HEADLINES

2018 NFL Draft News & Rumors

94% Of Draft Picks Have Signed

June 25th, 2018 at 1:11pm CST by Zachary Links

As shown in PFR’s tracker, the overwhelming majority of this year’s draft picks are now under contract. Of this year’s 256 selections, 239 have inked their first NFL deal. As of Monday morning, that leaves just 17 players – or 6.6% of this year’s class – unsigned. Here’s the complete breakdown of the stragglers, round by round:

First Round (12)

Second Round (3)

  • Colts, 2-36: Darius Leonard, LB (South Carolina State)
  • Colts, 2-37: Braden Smith, G (Auburn)
  • 49ers, 2-44: Dante Pettis, WR (Washington)

Third Round (1)

Fourth Round (0)

Fifth Round (1)

Sixth Round (0)

Seventh Round (0)

At this point, the bulk of this year’s stragglers are in the first round – specifically, within the top ten. So far, Broncos defensive end Bradley Chubb (No. 5 overall), Colts guard Quenton Nelson (No. 6), and Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen (No. 10) are the only players in the top ten who have signed their deals. The rest of those players are likely haggling over offset language. Offset language was at the root of Joey Bosa‘s protracted negotiations with the Chargers in 2016 and kept him from signing until the very end of August.

Half Of Teams Have Wrapped Draft Class

June 21st, 2018 at 10:19am CST by Zachary Links

Half of the NFL’s teams have wrapped up their NFL draft classes, as shown in PFR’s tracker. There are still 16 teams with at least one draft pick left to sign, but the following clubs have no more work left in that area as we get ready for training camp:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Panthers Sign First-Round WR D.J. Moore

June 18th, 2018 at 2:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers have signed rookie D.J. Moore, according to an announcement from the team. With the wide receiver under contract, the Panthers have now wrapped up their entire draft class. 

Early on in draft season, many believed that Alabama’s Calvin Ridley would be the first receiver to come off of the board. However, with strong performances in workouts, Moore leapfrogged him on many draft boards. Moore won out as he was selected 24th overall by the Panthers while Ridley went No. 26 overall to the Falcons.

The Maryland standout earned Big Ten Receiver of the Year honors last year after setting a single-season school record for receptions with 80. Despite playing with four different quarterbacks, Moore posted 1,033 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, becoming just the third wide receiver in school history to post a 1,000-yard receiving season.

Moore will now be tasked with a significant role in the Panthers’ offense as he catches passes from Cam Newton. Moore projects to be the one of the team’s top wide receivers, along with Devin Funchess and fellow Maryland alum Torrey Smith.

Per the terms of his slot, Moore will earn roughly $11.2MM over the course of his four-year deal. The pact will include a $6.2MM signing bonus.

Here’s the complete rundown of Carolina’s draft class:

Carolina Panthers

10% Of NFL Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

June 18th, 2018 at 12:15pm CST by Zachary Links

As shown in PFR’s tracker, the bulk of this year’s draft picks are now under contract. Of this year’s 256 selections, 230 have inked their first NFL deal. As of Monday morning, that leaves just 26 players – or approximately 10% of this year’s class – unsigned. Here’s the complete breakdown of the stragglers, round by round:

First Round (16)

Second Round (4)

  • Colts, 2-36: Darius Leonard, LB (South Carolina State)
  • Colts, 2-37: Braden Smith, G (Auburn)
  • Dolphins, 2-42: Mike Gesicki, TE (Penn State)
  • 49ers, 2-44: Dante Pettis, WR (Washington)

Third Round (5)

Fifth Round (1)

Sixth Round (0)

Seventh Round (0)

Fourth Round (0)

Rookie holdouts are pretty rare under the current CBA, but the Joey Bosa drama of 2016 reminded all of us that it’s still a possibility. We have yet to hear of a significant divide between this year’s first-round picks and their respective teams, but it’s something to keep in mind as we inch closer to training camp.

Typically, first-round picks take longer to sign as they haggle over offset language. Offset language relates to what happens to a player’s salary if he’s cut during the first four years of his career, while he’s still playing on his rookie contract. For example, if a player has $4MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract and is cut, he’ll still be owed that $4MM.

However, if a team has written offset language into the contract, that club can save some money if and when the player signs with a new team. For example, if that player who had $4MM in guaranteed money left on his contract signs with a new club on a $1MM deal, his old team would only be on the hook for $3MM, with the new team making up the difference. Some teams hold the line on the issue of offset language while others are willing to either give into the agent’s demands or meet them halfway with “partial” offset language.

Third-round picks also tend to take a while to sign due to flexibility in base compensation, but that list of stragglers has been cut in half – from 10 to 5 – over the last two weeks.

88% Of NFL Draft Picks Have Signed Their Rookie Contracts

June 13th, 2018 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

The overwhelming majority of this year’s draft picks have signed their rookie deals, as shown in PFR’s tracker. Of this year’s 256 selections, 226 have inked their first NFL deal. As of Wednesday afternoon, that leaves 30 players – less than 12% of this year’s class – unsigned. Here’s the complete breakdown, round by round:

First Round (17)

Second Round (5)

Third Round (8)

Fourth Round (0)

Fifth Round (1)

Sixth Round (0)

Seventh Round (0)

The Rams signed their entire rookie class late last week, putting a serious dent in the unsigned total since our last check. Still, the first round (17) and third round (8) lead the way in rookie stragglers. That’s to be expected, as first round picks have the leverage needed to negotiate a better position on certain issues such as offset language. Third round negotiations also tend to drag since there is wiggle room when it comes to base salaries.

20% Of Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

June 6th, 2018 at 2:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Roughly 20% of this year’s draft picks have yet to sign their rookie contracts, as shown in PFR’s tracker. So far, 213 of this year’s 256 selections have inked their deals.

Here’s the complete breakdown, sorted by round:

First Round (17)

Second Round (5)

Third Round (10)

Fourth Round (2)

  • Rams, 4-111: Brian Allen, C (Michigan State)
  • Rams, 4-135: John Franklin-Myers, DE (Stephen F. Austin)

Fifth Round (3)

Sixth Round (4)

Seventh Round (2)

As expected, the first round (17) and third round (10) lead the way in stragglers. First round picks tend to have the most leverage, which means that agents will often haggle on issues such as offset language. The third round negotiations also tend to drag since there is wiggle room when it comes to base salaries.

Cardinals Sign Mason Cole

May 31st, 2018 at 5:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals have wrapped up their 2018 draft class. On Thursday, Arizona inked their final straggler in third round centerMason Cole. 

Cole, a Michigan product, owns the distinction of being the first true freshman offensive lineman in program history to start the season opener. He did so at the left tackle position, where he spent the first two years of his collegiate career. Starting with his junior season, Cole made the switch to the middle when Graham Glasgow left for the NFL. In the pros, Cole projects to serve as Arizona’s backup center behind starter A.Q. Shipley.

Here’s the complete rundown of the Cardinals’ draft class:

As of this writing, 12 third round draft picks in the 2018 class remain unsigned. In total, 54 of this year’s 256 picks have yet to ink their deals.

Draft Pick Signings: 5/24/18

May 24th, 2018 at 7:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are today’s second-tier draft signings:

  • The Buccaneers signed their second-round pick, cornerback Carlton Davis from Auburn. Davis was a three-year starter for the Tigers, earning a first-team All-SEC selection as a senior. An average athlete with good size, Davis will slide in behind Brent Grimes, Ryan Smith, and Vernon Hargreaves on the depth chart. The Bucs likely see Davis as the eventual successor to the now 34-year old Grimes.
  • Second-round linebacker Breeland Speaks signed his rookie deal with the Chiefs. Left without a first-round pick in the 2018 draft due to last year’s Patrick Mahomes trade, Speaks was the team’s first selection. Speaks played defensive tackle and defensive end in college, but the Chiefs plan to line him up at outside linebacker. Playing at Mississippi last year, Speaks generated seven sacks. He’ll initially be competing for playing time behind veterans Justin Houston and Dee Ford.
  • The Jaguars agreed to terms with third-round safety Ronnie Harrison on his rookie deal. Harrison was one of a slew of Alabama players selected in last year’s draft, and is looking to be the latest in a long line of Crimson Tide defenders to become stars in the NFL. Harrison was always a great player in college, but underwhelmed athletically with his testing at the combine. Harrison will play strong safety for the Jaguars, and is yet another piece added to their already dominant defense.

Cardinals Sign WR Christian Kirk

May 24th, 2018 at 3:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals signed second-round pick Christian Kirk to his rookie contract, the team announced. Per the terms of his slot, Kirk will earn roughly $5.9MM over the course of his four-year deal. 

Heading into the draft, Kirk had some buzz as a potential first-round selection. The Cardinals, who needed to fortify their wide receiver group after selecting quarterback Josh Rosen in the first round, were delighted to land Kirk at No. 47 overall.

Kirk certainly performed like a top-flight talent in his three years at Texas A&M as he amassed nearly 2,976 all-purpose yards across three seasons. With a solid work ethic and tough on-field playing style, the Cardinals believe that Kirk can be molded into a reliable threat, even though he does not possess the same top-end speed as other wide receivers in his class.

The Cardinals project to use Kirk as a supporting piece behind No. 1 wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald this year. J.J. Nelson and free agent addition Brice Butler also figure to see a significant number of targets in Sam Bradford‘s offense.

Raiders Sign Brandon Parker, Nick Nelson

May 21st, 2018 at 3:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders inked two of their draft picks on Monday afternoon. Third-round offensive tackle Brandon Parker and fourth-round cornerback Nick Nelson are now under contract, meaning that eight of their nine selections have been signed. As shown on PFR’s tracker, third-round defensive end Arden Key is the last unsigned rookie of the bunch. 

Parker, the No. 65 overall pick in last month’s draft, played four seasons at North Carolina AT&T and started all 48 of his games at left tackle. The reigning MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year and FCS All-American First Team selection will compete for time behind starters Donald Penn and fellow rookie Kolton Miller at the tackle spots.

Nelson, the No. 110 overall pick, spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Hawaii before transferring to Wisconsin. With the Badgers, Nelson tallied 35 tackles and tied for third in the country with 21 passes defended. Nelson has 40 passes defensed in three NCAA seasons but, somehow, did not record an interception in that time. That may have been a red mark against him in the draft process, along with his torn meniscus in early April.

The good news is that Nelson is expected to be back to full health this summer, which should allow for him to compete for playing time behind starters Gareon Conley and Rashaan Melvin. Shareece Wright, Dexter McDonald, Leon Hall, and Daryl Worley are also among those in the CB mix.

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