The Arizona Cardinals 2016 draft featured some very interesting, high impact picks, now all of their signatures are on paper and they’re ready to officially get to work.
The Arizona Cardinals have signed all draft picks from this year’s class after the final three players signed on Monday. Third round pick Brandon Williams, fourth rounder Evan Boehm and sixth rounder Harlan Miller all signed their four year deals. Previously, Robert Nkemdiche signed a four year deal with the fifth year option and fifth round picks Cole Toner and Marqui Christian signed at the start of rookie camp last week.
All six players figure to play this season, but how much isn’t assured at this time. Nkemdiche is expected to provide an immediate impact on the defense, if anything, taking the focus off of Calais Campbell and Chandler Jones so that the defense can’t be double-teamed at every position. Right now this is a good position to be in, but there is a lot of money riding on the defensive front, so production is a must.
Signing rookies is a much less troubling affair now that the CBA set up a rookie pay scale for round and position, so it isn’t about money as much anymore than a few other benefits.
The Cardinals look to have a crowded field when full team OTAs begin next week, much like last season, if you had to provide the 75-man and 53-man roster cuts now, it would be hard to really determine what will happen with a healthy mix of productive veterans, high-expectation rookies and everyone in-between, including undrafted rookies with something to prove.
The rookies come into a team with high expectations after falling short in the NFC Championship game and look to repeat (or do better) than a 13-3 season in 2015. Only time will tell, but we’re about to get a good look at these players out of the college game and into the professional element.