The anxious life of the undrafted free agent

Although the NFL has made the draft exciting and successful for the fan, it has caused innumerable ulcers for young men across the country as they watch their future unfold or get buried.

BYU's right tackle Braden Brown was in the unenviable position of "possibly" being drafted. He knew that if he got that phone call, that it would be on Saturday.

"I told myself I wouldn't sit around and watch it all day… By the time the end of the fifth round came and the end of the sixth and seventh round, I was pretty much glued to my TV watching every pick." said Brown, " It was definitely stressful and I was definitely anxious. It was crazy."

As each name passes, another piece of your childhood dream dies.

"I always wanted to be drafted. It's been a dream of mine, my whole life, to hear my name called."

Brown didn't watch the first round of the draft, but coincidentally it was the 8th overall pick that may have cost him his shot at getting drafted.

The St. Louis Rams moved up eight spots to get West Virginia's star wideout, Tavon Austin. They gave up their 16th, their second (No. 46) and their seventh (No. 222) to Buffalo. That 222nd pick was targeted for Brown, "St. Louis called me… and said they were trying to draft me, but they couldn't get a sixth or seventh round pick, they had traded it away."

(At fall camp, I doubt Brown will bring that up to the Wide Re-Diva.)

As the picks exhaust and hope starts to fade away, the internal spin-meisters kick in, or in Brown's case- his agent.

"A lot of times , guys that get picked up as free agents and get put in better opportunities end up making the team and doing a lot better than guys that get drafted in the 6th or 7th round and get put in a team where they are stacked at that position."

The cold hard fact for the NFL free agent is that there were 254 opportunities for someone to want you-and they did not.

It's a brutal introduction into professional sports, but there are success stories.

Cowboys guard Nate Newton won three Super Bowls with Dallas. He was a free agent signee with the Redskins out of Florida A&M.

Raiders Hall-of-Fame center Jim Otto was a nine-time All-Pro and never missed a game in 15 years. He signed out of Miami.

"Even though I didn't get drafted, it's still a great blessing and a great opportunity to even be in this position to have a chance to play in the NFL."

This isn't the first touch transition Brown has made in his football career. He played tight-end at Highland High School, but the coaching staff had other ideas.

"When I was being recruited by BYU, I sat in (Brandon Doman's) office and he looks at me and says, ‘Man, you are a big kid, I know you want to play tight end, I know that's why you want to come here, but I actually can see you putting on 50 more pounds and being an offensive tackle and being a really good offensive tackle."

Brown admitted that ego prevented him from fully embracing the suggestion, "I thought I was a lot cooler than I was, so I was kind of like, no that kind of sounds crappy, I don't want to be an O-lineman. I'd rather catch touchdowns."

At 6'6" and weighing 300 pounds, Doman got his wish and Brown played 52 games for the Cougars on the offensive line.

"He played basketball and if you see his feet, he's light on his feet, he's nimble and as he's gotten stronger he turned out to be a pretty good player." said Doman.

"I've tried to carry over my athleticism from the tight end to the offensive line and now I just have to work on my technique and continue getting stronger to be able to block these big 300 pound defensive ends that can run 4.7 40's." said Brown.

Now the real work begins. Brown has the opportunity, now he has to make the roster.

"All the work that has been put in at this point is completely over and doesn't matter, it's starting over fresh again."

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