Remembering the Cowboys Signing Tony Romo as an Undrafted Free Agent in a Stroke of Utter Genius

The 2020 NFL Draft has come and gone, and like clockwork, the annual wave of undrafted signings has returned with a bang. You know the deal: Teams across the league hope to strike gold with players that didn't have the pleasure of hearing their name called across those seven rounds.

History suggests that a least a handful of these players will go on to enjoy promising and and lengthy careers at the pro level. That got us thinking about one of the greatest unselected narratives of all-time back in 2003 when the Dallas Cowboys famously took a flier on Eastern Illinois quarterback Tony Romo.

Romo actually garnered some significant buzz entering the 2003 Draft, but he ultimately went unselected. Though he didn't know it at the time, his status as an undrafted free agent was a blessing in disguise. Thanks to bidding wars, players left over have the luxury of choosing their NFL homes.

It didn't take long for teams to show an interest in Romo, whose decision came down to the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, and Cowboys in the end. The presence of Sean Payton, an Eastern Illinois alum and then-QBs coach in Dallas, proved pivotal to Romo picking Big D.

In 2006, a young Romo first made waves in the NFL when he usurped Drew Bledsoe as the starting quarterback in Dallas. The rest is literally history. Though playoff success eluded him for much of his career, Romo finished up as one of the best gunslingers in Cowboys franchise history. He made four Pro Bowls and tossed more than 25 touchdowns in seven separate seasons.

He even edges out Tom Brady in one key statistical measure.

Dallas definitely came upon an incredible stroke of luck based on how Romo's career panned out, but that's precisely what makes these UDFA narratives so captivating. They personify the very definition of an underdog story.

Fortunately for the Cowboys, they made out like geniuses, as Romo starred for them for close to a decade.