The 2026 NFL Draft was incredibly rewarding for Longhorns fans, especially on day 3 when five of the six Texas players drafted were taken. One of the biggest storylines of the weekend revolved around Trey Moore, Michael Taaffe, and D.J. Campbell, who found out they'd all be teammates again on the same NFL team.
Shortly after the conclusion of the draft, seven Longhorns signed UDFA (undrafted free agent) deals with NFL teams.
2026 Texas UDFA signees
DE Ethan Burke - Baltimore Ravens
DT Cole Brevard - Kansas City Chiefs
CB Jaylon Guilbeau - Carolina Panthers
QB Matthew Caldwell - Los Angeles Rams
K Mason Shipley - New Orleans Saints
DT Travis Shaw - Baltimore Ravens
P Jack Buowmeester - San Francisco 49ers
It's not often that you can say that UDFA's have a good chance to make an NFL team, but every one of these former Longhorns is in a great situation with their new organizations.
Ethan Burke, Travis Shaw, and Cole Brevard all went to teams that have depth issues along the defensive line, and they're perfectly built from a skillset perspective for the types of things that they're going to be asked to do throughout training camp and the preseason for the Ravens and Chiefs.
The Carolina Panthers have almost zero depth at cornerback behind their top four players at that spot, so Jaylon Guilbeau could end up sticking as CB6 heading into 2026.
Matthew Caldwell is more of a camp arm/practice squad-type of guy for the Rams, but it's always exciting to see Texas players make it to the next level.
Mason Shipley could have a legitimate shot to make the Saints roster, as they may be looking to upgrade from their current kicker, Charlie Smyth, after his rough year in 2025. Smyth only completed 75% of his FG attempts, and a couple of the ones he did make were barely inside the goal post.
Jack Buowmeester will compete with current 49ers vet Corliss Waitman for the starting punter spot, but Waitman's been pretty good for San Francisco over the past few seasons. Like Caldwell's outlook with Los Angeles, the 49ers could view Buowmeester as a camp body, but you never know!
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