Arizona Cardinals: 7-Round 2019 NFL mock draft after free agency
By Larry Brake
Round 3: Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
Kingsbury gets another weapon for his offense. Arizona selects Hakeen Butler in the third round as the 65th overall selection. Butler is a big wide receiver, standing 6-5, weighing 227 pounds with speed on top of that. At the NFL Combine, Butler ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash. He bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times. He has the strength to create space and battle for receptions.
In his college career at Iowa State, he caught 110 passes for 2,149 yards with 18 touchdowns. Most of all, he averaged 19.5 yards per reception. Butler has big play potential.
Butler would add value to Kingsbury’s offense. He has the ability to gain yards after making the reception. Also, he is another field stretching player that gives Fitzgerald more working room across the middle.
Kingsbury, while at Texas Tech, saw Butler up close and personal. Butler caught four passes for 148 yards on Oct. 27, 2018. Iowa State won the game 40-31 after Butler’s 48-yard touchdown reception ended the scoring.
Butler is best described by an unnamed AFC team’s wide receiver coach, per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
"“He can get better with his hands. He’s interesting to me because you see him turn catches into touchdowns just with his strength to break tackles. He’s a handful for one guy to bring down by himself.” — Wide receiver coach for AFC team"
The Cardinals receiving corps gets an upgrade with the addition of Butler.