Hokies In The NFL Draft: All VT Draft Picks Signed, Ready to Grind

Well, the Draft has come and gone. And now, all 3 Hokie selections have put pen to paper. It's MONEY TIME!!!

Kyle Fuller—1^st round, Chicago Bears

On May 14, Fuller became the first 1st round draft pick to sign, inking a 4-year, $9.69 million deal with the Bears. The deal included a $5,365,092 signing bonus and $9,687,002 in guaranteed money, an average yearly salary of $2,421,751. Let's check out his incoming cash flow by year:

Fuller was the #17 car for the Hokies, but has been assigned #23 by the Bears. That number was most recently made noteable by former Wide Receiver Defensive Back Offensive Weapon Return Man Extraordinaire Devin Hester. Guess the club thinks highly of Fuller, yes?

Fuller is expected to start out at nickel corner for the Bears, as they re-signed both starting CB's Tim Jennings and Charles "Peanut" Tillman this offseason.  He was praised by Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker following Rookie Minicamp (helmet sticker here to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times):

‘‘From Day 1, he’s a very intelligent player," Tucker said. "He’s got good size [5-11, 190 pounds]. He’s got good speed. He’s a willing and aggressive tackler and a high-percentage tackler. He’s got excellent ball skills and great awareness. And he’s a football guy. He’s a tough guy.

Logan Thomas – 4^th round, Arizona Cardinals

On May 21, Thomas signed a 4-year deal with the Cardinals worth a reported $2.65 million. His deal includes a $432,092 fully guaranteed signing bonus and an average annual salary of $663,023. Let's look at the fine print:

Apparently, there was no wrestling match for jersey #3, as incumbent starter Carson Palmer will continue to sport that number. Logan will wear #6 in Arizona. Perhaps he’s aiming to be twice as good as a pro as he was in Blacksburg—that or twice as good as Palmer.

Thomas will compete with Ryan Lindley and _ to backup Palmer in 2014. Noted QB Guru George Whitfield, tutor of Roethlisberger, Newton, and others, spoke about Thomas and his "accuracy issues" (helmet sticker here to Darren Urban of azcardinals.com):

"I smile because (the critics’) vantage point is different than our vantage point," Whitfield said. "If you know Logan and have intimate knowledge of what is happening and you can see what is on the way, and you are behind the scenes, you can see what happens.

"(His issue) could be accuracy, but that route he threw expecting the receiver at 18 (yards), the receiver ran it at 22. Four yards deeper, of course he’s going to go down in the dirt to go get it. Yeah, there were times when Logan was high or outside or short, but there are a lot that goes into those shortcomings. I don’t mind the noise. If he goes out and does what he is capable of doing, he can smile a lot later. Just like Cam is doing now."

Antone Exum –6^th round, Minnesota Vikings

Exum also signed on May 21. He inked a 4-year deal with the Vikings worth a reported $2.34 million that includes a $115,788 fully guaranteed signing bonus, averaging out to an approximate annual value of $583,947. Let's check out his deal:

Exum carried on D-Block tradition, sporting the #1 jersey while at Virginia Tech. In Minnesota, he has been assigned #32. That number was formerly held up by former backup to Adrian Peterson and recent Jaguars free agent acquisition Toby Gerhart. Mike Wobschall of vikings.com observed a recent Vikings minicamp practice and and had observation about Exum (helmet sticker here to Wobschall):

The Vikings drafted Antone Exum in the sixth round and it sounds as if the plan, at this point, is to play him at safety. Exum has experience playing both cornerback and safety at Virginia Tech, but the Vikings thought his coverage skills would suit him and the defensive scheme well at safety. Well, the early returns are good because Exum nabbed an interception in Friday afternoon’s practice...