The 49ers' Shaun Hill and the Cowboys' Tony Romo were passed on a combined 523 times on their respective draft days and settled for the rookie free agent contracts that show up in small type on the scoreboard page.

And now?

Romo is the Cowboys' first Pro Bowl quarterback since Troy Aikman; Hill is the reigning NFC offensive player of the week.

"You're going to have to forgive me if I'm not crazy about the scouting process," Hill said while preparing for Sunday's game at Texas Stadium. "I wasn't even invited to the combine or any All-Star game.

"There are so many players on the streets that could play in this league. They just never got an opportunity. I don't know. It's wild."

It would be indeed be wild if only it weren't so common. In his first start this season, Hill faced Arizona's Kurt Warner, an undrafted quarterback who blossomed into a two-time MVP in the running for a third award.

In Hill's second start, he faced Marc Bulger, who was drafted in the sixth round and promptly cut in training camp by the New Orleans Saints .

"Yeah, there are guys all across the league like that," Romo said in a conference call with Bay Area reporters last week. "I find it more and more that the No. 1 picks don't end up being 'the guy.' Sometimes it's just a matter of waiting for your opportunity."

Hill is accustomed to the snubs. Coming out of Parsons High (Kansas), a handful of colleges recruited him -- as a punter. Coming out of Hutchinson Community College, Maryland noticed him only while scouting game film of one of his teammates.

So it's no surprise that the NFL didn't look his way in 2002, choosing instead to focus on David Carr (No. 1 overall), Joey Harrington (No. 3) and Patrick Ramsey (No. 32.)

"I'm fortunate enough to stick around," Hill said.

Romo, meanwhile, has a chance to join Warner in the conversation over the greatest undrafted quarterback ever. He is 24-9, the same record Roger Staubach and Danny White had after their first 33 starts with the Cowboys.

Romo already has 14 career 300-yard passing games, one better than Aikman for the franchise record.

It helps that, like Aikman, he is surrounded by immense talent. Romo and Terrell Owens have connected for 30 touchdown passes since 2006, the most in the NFL during that span. At the trading deadline this season, the Cowboys souped things up by acquiring former Pro Bowl receiver Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions .

"I didn't realize he had the kind of speed he has," Romo said. "He provides us with another deep threat, another guy who can push the top off the coverage and is hopefully just going to allow us to be a little bit more explosive."

Dallas' potency against the 49ers on offense will hinge on Romo's pinkie. He broke the finger on his throwing hand on Oct. 12 and missed the next three games. He returned against Washington last week, but didn't have the same zip on his throws. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 198 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

"He started out a little rusty I thought in the game," Coach Wade Phillips told 49ers beat writers. "But I felt after that he threw the ball pretty well, moved around well. He made some of the plays that Tony makes. There was one where he flipped it underhand for a first down right before we scored a touchdown. That was patented Tony, so I feel good about it."

49ers cornerback Walt Harris noticed. He will shadow mostly Williams in Sunday's game, while Nate Clements tries to keep pace with Owens. Harris said that Romo is the key to everything - "the head of the beast," he called him - and said the Cowboys clearly perked up upon their quarterback's return. "They're a different team with him under center," he said. "They're more poised, more confident."

The 49ers have looked much the same since Hill took over the position. Romo is happy to welcome another undrafted quarterback to the snub club.

"The thing about it is, you've got to perform and you've got to play at a certain level for an extended period of time. It's not just about a game or a week, or a month, or even a season," he said. "You've got to keep going back to the drawing board, keep getting better."

"If Shaun continues to grow and continues to keep getting better, he's got a bright future."