NFL’s first draft pick is signed as Alshon Jeffrey agrees with Bears

The craziest part of having two first round draft picks used to be trying to get them signed and into camp. No matter what side you were on in the NFL’s labor struggle it seemed as if everyone agreed that a rookie wage scale was important for both veteran players and owners. Here in the second year of slotting, the Bears and their second rounder Alshon Jeffrey got the ball rolling very quickly.

The Bears announced Wednesday morning that they have already agreed to terms with their second-round pick. Even with the Collective Bargaining Agreement making it much easier for teams to get rookie deals done quickly, this is still a fast development. It’s a four-year deal, financial terms haven’t been disclosed, and it’s the first signing of a 2012 draft pick that we’ve seen this year.

Even though Jeffrey is a second rounder, I’ll consider this good news as an indicator. This is exactly the kind of quick movement and predictability that everyone (other than maybe agents) were looking for when this was on the table during the last collective bargaining agreement. It is also especially good news for a team like the Browns who have to get presumed key players/starters Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden and Mitchell Schwartz indoctrinated quickly.

[Related: Report: Browns’ rookie pool assignment is $9.72 million]