Falcons’ undrafted free agents fight for a chance

Their ladder has an extra rung.

When you are an undrafted free agent, the climb to the NFL is a little higher.The draft came and went without their name being called. They start their NFL careers as afterthoughts.

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Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Undrafted free agent John Parker Wilson (left) joined a crowded quarterbacks corp made up of Chris Redman, Matt Ryan and D.J. Shockley.

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And they know it.

“Being an undrafted free agent, you just want it that much more,” said Falcons guard Jose Valdez, one of 11 undrafted rookie free agents taking part in offseason training. “You’re not — I don’t want to say favorites — but you have to put a lot more into it. You have to take it a lot more serious. It’s not that others don’t take is seriously, it’s just as a free agent, you’ve got another step to go before you’re actually on the team.”

While they are long shots, the journey is not impossible. The Falcons had three players — Brent Grimes, Harvey Dahl and Tyson Clabo — who started games last season after making the roster as undrafted free agents.

Then there is Tampa Bay’s Clifton Smith. He made the Buccaneers roster as an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State and wound up in the Pro Bowl as a return specialist last season as a rookie. Not bad.

“It’s hard work,” Grimes said. “Everyone has to work hard but for a drafted player, it’s easier for you than an undrafted free agent. You’ve got to work your way from the bottom. You have to keep your head up. You’re not going to get a lot of reps at the beginning. When you do get in there, you have to make the best of it.”

There are four rules that the undrafted rookie must live by.

• Rule No. 1: Get noticed.

It started last month with mini-camp and continues over the next several weeks with Organized Training Activities (OTAs). Coaches better know your name, game and work ethic before training camp starts in August.

“I think from the day they walked on to our facility, they are making an impression,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith said. “I think first impressions are very lasting impressions. It’s very important for us to evaluate them from the very beginning.”

• Rule No. 2: Know what you are supposed to do.

Undrafted free agents won’t get many opportunities. When they do, they better be where they’re supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. They can’t afford mistakes.

“Mini-camp was a big start. [At OTAs] you build a reputation of a guy that comes in and works hard,” said John Parker Wilson, an undrafted quarterback from Alabama. “You’re not going to get a lot of repetitions but when you do, you have to pull the trigger and make it count.”

•Rule No. 3: Make the most of your limited chances.

They don’t get much field time. What are the Falcons going to do? Take reps away from Matt Ryan and give them to Wilson, who is trying to secure a spot as the No. 3 quarterback?

“I’ve taken the mind set that you have to know what you are doing first off and then when you do get a chance, make the best of it,” Wilson said.

• Rule No. 4: Don’t get frustrated by those limited chances.

Grimes said that if you’re in an NFL camp, you were a starter in college and are accustomed to getting most of the practice reps.

“It did get [frustrating] at first,” Grimes said. “You just have to get over that and make your chances count.”

Valdez has taken his own approach to the waiting game.

“You can watch the veterans do it,” he said. “It is frustrating only getting three or four reps but I get to watch [Tyson] Clabo get reps. For me, that’s a mental rep. So I’m trying to get a rep with everything they do.”

For a team like the Falcons, who are continuing to rebuild a roster, there are more chances for the undrafted. When a team reaches the status of New England, where general manager Thomas Dimitroff came from, it’s not so easy. There, fourth-round draft picks often find no room on the roster. There are harder ladders to climb.