New Orleans Saints sign college football record holder to UDFA deal
Unfdrafted free agency in the NFL is an insane process. Prospects are getting swarms of calls as teams try to endear them for their services. For the New Orleans Saints, they love this unique process right after the draft ends. They are usually one of the most active teams when it comes to UDFA signings […]
Unfdrafted free agency in the NFL is an insane process. Prospects are getting swarms of calls as teams try to endear them for their services. For the New Orleans Saints, they love this unique process right after the draft ends.
They are usually one of the most active teams when it comes to UDFA signings on draft weekend. One of their additions this past weekend is extremely intriguing for multiple reasons.
The Saints signed UDFA wide receiver/return specialist Malik Flowers.
Flowers is a unique talent in the kick return game. If that sounds familiar to a past UDFA signing by New Orleans, that's because it is.
Last year, the Saints signed Rashid Shaheed during the UDFA period, and he was a breakout player on offense and special teams last season for them. Flowers owns the FCS record for kickoff return TDs (7) alongside Shaheed.
Flowers, 6-2, 200, played from 2018-22 at Montana and appeared in 52 games. For his career, he returned 92 kickoffs for a Big Sky conference-record 2,659 yards (school-best 28.9 avg.) with seven touchdowns, which is tied for an FCS record with current Saint Rashid Shaheed. Flowers also caught 51 passes for 716 yards with four touchdowns and carried 16 times for 251 yards (15.7 avg.) with one score. In 2022, the Fontana, Calif. native earned second-team FCS All-America honors from Stats Perform and Phil Steele Magazine and second-team All-Big Sky, when in 13 games he brought back 20 kickoffs for 615 yards (30.8 avg.) with two touchdowns, set career-highs in pass catching production with 31 receptions for 460 yards with two touchdowns and carried three times for 59 yards (19.7 avg.). — New Orleans Saints team website
Hopefully, Flowers becomes a solid contributor for the Saints just like Rasheed did a season ago. New Orleans hits on some of these UDFA moves consistently, so it wouldn't be surprising.
