Kenny Pickett NFL Draft Overview
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6’-3”
Weight: 217 pounds
School: Pittsburgh
Kenny Pickett 2022 NFL Draft Profile
Quarterback Kenny Pickett enters the NFL Draft with a good amount of experience. He obtained plentiful tools in college at Pittsburgh and is one of the top if not the top quarterback prospect this year. A quarterback with dual-threat capabilities, Pickett is coming off of a historic 2021 season which improved his draft stock tremendously.
In his final collegiate season, Pickett was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, also landing one of the finalist spots for the Heisman Trophy where he finished third in the voting. He ended up leading the Panthers to the ACC Championship game behind a school-record 4,319 passing yards, an ACC-record 42 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions. Pickett also managed to break the school record with 12,303 career passing yards, also breaking Dan Marino‘s record of 81 touchdowns. On the ground, Pickett added 241 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games.
Strengths
- Has good size and physical tools that could translate well to the NFL;
- Has shown continuous improvement and development to end his college career;
- Has experience playing within a passing scheme featuring full-field reads;
- Has good arm strength and ball velocity to air the ball out;
- Can use his mobility to extend plays and still utilize his arm talent;
- Good recognition in the pocket and has improved his anticipation.
Weaknesses
- Nervous in the pocket while lacking some poise even with a clean pocket;
- Tends to drift outside of the pocket often rather than sticking within;
- Needs to work on timing of throws to better position receivers;
- Doesn’t throw with much of a quick release;
- Tendency to take a sack often instead of throwing the ball away.
NFL Comparison: Andy Dalton
Teams With Need At Position: Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks
Projection: Top-10 pick
Bottom Line on Kenny Pickett
In a draft class that is viewed to be not as superior as prior drafts, Pickett is one of the top if not the best quarterback prospect available. He contains a wealth of knowledge and experience gained at Pittsburgh, resulting in an extended amount of success at the collegiate level. Pickett was already considered a top prospect at his position in previous years, but he decided to return to school in 2021 to better prepare himself for the NFL in 2022.
Pickett has shown the ability to lead a team under center and has the tools to be a solid pocket passer while also extending plays with his mobility. For an offense that is looking for a big-play caliber quarterback who can also stretch out the field, Pickett would be the perfect fit for that scheme at the NFL level.
The biggest question when it comes to Pickett is just how much potential he has and if he will ultimately live up to that potential, questions teams will have with any prospect in the draft. Pickett could live up to that potential as an average to above-average quarterback, although he likely won’t establish into a star-caliber talent. Regardless, Pickett should find himself chosen as one of the first quarterbacks early on in the first round of the draft.
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