Following the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos signed several undrafted free agents to be part of the growing roster, which has a 90-man limit. However, upon further inspection, one of those undrafted players is on the roster for mysterious reasons.
BJ West was signed after spending several years at Alabama State University. It's difficult for players who come from smaller schools such as Alabama State to make the league, but oftentimes, they have a statistical output that can't be denied.
But that is not the case with West. And on top of having done nothing statistically (almost literally), take a look at his size.
WR BJ West spent 6 years at Alabama State. He totals -5 receiving yards throughout his career:
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) May 1, 2024
2018: 0
2019: 0
2020: -4
2021: 0
2022: 0
2023: -1 https://t.co/Co8j3sHPVu
It hasn't been talked about much, but the Broncos signed an undrafted free agent wide receiver out of Alabama State named BJ West... who measures in at 5'8" 142 pounds 😳
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) May 1, 2024
I'm trying to figure out if that would be the lightest player in the modern era.
It is puzzling to figure out what this kid did to earn a contract with numbers like those, but the Broncos have something in mind. The most educated guess likely leads one to believe that West will be experimented with as part of the league's new kickoff rule.
To answer the above question about him being the lightest player, Tony Jones, a wide receiver for the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons from 1990-93, was 5-foot-7 and 142 pounds. He was a sixth-round pick out of Texas and finished his career with 63 receptions.
West will face insurmountable odds to make the team and almost certainly won't, but it will be interesting to see what the Broncos plan to do with him this summer.