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Next up in our profiles of the undrafted rookies the Arizona Cardinals added after the NFL Draft is another small school guy -- receiver Chris King our of Duquesne. Let's find out more about him.
King is 6-1 and 200 pounds. He was a first-team All-NEC selection as a senior in 2015 when he led the Dukes with 81 receptions for 1,136 yards (14.0 avg.) and eight touchdowns while starting all 12 games. In his final collegiate game, an FCS playoff contest against William & Mary, King set career highs with 12 receptions for 221 yards. A Crofton, MD native, King finished his collegiate career with 175 receptions for 2,574 yards (14.7 yard avg.) and 24 touchdowns while playing in 42 games.
He is a small school guy who dominated and put up big numbers in big games.
Let's look at the measurables. He is athletic, and films shows he can run past guys, but he only ran a 4.55-second 40 at his Pro Day. He is not very strong in his upper body, benching 225 pounds only eight times, but he has a 37-inch vertical leap. His hands are on the small end at nine inches.
There is a great story about King in his attempt to make it to the NFL. When you read what feels about football and his dream, I immediately think of what general manager Steve Keims says ad nauseum -- how the Cardinals always look for passion for football and heart.
His coach at Duquesne said this:
“Statistically, he has put himself in that range of traditionally great receivers that have come through this program,” Duquesne head coach Jerry Schmitt said. “As far as being a role model to our team, he is a great young man, an excellent student and a quiet leader who has helped us win a couple championships here and make it to the playoffs.”
Here is a great breakdown of King from Emory Hunt of FootballGamePlan.com.
He has size, route running, explosiveness and can run past defensive backs. Hunt gave him a sixth round grade.
As has been stated, the wide receiver room is already very talented. King is very unlikely to make the final roster. Will he show enough to stick on the practice squad? Or can he be good enough to pass Brittan Golden and Jaxon Shipley?