Cardinals select TE Caleb Wilson with final pick of 2019 NFL Draft
Apr 27, 2019, 5:06 PM
TEMPE, AZ - NOVEMBER 10: Tight end Caleb Wilson #81 of the UCLA Bruins carries the football for a 33 yard touchdown in the second half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. The Arizona State Sun Devils won 31-28. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
Mr. Irrelevant is headed to the desert.
Not only did the Arizona Cardinals kick off the 2019 NFL Draft, they ended it with the selection of UCLA tight end Caleb Wilson at pick No. 254 overall on Saturday.
“It got a little scary at the end,” Wilson told reporters about how he was feeling as the final pick of the draft. “But once I got a call, once that Arizona number popped up on my phone, I was definitely relived.”
After starting his college career at USC as a walk-on, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end transferred to UCLA, playing three years (24 games) with the Bruins. Wilson made 114 receptions for 1,675 yards and five touchdowns over that span.
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Wilson’s final season with UCLA proved to be his most productive as he caught 60 balls for 965 yards and four touchdowns. He led all FBS tight ends in receptions and yards, while setting new UCLA records with his performance.
For his efforts last season, Wilson was named a First-Team All-Pac-12 player.
In Tempe against the Arizona State Sun Devils, Wilson had the best game of his career. Although UCLA took home the loss, Wilson was a force, catching 11 balls for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
At the NFL Combine, Wilson ran a 4.56 40-yard dash time, and recorded a 29-inch vertical and 113-inch broad jump.
Wilson represents the lone Bruin picked in this year’s NFL Draft.
The former Bruin joins Ricky Seals-Jones, Darrell Daniels and recently signed Charles Clay in a tight end room.
Wilson could be thrown into the mix early as Arizona transitions from Jermaine Gresham, who was released by the team in March.
Clay, the most likely starter on the roster, is coming off his worst year as a pro, catching 21 balls for 184 yards and no touchdowns. Seals-Jones, who enters his third season as a Cardinal, has recorded 46 receptions for 544 yards and four touchdowns, while Daniels has made just three catches for 26 yards in three seasons with the Colts, Seahawks and Cardinals.
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