Houston Texans: Top Undrafted Players in Franchise History
By T.A. Mock
1. Arian Foster, RB, 2009
How often does an undrafted free agent become a franchise best? I don’t actually know but, probably not very often. That’s exactly what happened when the Houston Texans signed Foster out of Tennessee.
More from House of Houston
- Are you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?
- Houston Texans: 4 reasons Romeo Crennel is right coach right now
- Astros-Twins Wild Card Series: 5 things to know as MLB postseason begins
- Houston Texans: The Most Underrated Sports Drought Ever
- Houston Texans: J.J. Watt’s early case for NFL Hall of Fame
Foster sat out the majority of his first season until injuries thrust him into the lineup. In his lone start of 2009, he ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns. That pretty much earned him the starting job for 2010. Once the 2010 season began, there was no turning back.
Foster had over 2,200 yards from scrimmage in 2010. Over 1,600 over those yards coming on the ground. That is an average of over 100 yards per game. He also had 18 total touchdowns. For his career, he finished with 6,472 yards and 54 touchdowns. Foster was a phenomenal receiver out of the backfield. He had 2,346 yards through the air and 14 touchdowns.
There were three running backs drafted in the first round of 2009. Foster turned out better than all three. In fact, only one running back could potentially be argued to have been better than Foster. That man is LeSean McCoy. The reason being that McCoy has had a healthier and longer career. Their season averages amount to almost the same.
Any future individual will be hard pressed to pass up Foster’s success as a member of the Houston Texans. He will forever go down as one of the greatest offensive players in franchise history. He will also likely be the best undrafted player in team history forever as well.