A primer on the signing of UDFA's following the draft

So much BBI discussion has been on the Giants top pick.

Lets take a moment and discuss some history and some rules in signing of UDFA's after the draft, which I enjoy seeing called "Round 8".

Next week 256 college players will be lucky enough to be drafted. But tons of maneuvering takes place as teams fight to sign UDFA's. There is no limit to the number of players that can be signed as UDFA's, so long as a teams roster does not exceed 90.

Teams are allowed to entice players with dollars from an overall signing bonus pool. Last year the total pool per team was $98,340. That is not a lot of overall bonus money, so the signing bonuses are usually small ($2,500 to $10,000) and anyone getting $15,000 to $25,000 is considered a high priority signing.

I have not seen the 2018 figure released, but the signing bonus pool per team is probably in the area of $105,000 this draft.

Last year, we saw an interesting change in how the game was played. The game changer-who else but Bill Belichick. Though it is within the rules, and had been done occasionally before (think the Cowboys signing La'el Collins as an UDFA), Belichick upped the stakes with offering GUARANTEED rookie salary money to his two top UDFA targets, LB Harvey Langi of BYU and tight end Jacob Hollister of Wyoming. Langi was the "hottest" player in the UDFA signing period. He was offered a contract by the Texans, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, and Chiefs, but signed with the Patriots when $100,000 of his rookie salary was guaranteed along with a $15,000 signing bonus. A similar situation also occurred with Hollister, who would agree to have $80,000 of his rookie salary guaranteed, along with a $15,000 signing bonus.

The aggressive moves by Belichick paid off, as both Langi and Hollister made the Patriots final 53 man roster.

Remember that currently the Giants are without a draft pick in Rounds 6 and Round 7. Perhaps this makes the signing of UDFAs by the Giants even more important.

DG explained in this video with Bob Papa that he had rated OG Andrew Norwell as a 5th rounder, and was willing to offer the Panthers ENTIRE signing bonus pool just to get one player.

In his years with Carolina, DG's signing of UDFAs had more to do with quality than quantity. Many teams seem to sign 15-20 players this way, but I saw that DG was more likely to sign 6-8 he really liked, and spread the signing bonus dollars to fewer players.

Last year, UDFAs Calvin Munson, Chad Wheeler, and Shane Smith all made the Giants 53 man roster. Team depth is critical and it will be interesting to see how DG and company perform during the fast moving UDFA signing window.