No German was drafted in the seven rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. After that, however, Kilian Zierer and Lorenz Metz quickly found a club and can continue to dream of a great NFL career as undrafted free agents

The two German football pros Kilian Zierer and Lorenz Metz have each found a place as undrafted free agents in the NFL after the draft and can continue to dream of a career in the best league in the world.

Offensive tackle Zierer signed with the Houston Texans, his agent announced on Twitter. Meanwhile, Metz, who is also at home on the O-line, received a contract with the Chicago Bears. “I can’t wait to get to work. I feel so lucky to get this opportunity,” Metz wrote.

Zierer and Metz are both from Bavaria. Zierer learned soccer ABC with the Allgäu Comets after first playing soccer as a forward. Then he moved up to goalie because of his size. When he became too tall for that, too, he discovered football during a vacation in the USA.

Zierer was a regular at Auburn

During his college days, Zierer played for the Auburn Tigers. While the 23-year-old did not see the field in his first season in 2020 due to injury, he was a backup as an offensive tackle in 2021. His breakthrough season came last year when Zierer played every single game for Auburn as a left tackle.

Metz hails from Neuötting and learned to play football with the Kirchdorf Wildcats. Metz, who is 2.05 meters tall and weighs 144 kilograms, only started playing the sport at the age of 17. Before that, he played table tennis. Metz has been playing in the U.S. since 2018, and in his first year he was retrained from defensive tackle to offensive tackle. Last season, the No. 51 Cincinnati Bearcats started the final five games at right guard despite injuries in the offseason.

Both Zierer and Metz will now compete for a spot on their teams’ final 53-man rosters, which will be called shortly before the start of the season. If they don’t make the final roster, they will still earn a spot on the practice squad.