PALM BEACH COUNTY – This upcoming weekend is set to be a make-it-or-break-it one for some of our area’s NFL rookies.

It particularly applies to those players who did not get selected by a team in last month’s NFL Draft.
Simply put, they must have the best individual performances of their lives in order to earn a spot on the 90-man rotation.

And that’s not even half the battle right there.

Typically, there’s approximately a combined 25 undrafted free agents and rookie minicamp invites that get to compete on this stage. Once the coaches are done evaluating those “ undrafted rookies”, only two or three of those guys actually make it past rookie minicamp.

It’s either a yes offer or a hard no from the particular NFL team’s coaching staff.

Bottom line: You’re closer to being cut outright than being kept.

Many of the NFL teams had their rookie minicamps last weekend (May 2-5), such as the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Others, such as the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, will have it this weekend (May 9-12).

After speaking with an unnamed source, the person provided an insightful take on how the rookie minicamp circuit works in detail.

“The good thing about what happened last weekend is if they didn’t make it with the team they were on, then they can try to go to rookie minicamp with another team,” the unnamed source said. “Teams may have only a select few spots available out of say, 100 players who didn’t make it.”

Here’s a typical breakdown of how the NFL rookies usually turn out:

•Round 1-3 draft picks – Likely guaranteed to make 53-man roster

•Round 4-7 draft picks – Likely will fight to make 53-man roster; they’ll probably at least make it to training camp

•Undrafted free agent – More like a preferred walk-on; may make it to training camp

•Rookie minicamp signee – walk-on; not guaranteed to make it past rookie minicamp weekend

As we all know by now, four of our area’s high school alums were drafted by NFL teams. Here is a refresher in regards to our draft picks:

•RB Devin Singletary (Delray Beach American Heritage/FAU): Buffalo Bills – No. 74 pick in third round

•RB Travis Homer (Oxbridge Academy/Miami): Seattle Seahawks – No. 204 pick in sixth round

•RB Kerrith Whyte (Seminole Ridge/FAU): Chicago Bears – No. 222 pick in seventh round

•CB Jimmy Moreland (Royal Palm Beach/James Madison): Washington Redskins – No. 227 pick in seventh round

Here is a list of our undrafted free agents and rookie minicamp invites – in alphabetical order:

•DE Walvenski Aime (Olympic Heights/Florida State) – Seattle Seahawks

•CB Kyron Brown (Boynton Beach/Akron) – New York Jets

•LB Te’Von Coney (Palm Beach Gardens/Notre Dame) – Oakland Raiders

•WR Johnnie Dixon (Dwyer/Ohio State) – Houston Texans

•OL Fred Johnson (Royal Palm Beach/Florida) – Pittsburgh Steelers

•WR Darrell Langham (Santaluces/Miami) – Miami Dolphins

•WR Stephen Louis (Palm Beach Lakes/NC State) – Houston Texans

•WR Ron’quavion Tarver (Glades Central/Utah State) – Chicago Bears

•WR Jamarius Way (Glades Central/South Alabama) – Green Bay Packers

NOTE: If there’s anybody we forgot, please let us know. We intend to follow these players closely from now until the 2019 NFL season begins.