Before, during, and after the NFL draft every year the attention is all on the draft picks. 2023 is no different.
But it’s not just about them. There are plenty of players who have gone on to have long careers that were not selected. Hall of Famers, even.
While we’re not going to say Richard Gouraige is a player that should size up his gold jacket just yet, but he’s officially on our watch board for training camp thanks to our friends at Draft Wire.
DW named one UDFA to watch on each team during the upcoming offseason. For the Bills, the offensive lineman from Florida was named and DW might be onto something.
Both The Draft Network and NFL.com were surprised that Gouraige was not drafted. Gouraige was projected as a fifth-round and sixth-round prospect by those outlets, respectively.
Gouraige may have an uphill climb to make Buffalo’s 53-man roster after the additions made to the offensive line already this offseason. Notably at the draft, a seventh-round pick was used on Nick Broeker and a top selection in Round 2 was tabbed on Gouraige’s college teammate O’Cyrus Torrence.
But Gouraige could stick around on the practice squad and turn into a piece that’s a promising project some day.
Here’s Draft Wire’s breakdown on Gouraige:
Gouraige has considerable experience at both guard and tackle from Florida. He’s strong, smart and technically sound–an ideal reserve offensive lineman.
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Story originally appeared on Bills Wire