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Kenny Pickett
By: Nate Christian (@NateNFL)
Position: QB
College: Pittsburgh
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 217 lbs.
Age: 23
247 Rating: 0.8538 (3 Stars)
The Rundown:
A bit of a late bloomer, Pickett became one of the best quarterbacks in the nation this past season as he led Pittsburgh to an ACC Championship. Is his late breakout a sign of improvement and true skill, or was it simply a fluke?
College Production:
After four seasons at Pittsburgh where he averaged a 60% completion rate, 13 passing touchdowns and only 1,869 passing yards a season; Pickett took a huge leap in his fifth year with the team. In 2021, Pickett completed 334 passes at a 67.2% completion rate for 4,319 passing yards and 42 touchdowns. An impressive season and NFL teams started paying attention.
Strengths:
- Reads the Field Well
- The Pittsburgh offensive scheme required Pickett to make reads and work his way around the field from inside the pocket. He’ll come into the NFL as a high floor prospect because of his experience in a pro-style system, working off route combinations and showing off good anticipation to let plays develop.
- Solid Arm Talent
- While Pickett may lack a true cannon of an arm, he has plenty of strength to be able to make off-platform throws and get himself out of trouble with his arm. He may not be the one to constantly push the ball down the field, but he has good velocity on his throws that helps him get the ball into tight windows in the middle of the field.
- Athletic Upside
- If you haven’t seen the fake slide yet, take a second to watch it on YouTube. No matter your thoughts on that play, Pickett offers good mobility and rushing upside for a kid who was recruited out of high school as a pro-style QB. When he gets to the next level he’ll be able to produce 200-300 rushing yards a season with a couple touchdowns as well, always a nice bonus for your Dynasty Owner team.
Weaknesses:
- Ball Security in the Pocket
- While the worries of Pickett and his small hands may or may not be overblown, ball security is certainly a worry. He came in with a measurement of 8 ⅝ inches at his pro day, which would be one of the smallest in the league. Whether or not that is actually an issue is to be debated, but it can lead to some ball security issues if he’s flailing the ball around with one hand as he tends to do at times. That needs to be cleaned up, otherwise we could be looking at a Daniel Jones ($6,416,014) level of turnovers.
- Sub-Par Deep Ball
- While Pickett does have the strength to get the ball down the field, on his deep balls, they just don’t have the kick that the rest of his passes have. He tends to get a lot of air under the ball, which can lead to unnecessary contested catch situations. This could be improved with a bit better footwork when stepping up into the pocket and when throwing on the run. Pickett has shown the ability to improve, and teams may not be too worried about working with him at the next level.
Things to Watch:
Pickett looked solid at the NFL Combine in throwing drills as well as a good showing of a 4.73 40-yard dash time. He was able to show off his athletic ability, and teams will love to see the competitor in him come out. He had a solid pro day as well and has done nothing to hurt himself except measure small with his hands. At the end of the day many scouts and teams seem 50/50 on whether his hand size is even an issue at all.
Projected Round/Contract:
It seems inevitable that Pickett is a first rounder, he may go within the Top Ten, or he may fall into the 20s. It’s quite difficult to predict the draft this year, especially at the quarterback position. If he goes Top 10, he’ll be looking at a nice contract of at least $5.7 million a year, with the potential for more the higher he is selected.
Team Fits:
It seems like one team in particular has been especially interested in Kenny Pickett throughout this draft process, and that would be the Carolina Panthers. Matt Rhule recruited Pickett when he was the head coach at Temple, and now would get the chance to finally work with a kid he saw potential in six years ago. Pickett would give this team a Day 1 starter, and the Panthers have some decent offensive pieces to surround him with. Of course, there’s Christian McCaffrey ($16,015,875) but also D.J. Moore ($20,628,000) who just signed a contract extension. So far, Rhule hasn’t had much luck working with quarterbacks, but to be fair he hasn’t really been given a chance to work with a guy that he is really excited about.
If Pickett doesn’t end up with the Panthers then my second guess is a team that would be a bit surprising, the New Orleans Saints. Gone are the Drew Brees and Sean Peyton days, but Pickett seems built for the Saints offense and playing within a dome half the season. The Saints own the 16th and 19th pick in the draft and if they want to get a quarterback to compete with Jameis Winston ($14,000,000) and possibly develop into a franchise quarterback, Pickett is not a bad pick.
Make sure to follow Nate Christian over on Twitter at @NateNFL and check out all the work he is doing with the Dynasty Rewind (@DynastyRewind).