Kurt Warner was a true American success story. The undrafted quarterback who was stocking shelves at a grocery store at one point in his 20s ended up being a two-time MVP and a Super Bowl Champion for the St. Louis Rams. And, his son, Kade Warner is trying to follow in his undrafted footsteps, but as a wide receiver.
Kade Warner started his college career at Nebraska before transferring to Kansas State for his final two seasons. In 2022, he had his best college season when he caught 46 passes for 456 yards and 5 touchdowns as a possession slot receiver. He went undrafted, but signed a UDFA contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s probably a long shot that Kade Warner will make the team, but he thinks he is the smartest receiver among all rookies, a pretty wild statement to make, admittedly. Here is Pro Football Talk with more.
Buccaneers rookie receiver Kade Warner went undrafted last month, but that hasn’t done anything to hurt his confidence.
In fact, it’s only increased his will to do what his father did.
“I take everything personally,” Warner said, via Matt Matera of pewterreport.com. “Like I was saying, from that undrafted, that walk-on mentality, every little thing. Like if the coaches pick somebody else before me, I write that down. If somebody gets more reps than me in this walk-through, I write that down. It’s kind of like that chip on your shoulder, I think just that expression is said a lot, so I don’t like saying it, but I just take everything personally.”
…
“So, I’m competitive like that, and I’m the smartest receiver in this [rookie] class,” Warner said. “I’ve said it before. They’re going to get a good slot receiver out of me, and I’m going to know exactly what to do on every play.”
Big words, Kade Warner. Let’s see if he can back it up.