The NFL Draft ended and Justin Staples was headed to T.G.I. Fridays. He had just watched all 254 picks go by without mention of his name.

“You put so much effort into this, and then to watch the whole draft, all three days, is kind of disheartening,” Staples said.

So he decided to get out of his home and get something to eat. But not even 15 minutes after the conclusion of the seventh and final round, his phone rang and his hometown team, the Cleveland Browns were on the other line.

Staples grew up fewer than five minutes away from the Browns practice facility where he and his friends used to watch the players practice, and Sunday afternoon, he signed a contract to become one of those players.   

For most, the NFL Draft ends with pick No. 254. The cameras stop rolling on the three-day television event, and the conversation turns to draft grades and roster battles. But for dozens of college football players, their journey is only beginning.

Thirteen Illini were vying for limited opportunities in the NFL, and though only four were selected — guard Hugh Thornton to the Indianapolis Colts, defensive tackle Akeem Spence to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, cornerback Terry Hawthorne to the Pittsburgh Steelers and defensive end Michael Buchanan to the New England Patriots — several more found their NFL dreams coming true in the hours after the draft.

Staples signed with the Browns, center Graham Pocic signed with the Houston Texans and defensive end Glenn Foster signed with the New Orleans Saints.

As the final picks were submitted and announced, the Illini players had a decision to make. The incoming calls were flooding their phones, coaches and scouts offering the pitch for their respective teams.

“It’s like recruiting,” said Foster, who received calls from about 10 teams. “Except everything happened within an hour.”

Pocic said his agent was plotting teams’ depth charts throughout the draft, identifying the destinations where Pocic would have the best opportunity to stick, helping his client to make an informed decision amid the whirlwind of phone calls and contract offers.

“You don’t really have much time to look into the options,” Pocic said. “It’s really quick because the teams are looking to fill up their spots, and if they’re not gonna get a guy, they want to move on to the next guy quick.”

While they all were hoping to hear their names called at the Radio City Music Hall, becoming an undrafted free agent isn’t without perks. Their futures shifted from the hands of 32 NFL teams into their own. Players are able to look at each team’s roster and schemes to identify the one that best fits their skills. Sifting through a handful of offers, they can seek out the destination that presents the best chance at a future in the league.

“Being drafted, you have the assurance that the entire staff agreed on you being a member of the team,” Staples said. “But being in the position I was in, I was able to look at what was the best option for me.”

Even the Illini who didn’t get drafted and weren’t offered a contract in the hasty post-draft free agency period haven’t yet had their NFL dreams quashed. 

Safety Ashante Williams and long snapper Zak Pedersen will both head to rookie minicamps next month for tryouts with the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears, respectively. Justin Green, Patrick Nixon-Youman, Tommy Davis and Suppo Sanni have not yet been confirmed for tryouts or signings as of press time.

Williams drew interest from several teams, including the Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals. He said three scouts from the Chiefs rated him draftable, but he fell off their board because of his listed 5-foot-9 height. 

“I’ve just got the biggest chip on my shoulder,” Williams said. “I feel like that’s 254 more reasons to go out and show what I can do.”

It wasn’t until Sunday morning that Pedersen got his phone call. The Bears invited him to their rookie minicamp, and he jumped at the opportunity to play for his hometown team. With Patrick Mannelly firmly entrenched as the Bears long snapper of 16 years, Pedersen just hopes to make an impression as Mannelly, 38, enters the final year of his contract.

“With the nature of the position, you’ve just kind of got to wait and see,” Pedersen said. “For right now, I’m just focusing on this opportunity and taking it one day at a time. Hopefully I can impress some people.”

Chad can be reached at [email protected] and @cthornburg10.