2015 NFL Draft - Pro Football Rumors

Only 51 Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

May 20th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

Under the NFL’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, signing draft picks has become easier than ever before, making rookie holdouts a thing of the past. With contracts strictly slotted by draft position, teams and agents can haggle over guaranteed money, offsets, and a couple other factors, but for the most part, as soon as a player is drafted, he knows what his rookie contract will look like.

Given the lack of flexibility for rookie deals, it’s no surprise that only two and a half weeks after the 2015 draft ended, over 80% of this year’s draftees are now under contract with their respective teams. Of this year’s 256 draft picks, 205 have reached agreements with their clubs, while 51 remain unsigned, according to our tracker.

Should we expect lengthy holdups for those remaining 51 players? Probably not. As mentioned above, total guaranteed money can be a point of contention, particularly for first- and second-round picks, but it would be a surprise if any of the players currently unsigned are still without contracts when training camps get underway in July.

Here are a few other notes on 2015’s draft pick signings so far:

Most of the remaining unsigned draftees – 36 of 51 – are first-, second-, or third-rounders, with the first round still having the most players left to sign, at 13.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, the second overall pick, is the only player in the top seven who has yet to sign.
Of the NFL’s 32 teams, 13 have finished signing their draft classes. The Ravens, Bills, Panthers, Bears, Texans, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings, Jets, Eagles, Chargers, 49ers, and Washington have all taken care of all their draft business.
The Rams are the only team in the NFL that has yet to sign a single draft pick, or at least to confirm that they’ve done so — I’d expect the club to formally announce all nine of its signings in one fell swoop.
Besides the Rams, every team has signed its sixth-round picks. Similarly, in the fifth round, only two Raiders draftees and Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona remain unsigned. The delay with Cardona may be related to negotiating his obligations to the Navy.

Bills Sign Second-Round Pick Ronald Darby

May 19th, 2015 at 4:35pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills announced that they have signed cornerback Ronald Darby, their final unsigned draft pick, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Buffalo took Darby in the second round.

Darby was the Bills’ top pick in this year’s draft since they sent their 2015 first-round choice to the Browns in the Sammy Watkins trade of 2014. The Florida State product is a truly freakish athlete with a wildly impressive resume. In high school, he won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the Maryland 3A state championships and was also part of the gold medal-winning USA medley relay team at the 2011 World Youth Championships in France.

Prior to the draft, Mike Mayock of the NFL Network praised Darby’s “world-class” speed but noted that he needs to learn not to grab his opponent going downfield.

Draft Signings: Steelers, Cardinals, Bills

May 18th, 2015 at 6:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest draft signings from rounds 3-7..

The Steelers announced (on Twitter) that they have signed their third-round draft pick, wide receiver Sammie Coates. With the Auburn product in the fold, Pittsburgh has now signed seven of eight draft picks.
The Cardinals signed third-round running back David Johnson and seventh-round tight end Gerald Christian, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. Only first-round tackle D.J. Humphries remains unsigned.
The Bills signed sixth-round linebacker Tony Steward, Wilson tweets. Now, top pick Ronald Darby stands as the last one unsigned.
The Browns announced that they have signed fourth-round wide receiver Vince Mayle and seventh-round linebacker Hayes Pullard, as Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald writes. Running back Duke Johnson, picked in the third round, and safety Ibraheim Campbell, taken in the fourth round, are the only Browns picks unsigned.
The Jaguars announced that they have signed fifth-round pick Rashad Greene. The FSU product was widely projected as a second-to-third round pick and the Jags are hoping that they got themselves a steal.

Browns Sign Cameron Erving

May 15th, 2015 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

3:14pm: In addition to confirming the Shelton signing, the Browns have also formally announced that they’ve locked up Erving.

1:21pm: The Browns, one of two teams to select two players in the first round of this year’s draft, have now reached deals with both of those rookies. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the team has agreed to terms with center Cameron Erving on the offensive lineman’s rookie contract.

When the Browns announced the signing of seventh-round defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu yesterday, the club indicated in its press release that 12th overall pick Danny Shelton had not yet officially signed his contract. However, a report earlier this week indicated that the team was in agreement with the defensive tackle, even if that agreement hasn’t been formally finalized.

As for Erving, his four-year contract with the Browns will be worth a total of about $9.429MM, with a signing bonus of approximately $5.118MM. His deal will also include a fifth-year option, allowing the Browns to lock him up through the 2019 season, if they so choose.

With Erving and Shelton having reportedly agreed to terms, the Browns have now locked up eight of their 12 draft picks, as our tracker shows.

Draft Signings: Raiders, Jaguars, Cowboys

May 15th, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few of the latest draft pick signings from around the NFL, as teams continue to work toward getting all their rookies under contract:

The Raiders have signed fourth-round offensive lineman Jon Feliciano and sixth-round defensive end Max Valles, according to a pair of press releases from the team. Oakland has now locked up half of its 10-player draft class, including fourth overall pick Amari Cooper.
The Michael Bennett who plays for the Seahawks and is currently playing out a $28MM contract has been a subject of a few rumors lately, but it’s another Michael Bennett, the defensive tackle out of Ohio State, that signed his rookie deal with the Jaguars today, as John Oehser of Jaguars.com reports (Twitter link).
The Cowboys have inked seventh-round offensive tackle Laurence Gibson to his four-year rookie contract, tweets Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Gibson will get a signing bonus of about $56K on a deal that’s worth $2.336MM in total, according to Over The Cap.

Broncos Sign Ty Sambrailo

May 15th, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Broncos have secured four of their draft picks today, signing them to rookie contracts. The most notable of those players to sign is second-round tackle Ty Sambrailo, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).

In addition to locking up Sambrailo, the Broncos have also signed seventh-round picks Trevor Siemian (QB), Taurean Nixon (CB), and Josh Furman (S), the team announced today in a press release. The series of moves leaves only two Denver picks unsigned — first-rounder Shane Ray and third-round tight end Jeff Heuerman.

Sambrailo, the 59th overall pick out of Colorado State, should get an opportunity this summer to earn playing time on an offensive line that has undergone some changes this offseason. Within the last couple months, the Broncos have seen Orlando Franklin and Will Montgomery depart via free agency, and traded Manuel Ramirez to the Lions. The team brought in Gino Gradkowski in a trade, and signed Shelley Smith as a free agent.

Per Over The Cap, Sambrailo will be in line for a signing bonus of about $1.057MM, with a four-year value of approximately $3.846MM on his rookie contract.

Chargers Sign Melvin Gordon

May 14th, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers have signed first-round pick Melvin Gordon, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Bolts selected Gordon with the No. 15 overall pick after moving up two spots to land him.

San Diego sent a 2015 fourth-round pick and a 2016 fifth-round pick to the 49ers to ensure that they would snare Gordon. Some wondered if that was a necessary move, but GM Tom Telesco later explained that he was fearful another team would trade up for Gordon since Todd Gurley came off the board so early. Telesco never expected Gurley to last until his pick at No. 17, but Gordon was the clear cut No. 2 tailback in the draft after the Georgia star.

Gordon, a Wisconsin product, posted the second-most single-season rushing yards in FBS History with 2,587, putting him less than 50 yards shy of the watermark set by Barry Sanders. Interestingly, Gordon and fellow first round pick Trae Waynes were good friends growing up.

Draft Signings: Browns, Bills, Titans

May 14th, 2015 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Here at PFR, we’re dedicating full posts to each player from rounds 1 and 2 that signs on with their respective teams. All of the other players, from rounds 3-7, are rounded up into posts such as these. The latest signings from rounds 1 and 2..

The Browns announced that they have signed defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, a seventh round choice. The Browns have now agreed to deals with over half of their class, with seven of 12 players in the fold. That group includes second-round linebacker Nate Orchard and first-round defensive tackle Danny Shelton, but does not yet include the club’s other first-rounder, Cameron Erving.
The Bills signed third-round guard John Miller and fifth-round running back Karlos Williams, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo news tweets. The Bills now have four draft picks signed and two to go.
The Titans (on Twitter) announced that they have agreed to terms on deals with fourth-round fullback Jalston Fowler and fifth-round running back David Cobb. Fowler, an Alabama product, played in 53 games during his collegiate career. He recorded 113 carries for 738 yards and five touchdowns.
The Broncos announced (on Twitter) that they have signed fifth-round pick Lorenzo Doss. The cornerback had three interceptions for Tulane in 2014. If both players make the roster, Doss will join former Tulane teammate Taurean Doss in the secondary. Denver tapped Nixon in the seventh round.

Steelers Sign Bud Dupree

May 14th, 2015 at 4:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have signed first-round pick Bud Dupree, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). Dupree’s four-year deal will pay him $9.2MM with a $5MM signing bonus and a fifth option year.

Dupree had interest from several teams picking high in the draft including the Cardinals who tried to move up ahead of the Steelers. Of course, they were unsuccessful in their bid to land the Kentucky pass rusher after Pittsburgh plucked him at No. 22.

Dupree has been widely praised for his strength and athleticism. The former team captain recorded 7.5 sacks in his senior year, giving him 23.5 for his entire career at UK. Dupree impressed many scouts at the combine when he posted a 42-inch vertical leap and a 4.56 second 40-yard dash.

Draft Signings: Eagles, Steelers, Bengals, Jags

May 14th, 2015 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Coming into today, fewer than 90 players selected in the 2015 NFL draft remained unsigned, with well over half of this year’s 256 draftees having reached agreements with their respective teams. A few more rookie have struck deals with their clubs today, so let’s round up the latest news, with all contract info coming from Over the Cap:

The Eagles have finished deals with all six of their draftees, agreeing to terms today with third-round linebacker Jordan Hicks, according to the team (Twitter link). Hicks’ four-year deal will be worth a little under $3MM, including a signing bonus of about $653K.
The Steelers have signed fifth-round tight end Jesse James to his rookie contract, leaving the team with three unsigned picks, including first-rounder Bud Dupree (Twitter link via the club’s official account).
The Bengals have signed tight end C.J. Uzomah, their fifth-round pick out of Auburn, the team announced today (via Twitter). The second tight end selected by Cincinnati in the draft, Uzomah will count against the Bengals’ cap for just over $488K in 2015, assuming he makes the regular season roster.
The Jaguars have now locked up half their draft picks, signing seventh-round tight end Ben Koyack to his contract today, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com (Twitter link). Koyack will receive a signing bonus worth approximately $69K on his first NFL deal.

2015 NFL Draft News & Rumors