The Cardinals announced that they have signed second-round pick Troy Niklas, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The club also announced officially the signings of third round picks Kareem Martin and John Brown.
Niklas, a tight end out of Notre Dame, is a solid blocker but he also had 32 catches for 498 yards and five touchdowns in 2013, so opposing defenses will have to respect his pass catching ability. The Cardinals used offensive tackle Bobby Massie in jumbo packages last season, but plugging Niklas in that role in 2014 will help keep defenses honest. Arizona General Manager Steve Keim feels like he has a hybrid in Niklas and believes that he has an incredibly high ceiling. “This, to me, is a guy who could really transcend into being one of the top all-around tight ends at some point in his career,” Keim said, according to Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com.
We learned earlier today that the Cards agreed to terms with Martin, a defensive end out of UNC. Division II Pittsburg State isn’t known as a football powerhouse, but Brown, taken with the No. 91 overall pick, showed that he was NFL material during his time there. A three-time Division II All-American, the wide receiver virtually re-wrote the record books, setting new watermarks in career catches (185), receiving yards (3,330), and touchdowns (32).