Laddie Morse
Brett Veach and the Kansas City Chiefs have signed many Undrafted Free Agents (UDFAs) this year and have signed even more UDFAs to join in at their rookie mini-camp. In the past, the Chiefs have signed UDFAs who have become integral parts to the team. Think Priest Holmes, Brian Waters, Tommy Townsend, Tershawn Wharton, Jody Fortson or Daniel Sorensen. From chiefs.com/news: “Teams are permitted to hold one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp between one of the two indicated weekends: May 5 – 8 or May 12 – 15.”
ArrowheadPride goes further to explain:
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The first three dates are all voluntary. However, the Chiefs have had no problems at all with players showing up in great shape, even for their Training Camp, and the dates for TC haven’t been established for that yet, but a deal was completed for where: which is at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, MO..
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Here’s a listing of the UDFAs the Chiefs have signed:
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1. Aidan Borguet, RB, Harvard
2. Allen Smith, RB, Brown
3. Anderson Hardy, OL, Appalachian State
4. Anthony Cook, S, Texas
5. Anthony Witherstone, CB, Merrimack
6. Arnold Crayton, EDGE, Missouri Western
7. Blake Haynes, OL, Tarleton
8. Cam Jones, LB, Indiana
9. Chizi Umunakwe, LB, Central Connecticut
10. Connor Blumrick, WR, Virginia Tech
11. Connor Degenhardt, QB, New Haven
12. Demarcus Elliott, IDL, Indiana
13. Deneric Prince, RB, Tulsa
14. Ekow Boye-Doe, CB Kansas State
15. Harrison Bagayogo, CB Guelph University
16. Isaiah Norman, S, Marshall
17. Jake Gerardi, P, Southern Utah
18. Jamal Turner, TE, Toledo
19. James Letcher Jr., WR, Washburn
20. Jeremy Cooper, G, Cincinnati
21. Jerome Carvin, G, Tennessee
22. Joshua Mote, OT, LA Tech
23. LJ Davis, S, Northern Arizona
24. Martez Manuel, S, Missouri
25. Nikko Remigio, WR/KR, Fresno State
26. Quinton Barrow, OT, Grand Valley State
27. Reese Taylor, CB, Purdue
28. Te’Vailance Hunt, WR, Arkansas State
29. Todd Centeio, QB, James Madison
30. Truman Jones, EDGE, Harvard
31. Ty Scott, WR, Missouri State
32. Tyler Roberts, TE, Merrimack
33. Tyrick James, TE, Tulane
34. Zach Howard, IDL, NW Missouri State
35. Zane Pope, WR, Fresno State
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While I am not intentionally biased — maybe I am — towards big time university programs, I’d say that teams like Texas, Missouri, Tennessee and Cincinnati provide the best chance for their UDFA prospects to make it onto an NFL team like the Chiefs. The reason for identifying the top five UDFAs is that, not many of them make the team’s final roster cut down at the end of August. Also, the league owners have decided that there will only be one cut down date for all teams, going from 90 to 53:
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So, let’s take a look at who my top Five UDFAs will be this year.
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RB/FB, Aidan Borguet, Harvard
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Aidan Borguet is included here because the running back/Fullback position of the Chiefs. While we know the Chiefs have no FB at his point, the RB position is perhaps one of the least deep positions on the Chiefs roster. With the news coming down yesterday that Clyde Edwards-Helaire was not be offered the 5th year option on his deal, it opens up the competition for the Chiefs third RB spot on the roster.
Here’s the Harvard vs. Yale game from 2019 with Aidan Borguet highlighted (3:19):
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DB, Reese Taylor, Purdue
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It was reported that the deal with Reese Taylor includes $70,000 guaranteed. If the Chiefs see that kind of talent in a player, he has to be good. Right? Taylor is reported to run a 4.45 40 yard dash so he appears to heave enoguh speed to stay with Pro level WRs. Here’s a look at his highlights from this season:
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OL, Jerome Carvin, Tennessee
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Jerome Carvin is now known mostly for head butting a team mate while he was wearing a helt (and his team mate was not):
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At 6-foot-5 and 321 lbs. Carvin has been called a “Beast”…
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Andy Reid, and Andy Heck know how to train up a guy like this so I won’t be surprised if he makes the final 53 man roster. However, the competition is steep along ge OL, so it’ll be hard to tell. At least we know he’ll have players he already knows who are on the Chiefs roster like Trey Smith and now Wanya Morris.
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Anytime you see the Chiefs hand out guaranteed money, it means they were following this man’s career. That means they may have plans for his down the line.
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LB, Cam Jones, Indiana
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Cam Jones stats all look fine to me:
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The challenge for Cam Jones will be holding up physically under the demands of the Linebacking position. I understand that he’s played the DB role in previous college seasons so if he is good in coverage, then he has a chance. The challenge then becomes his 4.69 speed… if he’s used in that role.
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Dane Brugler of The Athletic had this to say about Cam Jones, who was originally on the Chiefs draft board prior to the three day event:
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The Chiefs may have been keeping up with his career… but not enough to draft him. Why? That’s the rub.
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RB, Deneric Prince, Tulsa
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RB Deneric (rhymes with “generic”) Prince has received the largest guaranteed money from the Chiefs that I can remember:
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Prince is said to remind Cole Deruse of “How Bout Those Chiefs” (YouTube and podcast) of Isiah Pacheco (Pop). Personally, I don’t see it. Pacheco is 5-foot-10 while Prince is 6-foot-1. Maybe it’s the 40 times: Pop runs a 4.37 40 yard dash while Prince runs a 4.41. It could be their running style, which is very physical.
In any event, there appears to eb an opening because Clyde Edwards-Helaire wasn’t given his fifth-year option by GM Brett Veach. We don’t even know if CEH will re-sign with K.C. but it seems likely as no other teams spoke up to try and trade for him, so…. Here’s teh game tape of Tulsa (Prince’s team) vs. Cincinnati, who typically has a strong defense:
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Cincinnati may have held Deneric Prince to 71 rushing yards on 18 attempts for a 3.9 yards per attempt average with 2 TDs… but I thought this would be a good game to measure his skills by.
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Honorable Mentions
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WR/KR, Nikko Remigio, Fresno St.
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Any time you score a Special Team TD, you should get an honorable mention. So, I did:
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LJ Davis, S, Northern Arizona
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While that bias I mentioned earlier is not too severe, I do have a bias FOR prospects from my alma mater, like: Safety, LJ Davis from Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff. Flagstaff is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen and it is a hidden jewel buried in the mountains of Northern AZ.
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Back to CB Alonzo Davis He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 200 lbs.. That kind of height will go a long ways with Dave Merrick, the Chiefs DB coach. According to NAUAthletics.com, Davis:
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“Appeared in 32 games across four seasons after redshirting as a true freshman in 2017… Finished the Fall 2021 season with 28 total tackles, 5 pass breakups, 2.0 tackles for loss and 1 interception during his final season….”
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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