New Orleans Saints Post Draft: Searching for the ‘Dark Horse’

All 32 teams have been busy the last 72 hours. The furious flurry to sign undrafted rookies has finally slowed. However, there still may be a few dark horses out there.

The New Orleans Saints surely have been on those 32 teams that have been on the phone. Moreover, the hours seem endless in those critical hours after the draft. That being said, there’s always a chance a “dark horse” could slip through the cracks. Incidentally, for those of you that may not be familiar with the term, here is a the official definition of “dark horse” from the Cambridge Dictionary:

"A person who is not expected to succeed in or unexpectedly wins an election, race, or competition."

In any case, history proves time and time again that there is evidence out there in sports. Here are just a few instances that come to mind. Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson. Appalachian St. toppling Michigan in college football. John Randle making it into the Hall of Fame as an undrafted player.

No doubt, NFL scouts work extremely hard researching and gazillions of hours visiting players from all over. At the same time, there are always players that just get missed. There’s a combination of reasons for this. This story was written by me about a month ago. In short, there was simply a minimal showing at Florida A&M’s Pro Day nearly six weeks ago.

In the last 24 hours, two players were signed by the Kansas City Chiefs from The Florida A&M Rattlers. Both linebacker Curtis Alexander and safety Jake Bryant will pursue their dream to the NFL in 2017. This happened. Make no mistake, The odds are still long for sure. However, tell that to John Randle. He was one of those players that took the unlikely road to being undrafted, to make it into the NFL. Furthermore, the journey went all the way to Canton, Ohio the NFL Hall of Fame.

Here is a small list of players that look to take those same steps Randle did. Some of these players may be signed. On the other hand, some of the guys are still looking for their one shot.

WR David Moore East Central State

QB Eli Jenkins Jacksonville St.

TE Brandon Barner Alabama St.

OT Jonah Pirsig Minnesota

QB Drew Bauer Minnesota-Duluth

LB Charmeachealle Moore Kansas St.

DE Jason Hatcher West Georgia

FB Shane Smith San Jose St.

DT Isaiah Golden McNeese St.

DE Keonta Davis Tennessee Chattanooga

WR Austin Brown Dickinston St.

WR Wiley McCarron Iowa

WR Francis Owusu Stanford

QB Phillip Nelson East Carolina

TE Andy Avgi Western Oregon