 891 yards and 4.9 yards per carry in year one with the Fins.

In 2023, Mostert led the NFL in total touchdowns with 21 and recorded 1,210 rushing yards at the age of 31. Raheem Mostert continues to surprise the NFL with unexpected dominant performances. Mostert is currently a backup for the Raiders, but his veteran presence can serve as a mentor for rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

Charvarius Ward:

After the defensive back from Middle Tennessee University, Charvarius Ward, went undrafted after the 2018 draft, Ward was then signed by the Cowboys, and subsequently traded to Kansas City, where he began as the 5th corner on the Chiefs’ depth chart. After spending the 2018 season as a backup, Ward was promoted to be the team’s starting corner by the Chiefs’ new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo.

Spagnoulo is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history, and clearly made a great decision by starting Charvarius Ward, who recorded ten passes defended and allowed a 47.2% completion percentage that season. Ward played under another elite DC a few years later, Steve Wilks, where Ward led the NFL with 23 passes defended and allowed the league’s top receivers to just 54.1% completion percentage, helping the 49ers rank as the league’s third-best defense. Ward is now playing for his fourth career team, the Colts, where he allowed just five receptions to the Dolphins in week one.

Brandon Aubrey:

Similar to many NFL kickers, Brandon Aubrey formerly played professional soccer, subsequently played in the USFL for two seasons, and was signed by the Cowboys ahead of the 2023 season. However, unlike many NFL kickers, Aubrey has an astonishing combination of power and accuracy that the league hasn’t seen before. In his rookie season, Aubrey became the first kicker in NFL history to make two 59+ yard field goals in the same game.

Aubrey kicked a field goal from 66 yards in week one of 2023, tying Justin Tucker’s all-time regular-season record, although the play was nullified due to a false start penalty. Tucker’s 66-yard kick in 2021 bounced off the crossbar, while Aubrey’s kick sailed through the uprights with plenty of room. Aubrey will likely break Tucker’s all-time record at some point during his career.

Adam Thielen:

From playing at a small D-II school, to barely making the Vikings’ 53-man roster, to becoming a Pro Bowl receiver, Adam Thielen has certainly defied the odds. Thielen spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as a backup after going undrafted in 2013, and he would have likely been cut soon after had Stefon Diggs not been sidelined with an injury in week five of 2016, putting Thielen in the starting role. Thielen caught seven catches for 127 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Washington, and Thielen never looked back. Thielen proceeded to record back-to-back 1,000+ yard receiving seasons, and still topped 1,000 yards in 2023 at age 32 in Carolina. Thielen returns to the Vikings in 2025, and he will probably retire soon with the franchise’s 5th-most recieving yards of all time.

Jaylen Warren:

During the 2022 offseason, the Steelers signed undrafted running back from Oklahoma State, Jaylen Warren. After staying in a very limited role for most of the season, Warren broke out with 76 rushing yards in a New Year’s Day win over the Ravens. During the following season, Warren recorded 784 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards, and 5.3 yards per carry, all while backing up Najee Harris. In 2025, Harris is no longer in Pittsburgh; thus, Jaylen Warren is poised for a career-best season and a possible Pro Bowl appearance.

Frankie Luvu:

After going undrafted in the 2018 draft, linebacker Frankie Luvu was signed by the Jets, who let him walk in free agency after he played for them as a backup. Luvu was then signed by the Panthers, but didn’t breakout until year two in Carolina, finishing the 2022 season with seven sacks and 111 combined tackles. Luvu’s lack of presence in Carolina’s defense in 2024 was felt, as the Panthers ranked as the league’s worst defense.

Meanwhile, Luvu was hitting career highs in sacks, QB hits, and tackles for loss for the Commanders in 2024. Frankie Luvu ironically had a much more successful career than the first inside linebacker taken in the 2018 draft, Leighton Vander Esch, a name probably very few people have heard of.