Undrafted Free Agent WR Gets NFL Contract After Highlight Video Goes Viral

He took matters into his own hands after not hearing his named called during the 2023 NFL draft.

East Carolina wide receiver Isaiah Winstead didn’t receive a phone call during this year’s NFL draft, so he decided to attempt another route of appealing to NFL teams.

Winstead posted a highlight video to Twitter on the night of April 30, a day after the draft ended. The brief clip, which lasts just over a minute, received over 20,000 likes and 3,000 retweets. By Tuesday, Winstead’s video had been viewed millions of times.

Eventually, the video came to the attention of the 49ers, as the team reached out to Winstead and signed him by Wednesday as the final player on their 90-man roster.

Here’s the video that started it all:

“6’4 210 moving like this,” Winstead wrote in his post. “No mini camp invite or UDFA deal. Behind the scenes on what I can do. With 88 catches & 1100 yds this past season… God makes no mistakes tho thank you in advanced.”

6’4 210 moving like this. No mini camp invite or UDFA deal. Behind the scenes on what I can do. With 88 catches & 1100 yds this past season… God makes no mistakes tho thank you in advanced 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/h4WE2hXI3Y

— Isaiah Winstead 🧛🏾‍♂️ (@Zayti99y_) April 30, 2023

Winstead admitted to USA Today Sports that after the video went viral, he received calls from at least half a dozen NFL teams, plus representatives from the Canadian Football League, XFL and USFL.

However, 49ers general manager John Lynch told KNBR that the team was familiar with Winstead prior to the viral video.

“Our scouts had just been on him for some time,” Lynch said.

Winstead will report to the 49ers’ minicamp with the team’s other rookies on May 12.