By Ross Jackson
As the NFL’s second-round pick conundrum continues, some significant progress has finally been made.
After weeks of only 30 of 32 second-round picks being signed due to precedent-setting fully guaranteed deals from the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns another second rounder finally has his deal.
The next big domino in the second round has fallen: 49ers’ second-round pick Alfred Collins, the No. 43rd overall selection, reached agreement tonight on a four-year, $10.3 million deal that includes over $9 million guaranteed and now is expected to trigger multiple second-round… pic.twitter.com/iiIWgOCh7p
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2025
San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle and No. 43 overall pick Alfred Collins has been signed.
This now sets the floor for the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Tyler Shough who was drafted No. 40 overall and remains unsigned.
The stalling around these contracts has been about guaranteed money. The Texans have wide receiver Jayden Higgins the league’s first ever fully guaranteed second round deal. That then forced the hand of the Browns, who selected linebacker Carson Schwesinger one pick before Higgins was taken. Both got full guarantees on their deals.
Now that pick No. 43 has received 88% of his contract guaranteed, Shough and the Saints shouldn’t have much trouble finding progress.
There are effectively two options.
- Shough gets a fully guaranteed deal.
- Shough gets guarantees that scale up from 2024 to match Collins’ boost.
If the Saints want, they could just give Shough a guaranteed deal. At this point, any haggling would be fine over about $1 million. Is that worth missing out on possible development for the passer?
But what changes if someone between picks No. 35 and 39 (all currently unsigned) take a deal that’s not fully guaranteed. Then the Saints would have a reason to knock back that percentage.
However, they could simply scale Shough’s deal relative to Collins’s increase.
Last year the No. 43 overall selection received 77.98% of their deal guaranteed. This year, Collins was taken at the same spot and saw that percentage rise to 88%, a roughly 11% increase.
Last year’s No. 40 overall pick received a deal that was 80.43% guaranteed. New Orleans could try simply bumping Shough’s deal the same percentage as Collins’s contract: roughly 10% to 90% and see if that moves the needle enough.
Either way, the good news here is that the Saints and Shough’s team now have three figures within which to work that are all relatively close to one another. That should help to speed the process along once Shough reports for camp on Tuesday, July 22.
