Troy Niklas Selected #52 by Arizona Cardinals
Just as I put the finishing touches on the article of Stephon Tuitt being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers noting that Troy Niklas could snap Notre Dame’s streak of producing 1st or 2nd round tight ends, the Arizona Cardinals made that statement null and void by taking Niklas #52 overall.
In a surprising move, Niklas finds himself off of the draft board before teammate Louis Nix – a player many felt would be the first, not fourth Notre Dame player selected in the 2014 NFL Draft back in December. Instead, Zack Martin, Tuitt, and Niklas are now all off the board while Nix waits to hear his name called.
For Niklas, he lands in Arizona along with Notre Dame’s all-time leading receiver Michael Floyd in a high powered offense that also features All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals are still in search of a long term answer at quarterback with Carson Palmer on the twilight of his career, but for 2014 they should feature a potent offense once again. An offense that Niklas figures to be part of.
Niklas still has a lot of work to do at the NFL level after only playing tight end full time for two seasons and only starting for one, but he has all of the raw tools to be a great tight end. In Arizona, he will also play in an offense that should create very favorable matchups for him given the firepower the Cardinals have at receiver.
Notre Dame has now had three players selected in the 2014 Draft with the Dallas Cowboys selecting #46 Zack Martin in the first round on Thursday night and the Steelers taking Stephon Tuitt at #46 earlier Friday night. Nix should be the 4th Notre Dame player and barring a monumental upset, should hear his name called before Friday night’s draft festivities conclude.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
It will take time but he will turn into an outstanding pro. He should
have returned for one more year though. Lost alot of money.
His contract is slotted to be worth about $4M. I’m sure he’ll be ok.