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Former Florida S Keanu Neal beats all first-rounders to agree to contract
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A former Florida player won the race among first-rounders to sign a contract with his NFL team.
On Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons announced that they’ve come to an agreement with safety Keanu Neal on a deal. The 6-foot-1, 216-pounder was chosen with the No. 17 overall pick in the draft.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the parties agreed on the standard four-year deal, with a fifth-year option to be exercised by May 3, 2019. He’ll sign it on Thursday.
Neal, who declared early, was third on Florida’s defense with 96 tackles, a career-high 14 of which came on the road against LSU. However, Neal actually led the team and was 9th in the SEC with 8 tackles per game. He added 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and an INT.
The Falcons will enjoy Neal’s knack for flying to the football as the team ranked 25th in the NFL last season in total tackles made.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
