The Arizona Cardinals opened Day 3 of the NFL Draft on Saturday by trying to get new quarterback Kyler Murray some help in the passing game, as they selected Iowa State wide receiver Hakeem Butler in the fourth round.
Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless is a very big fan of the Butler pick, saying that Butler is a steal at that spot.
YES SIR: Arizona just made a great pick for Kyler. Hakeem Butler can be a MONSTER receiver. Can be unguardable. Dropped too many passes. But I watched him a lot and the more I watched the more I liked. Steal at the top of the 4th round.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 27, 2019
Butler is coming off of a terrific junior campaign in which he hauled in 60 receptions for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns, so, based on his production, it does seem a bit surprising that he did not go higher in the draft.
He also ran a solid 4.48-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine, so Butler has decent speed combined with great size at 6-foot-5, 227 pounds.
Perhaps part of the reason why Butler fell so far was due to the fact that he really came out of nowhere this past season.
He originally arrived at Iowa State back in 2015, but did not play at all and redshirted. Then, in what was considered his freshman year in 2016, Butler logged just nine catches for 134 yards and a couple of scores.
The 22-year-old then showed significant improvement during his sophomore year, but he was still hardly an elite wide out, catching 41 passes for 697 yards while reaching the end zone seven times.
It wasn't until Butler's junior campaign that he showed serious signs of being a good NFL prospect, and if he can carry that type of production over into the NFL, Murray will start out his professional career with an incredibly dangerous weapon with which to throw the football.
Follow Us
Subscribe