Four Tar Heels Agree To Undrafted Free Agent Deals

The story’s not over even if your name isn’t called. 

After going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, Thaddeus Dixon, Marcus Allen, Austin Blaske and Chad Lindberg have agreed to undrafted free agent deals. Dixon signed with the New York Giants, Allen with the Minnesota Vikings, while Blaske and Lindberg both signed with the Los Angeles Rams.

The Meadowlands marks the next stop on Dixon’s long and winding football journey.

The Los Angeles native began his career at Long Beach City College (Calif.), where he spent two seasons at the junior college level before transferring to Washington. After two seasons with the Huskies under Steve Belichick, Dixon followed the Tar Heel defensive coordinator to Chapel Hill for his final collegiate season.

In his lone season at Carolina, Dixon started seven games for the Tar Heels, missing five after suffering a lower-body injury against Clemson, and finished with 19 tackles, two tackles for loss and six pass breakups.

Across two seasons at Washington, Dixon played in 27 of a possible 28 games, recording 69 tackles, 16 pass breakups and two interceptions. As a senior, he logged 43 tackles, one interception and 10 pass breakups, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition.

Allen will look to make the final roster in Minneapolis after four years as a regular in North Carolina’s secondary.

Across four seasons in Chapel Hill, Allen appeared in 51 of a possible 52 games, making 39 career starts in Carolina’s secondary — including all 12 games as a senior — while recording 137 tackles, 22 pass breakups, 4.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

Allen led the Tar Heels with eight pass breakups in 2025, while also recording 35 tackles — fourth among members of UNC’s secondary — 2.0 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. His most productive outing came in Carolina’s season finale against NC State, where he totaled seven tackles.

In February, Dixon and Allen were the lone Tar Heels invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where Dixon measured in at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, while Allen came in at 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds. 

Dixon participated in the vertical and broad jump, recording a 39.5-inch vertical — seventh among cornerbacks — and a 10-foot-5 broad jump, which ranked 11th at the position. Allen recorded a 39-inch vertical (8th among cornerbacks) and a 10-foot-3 broad jump (16th at the position), while also posting a 4.50-second 40-yard dash (16th among corners).

Blaske will head to Southern California after two seasons in Chapel Hill, where the Georgia transfer started all 21 games in which he appeared.

After starting all 12 games at center for the Tar Heels in 2024, Blaske made his first five starts of 2025 at left tackle before moving back to center for Carolina’s final four games. He missed the first three games of the season with a lower-body injury sustained in training camp.

The 6-foot-5 native of Effingham County, Ga., posted a 64.7 run-blocking grade and a 65.9 pass-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus, while allowing one sack across 362 pass-blocking snaps.

Prior to his time at Carolina, Blaske appeared in 15 games for the Bulldogs and was rated the No. 542 player in the 2020 class, according to Rivals’ industry rankings.

Lindberg will join Blaske in Los Angeles after wrapping up his redshirt senior season in Chapel Hill. 

He started at center in North Carolina’s first eight games of the 2025 season before suffering a season-ending upper-body injury during UNC’s Halloween win at Syracuse

A native of League City, Texas, Lindberg transferred to Carolina after spending his senior season at Rice, where he made 11 starts for the Owls in 2024. He began his collegiate career at Georgia, spending three seasons with the Bulldogs after entering as the No. 190 overall prospect in the 2020 recruiting class.

The 2026 NFL Draft marks the first time since 2016 that no Tar Heels were selected. Dixon, Allen, Blaske and Lindberg will now look to join Willie Lampkin, British Brooks and Alijah Huzzie as former Tar Heels who have reached the NFL after signing as undrafted free agents.